Douglas Haig - Britain's General of the Great War скачать в хорошем качестве

Douglas Haig - Britain's General of the Great War

Field Marshal Douglas Haig is surrounded in controversy. To better understand whether or not he was a good leader, we should first learn about his past and the situations he was in. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe! Instagram:   / latemodernh.  . Twitter:   / lmh_yt   Script: General Douglas Haig was the hero of the Allied powers in the Great War, but his tactics and casualties under his command have caused controversy. If we want to know the truth about him, perhaps it would be best to know about his whole life. Douglas Haig was born on 19 June 1861 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was born to a well-off middle class family. His father was the owner of the Haig & Haig distillery, earning the modern equivalent of over one million British Pounds a year. Throughout his childhood, Haig attended multiple schools. In 1880, he went to the Brasenose College of Oxford. There, he excelled at horsemanship and polo. When he wasn't able to graduate (due to missing a semester from sickness), he transferred to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. In 1885, he graduated as a lieutenant into the 7th Queen’s Own Hussars. In 1886, Haig went to serve in India. He left in 1892 to go to the Staff College in Camberley. He did not get in, due to either the failure of his math exam or colour blindness, although many believe it was because the commanding officer just wanted to give the positions to infantry officers. In 1896, he did get into the college, where he studied the Napoleonic Wars and the American Civil War. In 1898, he was hand picked by Field Marshal Kitchener to serve in the Mahdist War. During the war, he noted that other British officers failed to properly take advantage of the machine gun. Haig excelled at military tactics during the war. The next year, he applied for a job in the War Offices, but was instead placed in charge of the 1st Cavalry Brigade in the Boer War. Haig was on Brigade Commander John French’s good side after loaning him quite a bit of money (£2,500) after a failed South African mining speculation. French appointed Haig as his assistant and the two led British forces to victory. In 1903, he was promoted to Inspector-General of Cavalry in India. He quickly became the youngest major-general in the British Army. In 1905, he married Dorothy Maud Vivian while on leave. They later had four children. Also while on leave, Haig yet again pursued a position in the War Office. Again, he was denied. Finally, he made it to the War Office in 1906. At the start of the Great War, Haig helped John French to organise the BEF. At the Battle of Ypres, Haig personally got on his white horse and rallied his troops. His excellent leadership in the battle caused French to recommend him for a promotion to general. On 16 November 1914, Douglas Haig became a general. General Haig notably took every advantage of planes. He ordered the airforce to take pictures of the German lines and was able to map out the enemy forces. At the Battle of Loos, Haig helped lead the largest British attack of the war. Despite the advantage of more ammo, use of gas, and superior tactics, Loos was a massacre. After the terrible loss, French was removed from command and Haig stepped up. Haig worked alongside the French Army at the Battle of the Somme. On New Year's Day 1917, Haig was promoted to Field Marshal. Douglas Haig went on to lead Allied forces in many more battles, but I won't go into that in this video, as there are far too many to discuss. There were, however, many setbacks to Haig’s reputation. One of the worst of these was the fact that he was the final signature for executions of British and Commonwealth soldiers. This, along with his tactics in battle leading to high casualty counts, caused him to be referred to with nicknames such as “Butcher of the Somme.” After the war, Douglas Haig was offered various honours such as the title of viscount. He declined, hoping to instead get better aid for soldiers after the war. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the home forces in post-war Britain. Despite the looming threat of a general strike, Haig insisted the army be held on reserve and not used for policing. After retiring in 1920, he went around giving speeches and trying to help veterans. On 29 January 1928, Haig died from a heart attack. Today, Douglas Haig is known as both the hero of World War One and a careless leader who led many men to their deaths. Historians ever since his death have gone back and forth on whether this man was a hero or an egotistical “butcher” general. Regardless of any opinions on him, it is fitting to say that Douglas Haig was the man who led the British forces to victory in the War to End All Wars.