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January 3, 2004, Scotsman EVERY STEP HAS BEEN WITH DIVINE HELP' Gethin Chamberlain Defence Correspondent IT WAS the greatest slaughter of the First World War; an assault so bloody that Britain suffered 60,000 casualties in the first day, including 20,000 dead; an assault intended to turn the course of the war but which eventually ground to a halt six months later with just five miles of ground taken. The first Battle of the Somme left historians split on the legacy of Earl Haig, who, as General Douglas Haig, oversaw the ill-fated campaign. Some regarded him as the saviour of the nation, whose war of attrition on the Western Front precipitated the German defeat, while others dubbed him a butcher whose incompetence sent hundreds of thousands to the slaughter. Now, personal letters written to his wife on the eve of the battle offer a fascinating insight into the mind of the most controversial British officer of the 20th century. 21 June, 1916 Gen Haig wrote to explain that he was off to a meeting, the nominal purpose of which was to "supervise the arrangements for an attack on Lille". He explained to his wife that he expected German spies to be present and the plan was to convince them to expect an attack from that direction. 22 June Lady Haig wrote to her husband to suggest that he should ask for God's help for the coming campaign. He replied: "Now you must know that I feel that every step in my plan has been taken with the Divine help and I ask daily for aid, not merely in making the plan, but in carrying it out." He continued: "I think it is this Divine help which gave me tranquility to carry on without feeling the strains of responsibility to be too excessive." 24 June As the British guns opened up for the first day of a week-long barrage intended to decimate the German positions along the front, Gen Haig wrote to his wife to thank her for taking the trouble to sort out his shirts. 27 June Satisfied with the scale of the bombardment, he wrote that "the men are in the best of spirits and full of confidence". 28 June Three days before the main attack was due, the general felt confident enough to let his wife into his confidence about his plans for the attack, which had apparently been put back because of bad weather. "From all accounts the Germans don't expect the British to do anything more than carry out raids, so I hope the postponement won't make any difference in the result." 29 June With the weather still bad, and rain turning the ground into mud, the general refused to be downbeat. Instead, his thoughts appeared to be on a recent letter from his wife in which she had revealed she had finally decided to take an interest in cooking, 11 years after they had married. "I am so delighted to hear that you have got someone to teach you cooking at last, and I think the scones sound excellent. I suggest simple things to start with, say, how to grill, boil, make an omelette and such things." But his letter revealed that he had his mind on the coming assault. "The glass barometer is going up steadily and not too bad. A new moon appears tomorrow so I am hopeful for Saturday's weather." 30 June On the eve of the big push he was happy to pass on to his wife the rough details of his thoughts on the coming campaign before the whistles blew to send the troops over the top. "The attack is to go in tomorrow morning at 7: 30am. I have never known the weather conditions so favourable for us as this time. The glass has been rising steadily since breakfast time today and a nice breeze has been blowing all day which has dried the ground. "I feel that everything possible for us to do to achieve success has been done. But whether or not we are successful lies in the Power above. "But I do feel that in my plans I have been helped by a Power that is now my own. So I am easy in my mind and ready to do whatever happens tomorrow." 1 July As he had suggested, the attack began at 7: 30am on a 16-mile front. So confident was Gen Haig that the German positions would have been destroyed by the week-long bombardment that he ordered his men to walk towards the enemy lines. The Germans, however, had been sheltering underground and now emerged into their trenches, from which they shredded the British attack with machine-gun fire. Sixty per cent of British officers involved in the first day's fighting were killed. Gen Haig, however, remained positive. "The battle only began this morning and we have done well. But the fight is still going and it will be a hard one." 2 July Things were still going well, he wrote, and he hoped that "in time" a considerable success would result. 3 July Some of his optimism was fading, but the general was still upbeat, and was happy to inform his wife about the details of a new element of the campaign. "Things are going quite satisfactorily," he wrote. The Russian offensive had begun and the following day another strong offensive was due to start south of their positions: "So the Germans will be still further pressed for men and ammunition. "So glad to hear that you are getting some games on the Deal links and I hope you are enjoying yourself and having fine weather." 