Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, (born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 19 June 1861, died in London on 29 January 1928) was the senior British Army commander in World War I.
He commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from 1915 to the end of the War. Most notably he was commander during the Battle of the Somme, the Third Battle of Ypres and the Hundred Days Offensive which led to the German surrender in 1918.
A popular commander during the immediate post-war years, his funeral became a day of national mourning.
Later, Haig became an object of criticism. After his death he was increasingly criticised for issuing orders which led to excessive casualties of British troops, earning him the nickname 'Butcher of the Somme'. Haig's critics included the wartime Prime Minister Lloyd George and many younger officers who served in the First World War.[1]
Alan Clark's book The Donkeys (1961) popularised the controversial phrase 'lions led by donkeys', used to describe the British Army leadership. Clark attributed this remark to a German general but, before his death, admitted he lied about the phrase.[2]
All the same, some veterans, and academic historians have continued to praise Haig's leadership.[3]
