He presided over both the best and worst days of the war for the British Army, earning him praise as the ‘man who won the war’ as well as the nickname ‘Butcher Haig’. Unsurprisingly, his legacy has been somewhat mixed as a result.

However, Haig had a long and distinguished military career prior to World War One, and he continued to campaign for ex-servicemen long after he had retired. Here are 10 facts about Douglas ‘Butcher’ Haig.

1. He had a privileged upbringing

Born in Edinburgh, the son of a whisky baron and gentry, Haig had a thorough education. He studied in Scotland, Clifton College in Bristol and later at Brasenose College, Oxford.

At Oxford, Haig showed sporting prowess and was a member of the infamous Bullingdon Club. He decided to train as a British Army officer at the military academy, Sandhurst, following his final exams. He passed – placing first in the order of merit – and was commissioned as a lieutenant into the 7th Hussars in February 1885.

2. He travelled a lot in his early years as an officer

In his early years as an officer, Haig was stationed in India. He eventually earned a promotion to captain before returning to England.

In 1898, he was hand-picked to join Lord Kitchener in a campaign in the Mahdist War in Sudan: Haig was required to join the Egyptian Army (a formality) in order to serve.

He saw plenty of action and commanded a squadron of his own, launching several important attacks and offensives. Haig was, at least in part, there to report on Kitchener, who he had plenty of criticism for. He was promoted to the position of brevet major on his return to England in 1898.

Photograph of the young Douglas Haig as an officer with the 7th Hussars.

Image Credit: National Library of Scotland / Public Domain

3. He served in the Second Boer War

The Second Boer War erupted in 1899 after diamonds and gold were found on Boer land in South Africa. It has become known as one of the most destructive wars fought by the British: the brutal conflict saw the implementation of scorched earth policies and the introduction of internment camps (also referred to as concentration camps) with extremely high mortality rates.

Haig escaped the town of Ladysmith on the last train before it was besieged by the Boers, and went on to command a cavalry brigade, and later an all-arms force and column. As per the norms of the time, he burned farmsteads as part of a scorched earth policy and rounded up Boer women and children to send to British-run concentration camps.

His service saw him showered in praise, earning him several mentions in despatches, an appointment to the role of Companion of the Order of the Bath and a promotion to the role of lieutenant colonel. Haig’s time in the Boer War, which involved plenty of guerrilla warfare,  led him to hold the belief that cavalry was more important than artillery: a belief which, when acted upon during World War One, would cost the lives of thousands of soldier.

4. His strengths lay in organisation and administration

In 1906, Haig was appointed Director of Military Training on the General Staff at Britain’s War Office: one of his colleagues described him as having a “first-rate general staff mind”. Having served in the Boer War, Haig was all too aware of Britain’s lack of a modern, healthy army.

He helped create a reformed, more professional, smaller army. It wasn’t the army Britain would need if it were required to fight a continental war (like that on the Western Front), but there was no pressing reason why that would be necessary at that point: the rumblings of the conflict that would become World War One were still far away.

He also helped create a new Territorial Force comprised of older ex-servicemen, 300,000 which could be drawn on in times of need. Haig also helped create an Expeditionary Force of 120,000 men, prioritising cavalry over infantry.

5. He became commander of the British Expeditionary Force in December 1915

Haig began World War One as a general and was one of those who believed the fighting would last weeks or months rather than years. He helped achieve a notable victory at the First Battle of Ypres and after another year of successful service and leadership, he was made Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (the 6 divisions of the British Army sent to the Western Front).

Haig hoped that in his new role, he would be able to oversee a more professional and efficient management of the war. He began by launching major offensives, most famously at the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917).

6. Despite heavy losses, he helped bring an ultimate British victory

Haig’s offensives were undoubtedly bloody and brutal: millions of soldiers died on the Western Front, and many deem Haig’s directives to have caused an excessive and unnecessary loss of life.

Whilst the number of casualties (around 1 million soldiers fighting for the British Empire died) sustained on the Western Front was, and remains, unthinkably horrific, it proved a tough lesson for generals, including Haig, in the kind of tactics and warfare they would need to defeat the Germans: particularly with regards to the use of tanks, aircraft and creeping barrages.

