Douglas Haig was once a highly acclaimed general for leading Britain to one of the biggest battles in World War I, helping veterans fight for their rights, and he was formed by the Royal Army. When he died in 1928, millions of citizens on the streets of London could be seen spontaneously lining up to mourn him.
Battle of Verdun
But what I didn't expect was that only a few years had passed, and public opinion related to Haig had undergone a sharp change, and negative information about him was circulating everywhere, and people at that time even put the notoriety of "Butcher Haig" on his head. And when he was led in World War I, two million soldiers died because of the war, and the wars in which he participated often ended in "crushing victories.". Therefore, many people put the adjectives of "stupidity", "coldness" and "disregard for the lives of soldiers" on Haig.
Haig was born in Edinburgh, England in 1861 to a composer mother and a winemaker to a father who ran a winery. Haig studied hard at an early age, and graduated from Sandhurst College with the first place, and then went to Oxford University to study deeper.
After graduating from Oxford, Haig became a junior officer and later took part in the Mahdit War in South Africa and the Second Boer War. Because of his good performance in combat command, he was also sent to India, where he worked as a cavalry inspector. Twelve years passed, and it was not until 1912 that Haig was sent back to England, where he was promoted to lieutenant general. So many years in India also had a great influence on Haig's command.
On June 28, 1914, the events of Sarajevo were the trigger for the First World War. With the outbreak of World War I, Hague immediately formed the British Expeditionary Force, and then took the millions of troops he organized to the Battlefield of Europe. In the early days of World War I, Haig fought very bravely, successively launching the Battle of Ensmaine, the First Battle of Ypres, and the Spring Offensive, and also won these wars.
Because of Haig's excellent performance, he was promoted to general in 1915, and also served as the commander of the First Army, and his immediate boss at that time was The Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, French. When French was dismissed by Churchill and returned to England, he was succeeded by Haig.
In February 1916, the Battle of Verdun broke out, and both the german and French countries sent heavy troops to Verdun, and the final result of the battle was that more than half a million French troops died and more than 400,000 Germans died. Because of this fierce battle, the main force of the French army was almost exhausted, and the German army also suffered heavy losses.
Haig's original plan was to launch a Battle of the Somme in 1917, but after knowing the fierceness of the Battle of Verdun, he felt that the time had come to start a war, and in August 1916, Hagrid took the lead in launching the Battle of the Somme, an Anglo-French coalition against the Germans, and the war ended in a "crushing victory".
In the Battle of the Somme, because Hagrid preferred to attack in the form of cavalry charge, rather than paying attention to powerful artillery and tanks, it was obvious that the British army was severely damaged on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, losing almost 50,000 soldiers. Moreover, in this battle, the losses of both sides were very heavy, the British lost 450,000 people, the French lost 340,000 people, and their opponents the German army was 53.8 million people, which was the most tragic position battle in the first world war.
After the end of world war I, Haig retreated to the second line, serving as a field marshal in the British mainland, and was supported by everyone. At this time, Haig still had a soft spot for cavalry and did not accept armored units. Hague also formed the Royal Legion of England and traveled and collected donations throughout britain in order to help the welfare and relief of demobilized soldiers. Hague died in London on 28 January 1928. Later, people's evaluation of him reversed sharply.
Because Hague despised the power of small arms and liked to use "man-sea tactics", although he did have some success, Hager lost more than two million British soldiers in his command career. The families of the soldiers who died were very difficult to accept, and they all blamed Hager for his improper command, they called Hager the "Butcher of the Somme", and the media public opinion of Hager also had a huge reversal.