Haig, Douglas, 1st Earl Haig

Haig, Douglas, 1st Earl Haig (1861-1928), British commander on the western front during World War I, born in Edinburgh, and educated at Oxford and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. Having served as chief of the general staff in India before the war, Haig, a lieutenant general, was given command of the 1st Army Corps of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and Belgium when hostilities broke out there in 1914. Later in the year he was promoted to full general and given command of one of the two armies of the newly expanded BEF, under the supreme command of General John French. Heavy losses at Loos-en-Gohelle in 1915 increased discontent with French's direction of the war, and Haig was subsequently appointed commander in chief of the BEF. Although he directed the British forces in France for the duration of the war, Haig's handling of the major campaigns, particularly on the Somme in 1916 and at Passendale in 1917 were harshly criticized by Prime Minister Lloyd George.

After the war Haig assumed the post of commander in chief of home forces, and later devoted his energies to the welfare of ex-servicemen through the Royal British Legion. He was created Earl Haig in 1919 and Baron Haig of Bemersyde in 1921.