7. Haig promoted the formation of the Army Dental Corps

Dentistry had originally belonged to a sub-section of medicine within the army, and there was virtually no specialised dental treatment available for soldiers: civilian dentists were sometimes contracted to help.

Haig reportedly suffered from severe toothache in the early years of World War One and was forced to summon a dentist from Paris to help. As a result, he ensured the army hired several dentists within months, and by 1918 they employed over 800 dentists. In 1921, the Army Dental Corps was formed as its own military division, separate from the general medical corps.

8. After the war, he spent his time improving the welfare of ex-servicemen

Haig was made an Earl in 1919. With the title, he was granted £100,000 to enable him to live in a way appropriate to a senior peer. He retired from service in 1922 and then devoted much of his time to highlighting the plight of ex-servicemen on a public platform and doing his best to ensure they were looked after. 

It was on his initiative that the Haig Fund and Haig Homes were set up, initiatives which provided financial assistance and adequate housing for ex-servicemen. Both organisations long outlasted Haig and helped thousands of ex-servicemen.

King George V and Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, photographed together in 1919.

9. At his funeral he was dubbed ‘the man who won the war’

In the years following the war Haig was widely remembered as the leader of the victorious British Army, and his reputation was golden. When he died of a heart attack in 1928, Haig was awarded a state funeral and American General John Pershing dubbed him the ‘man who won the war’.

10. He later became known as the ‘butcher of the Somme’

Haig’s actions and legacy were quickly reassessed following his death. Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and David Lloyd-George both criticised his willingness to send men into the face of enemy fire, acknowledging that Haig’s ‘tactics’ led to an excessive loss of life and weakened the Allies, hence the nickname the ‘butcher of the Somme‘.

Many also criticised his personal qualities, believing him to be egotistical, out of touch with the realities of modern warfare and not intellectually up to the task in front of him.

There have been some attempts to rehabilitate Haig in more recent years as some have acknowledged that high casualties were a feature of early 20th-century warfare, and Haig’s forces nonetheless played an important role in the Allied victory.

628 VCs were awarded in World War One, a quarter posthumously. Recipients include a 16-year-old sailor and a Canadian flying ace. All of their stories are inspiring tales of courage in the face of the enemy.

Here are 10 Victoria Cross winners of World War One:

1. Lieutenant Albert Ball

From 25 April to 6 May 1917, Lieutenant Albert Ball of the Royal Flying Corps engaged in 26 different aerial combats. Ball was, at the time of his death, Britain’s top flying ace with 44 confirmed and 25 unconfirmed kills. During his final 26 battles he destroyed 11 hostile aeroplanes, often flying alone against five or six German planes.

Finally, on 7 May 1917, Ball led an attack on the squadron commanded by Lother von Richthofen, the Red Baron’s younger brother, near Annoeullin in northern France. Ball was shot down and died during the struggle, and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Lieutenant Albert Ball, VC (Image Credit: photograph Q 69593 from the Imperial War Museums / Public Domain).

2. Boy Seaman Jack Cornwell

Boy Seaman First Class Jack Cornwell was the youngest man to be awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War. On 31 May 1916, during the Battle of Jutland, Cornwell was serving as a sight-setter on a gun aboard the HMS Chester.

The ship came under intense fire, and all of his gun crew were killed or mortally injured. Despite suffering severe wounds, including metal shards through his chest, Cornwell stayed at his post for the duration of the battle. He died from his wounds three days later, aged just 16 years old.

Boy Seaman Jack Cornwell, VC

3. Naik Shahamad Khan

On 12 April 1916, Naik Shahamad Khan of the 89th Punjabis was serving in Mesopotamia when he earned the Victoria Cross for his valour. Khan was in charge of a machine gun in an exposed position, covering a gap in the British lines.

He beat off three enemy attacks and worked the gun single-handedly when most of his men became casualties. After his gun was knocked out, he and two men held off the enemy with their rifles. When his section finally withdrew, he brought back a severely wounded man, then returned to remove the section’s arms and ammunition.

