The Good Soldier

by mead-gary

Brand new book in plastic!

Genres: Biography, World War I, History

509 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2007

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are few soldiers in British military history with a reputation as controversial as that of Douglas Haig. Lionized in his lifetime, his role as commander of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War came under attack soon after his death, becoming the head donkey whose decisions led to the unjustifiable sacrifice of a generation of British men. Though more recent scholarship has much modified this view, his career remains a battleground of historical debates, one in which every work is assigned to one side or the other.

Based on the introduction, Gary Mead's biography of Haig would seem fit into the "redemptive" side of the Haig debate. Yet in many ways it transcends such labeling, offering the most judicious account of Haig's life yet published, one interspersed with critical assessments that offer a well-rounded view of Haig's personality and career. Mead endeavors to correct many of the myths that have formed around his subject, noting, for example, his embrace of new technologies such as the tank and the airplane as they began to appear on the battlefield. Yet at the same time he proves perfectly willing to criticize Haig for his stubborn belief in the viability of cavalry and his preference for officers who shared his views rather than those who might have introduced a healthy tone of dissent into discussions over operations.

All of this makes Mead's biography well worth reading, though it is not without its flaws. Perhaps the most glaring is the lack of explanation for how Haig came to assume such a prominent position in the army. Mead's account of his subject's early years notes the relative late start to his career and is excellent on the social aspects of the late Victorian British army, yet there is little sense of what marked out Haig's rise beyond his excellent connections with key officers and the British royal family. Even his ascension to the command of the BEF is addressed in a paragraph, with no analysis of the selection process involved. More on the subsequent development of his reputation beyond what is included in the introduction and afterword would also have been helpful, particularly given the degree to which it defines Mead's own task. What examination he includes is interesting (particularly in his endnotes), but ultimately leaves the reader wanting more.

These criticisms are relatively minor, though, when compared to the author's broader achievement. With its mixture of reasoned argument and comprehensible writing, Mead has succeeded in writing a balanced and accessible study of Haig. Anyone seeking to understand Haig's much-debated career would do well to start with this book before moving on to the contentious discussions that continue about it to this day.

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an academically acknowledged truth that a leader bereft of living vilifiers must be in want of a rehabilitation.

In that vain, the Haig-bashing whitewashed out of the Official History made a resurgence in Alan Clark's the Donkeys (1961), written while even the last reunion of the Old Contemptibles was still a few years off. The man had been in command at the two battles whose nomenclatures in British memory represent the industrial slaughter of the trenches more than any other: the Somme and Passchendaele. He himself was no longer with us for a rebuke.

Yet by the late 90's/early 00's, as the ranks of WWI veterans dwindled down to their very last, audacious historians such as Brian Bond looked back at John Terraine's The Educated Soldier (1963) for a reappraisal.

So what does a Good Haig look like ? Mildly inconspicuous. A professional who tried his best, but whose appreciation for new technology was contradicted by his over-optimism & putting too much faith in the less-than-stellar plans or reports handed to him by subordinates such as Rawlingson.
"warts and all" as Cromwell put it, even a sympathetic biographer is forced to conclude that in his quest to restore mobility "he never quite got his mind from between the horse's ears"

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

With both of my grandfathers being involved in the 1914-18 war in France and suffering various degrees of mental and physical anguish, I subscribed to the opinion predominant in my 60s and 70s youth that the British army at the time consisted of lions (the fighting soldiers) led by donkeys (the officers) and the phrase on re-designed 60s anti-war posters was 'Don't be Vague Blame General Haig'. I was drawn to this book to try and learn more about the man himself and maybe review my opinion of him. It is a well written biography and appears to be fair to the man, describing his good traits (loyalty, family, self discipline, focus of tasks) as well as the fact that he oversaw the sending of hundreds of thousands of men to pointless death with his military tactics in what he saw as a war of attrition. There is no way a book can ameliorate the fact of all the gruesome killing that laid waste to a generation of young men, but I gained some understanding of Haig's background and the fact that he spent most of his post war life working to improve the life of the tens of thousands of injured and maimed men resulting from the war.
I will now search out a biography of David Lloyd George a war time prime minister and politician for whom I have had similar contempt alongside Douglas Haig.

[Mark Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read. It doesn’t pull any punches about Haig . He was a product of his time and also incredibly wealthy. He was part of the Haig whiskey company. He had his faults and the author puts them, but he also had his strengths. He embraced technology and was all for developing new ideas and new weapons, though as a cavalryman he always seemed to keep a soft spot for this arm of the service, strange when he could also see what the development of the tank and of aircraft could do as well. A very good book. Recommended.

[Shaun Helsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Balanced is the right word. Probably the closest someone has come to giving a narrative about Haig the man rather than 'Haig the hero' or 'Haig the donkey'. Mead still has his moments in picking a side, whether explicitly or (mostly) implicitly, but he really focusses on the narrative and lets the reader make the decision for themselves.

If you studied the First World War and have watched 'Blackadder Goes Forth' but want to actually learn who Haig really was and what he was really like - and doing your best to avoid getting entangled into the whole 'Haig debate' - then this is the one biography to read.

[David O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fair view of a figure who was subject to a great deal of abuse after the war. The difference in status, background and wealth between Generals such as Haig and the ordinary solider, was illustrated well here. It explains much of what, seems to us at this distance, inexplicable indifference to the value of human life.
Since I'm writing a novel now that begins during the 1st World War, this book was useful background research.

[John Seymour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. Thorough end notes. Illuminates the British Army in late Victorian and Edwardian England.