Reputation of Douglas Haig
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Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) led the British Expeditionary Force during World War I. His reputation is still controversial. Although a popular commander during the immediate post-war years,[1] with his funeral becoming a day of national mourning, Haig also became an object of criticism for his leadership on the Western Front. He was criticised by politicians such as Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George, and by influential historians such as Basil Liddell Hart. Some regard him as representing the very concept of class-based incompetent commanders, stating that he was unable to grasp modern tactics and technologies,[1][2] and criticism of Haig is sometimes hard to disentangle from criticisms of the war itself. However, many veterans praised Haig's leadership[3] and since the 1980s some historians have argued that the public hatred[4] in which Haig's name had come to be held failed to recognise the adoption of new tactics and technologies by forces under his command,[5] or the important role played by the British forces in the Allied victory of 1918,[6] and that the high casualties suffered were a function of the tactical and strategic realities of the time.[7]
This article may require copy editing for The grammar in which a lot of the sentences have multiple "and"s. (June 2023) |
The Earl Haig | |
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Born | (1861-06-19)19 June 1861 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, Scotland |
Died | 29 January 1928(1928-01-29) (aged 66) 21 Prince's Gate, London, England |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1884–1920 |
Rank | Field Marshal |