what was General Haig personality like in the first world war?

Answer 1

he was a funny old chap a good laugh

Answer 2

Field Marshal Earl Haig was a British General who has generated more controversy than any other, apart from Oliver Cromwell and F/M Viscount Montgomery. He has both ardent admirers and fierce detractors and the current state of academic debate is perfectly set out in the enclosed link which could serve as an answer to your question as it gives many insights into Haig's character, both positive and negative, as well as a comprehensive guide to the many books about and including Haig.

The best thing that can be said of him is that he did his best in a very bad war, the like of which had never been experienced before. Although over a million British soldiers were killed in that war (more than in any other in Britain's history including WWII) and many more were wounded and maimed, both physically and mentally, for life Haig was the automatic choice to become the first President of the British Legion, an organisation set up to help ex-service personnel and the money from the sale of poppies around Remembrance Day (Sunday closest to 11 November) still goes to the fund that bears his name and in the decade after the war, until his death in 1928, he worked tirelessly to help those he had commanded on the Western Front from 1915-18 and 200,000 ex-servicemen turned up at his funeral.

Answer 3

Haig was a cavalryman through and through. He believed that cavalry would be the key to breaking through the lines of the Germans.This meant he was less effective at using infantry.

Haig was also old-fashioned in his tactics. He believed that by hammering at the enemy lines with masses of infantry and cavalry, he would eventually break through. Due to new weaponry, like the machine-gun, these tactics did not work and caused the slaughter that we know of. Haig's worst achievement was the Somme, which had the highest number of casualties in the whole of the war.

Answer 4

After the war Haig was often criticised for issuing orders which led to excessive casualties of British troops under his command, particularly on the Western Front, earning him the nickname "Butcher of the Somme". Others[citation needed] gave him much praise, arguing that he performed well given the situation and circumstances in which he was placed. Notably, General of the Armies of the United States John Pershing remarked that Haig was "the man who won the war". However, this sort of comment undervalues the contribution made by Dominion forces, especially those of the Canadians and specifically the Australians, both of which made incredible sacrifices, and, it appears, with little recognition of their importance in the true history of the First World War. History, it would appear, is quick to forget that it was Sir John Monash's, an Australian of German Jewish heritage, as overall commander of the AIF (Australian Imperial Force)innovative approach to warfare in the 20th century that hastened the demise of Ludendorff's forces on the Western front and consequently the end of the First World War. While Haig was reluctant to relinquish the use of cavalry in his campaign given his background, it was Monash that sought to integrate the use of coordinated air and land forces (tanks, artillery, and infantry) as a decisive weapon in the Allies arsenal. Brian Bond, in his 2002 book The Unquiet Western Front: Britain's Role in Literature and History, says: "Perhaps, however, it is a mark of a civilized, liberal society that it hugs and cherishes its defeats, dwells obsessively on the worst combat conditions and on casualties and cannot forgive Field Marshal Haig for being victorious."

Answer 5

A bit over-the-top.