1. Think back over last lesson Why did the attack on the Somme fail?

2. Fighting in World War One Was General Haig responsible for the slaughter at the Somme? • Objectives • To investigate the evidence on Haig’s role in the battle • To weigh up both sides of the argument • To come to a clear judgement on the question Haig has a plan

3. General HaigGuilty or Not?

4. Decision Making • Your Verdict ! • Was Field Marshall Haig to blame for the slaughter at The Somme ?

5. Background Information • Sir Douglas Haig was born in 1861 • He was Scottish born and a member of the famous family of whisky distillers • On the 10th of December 1915 he took command of the British Army • By this stage, the war was at a stalemate; the German and Allied troops were well “dug-in”

6. In 1915 General Haig was 54 years old; he had a long and successful military career behind him • He faced a problem; “How could the deadlock on the Western Front be broken ?”

7. What did Haig believe ? • Success in battle depends mainly on morale and determination (1907) • The way to capture machine guns is by grit and determination (1915) • The machine gun is a much overrated weapon (1916) • We must wear the enemy down as much as possible (1910)

8. Your Task • At each stage study the evidence • Decide whether General Haig is guilty or not guilty of causing the slaughter at the Somme • Give a reason for your decision

9. Stage 1 • Haig decided that given enough men and enough guns a breakthrough was inevitable (certain) • More British troops died than at any other battle before • Haig was not to know that the German troops were so well “dug-in”

10. Stage 2 • The Allies advanced 10 miles during the 5 month campaign; they suffered 600,000 casualties • At the end of day 1 of the battle, the British suffered 60,000 casualties and 20,000 dead • Trench warfare was a new way of fighting; no-one really knew how to overcome it

11. Stage 3 • Haig bombarded the Germans with the biggest shell attack in history to wear them down • The shell bombardment let the Germans know that an attack was about to take place • The German losses by the end of the battle in November were nearly as much as the Allies

12. Stage 4 • After the first day of fighting on the 1st July, British morale went down; the troops felt let down by the Generals • Haig had British interests at heart; who won the war ? • The bombardment made it almost impossible to cross “no-mans land”,as it was full of craters and tangled barbed wire

13. Stage 5 • In November 1916 the German Commander Ludendorff said that his troops were, “fought to a standstill” • If Haig had not attacked the Germans in July 1916 then the slaughter of the French Army at the Battle of Verdun would have continued; the French Army could have been destroyed completely

14. Stage 6 • Despite the huge casualties on day 1 of the battle, Haig continued to order wave after wave of British troops to their deaths • Haig never visited the front line as a General

16. Your Verdict • Select the five facts from each side that YOU feel are the most important and copy them into your book • You now need to write your answer to the question ‘Was Haig guilty?’ • Intro…. • One the one hand there is the following evidence against Haig……. • On the other hand there is the following evidence which supports Haig’s innocence….. • On balance I think Haig was…………….My reasons are……

17. Haig decided that given enough men and enough guns a breakthrough was inevitable (certain) • More British troops died than any other battle before • Haig was not to know the German troops were so well ‘dug in’ • The Allies advanced 10 miles during the 5 month campaign, They suffered 600,000 casualties • At the end of day 1 of the battle the British suffered 60,000 casualties (and 20,000 dead) • Trench warfare was anew way of fighting. No one really knew how to overcome it • Haig bombarded the Germans with the biggest shell attack in history to wear them down • The shell bombardment let the Germans know an attack was coming • The German loses at the end of the battle in November were nearly as much as the Allies • After the 1st day of fighting the British morale went down, the soldiers felt betrayed by the Generals • Haig had the British interests at heart. Who won the War? • The bombardment made it almost impossible to cross ‘no man’s land’ as it was full of craters and tangled barbed wire • In November 1916 the German commander Ludendorff said his troops were fought to a ‘standstill’ • If Haig had not attacked the Germans in July 1916 the slaughter of the French Army at Verdun would have continued and the French Army could have been completely destroyed • Despite the heavy loses on Day 1 Haig continued to order wave after wave of British troops to their deaths • Haig never visited the Front Line as a General