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Why did Haig make his men walk across no man's land in the Battle of the Somme?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
because it would 'scare the germans', and he could. because he was superior so nobody questioned him.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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What mistakes did Douglas Haig make in the somme?
Two were: -Travelling across no-mans land to get to enemy lines. -Falling for Germans pretending to be dead, shortly afterwards being shot down. About 60,000 were killed... Oops!
How and why did the plan of the battle of Somme - WW1 fail?
because Haig and the british troops planned to reach the high land and gain a lot more land then they actually did, even though they had less amounts of casualties and deaths then Germany they still lossed an amazing amount of troops for such a little reward. The Artillery bombardments didn't bring much success and it was only until 1917 when Haig introduced the Tanks.
To what extent was Douglas Haig the butcher of the battle of Somme?
Sir Douglas Haig as a general could easily be named a butcher. Any person in any war could be called a butcher . In history ,many men are rightly or wrongly given the same title. Though few men actually deserve it. Haig does not deserve the name Butcher because England won the war and killed more Germans than they did to us. He had a very good tactic and without it the war would have gone nowhere. so he didn't deserve it :p I think Haig does deserve the title "Butcher of the Somme" as the amount of people he sent to their deaths is not really humanly possible. He killed 25,000 soldiers and 60,000 casualties in only a few hours. In addition, Haig continued to use exactly the same tactics, even though after a few weeks (or even perhaps after the first day), it was obvious that thousands upon thousands of people were being mowed down by machine guns.
Was the battle of the somme a success or a failure?
Yes, in some ways the battle of The Somme was succesfull, it surved its purpose and reduced the pressure of the French army. Allthough the battle caused many deaths without much gain of territory.No the battle of the Somme was a huge failure. 80,000 casualties
Why might Haig not deserve th nickname butcher of the somme?
This is my history essay I did ages ago, so bear with me if there are a few mistakes!:Field Marshall Haig: Butcher Of The Somme?In 1916, the British began to worry that Germany had the upper hand of the war, and also at the time were anxious for the French, as many casualties were returning from Verdun. From previous battle victories, the British put Field Marshall Douglas Haig in charge of one of the biggest planned battles in the First World War: The Battle of the Somme. Along with a few other higher rank generals, Douglas Haig planed the detailed attack on the German front line, with the aim of relieving the pressure on the French at Verdun. This was through flying planes over enemy lines to identify what the Germans were plotting, by dropping bombs on the German fortressed villages, ammunition depots and front-line bunkers, and by finally sending the British troops walking across No-Man's land to the German trenches, where the soldiers would attack the survivors and therefore gain control over the German front-line. However, though sounding like a very well thought out plan, it was a disaster-in many ways, such as low cloud proved difficult for the British spotter planes to see through, the barbed-wire lining the German trenches was not cut, and secret dug-outs made by the Germans housed many rescued soldiers from the bombing, so the British were unknowingly outnumbered. Due to this, Douglas Haig earned the reputation as 'Butcher of the Somme'. But was this a fair title given to a man who was judged by the 21st century?Defence:'Douglas Haig was a brave and intelligent man, for he was educated at Oxford University and later attended Sand Hurst Military School. He wasn't stupid, and therefore must have known what he was doing when he planned the battle. He was a loving family man, adored his wife and children, and even visited the sick and wounded men behind the front lines. This proved that he wasn't a heartless man at all, and that he couldn't have sent all those soldiers to their deaths without good reason. He was also noble and straight-forward, a man who wasn't afraid to speak the truth, for in his diary, he wrote: 'the nation must be taught to bear losses'. Arguably, this is a reliable source, as it is claimed to come directly from Haig's war-time diary. Haig was always confident that his weapons were 'up-to-date' and 'deadly' and regularly checked the construction of the artillery. Some allege he was a 'technophobe', afraid almost to use modern technology, and afraid of change to the kind of arms he was used to. But this would be wrong, for also in his diary, he wrote about his assessment of some of the trench mortars: 'I inspected some trench mortars, about 2 feet long, with a moveable support near the muzzle to alter the elevation'. He was proud of the design and confident that it would strive amongst the latest technologies involved in the war. Many people believe that Haig was the only man responsible for the battle's bloody outcome. This was not the case however, as right from the early preparation for battle, he was closely assisted by General Rawlinson, who was the same rank as Haig, and who therefore should have bore some of the blame for the death of so many British soldiers (figures stood at 60,000 casualties and 30,000 deaths on the first day).The day before the battle, Haig wrote in his diary that 'the men were in splendid spirits', for he had told them that the barbed-wire had been cut successfully, and that the German trenches had been reduced to nothing more than rubble and mud. This information later proved to be massively important, and unfortunately for Haig inaccurate, as the barbed-wire had not been cut, nor the trenches greatly destroyed. This means that Haig was given false information, the night before the battle and conclusively means that whoever told him it was 'all clear' should accept as much of the responsibility as Haig did. From 'Dropping the donkey epithet', it tells us that: 'The fact that Haig did not destroy the original manuscript diary undermines the notation of a sinister conspiracy'. This quote is saying that Haig didn't get rid of his original diary, which proves he had nothing to hide. This source is fairly reliable; however, the text it came from is mainly bias towards Haig's defence. In the final year of the war, Haig made friends with Supreme Commander Foch, and it was said that 'Haig's drive and vision were of vital importance in the critical last hundred days of the war.All the highlighted sources are officially from Haig's diary. These can therefore be reliably judged, however, the fact that Haig did not originally destroy his diary meant that this wife, Lady Haig, re-typed his diary for him. This could mean that she was bias towards her husband, and that she could have in fact twisted his words, in order to make him look like a brave man. However, another factor of the sources given in Haig's defence, was that they were all given either as opinions, quotes from people who were close to him and liked him, or were from Haig's diary himself.'
