His reputation is still controversial. Although a popular commander during the immediate post-war years, [ 1 ] with his funeral becoming a day of national mourning, Haig also became an object of criticism for his leadership on the Western Front. Some regard him as representing the very concept of class-based incompetent commanders, stating that he was unable to grasp modern tactics and technologies, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] and criticism of Haig is sometimes hard to disentangle from criticisms of the war itself.
However, many veterans praised Haig's leadership [ 3 ] and since the s some historians have argued that the public hatred [ 4 ] in which Haig's name had come to be held failed to recognise the adoption of new tactics and technologies by forces under his command, [ 5 ] or the important role played by the British forces in the Allied victory of , [ 6 ] and that the high casualties suffered were a function of the tactical and strategic realities of the time.
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After the war, Haig was praised by the American General John Pershing , who remarked that Haig was "the man who won the war. His funeral in was a huge state occasion.
However, after his death, Haigβand the generation of British generals he was deemed to representβcame under increasing criticism. Some of these critiques were directed at what was said to be his excessive focus on the Western Front aligning with the "westerner" rather than "easterner" school of thought , while others targeted his alleged poor decision-making and resistance to innovation, which led to excessive casualties among British troops under his command.
Many of Haig's critics were younger officers who had served in the First World War. Arthur Conan Doyle six volumes, β20 and John Buchan four volumes, β22 published histories of the war that were largely supportive of Haig and the "westerner" perspective. Haig appeared as himself in the films Under Four Flags and Remembrance In his "Final Despatch" of 21 March , Haig sought to shape the terms of the debate and preempt criticism.
