1. © HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance How should General Haig be remembered?

2. © HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance Objectives In this activity you will: Discuss how you think we should remember General Haig.

3. © HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance Why should Haig be remembered? General Douglas Haig became Commander in Chief of the British forces on the Western Front from December 1915. He planned and ordered the attack on the Somme. He planned and ordered the Battle of Amiens, August 1918. Was he a hero or a villain?

4. © HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance The Battle of the Somme The British army suffered 60,000 casualties (just under 20,000 of whom were killed) on the first day. Heavy bombardment didn’t work. They gained 6 miles by November. There was conflict with Lloyd George over conduct of the war. General Haig cared nothing about casualties. He believed in a war of attrition. He was called the ‘Butcher of the Somme’.

5. © HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance Autumn, 1918 General Haig: Developed new and successful tactics Effectively used tanks and gas Attacked weak points rather than strong points Kept the war mobile Used air power effectively Captured 188,700 prisoners; nearly as many as the French, Belgian and Americans put together Cooperated effectively with the French and Americans.

6. © HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance General Haig Professor Peter Simpkin, Senior Historian at the Imperial War Museum, quoted in Ben Walsh (p 32), GCSE Modern World History, published by John Murray, 2001 ‘If we are to criticise Haig for his mistakes in 1916 and 1917, then it is perhaps only fair that, at the same time, he should receive due credit for his decisive, but forgotten victories of 1918.’

7. © HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance How should General Haig be remembered? Over to you: How should we remember Haig? How was he remembered in 1916? How was he remembered in 1918? How was he remembered after World War One? How is he remembered today?