GCSE History WW1 Generals (Rough draft) - Academia.edu In fall 1883, Hicks marched his jerry-rigged 10,000-man army into Sudan. Reddit, Inc. 2023. Still, in his defense, its clear Haig honestly believed a massive frontal assault by British infantry would punch a hole in the German line, through which his cavalry would then charge to glory. As Britains commander-in-chief in the Revolutionary War, Howe won several battles and executed one brilliant campaign. Sheltered in their luxurious headquarters,they had no idea of the horrors of the war and threw their men into machine gun fire like they are all like ants that can easily be replaced. With commanders mute and an instrument of exploitation lacking, World War One generals were faced with a tactical dilemma unique in military history. How Bad Were the First World War Generals? - dummies Did the Generals learn from their mistakes? While Hull dithered, Brock captured Fort Michilimackinac, establishing British control of the Straits of Mackinac. Britain won the Anglo-Afghan Wars first round, routing Dost Mohammed and capturing Kabul. After his defeat by the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna was captured. Defending commanders could use telephone lines to summon troops to the breach, while attackers had no way of doing the same thing. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. This reality of coalition warfare also helps to explain why Haig never contemplated halting the Battle of the Somme after the disastrous first day. For instance, General Melchetts headquarters are located in a French Chateau 35 kilometres away from the trenches. He continued to view attrition as the most effective strategy for defeating Germany; the British lost some 420,000 men at the Somme. The panicked Chief of Staff, Helmuth von Moltke, withdrew men from the Western Front to send eastward, thereby weakening the planned western offensive. But now the Americans were coming, to replace the wasted battalions. The Second Battle of the Somme was the first of a series of successful German offensives, but Ludendorff had failed to integrate these tactical victories into a broader strategic plan. Despite World War I's reputation as a senseless bloodbath whose military operations were devoid of any intelligent thought, the period 1914-1918 was history's single largest revolution in military tactics and technologies. Haig envisioned a vital role for the horse in his masterpiece, the Somme offensive. Hull was thoroughly outclassed. But the French and Indian War saw an equally stupid disaster perpetrated by James Abercrombie, who wasted thousands of men in a futile assault against Fort Ticonderoga in July 1758. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. The Ashanti overran and massacred the British force, with only 20 survivors. Ordered to withdraw to Basra, Townshend instead hunkered down in the village of Kut. When, during the war, the Allies made breakthroughs, they lacked the resources to capitalise upon them - as in their failure to consolidate the first assault at Cambrai in 1917, in which the Germans were driven back. The Treaty of Vienna in 1815 confirmed France . Thus, on July 1, 1916, Haig ordered his men to go over the top at the First Battle of the Somme, and 20,000 of them had the audacity to die almost immediately (there were 60,000 total British casualties on the first day of the attack). Fuller, wrote, To persistin this tactically impossible battle was an inexcusable piece of pigheadness on the part of Haig., This is the key to Haigs failure as a general. The Somme was an epic of both slaughter and futility; a profligate waste of men and materiel such as the world had never seen. And Haig had given him every reason for believing this. Even so, a staff colonel had the cheek to write: The events of July 1st bore out the conclusions of the British higher command and amply justified the tactical methods employed.. Lions led by donkeys - Wikipedia Raging between 1914 and 1918, the bloody war was fought between the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, the Allies - a coalition of nations including the United States, Britain, Italy, Russia, France and Japan, and the Central Powers of Austria-Hungary and Germany. Reddit, Inc. 2023. But, through their analysis of Haig's diaries, Gary Sheffield and John Bourne have arrived at a rather different view of the war leader. In Churchills devastating judgment, Haig wore down alike the manhood and the guns of the British army almost to destruction. Keegan is also merciless: On the Somme, [Haig] had sent the flower of British youth to death or mutilation; at Passchendaele he had tipped the survivors in the slough of despond., Of the final assault that carried the ruined, pointless little village of Passchendaele, British military historian J.F.C. They were too weak to drive the enemy entirely off the ground it had conquered in 1914, so the Germans believed they had never in fact been defeated. After two days of desperate fighting, the army was overrun and massacred, with all but 500 men killed (Hicks included). British Gen. Isaac Brock possessed a remarkable ability to anticipate his opponents moves and reactions, and it was not long before he had taken full measure of Hull. Military Developments of World War I - 1914-1918-Online With Napoleon, for example, we think imagination. Michael Ray oversees coverage of European history and military affairs for Britannica. The generals Douglas. Churchill, again: The esteem of his military colleagues found a healthy counterpart in his own self-confidence.He was as sure of himself at the head of the British army as a country gentleman on the soil which his ancestors had trod for generations and to whose cultivation he had devoted his life.. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp: The war film that Churchill tried The main reason that World War One battle lines rarely changed was not the incompetence of generals, but the impotence of offence in the face of determined defence. The stereotype of bayonet charges against machine guns and barbed wire definitely happened in the early days of the war, and that trend of tactics not compensating for new tech continued throughout the war. Privacy Policy. The battles at Arras and Loos had been badly planned and managed, captured little ground and resulted in what seemed at the time heavy casualties. At this time the French army was under heavy pressure from German attacks at Verdun. Cadorna was considered a competent general and he had a long and illustrious family history, being the son of General Raffaele Cadorna who had led the Italian bersaglieri through the Porta Pia breach into Rome in 1870, but the less unyielding General Alberto Pollio had been preferred to him - or, as Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti summarized . When the German offensive broke like a huge wave on March 21, the British army lost more ground than it had gained in any of Haigs great offensives. It was the bloodiest war in history to that point Getty Images Fifty years before WW1 broke out, southern China was torn apart by an even bloodier conflict. Most of these approaches caused heavy casualties, and there was little manoeuvrability in this regard for generals. Armies were too big and dispersed to be commanded by a general in person, as Wellington had at Waterloo a century before, and radio was in its infancy. German prisoners after the Battle of Amiens, 1918 In terms of the numbers of German divisions engaged, the numbers of prisoners and guns captured, the importance of the stakes and the toughness of the enemy, the 1918 'Hundred Days' campaign rates as the greatest series of victories in British history. Swathed in sublime self-confidence, he always promised great success and, as events unfolded, changed the definition of success. The phrase 'lions led by donkeys' was used to suggest that unintelligent and incompetent generals led brave soldiers into certain death. World War I provided a forum for any number of truly horrible commanders to assert themselves. Top 10 Military Generals of World War I - World History Edu He made no effort to reinforce Warren, even calling off a flank attack that may have won the day. Perhaps the best evidence that the generals had a good understanding of the pain and suffering their soldiers were going through is the death of the generals themselves. The biggest prize, however, was Singapore, the heavily-fortified port considered the Gibraltar of the East. Fortunately for Japan, its opponent was the singularly inept Arthur Percival. Get time period newsletters, special offers and weekly programme release emails. Again, at Gallipoli, generals caused heavy loss of life through tactical errors. If there was deep mistrust between civilian and military leadership, Haig was to blame for it. Later still, it relied on conscripts. Many more were the result of decisions made by men who, although not incompetent, were like any other human being prone to making mistakes. Naturally, the French tended to call the shots, even though the British C-in-C was an independent commander. Astonishing that any man who was there could still believe in cavalry 10 years after the Somme. What secures Third Ypres status as one of historys great military blunders is the fact that while Haig thought it a victory, the battle nearly lost the war for the Allies. Last updated 2011-03-10 The scale of human devastation during World War One has often been blamed on incompetent leadership. Its prewar population was reduced by more than half, and perhaps 90 percent of Paraguays fighting-age men perished. By 1916 it had expanded enormously, taking in a mass of inexperienced civilian volunteers. One undeniable fact is that Britain and its allies, not Germany, won the First World War. He still had his defenders, but they were in the last trench, barely holding on. In the early advances of 1914 on the eastern front, General Hermann von Franois disregarded orders from Berlin not to attack the Russians and moved in when an opportunity presented itself. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Johnston was wounded on the first day of the Battle of Seven Pines, six miles east of Richmond, and he was replaced by Robert E. Lee. Caepio reportedly lived out the remainder of his life in luxury, however. Why did generals in WW1 think it was a brilliant idea to walk - Reddit The French position at Ticonderoga was not insurmountable. What Led to George, Duke of Clarences Execution by Wine? whatever you do, you lose a lot of men. But he was none the less, a competent General. German prisoners after the Battle of Amiens, 1918. Biographies of famous generals on the Great War including Joffre, French, Foch, Haig, Pershing, Ptain and Curieres de Castelnau. And after this one, the sea changes set in motion by the first of the world wars became starkly apparent. Francisco Solano Lpez managed to stumble into a war with pretty much all of that. Simultaneously, he contacted Maximilian to offer the young emperor his services. But immediately after the war, the generals were celebrated as heroes. Dr Gary Sheffield is Senior Lecturer in the War Studies Group at King's College London, and Land Warfare Historian at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham. The British gained control of the fort, dozens of cannons, the brig USS Adams (recommissioned the HMS Detroit), and virtually the entire Michigan Territory. In the Khyber passes, the Afghans finally massacred the survivors. Tolkien's View of World War 1 Generals : r/tolkienfans - Reddit With a few relatively minor changes, thats just about where they stayed for the next four years. The accuracy of the shelling, and the fact that the guns had not had to give the game away by firing some preliminary shots to test the range, was testimony to the startling advances in technique which had turned gunnery from a rule of thumb affair into a highly scientific business. Likewise, almost everything about battlefield operations in 1918 remains . Haig, however, was no technophobe. The attacking forces did not gain a single one of their objectives. Without entrenchment tools, artillery support or proper leadership they were forced to endure a brutal crossfire. How truly incompetent was the Italian military during WW1? Howe instead marched on Philadelphia. The great commanders of history fascinate us, and we read their biographies looking for one or more character attributes we believe accounted for their success. In the same length of time, defenders could reinforce twenty times as fast as any offensive units could. At the Battle of Aubers Ridge, on 9 May 1915, the British were massacred trying to attack the Germans quickly. Haig, popular thinking goes, attacked and kept on attackingeven when the ground his men gained, yard by bloody yard, was useless by any military measurein order to wear down the Germans. After months of inactivity, McClellan was finally spurred to action by Pres. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Waiting for 'zero hour', the Somme Trenches on the web This site contains a wide range of World War One material. A Mark 1 tank in action, 1916 The man had a thing for horses, which is understandable in one who had been a cavalry officer during the infancy of the internal combustion engine. The German defenders at Amiens had no response to the Allied onslaught. For the past few weeks I have been looking at British generals in WW1 and whether they were incompetent leaders. Ultimately, he was denied his final showdown with the Allies by German political leaders who realized that the Americans could produce soldiers faster than Germany could produce bullets. Hicks stupendous failure set the stage for Charles Gordons doomed stand at Khartoum and fifteen years of fighting in Sudan. Having amassed roughly twice as many losses in a single day as Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington, had suffered during the entire Peninsular War, Haig saw no reason to change tactics. Instead of sweeping around the French defenses in a massive flanking movement, the Germans were checked at the First Battle of the Marne. Read more. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Lads of 18 and 19, elderly men up to 45, the last surviving brother, the only son of his mother (and she a widow), the father, the sole support of the family, the weak, the consumptive, the thrice woundedall must now prepare themselves for the scythe., There was no alternative. If Haig had called off the offensive on 2 July, he would have thrown away this advantage. The Romans lost an estimated 80,000 infantry and perhaps 40,000 auxiliaries and cavalry, numbers that dwarf the staggering totals at Cannae. Dr Gary Sheffield offers an alternative view. MacCarthy anticipated a colonial mistake repeated by Custer, Chelmsford and Baratieri. Ludendorff is one of historys greatest examples of a general who can win battles but still loses the war. In fact, he did a lot to ensure that Germany would find itself in another war that it couldnt win, but, since he died in 1937, he gets extra credit for being a bad World War II general from beyond the grave. Early biographies were laudatory, and Haig did his best to ensure that by sending material to the authors. By December 1864 Paraguay was at war with Brazil, and, when Argentina denied a request for the transit of a Paraguayan army across its territory, Lpez declared war on that country as well. He got everything he wanted in the way of men and materiel for what became known as Third Ypres or Passchendaele, a battle remembered for, among other things, terrain so wet the entire world seemed to consist of nothing but mud and shell holes filled with vile water. Revisiting Cleopatra: Screen Portrayals of the Iconic Pharaoh, Fanny Mendelssohn: A Musical Prodigy and Forgotten Legacy, Anne Bront: The Forgotten Sister Who Made a Mark on Victorian Literature, 10 Facts About Cecil B. DeMille: A Pioneer of Hollywoods Golden Age. Colmar, Freiherr von der Goltz was an imperial German field marshal who reorganized the Turkish army (1883-96) and served as commander in chief of Turkish forces against the British in Mesopotamia (Iraq) during World War