Naik Shahamad Khan, VC

4. Lieutenant Arthur Martin-Leake

Lieutenant Arthur Martin-Leake, Royal Army Medical Corps, is one of three men to be a double recipient of the Victoria Cross. Martin-Leake first earned a VC in 1902 during the Second Boer War, for helping wounded men despite being shot three times.

He was awarded his second VC after his actions from 29 October to 8 November 1914 near Zonnebeke in Belgium. Despite being exposed to constant enemy fire, Martin-Leake rescued a large number of wounded men who were lying close to the enemy’s trenches.

5. Lieutenant William Sanders

Lieutenant William Sanders, commander of the HMS Prize, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valour on 30 April 1917. Near the Isles of Scilly, HMS Prize was attacked and badly hit by a German U-Boat.

Sanders sent off some of his wounded men in a small boat, and remained hidden with the rest of the crew on the ship. Thinking the HMS Prize to be abandoned, the U-Boat approached.

When it drew near, Sanders ordered the ensign to be hoisted and the Prize opened fire. The U-Boat was seriously damage and fled, with its captain and two others abandoned in the water. Sanders rescued the three German prisoners and made for the Irish coast.

HMS Prize engages the German U-Boat. (Image Credit: Charles Edward Dixon, National Maritime Museum / Public Domain).

6. Private Albert Halton

On the opening day of the Battle of Passchendaele, Private Albert Halton of the King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) displayed exceptional bravery. Seeing the men around him pinned down from heavy enemy machine gun and rifle fire, Halton ran forwards 300 yards through a hail of bullets.

Halton captured a German machine gun nest and its crew single-handedly. He then went out into the field again and brought in 12 further prisoners. He survived the rest of the war and went on to live to 78.

7. Captain William Bishop

On 2 June 1917, Captain William ‘Billy’ Bishop of the Royal Flying Corps flew a solo mission behind enemy lines. Previously, Bishop had won the Distinguished Service Order for shooting down two aircraft while being attacked by four others, and had even survived an engagement with the Red Baron.

On this solo mission, Bishop shot down three aircraft as they were taking off to attack him and destroyed several more on the ground. For this deed, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. For a time in 1917, Bishop was the RFC’s top ace pilot, and later served as Director of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.

Captain William Bishop, VC (Image Credit: CC – Flickr).

8. Private John Caffrey

On 16 November 1915 Private John Caffrey spotted a badly-wounded soldier lying in no man’s land, in full view of the enemy trenches.

Aided by a Medical Corporal, Caffrey tried to rescue him. Their first attempt failed when they were driven back by shrapnel fire, but they tried again and successfully reached the wounded soldier. As they lifted the wounded man, the Medical Corporal was shot.

Caffrey bandaged up the Corporal and carried him back to the British lines. He then returned and brought the first wounded soldier to safety.

Private John Caffrey in later life.

9. Lieutenant Colonel William Barker

On 27 October 1918 Canadian fighter ace William Barker took on an armada of German biplanes in perhaps the most one-sided dogfight of World War One. Both Barker and his Sopwith Snipe were riddled with bullets, but Barker remained conscious and downed four aircraft, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Barker became the most decorated Canadian in World War One. In addition to his VC he won the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Military Cross and two Bars, two Italian Silver Medals for Military Valour and the French Croix de Guerre. He died in 1930 and was granted a state funeral in Canada.

William Barker beside a Sopwith Camel.

10. Lance Corporal William Coltman

On 3 October 1918 Lance Corporal William Coltman of the North Staffordshire Regiment earned a Victoria Cross for his ‘bravery, initiative and devotion to duty’.

Coltman heard that wounded men had been left behind during a retreat at Mannequin Hill. He went alone in the face of fierce enemy fire, and on three separate occasions carried casualties on his back to safety. He tended to the wounded unceasingly for 48 hours.

Coltman was also awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal twice, all for saving wounded men.

Here are ten of the most significant British battles in history.

