Douglas Haig

Douglas Haig was a senior British Army officer who served as commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front for most of the First World War, replacing Sir John French in December 1915 and being promoted to field marshal in January 1917. He directed major offensives including the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and led British forces through the Hundred Days Offensive of 1918 that helped bring about Germany's defeat. Though celebrated immediately after the war, his reputation later became controversial because of the enormous casualties suffered under his command, which earned him the nickname Butcher Haig, even as some later historians defended his leadership as reflecting the tactical realities of trench warfare.