It’s not often I come across a book that changes my mindset opinion quite as much as the book I have just finished; The Great War Generals on the Western Front by Robin Neillands. Pretty much does what it says on the cover and reviews their performance as commanders in World War One.
I was always surprised when Harry Patch spoke kindly of Haig as like so many others I had fell into the trap of believing all the bad press published about him e.g. he never visited the front line, didn’t care about his troops etc. This book pretty much exposes this as by and large a myth put about by Lloyd George who could not stand him. Like a giant snowball of hate, as it gathered momentum it has over the years sucked in many supporters whose views the author challenges in a very balanced manner.
In short Haig was not all black even though he did make mistakes the horrors of Passchendaele were more down to LG delaying the start by two months and the idiot Gough, who changed his original plan from capturing the high ground because it would not suit his plans for his cavalry.
Makes you think how many others have been blackened without quite so much fault over the years.
Pretty much follows what is written in Wikipedia. He does seem a controversial figure but considering what went before in terms of British and warfare, all he new technology was new to the commanders and Haig did his best with tanks etc. You were bound to make mistakes when you had to make it up! By 1918 though, they seem to have got the tactics right; Montgomery used similar ones at El Alamein some 25 years later, if you read his autobiography.