Douglas Haig quotes

Douglas Haig was a senior British Army officer, best remembered for his command during World War I. A leading figure in the Battles of the Somme and Passchendaele, his leadership remains controversial due to the high casualties suffered under his strategies. He played a key role in the Allied victory and later became deeply involved in veterans' welfare. Here are 5 of his quotes:

The idea that a war can be won by standing on the defensive and waiting for the enemy to attack is a dangerous fallacy, which owes its inception to the desire to evade the price of victory.

Douglas Haig

Further, a defensive policy involves the loss of the initiative, with all the consequent disadvantages to the defender.

Douglas Haig

So long as the opposing forces are at the outset approximately equal in numbers and moral and there are no flanks to turn, a long struggle for supremacy is inevitable.

Douglas Haig

Once the mass of the defending infantry become possessed of low moral, the battle is as good as lost.

Douglas Haig