1. The Battle of Hastings: 14 October 1066

William the Conqueror’s victory against Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings was an era defining moment. It ended over six hundred years of Anglo-Saxon rule in England and ushered in nearly a century of Norman dominion – a period epitomised by the construction of formidable castles and cathedrals as well as significant changes to English society.

2. The Battle of Agincourt: 25 October 1415

On 25 October, also known as St Crispin’s Day, 1415 an English (and Welsh) ‘band of brothers’ won a miraculous victory at Agincourt.

Despite being outnumbered, Henry V’s army triumphed against the flower of the French nobility, marking the end of an era where the knight dominated the battlefield.

Immortalised by William Shakespeare, the battle has come to represent an important part of British national identity.

3. The Battle of the Boyne: 11 July 1690

A painting of William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne.

The Battle of the Boyne was fought in Ireland between a recently-deposed King James II and his Jacobites (James’ Catholic supporters) and King William III and his Williamites (William’s Protestant supporters).

William’s victory at the Boyne secured the fate of the Glorious Revolution that had occurred two years before. Because of this no Catholic monarch has ruled England since James II.

4. The Battle of Trafalgar: 21 October 1805

On 21 October 1805, Admiral Horatio Nelson’s British fleet crushed a Franco-Spanish force at Trafalgar in one of the most famous naval battles in history.

The victory sealed Britain’s reputation as the world’s leading maritime power – a reputation which arguably remained until the end of World War Two.

5. The Battle of Waterloo: 18 June 1815

Ten years after the Battle of Trafalgar, Britain gained another of its most iconic victories at Waterloo in Belgium when Arthur Wellesley (better known as the Duke of Wellington) and his British army decisively defeated Napoleon Bonaparte, with aid from Blücher’s Prussians.

The victory marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars and peace returned to Europe for the next generation. It also paved the way for Britain becoming the world superpower during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

In British eyes, Waterloo is a national triumph that is still celebrated to this day and commemorations of the battle remain visible in various formats: songs, poems, street names and stations for instance.

6. The Battle of the Somme: 1 July – 18 November 1916

The first day of the Battle of the Somme holds an infamous record for the British army, being the bloodiest day in its history. 19,240 British men lost their lives that day due mainly to poor intelligence, inadequate artillery support, and an underestimation of their foe – a contempt that has proven fatal so many times in history.

By the end of the battle 141 days later, 420,000 British soldiers lay dead for the prize of just a few miles of land gained.

7. The Battle of Passchendaele: 31 July – 10 November 1917

Also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, Passchendaele was another of the bloodiest battles of World War One.

A new German strategy called defence in depth exacted heavy losses on initial Allied attacks before General Herbert Plumer’s bite and hold tactics, which aimed at taking more limited objectives rather than driving deep into enemy territory in one push, turned the tables for a while. But unseasonably heavy rains turned the battlefield to a deadly quagmire, making progress difficult and adding to the already heavy toll in manpower.

The casualty figures for Passchendaele are highly contested but it is generally agreed that each side lost a minimum of 200,000 men and likely as many as twice that.

Passchendaele had a particularly catastrophic impact on the German Army; they suffered a devastating rate of casualties which by that stage of the war they simply could not replace.

8. The Battle of Britain: 10 July – 31 October

The Battle of Britain was fought in the skies above southern England during the Summer of 1940.

Having conquered France and most of mainland Europe, Adolf Hitler planned an invasion of Britain – Operation Sealion. For this to go ahead, however, he first needed to gain control of the air from the Royal Air Force.

Although significantly outnumbered by Herman Goering’s infamous Luftwaffe, the Royal Air Force successfully fended off the German Messchersmitts, Heinkels and Stukas, forcing Hitler to ‘postpone’ the invasion on 17 September.

Britain’s ultimate victory in the skies stopped a German invasion and signified a turning point in World War Two. At the time of Britain’s Darkest Hour this victory brought hope to the Allied cause, shattering the aura of invincibility that had until then surrounded Hitler’s forces.

