Against Haig

Submitted by potrokin on November 21, 2016

Does anyone, by any chance, know of any anti-General Haig writings/material from an anarchist or marxist perspectivel, or just generally anti-Haig. Am particularly interested in the Battle of the Somme.

cactus9

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by cactus9 on November 21, 2016

No writing I'm afraid but I have been told that after the war my great grandfather used to shout and swear at poppy collectors because poppies have Haig's name on them and he blamed Haig for sending thousands of young men to their death. I expect there was plenty written at that time.

cactus9

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by cactus9 on November 21, 2016

If you look up "General Haig Butcher of the Somme" that gets you a load of stuff.

potrokin

7 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by potrokin on July 8, 2017

cactus9

No writing I'm afraid but I have been told that after the war my great grandfather used to shout and swear at poppy collectors because poppies have Haig's name on them and he blamed Haig for sending thousands of young men to their death. I expect there was plenty written at that time.

Yes, the poppy appeal was first called the Haig Fund, as I believe it was started by Haig himself. If my memory serves me correctly it was widely known as the Haig Guilt Fund.

potrokin

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by potrokin on November 22, 2016

cactus9

If you look up "General Haig Butcher of the Somme" that gets you a load of stuff.

Thankyou cactus9- will do.

potrokin

7 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by potrokin on July 8, 2017

Haig insanely favoured cavalry on horseback against machine-gun fire- crazy shit, but then he also was ok with troops walking towards the guns aswell. He also was accused of ignoring the advise of other commanders, including regarding his artillery, which according to General Rawlinson, he spread too thinly. He has been accused of not grasping how under resourced his army was and , ofcourse, of committing too many soldiers to one grand attack, instead of a number of separate attacks which could have drawn in German reserves. These days there is a trend to praise him due to 'new insights' or 'research' but it's just about selling books and supporting the establishment, ruling class line.

potrokin

7 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by potrokin on July 8, 2017

Fleur

This is good on WW1 - To End All Wars - Adam Hochschild
http://libcom.org/library/end-all-wars-story-loyalty-rebellion-1914-1918

Haig wasn't the only general obsessed about cavalry, it was prevalent amongst the brass (also in the French army.) There were British generals advocating for expanding the calvary regiments well into the 1920s.

Thankyou Fleur, interesting stuff.