1. World War One Battles, Leadership and Deaths & Casualties
Lesson starter:
Describe life in the trenches for men during WWI (use examples)
Which weapons were considered ‘new technology’ in WWI?
1 – finance & banking
2 – ICT
3 – Construction
4 – oil & gas
5 – public sector & healthcare

2. New Technology of War Machine Gun (600 bullets per minute)
Poison Gas (Chlorine and Mustard)
Aeroplanes (used for surveillance)
Tanks (invented by British )
Flamethrowers (used rarely by Germans)

3. We are learning to… Describe two key battles of WWI Explain why Haig’s Leadership has been criticised Recall facts on deaths & casualties I can… Gather notes & evidence on these topics Summarise my information & evidence to use in a H question

5. Battle of Loos 1915 - Plan Started September 1915
It was the first time Lord Kitchener had used new recruits or volunteers in battle
35,000 Scots took part in the battle – 1 in 7 regiments involved were Scots
Haig (leader) was worried about the battle – there was almost no cover at Loos for the soldiers to shelter from machine gun fire
He also planned a gas attack but knew this depended on wind direction

6. Battle of Loos Events
The wind changed direction, causing the chlorine gas to blow back on their own troops
The Scots managed to push the Germans back in some places, but with high casualties sustained
The Scots suffered many casualties at the hands of German machine gunners
The Scots needed reinforcements but none arrived
21,000 men were killed
7,000 dead were Scots (1/3)
Every town in Scotland was affected by losses at Loos
Became known as the ‘Scottish Battle’

7. Daniel Laidlaw VC

9. Battle of the Somme 1916
For many months, the French had been losing at Verdun
The British planned an attack at the River Somme to take the pressure off the French
Haig bombarded the German trenches for 5 days and nights
However, this had little effect on their deep concrete bunkers
The Battle started in 1 July 1916 and again featured many new recruits and ‘Pals Battalions’

10. The attack was a complete disaster
On the first day, 19,200 British were dead and 40,000 wounded or missing.
Many only made it a few metres across No Man’s Land
The Tank was used for the first time however many broke down or got stuck in the mud
The battle dragged on until November
The Battle of the Somme has been described as the graveyard of the various local battalions that had been raised across Scotland.
McCrae’s (Hearts) Battalion of the Royal Scots suffered 75 per cent casualties.
Overall 400,000 British soldiers lost their lives on the Somme but it cost the Germans almost as many. Only later did it become clear that the Battle of the Somme had broken the back of the German army on the Western Front

11. What have I learned? Similarities Differences
Make a list of similarities and differences between the Battles of Loos and the Somme.
Similarities
Differences

12. Tanks only used at Somme Loos less positive outcome
Similarities
Differences
High no. of Scots involved
Leadership – Haig
Military disasters – no breakthrough
Pals Battalions i.e McCrae’s
Inexperienced soldiers
New weapons used - unsuccesfully
Tanks only used at Somme
Loos less positive outcome
Bombardment of trenches
Length of battle – 1 month/ 4months

13. Haig – Hero or Villain? Year and Place of birth: Edinburgh, 1861
Appointments during WWI:
Field Marshall, Leader at Loos, Commander at Somme in 1916

15. Summarise
Why is Haig relevant when learning about WWI in a Scottish context?
What suggests that Haig was a good leader of the Scots?
What suggests that Haig was indeed a ‘donkey’ leading lions?

16. Deaths and Casualties
More Scots volunteered in proportion to the population than any other part of Britain e.g. by the end of august 1914 over 20,000 had volunteered to fight from Glasgow alone.
Due to the nature of the war on the Western Front (e.g. so many bodies were left in no man’s land) it proved impossible to accurately calculate the number of war dead.
Over half a million Scots served in the war. Figures on Scottish dead vary from 74,000 to 100,000.
The Scots had a casualty rate of 26%, roughly 1 in 4 Scots soldiers were killed or wounded, among the highest of any nation.
The Battle of the Somme signalled the end of ‘Pals Battalions’ due to the devastation it caused for many Scots towns and villages such as Cranston’s and McCrae’s Battalions of Edinburgh. Many smaller villages lost most of their male population.
After the war Haig made efforts to see justice done for veterans, helping create the British Legion and the Earl Haig Fund to help ex servicemen