The Dominion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1918. SIR DOUGLAS HAIG

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 74, 21 December 1918, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1918. SIR DOUGLAS HAIG

It is tho good .or bad fortune of cummaiidei's cast for a great parf in war that Iheir standing- and renown can seldom be measured with. finality in their own day and generation. In some, respects what Sir Douglas Haig has accomplished since he went, to Franco, with the British Expeditionary Force, and more especially since he became its Commander-in-Chief in J9)5,_ will lie better understood aim will be ■seen-in truer perspective by. people' of a later age than by his contemporaries. But although the time has not yet crime to allot him his place in the roll of the great it is already evident that ho_ has rendered such services to tho British nation as entitle him to its heartfelt gratitude. . The tremendous recepfc'on given him on his arrival in London was' inspired by feelings which are universal throughout the Empire, and arc to beascribed much less to the elation of victory than to perception and appreciation of the qualities irr the C'ommandci'-in-Chief which did so much to make victory possible. It is giving Sir 'Dougms Haig no 'ihbi'c than his due to say that he has proved equal to long-continued demands under which any but a very great man would have Collapsed. It was not unmixed folly or ignorance that led the Germans to believe that such a development of the British .Army as the war witnessed was impossible. On the contrary, it was an accurately informed perception of the tremendous' obstacles and difficulties that stood in the way of this achievement in leadership and organisation. Of all who were concerned in the wonderful ■ development of the British Armv from small though splendid beginnings into a mighty striking force before which Germany's remaining legions in the final days of the "war went down' like grass before the reaper, none' had a greater part to play or attained more merited distinction than Sir DougliAS Haig. His record is ] not more notable for tho magnitude of his achievements than, for his resolute avoidance of all display and self-advertisement. ..Lesser men, including some of hij. own subordinates,' 1 have 'figured' at times' much more in the limelight, largely, as a result of thc_ prominence he gave to their achievements, the while keeping himself in the background. Yet it must be evident to anyone who has even cursorily followed the events of the war that he was from the outset a tower of strength in the British military organisation, and that at an early stage he showed himself possessed of gifts which marked him out for the chief command. He had <in important share in tho conduct of the historic retreat from Mons, which has taken its place in-history for all time as ono of the'masterly achievements of the war. Later.in the grim and deadly struggle which arose in Flanders ■when , the Germans in enormously superior force strove to cleave their way to the Channel coast, his-repu-tation was confirmed. He was the inevitable 'successor to Sir John (now Viscount) French- when the hitter resigned the command of the British Expeditionary Force in. .1915, and all. men know, how nobly' he has. since justified, the .trust thenreposed in-him. • '• - •

In the years of his command the British .armies were subjected to fiery, ;it times desperate, trials, but their leader never lost .his steady poise. The firm control he exercised alike in days' , 'of triumph and adversity has been well described as <i- ; calm sovereignty. His unemotional, though capable handling of life-and-death issues ,w;S in itself an asset of inestimable value and a mighty force making for victory. Few commanders have been more sparing of appeals to their troops to "put forth extraordinary efforts. ' Knowing himself and knowing his armies, Sm Douglas Hαig trusted almost from , first to last in the sustained effort which would bring victory in the long run. This meant in effect that ho was constantly holding- in reserve enormous forces—the moral reserves which count for more in war than mere numbers or weight of metal. The one occasion on- which Sin Douglas Haig addressed, an impassioned appeal to his troops was that on which the Germans were engaged in their last attempt to break through the British line in Flandors and reach the Channel coast. To-day the appeal, and the .moment chosen to make it, stand .as a supreme proof of sound judgment and efficient leadership. Events have since made it clear thst the moment when Sir Douglas ILug called upon his soldiers to light with their backs to the wall was the true culminating point in the war. A material extension, of .the Oennan offensive at that time would hayo involved■• the •• Allied armies in colossal disaster. The shattering defeat inflicted upon the enemy when the British armies rallied to the call of their leader was of vastly more than local effect. It paved the way for nil that followed. Admirably as he has borne responsibilities in . some respects vastly more onerous and exacting than any British commander had ever before been called upon to carry, it is not only in this way that Sir Douglas ,Haig has demonstrated •his greatness. The controversy over the establishment of [.he unified command did not leave, the British military organisation untouched or unimpaired. . While, some of his colleagues and associates opposed tho

innovation with nil their force, and even,' as in the case of Sin William .lioiiKßTSox, resigned rather than accept it, Sir Douglas H.hg loyally accepted the new arrangement though it meant for him some, loss of standing and reduction of (Jin freedom of action he had previously enjoyed. He has his reward in the fact that his personal reputation and that of the armies he commands have never been greater than in (.lie days when they fought'under the supreme direction of Marshal Foch as Allied Generalissimo.