9. The Second Battle of El Alamein: 23 October 1942

On 23 October 1942 Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery spearheaded a British-led victory at El Alamein in modern day Egypt against Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps – the decisive moment of the Desert War in World War Two.

The victory marked one of the most important turning points, if not the most important, of the war. As Churchill famously remarked,

‘Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat’.

10. The Battles of Imphal and Kohima: 7 March – 18 July 1944

The Battles of Imphal and Kohima was a key turning point during the Burma campaign on World War Two. Masterminded by William Slim, British and Allied forces won a decisive victory against the Japanese forces situated in north-eastern India.

The Japanese siege of Kohima has been described as ‘the Stalingrad of the East’, and between 5 and 18 April the Allied defenders were engaged in some of the bitterest close-quarter fighting of the war.

The preliminary attack at Messines was a great success 

Prior to the main attack at Ypres, a preliminary offensive was launched in June at the Messines Ridge, a stronghold to the south. It was carried out by the British Second Army, under the command of General Herbert Plumer. Plumer planned the attack in meticulous detail. 

Nineteen mines were detonated before zero hour, producing the loudest man-made sound ever recorded at that time. The mines killed thousands of German soldiers and left others stunned and incapacitated. Nine divisions of infantry followed. The men were drawn from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Britain.

With support from artillery bombardments and tanks, the infantry secured the ridge without suffering the kinds of casualty rates normally associated with Western Front attacks. 

German defence in depth was defeated by a change in tactics 

In 1917, the German Army adopted a new defensive strategy called elastic defence, or defence in depth. Rather than a heavily defended front line, they created a series of defensive lines that worked together to grind down attacks. The real power of this defence came from the rear in the form of powerful counterattacking forces called eingriff.

The initial attacks at Ypres in July and August, planned by General Hubert Gough, fell foul of this new defence. Gough’s plan called for attacks to push deep into the German defence. Exactly the sort of move defence in depth was designed to exploit.  

During General Plumer’s attacks, the artillery worked to a careful plan and successfully targeted German counterattacks and opposing batteries. (Image: Australian War Memorial)

General Plumer took over command in the last week of August and changed Allied tactics. Plumer favoured a bite and hold approach, which successfully blunted the aggressive German defence. Attacking forces advanced on limited objectives within the range of their own artillery, dug in, and prepared to defend against the German counterattacks. The artillery moved forward and they repeated the process.

Allied infantry and artillery performed well  

The infantry and artillery had come a long way since the Somme in the summer of 1916. In 1917 the British Army was increasingly adept at using artillery and infantry together, rather than viewing them as separate arms.

Even in the early unsuccessful attacks at Ypres, the Allies skilfully combined infantry attack with creeping and standing barrage. But Plumer’s bite and hold tactics really showcased this combined arms approach.

The successful use of combined arms and all arms warfare was an important contributing factor to Allied victory in the war. 

Victory might have been decisive but for the weather 

General Plumer’s bite and hold tactics produced a hat-trick of successful operations at the Menin Road, Polygon Wood, and Broodseinde. This triple blow crushed German morale, pushed casualties above 150,000 and left some commanders considering a withdrawal.

However, after a period of decent weather, conditions worsened in mid-October. Subsequent attacks proved less and less successful. Douglas Haig ordered the offensive to press on in order to capture the Passchendaele Ridge. This decision further bolstered post-war accusations against him.

The Battle of the Menin Road was the first of General Plumer’s attacks and saw Australian units in action at Ypres for the first time. (Image: Australian War Memorial)

The attrition rate was catastrophic for the German Army 

By far the most significant result of Passchendaele was the catastrophic impact it had on the German Army. Eighty-eight divisions, half of its strength in France, were drawn into the battle. Despite their best efforts to develop new defensive tactics they suffered a devastating rate of casualties. They simply could not replace this manpower.

Erich Ludendorff, the German military commander, knew his forces could not afford to be drawn in to more attritional battles. Coupled with the knowledge that the US Army would soon arrive in Europe, Ludendorff opted to launch a series of massive offensives in the Spring 1918 – a last gasp attempt to win the war.