What mistakes did Douglas Haig make in the somme?
Two were: -Travelling across no-mans land to get to enemy lines. -Falling for Germans pretending to be dead, shortly afterwards being shot down. About 60,000 were killed... Oops!
What was gain in battle of the somme?
12 kilometres of land :D
How and why did the plan of the battle of Somme - WW1 fail?
because Haig and the british troops planned to reach the high land and gain a lot more land then they actually did, even though they had less amounts of casualties and deaths then Germany they still lossed an amazing amount of troops for such a little reward. The Artillery bombardments didn't bring much success and it was only until 1917 when Haig introduced the Tanks.
What impact did the battle of somme have in history?
The Battle of the Somme is one of the battles where a tremendous death toll took place within a short period of time. 58,000 British soldiers are documented to have fallen the first day of battle as they would charge across what was known as 'No Man's Land' straight into German forces that were entrenched with their weapons. A link is attached to help expand the details.
Where were the land battles in world war 1?
Battle of the somme and the rest i dont know sorry :(
How were horses used in wars?
This should help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_warfare
What would be good debate topic for World War 1?
A good topic of discussion would be the importance of the battle of the somme in 1916 for the allied victory. Many british soldiers died and very little land was gained. However a lot of historians claim that without the battle of the somme, Britain would not have won the war.
To what extent was Douglas Haig the butcher of the battle of Somme?
Sir Douglas Haig as a general could easily be named a butcher. Any person in any war could be called a butcher . In history ,many men are rightly or wrongly given the same title. Though few men actually deserve it. Haig does not deserve the name Butcher because England won the war and killed more Germans than they did to us. He had a very good tactic and without it the war would have gone nowhere. so he didn't deserve it :p I think Haig does deserve the title "Butcher of the Somme" as the amount of people he sent to their deaths is not really humanly possible. He killed 25,000 soldiers and 60,000 casualties in only a few hours. In addition, Haig continued to use exactly the same tactics, even though after a few weeks (or even perhaps after the first day), it was obvious that thousands upon thousands of people were being mowed down by machine guns.
Was Douglas haig a good leader?
Haig shouldn't be blamed for the Somme because a lot of the reasons were from the war conditions when the soldiers having to carry a load of equipment to try and keep themselves safe and kill the Germans that was causing the soldiers to move really slow. The first rehearsals for the war were unrealistic because the soldiers weren't properly trained; it wasn't Haig's fault from how they act. Every time the British took land from them, the Germans counter would attack. That wasn't Haig's fault as the Germans were just being competitive. Haig had to change their plans as the Germans were fighting the French. Haig had France as their allies so Haig helped out the French to plan their attacks where they wanted them to happen. The British were having more of them die than the Germans.
What were the effects of the battle of the Somme?
Because the ideas & plans of the Generals that sent the men over the top were far rmoved from the advances that technology had made in terms of the ability of the defenders to slaughter en masse the attackers moving slowly across no mans land. The truth is that the Generals always fight this war with the ideas trhat prevailed in the previous conflict. That is what History offers as the best laid plan. But it does not move with the times. The machine guns of the German defenders reaped a terrible harvest that no amount of individual bravery could be expected to counter. The attackers were in fact sent to their deaths with little prospect of achieving very much at all: What does it matter whether the front line is here or 2 miles over there ? It was a strategic irrelevance, tactically it was inept. But that is so easy to say with hindsight, what else was to be done at the time ?
Why was Douglas famous?
Field Marshall Douglas Haig was a wartime 'famous' icon, for his terrible leadership at the Battle Of The Somme. The battle commenced in 1916, half way through the First World War. The aim of the battle was to relieve the pressure on the French at Verdun, and to draw the German's attention away. Haig planned the battle, along side General Rawlinson, who arguably should have take some of the blame for the battle's bloody outcome. Haig thought the by flying spotter planes over the German lines, he could spy on them, and see what they were up to in the closing hours before the battle. He planned other planes to bomb the front-lines, in order to destroy the German mortars, and also to bomb the fortressed villages behind the front-lines, which housed German reinforcements and many other amounts of artillery. The bombing would also cut the barbed-wire fence, lining the German trenches. Then, they would send the British Troops walking across No-mans land to the German trenches, were the Tommie's would 'take-out' the surviving German soldiers. However, on the day of the battle, the British found that none of this brilliant and sophisticated plan had worked. Low cloud proved impossible for the British spotter planes to see what the Germans were up to. The bombing had not completely taken-out the the fortressed villages, were many soldiers and artillery stocks survived, and the barbed-wire had not in fact been cut, but had been thown up and tangled even more so by the bombs. And the Germans had in fact made secret dugouts in the trenches, were many soldiers survived the bombing, leaving the Tommies unknowingly outnumbered. So you see, Douglas Haig sentenced many troops to their deaths, and with the figures standing at 30,000 deaths on the first day, earned the title 'Butcher of the Somme'.
Was the battle of the somme a success or a failure?
Yes, in some ways the battle of The Somme was succesfull, it surved its purpose and reduced the pressure of the French army. Allthough the battle caused many deaths without much gain of territory.No the battle of the Somme was a huge failure. 80,000 casualties
