Douglas Haig was born on June 19 1861, the son of a wealthy whiskey distiller, he was educated at Oxford and Sandhurst. Haig participated in the Omdurman campaign 1897 - 1898 and the Boer War 1899 - 1902. His rank remained inspector of general cavalry in India from 1903 until 1906, when he became director of military training at the war office. In 1909 he became chief of staff of the Indian army. At the beginning of World War One in 1914, Haig commanded the first Army Corps. In December of 1915 questions were being raised about how well the...
and determination." – 1907

"The way to capture machine guns is by grit and determination." – 1915

"The machine gun is a much over rated weapon…" - 1915

"The nation must be taught to bear losses. No amount of skill on the part of the higher commanders, no training, however good, on the part of the officers and men, no superiority of arms and ammunition, however great, will enable victories to be won without the sacrifice of men"s lives. The nation must be prepared to see heavy casualty lists." Written by Haig in June 1916 before the battle began.