Does Haig deserve to be called the butcher of the Somme
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The Battle of the Somme was the largest all out offensive planned by the British against the German Army up to this point in First World War. Field Marshall Haig was the field Marshall of the Somme, this essay focuses on the way he carried out this job, to find out whether or not he deserved his reputation as the butcher of the Somme. 'Butcher' meaning to kill cruelly, however in this question 'butcher' seems less obvious and a metaphorical expression. Haig would have had little pre war experience since it was the first major war he had been involved in, this was to definitely affect his war attitudes. The following paragraphs analyse Haig's original thoughts and the results of his actions.
The Battle of the Somme was planned as a joint French and British operation. There were several original thoughts and plans that Haig had designed. This paragraph explains his tactics, to find out whether or not his original ideas were well planned and the results of these plans were unexpected. Haig had a very orthodox method of fighting the war, evidence that we can study to think about this is a mixture of his and his soldiers' views. Haig's plan called for a massive artillery barrage that was to knock out all German resistance along an 18 mile long section of the front...