What is Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig?
[[File:Douglas Haig.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Douglas Haig in 1919]] [[Field Marshal]] ''' Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig''' <small>[[Order of the Thistle|KT]] [[Order of the Bath|GCB]] [[Order of Merit|OM]] [[Royal Victorian Order|GCVO]] [[Order of the Indian Empire|KCIE]] [[Aide de Camp|ADC]]</small> (born in [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]] on 19 June 1861, died in [[London]] on 29 January 1928) was a [[British Army]] general in [[World War I]]. He was the senior commander of the [[British Army|British forces in France]] from 1915 until the end of the war. Most notably, he led them during the [[Battle of the Somme]], the [[Third Battle of Ypres]] (Passchendaele), the [[Spring Offensive]] and the final [[Hundred Days Offensive]]. Historians have often argued over whether Haig was a good general. In the years after the war, he was popular. After his death, some historians and politicians wrote books criticising Haig. They argued he made mistakes that led to a lot of casualties among British troops, especially at the Somme and Passchendaele; he has been nicknamed 'Butcher Haig' or 'the Butcher of the Somme'. [[David Lloyd George]], the [[Prime Minister]] during the later years of the war, also did not agree with Haig.<ref>Travers, Tim 1987. ''The killing ground: the British Army, the Western Front and the emergence of modern war 1900–1918''. Allen & Unwin, London.</ref> One of the best known books criticising Haig was Alan Clark's book ''The Donkeys'' (1961). This is known as the 'lions led by donkeys' view: the idea that Britain had great soldiers but bad generals.<ref>Corrigan 2002, p213.</ref> All the same, some veterans, and academic historians have argued that Haig was a great general.<ref>Todman D. 2005 ''The Great War: myth and memory''. London. pp73–120</ref> For example, John Bourne notes that Haig helped the army use new weapons and technology.<ref>Bond 2009, p. 4.</ref> John Terraine argues that while the British Army lost a lot of men, this is not surprising given the size of the fighting, and other countries