When was haig appointed

He attended a public school and the University of Oxford. After Sandhurst, where he was the outstanding student, Haig joined the 7 th Hussars in Haig proved an excellent regimental officer and his diligence and professionalism caught the eye of senior officers. In Haig attended the Staff College, Camberley. As at Sandhurst, he stood out as a student. The notion that on the Western Front Haig stuck rigidly to the principles he had learned at Staff College is dubious.

Haig served in the Sudan campaign of , fighting at the Battle of Omdurman. His next active service was in the Second South African War. Arriving in as chief of staff to his patron, Major-General John French , who commanded the Cavalry Division, Haig served in theatre until He emerged from the war with the reputation of a rising star, having commanded in the field as well as carried out important staff work.

Haig spent the next decade mostly in demanding staff and administrative jobs. These included acting as the principal military lieutenant to the Liberal Secretary of State for War Robert Burdon Haldane during the latter's far-reaching reforms of the army, and overseeing the writing of a modern doctrine for the army.

His conduct of operations in the initial stages was patchy, but his calm generalship on the defensive during the First Battle of Ypres October-November was widely admired. As commander of the newly-formed First Army, in Haig promoted to full general in November had to grapple with the unfamiliar conditions of trench warfare.

He launched four major offensives. For a variety of reasons, none succeeded and losses were heavy. Haig, who became a field-marshal In December , commanded the BEF during the great attritional battles of the Somme, Arras and Third Ypres Passchendaele in He has been much criticised for setting over-ambitious objectives for his troops, and excessive optimism.

His defenders point to the enormous challenges he faced, and to some extent successfully overcame, and the damage his offensives did to the German army. A fair assessment needs to take into account both sides of the argument and to place Haig's generalship into the wider context of the First World War.

In recent years, some historians have stressed Haig's success as a war manager, overseeing the transformation of the BEF from the clumsy and inexperienced force of to the highly effective army of David Lloyd George , Prime Minister from thought little of Haig and tried to undermine the Commander in Chief's authority. Despite this, Haig held onto his job. He weathered the German offensives of early The first day of the Battle of the Somme saw the British Army suffer the highest number of casualties in its history: 60, Whether the attack was a success or not remains an area of controversy: however most historians agree that the cost in human terms was too high for relatively little gain.

In any event the offensive was called off by Haig on 18 November , technically a British victory. In Haig oversaw the successful British advances on the Western Front which led to victory for the Allies in November. Haig has been criticised by many over the years for his tactics, which it is argued were deeply flawed. He wrote that he sometimes wondered whether he should have resigned on more than one occasion rather than permit Haig to continue with his strategy.

On the other hand, it is suggested that Haig's hand was largely forced by the pressure placed by the French for constant relief on the Western Front, on the Somme in and at Passchendaele in After the armistice Haig served as Commander in Chief of the British Home Forces until , the year of his retirement.

His recent predecessor in this role was Sir John French. Ludendorff urged the German government "to lose no time" in asking for an armistice. This it did on 4 October, the armistice eventually coming into effect on 11 November. Student Hub. Quick Links. Staff directory. Student handbooks and college documents. Financial support. Careers Service Bursaries. Welfare and medical support. College map. Maintenance Issue Logging. Catering and formal halls. College facilities.

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