6 July Lady Haig's letters to her husband, with news from home, appear to have buoyed his spirits and he wrote to thank her "for having such confidence in my decisions". "I too feel confident and believe that strength is being given to me which will enable me to win. But it will be a hard struggle. What a happy day you all seem to have spent at Dover. Lady Bacon seems so kind and nice." 8 July The general's trust in God's participation on the British side was again in evidence when he wrote: "The troops are fighting very well and the battle is developing slowly but steadily in our favour. In another fortnight, with Divine help, I hope some decisive results may be obtained." 9 July "I agree with you that paddling for a long time this cold weather cannot be good for the children," he wrote, advising his wife to allow their offspring to take a short dip to keep them healthy and strong. 10 July "The battle is being fought out on lines which suit us. That is to say the enemy put his reserves straight into the battle to attack us, though suffering big losses." 12 July Having checked his diary and discovered that the previous day was their 11th wedding anniversary, the general penned a reflective letter looking back at their time together. "I have often thought of you, like on your birthday (last Sunday) and our wedding day and hope that next year we may spend them peacefully together! It hardly seems 11 years since we were married and until this year I have never been away from you at this season! And I hope it won't happen again. "In looking back over the years of our married life I feel how fortunate I am to have such a true loyal loving little wife and I hope we may long be spared to be a comfort to one another. You have been a real good wife to me, I feel." 13 July "You have been a good, kind little body to me all these 11 years," he wrote, before turning his attention once more to the Somme campaign and his conviction that victory would come, however long it took. "We are preparing to attack the enemy at 3: 30 tomorrow morning and I think we have a good chance of success. If we don't succeed this time, we will do so next! The enemy is, I think, feeling the strain of continuous fighting and is not fighting so well. Our troops, on the other hand, are in the best of spirits. I feel that they are going to win tomorrow. Fondest love to you and all the children." 14 July With another major push under way, the general fired off a couple of telegrams to update his wife on their progress. "To Lady Haig. Will wire later news," the first said. The second read: "To Lady Haig. Very successful attack this morning. Captured position of enemy second line on a front of eight thousand yards. I've held the hills above unclear and hope to get the cavalry through. All went like clockwork." With the troops apparently making good progress, Gen Haig clearly appears to have sat down to write a fuller letter. "This morning very early our troops surprised the enemy and have captured some four miles of his second line," he wrote. "This is indeed a very great success. The best day we have had this war and I feel what a reward it is to have been spared to see our troops so successful. "There is no doubt that the results of today will be very far- reaching. Our men showed that they were the superiors to the Germans in the fighting and the latter are very much disorganised and rattled." 16 July Gen Haig revealed how he had agonised about how much information he should pass on to the newspapers. Domestic matters, however, came first. "I am glad the wine reached you all right," he wrote. "I did not want to put in the first wire to the papers the names of the villages captured because that might be the means of telling the German HQ where we were and so encouraging energetic counter measures. "On the other hand, I wished you to be able to refer to your map to see where we had got to! So I gave the names of the places captured. I have given Alan your message about Myrtle. What a lot of hours you are spending at your cookery lessons!" 17 July "It's a hard fight and will last some time yet. There must be no question of discussing peace conditions. We must dictate peace terms to the Germans. I am very pleased to see that you are able to get a few people to play golf." A censor, however, appears to have been troubled by some of the detail included in the correspondence, a situation about which Lady Haig complained with apparently satisfactory results. In a letter to her, one Arthur Davidson expressed outrage that such an indignity should have been inflicted. "My dear Lady Haig," he wrote. "I am aghast! I never heard of such a thing. A censor!! I wish you would let me take it up, if you don't like doing it yourself. it is the most outrageous scandal ever heard of. There is no doubt that the man oughtn't to be allowed to remain where he is another day." He promised to set about sorting out the problem "with a vengeance", though he noted that he would do so quietly, and in the public interest. 18 July The following day, Gen Haig wrote to his wife to inform her that he had received a letter from a Sir R Brade at the War Office, saying that he had dealt with the problem with the letters. 23 July "My name is beginning to appear in the papers with favourable comments!" he wrote. "You must think I am turning into an Advertiser. But that is not so."
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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