Write an evaluation of Haig's leadership on the Somme, indicating to what extent you feel criticism of his leadership is justified.
Sir Douglas Haig has received severe criticism for his leadership of the British army in the battle of Somme. Haig himself did not doubt his capacity to lead, and indeed, felt himself to be the only choice as commander-in-chief. For the most part, the criticism received was well deserved, as Haig made some horrific decisions that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of men. However, some situations could not have been forseen by him, and it is quite likely any other Commander-in-Chief would have made the same decisions. Yet despite this, Sir Douglas Haig proved to be a poor leader of the British forces and does indeed deserve the criticism he has received from historians and others.
The Battle of Somme was an offensive launched by the British as they wished to relieve the pressure on the French at Verdun and Haig believed that the offensive was absolutely necessary. However, there is much evidence of poor planning and preparation.There was an ineffective attempt made to keep preparations secret.The Germans discovered the plans and strengthened their positions in expectation of the iminant attack. If Haig had been more careful with the information then the British would not have been deprived of the key feature of their attack, the element of surprise. It is therefore quite likely that the whole offensive would have been more successful.This was an unecissary setback for the British army and could have been avoided by Haig.
Despite their enthusiasm, British infantry and artillery training preparations were totally inadequete. The infantry was to make a linear advance, and there was no training in small flexible formations necessary for the attack to be successful. Junior officers were poorly trained and so wasted the lives of their men. The artillery was inadequete and inaccurate with poorly trained gunners.