I. David Lloyd George's view sums up the attitude of many people towards Haig and other British generals of World War One. A man who betrayed even his most devoted assistants as well as the Government which he served. General Sir Frederick Stopford was put in command, despite a lack of experience in the battlefields of World War One. GCSE History WW1 Generals (Rough draft) Rebekah Dawson. Haigs military reputation might even have figured in the prevailing attitude of appeasement. PhilB Old Sweats https://www.britannica.com/list/9-worst-generals-in-history. Henri-Philippe Ptain (1856-1951) was a World War I French general who was later imprisoned for treason. In the autumn of 1804 he was placed in charge of the French fleet at Toulon and tasked with drawing the British fleet under Horatio Nelson to the Caribbean. His troops then hunkered into trenches before Sebastopol, dying of disease and cold from atrocious medical care and inadequate provisions. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, chief of staff of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and architect of the battle, evidently agreed. Publicly though, he leaped at the chance for glory, dreaming himself Governor of Mesopotamia. Marcus Licinius Crassus was a self-aggrandizing opportunist who started a pointless war with the Parthians, and Publius Quinctilius Varus lost three legions at Teutoburg Forest, but Proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio manages to top them both with his actions at the Battle of Arausio. It is not true, as some think, that British generals and troops simply stared uncomprehendingly at the barbed wire and trenches, incapable of anything more imaginative than repeating the failed formula of frontal assaults by infantry. Last updated 2011-03-10. Thus in July 1916 Haig fought on the Somme largely at the behest of the French, although he would have preferred to attack, somewhat later, in the Ypres salient where there were more important strategic objectives. His 85,000 Commonwealth troops vastly outnumbered Yamashitas 36,000 Japanese. The result was that by 1918 the British army was second to none in its modernity and military ability. Villeneuve lost 20 ships, while Nelson lost none. After several initial victories, stiffening Turkish resistance and heavy casualties stopped Townshends advance. Which he did, with a kind of transcendent stubbornness, for another four months, until winter weather forced an end to the campaign, if not the fighting. The compromiseletting him keep his command but denying him the reserves he neededwas the worst of many bad alternatives. From this point onward, the result of the war was never in doubt. Lack of co-operation, let alone British inaction in 1916, might well have caused the coalition to fall apart. And the Germans now paid the price of attrition, which in this war fell harder on the attackers than the defenders. The 43,000 troops lost during the Siege of Kut might beg to differ. Hull responded by ordering the evacuation of Fort Dearborn, and the garrison was promptly massacred by a Potawatomi war band upon leaving the fort. Paul von Hindenburg was named the German Eight Army commander in August 1914. 8 Extraordinary Stories of Men and Women in Wartime, The 8 Most Important Gods and Goddesses of the Aztec Empire. First, because he still has defenders whoin spite of those many graveyards and inconclusive, costly battleswould claim he was not in fact an unsuccessful commander. Elphinstone finally capitulated, agreeing to withdraw his army to India. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Generals, the cynics like to say, are always fighting the last war. Of course, that is what they did when Ludendorff pushed for the use of unrestricted submarine warfare against Allied shipping. Conservative estimates of the dead. Haig had no new tactics to offer, and the only technological advance that showed any promise was the tank. Buller and Warren were finally sacked. Answer (1 of 8): Luigi Cadorna after the 6th or 7th battle of the Isonzo River you'd fugure that it probably wasn't a sound offensive strategy to bash your head against a wall (there were 10 attempts to cross the river in total by the Italians). MacCarthys own force numbered a mere 500, against 10,000 Ashanti. Of the 1,252 British generals, 146 were wounded or taken prisoner, 78 were killed in action, and 2 were ordered the Victoria Cross for valour. It's supposed to have been said by a German general about the British soldiers: It means that they were unquestionably brave but that their leaders were fools who threw the men's lives away in pointless attacks. When the French deposed Benito Jurez and installed Maximilian as emperor of Mexico, Santa Anna, now 70, reached out to the U.S. for support in deposing the emperor. Andrew Jackson had demonstrated the flaw in this method of attack during the War of 1812, and the American Civil War had truly driven the point home on a dozen different occasions. Overwhelmed. B.H. The 'lions led by donkeys' tag should be dismissed for what it is - a misleading caricature. Patrick Macrory characterizes Elphinstone as [seeking] every mans advice he was at the mercy of the last speaker. Fatally indecisive, he allowed Afghans to kill envoys Alexander Burns and William Macnaghten, capture his supplies and snipe at his men without response.
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