Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme paper at affordable prices with livepaperhelp.com! Does Haig Deserve the Title "The Butcher of the Somme"?

By December 115 the war on the western front was stalemate. Although many soldiers had been killed no side had immensely advanced to triumph. On the 10th of December a new commander was appointed named Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig and aged 54. He had had a long military career as a celebrated cavalry. Officer Douglas Haig believed in the 'Big Push'. He was convinced that the enemy could be overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers. He continually demanded more and more men from politicians and refused to allow any troops to be diverted to other areas of fighting.

In 116 The Germans were attacking a massive French fortress named Verdun. It was then when the French commander in Chief, Joffre asked Haig to relieve German pressure on Verdun by attacking further along the line. General Haig chose to launch an attack alongside the river Somme.

Haig had intended to clandestinely attack the Germans. However German reconnaissance planes had been observing the incoming British troops and weapons. This granted the Germans a great benefit in the battle. If Haig had been more secretive during the transportation of the war materials his plans of attack would have been concealed to the Germans.

Custom Essays on Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme

The attack was preceded by an eight-day preliminary bombardment of the German lines, beginning on Saturday 4th of June and ending on the 1st of July. The expectation was that the ferocity of the bombardment would entirely destroy all forward German defences, enabling the attacking British troops to practically walk across No Man's Land and take possession of the German front lines from the battered and dazed German troops. 1,500 British guns, together with a similar number of French guns, were employed in the bombardment. Meanwhile the German troops rested behind their front line in well-built, 1 deep meter dug outs.

The British bombardment had caused minimal damage to the German soldiers. The barbed wire was not destroyed as the bombardment had only lifted it and it was instantly dropped in a worse twist than it was in before. These problems could' have been avoided if General Haig had visited the battlefield as he was not experienced in trench warfare.

After seven days of bombardment Haig ordered his troops to advance at a steady pace and in close order. Just as the barrage stopped the German troops took position in their front line trenches. By stopping the bombardment, Haig indirectly signalled the German troops to return to their positions on the battle field.

On the day of the battle there was considerable confusion. Some units were not ordered to attack while others were forced to retreat. Haig's tactics had ruined the conditions of the battlefield; the ground was shot into quagmire and troops were expected to cross over it and provide their own cover from the enemy's retaliation. No mans land contained shell holes that were filled with poisonous gases and parts of dead soldiers blocked the path to the front line. For the minute number of soldiers that had ultimately crossed no-mans land the entangled barbed wire stood as another obstacle. This again shows Haig's under-estimation of the Germans and his ignorance of trench warfare.

By dusk of the 1st of July 57,470 allied soldiers had been injured or dead. However Haig felt no reason to change his tactics as he rested at a grand chateau in a distant village. If Haig had been closer to the battlefield he would have noticed the severe casualties of his soldiers and he would have changed his methods of attacks.

Haig knew that the battle would lead to massive death numbers. He had earlier announced in a speech "The nation must be taught to bear losses. The nation must be prepared to see heavy casualty lists." This indicates that Haig did not care about the lives of his soldiers as long as it leads to victory. Haig's disrespect to his soldiers is also indicated by the fact that he was in best conditions while his men were covered in blood and dirt.

In September the tank was introduced to war. Fifty tanks were launched but only twenty one reached the battlefield. Whilst they achieved a large measure of shocked surprise when sprung upon the German opposition, these early tanks proved unwieldy and highly unreliable as the tanks sunk into the marshy ground. If Haig had listened to the advice of military experts this loss of tanks would not have occurred.

Although Haig comes across as the main reason of the great loss of the Somme he is not fully responsible for it. This is because reports of the battle that were sent to Haig made him believe that his tactics were a great success. Haig did not realise the great fatalities of the battle until after a considerable amount of time. Haig was also not knowledgeable of trench combat as he was specialized in cavalry warfare. I therefore think that it is not Haig's fault as he was appointed general by the government.

By November both sides had been devastated. Hundreds of thousands of allied and German soldiers had been injured or killed. The allies had lifted the pressure off Verdun and advanced 15Km.

Overall I think General Haig deserves the title "The Butcher of the Somme" as his actions all resulted to a considerable quantity of mortalities. Haig also did not care about the situation of his men both soldiers and officers. Haig's tactic "Big Push" supports the fact that he is a butcher as it involves a long solid attack costing many deaths. Haig could also be called a butcher as he left his men to suffer while he lived in a luxurious castle in a far away town.

Please note that this sample paper on Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Did Haig deserve the Title the Butcher of the Somme will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!