‘The heartening news of the last few days,’ the letter read, ‘has confirmed our anticipation and hopes that the tide had now definitely turned in our favour. I congratulate you most warmly on the skill with which your plans were laid, and on the imperturbable bravery of your troops.’ No doubt Field Marshal Douglas Haig, the recipient of such high praise, was pleased to receive this congratulatory message. The writer was David Lloyd George, then secretary of state for war, but soon to become prime minister. The date was 21 September 1916, and the plans which had apparently been laid with such skill were those for the offensive known as the Battle of the Somme.
The ‘hopes that the tide had now definitely turned in our favour’ proved to be a little optimistic: more than 2 further years of that ‘imperturbable bravery’ would be required from the troops before the war was won. But which of these two men can claim most credit for the eventual victory? Who really deserves the title ‘The man who won the war’ — Haig or Lloyd George?
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