Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 4:29:12-4:29:47

Did Haig envisage alternatives to repeated costly attacks?

Haig's earlier preference for reserve mobilisation and the later Hundred Days qualify the idea that he envisaged only repeated frontal attacks.

British Expeditionary ForceDouglas HaigHundred Days OffensiveMilitary Reserves
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Question

Did Haig have an alternative to hammering the Germans while enduring appalling losses?

Short answer

The answer points to his manoeuvre plans and his wish to mobilise reserves before deploying a larger force in 1914.

Notes

The answer points to the Hundred Days and to Haig's earlier proposals as evidence that his preferred approach included manoeuvre. It also recalls his opposition to an immediate small deployment to France in 1914. He wanted time to mobilise and organise reserves so a larger force could deploy together. These examples explain alternatives he considered without claiming that the conditions of 1918 were already available in 1914.