General Haig's Background and Military Experience General Haig is one of the most notable men in the history of World War II, made famous for his tactics at the Battle of the Somme, where thousands of soldiers died, seemingly needlessly. In this question, I will look at Haig's life and how it transformed him into leader of the army in 1915.[IMAGE]Text box: Haig at private school in 1887. He is on the far left of the back row.Haig is born in 1862, the youngest of eleven children, to a wealthy family who had made money from whiskey. His father died when Douglas Haig was a teenager, so his mother played a crucial role in his upbringing. The death of his father and being the youngest of eleven children may have seemed quite difficult for the young Douglas, and his childhood may have influenced his later life. From an early age, Haig was fascinated by horses, and as he rose through the ranks of the army, he often spoke of how vital horses were to him in war. This was definitely influenced by his upbringing, and he would always be on horseback during his early years. [IMAGE] From the age of eight Haig attended private schools, first in Edinburgh, then at the high-class Clifton school in Bristol, from 1880 to 1883 he attended Brasenose College, Oxford, and enjoyed an active social life. His continued love of horses was demonstrated while playing polo for college. It may have been during a continental trip to university that he developed his interest in joining the armed forces. He attended the Royal Military School at Sandhurst in 1884, and passed with flying colors in less than a year, holding the Ansonmemorial sword as S... center of paper... all historians bash Haig, but this seems justified. They didn't know Haig, and those who did spoke of his anguish over the death toll. His heart may have been in the right place, but he didn't have the credentials to take on such a big job, despite his credentials. I conclude that I think calling Haig the Butcher of the Somme was overly harsh, as those who knew him will likely give more accurate accounts of what Haig was like as a person. Yes, Haig was the wrong person for the Somme, but so would most people. However he was not a butcher. It is easy to scapegoat the British death rate, but perhaps some historians should look further and realize that Haig did not blame himself and that deep down he probably cared about the troops he commanded at the terrible Battle of the Somme..