Lions Led By Donkeys Analysis

Register to read the introduction… Many people still question Haig’s idea of wanting to still move forward. People claim that Haig should have learned from the statistics and adjusted his tactics, and argue that the cost in terms of human casualties was too high for a for a 5 mile gain at the end of the battle. The 5 mile gain was nothing compared to the cost of human casualties, and Haig seemed like he didn’t care about the deaths and in the end the soldiers who died, died for nothing, because of Haig. The British were unprepared for war; Haig could not change his tactics because he only knew one, which was conventional tactics. The soldiers were unable to keep up with the rivalry, as they were unprepared to take on their opposition with such a large number.

EVALUATION OF SOURCES

Source 1: An extract from a book called “Butchers and Bunglers of World War”

‘Haig was as stubborn as a donkey and as unthinking as a donkey. The principle which guided him was if he could kill more …show more content…
He was generally unprepared but wanted to gain victory, by overpowering the numbers of men; even with the large numbers of casualties on the first day, Haig allowed for the Battle to continue, even though he did not gain land and did not get any advantage. The phrase “lions led by donkeys” was not so much of a fair description of the Battle of the Somme; it was a bit too harsh. The soldiers may have felt bossed around, but seeing that they were inexperience civilians who volunteered, made it seem like Haig had a reason to come up and boss them around telling them what they had to do and sending them to their deaths. The generals, soldiers and commanders were all just trying to do their best to win victory and