Roland Haig

Haig's first military service came on 6 September 1890 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the South Wales Borderers.[5] He only served briefly in the militia, resigning his commission on 4 March 1891.[6] Haig later went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, from which he passed out in 1894 to join the 16th Lancers.[1] He did so on 14 November, becoming a second lieutenant.[7] He served in the 16th Lancers until 1899, transferring to the 7th Dragoon Guards as a lieutenant on 4 October.[8] He was then promoted to captain on 17 January 1900.[1][9][10] He travelled with the 7th Dragoon Guards to South Africa, where he fought in the Second Boer War. He served in operations in the Orange Free State between April and May, when he moved to the Transvaal, where he participated in the captures of Johannesburg on 31 May and Pretoria on 5 June, and then fought at the Battle of Diamond Hill between 11 and 12 June.[1][9] Haig later received the Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps for Cape Colony, Orange River Colony, Johannesburg, and Diamond Hill.[9] On 10 October 1903 Haig retired from the army, still a captain, to instead join the Imperial Yeomanry.[9][11] This came about because of the results of a serious hunting accident that left him unable to continue in the regular army.[12] Within the Yeomanry, Haig joined the Royal Bucks Hussars. For 1907 he also took up the role of master of the Radnorshire & West Herefordshire Hunt.[13][14]

In April 1907 Haig transferred as a captain to the 7th (Militia) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, the regiment's special reserve.[1][15] He was promoted to major in the 6th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade on 5 August 1914, a day after the British entry into World War I, and then transferred to the 1st Battalion of that regiment, and it was with this battalion that he travelled to France to fight in the First World War.[1][9] In January 1915 he was made second-in-command of the 2nd Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment, which was in action at Cuinchy on 1 and 6 February.[9][16] Haig was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his service on 18 February.[17] He stayed with the South Staffords until April of the same year.[9] Haig then moved to serve as second-in-command of the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade until May, when he was given command of a division of mounted troops within 8th Division.[9] On 9 May 8th Division fought in the Battle of Aubers.[18]

Men of the 25th Infantry Brigade, in which Haig commanded a battalion, in August 1916

Haig commanded his mounted troops until May 1916 when he was made commander of the III Corps Cyclist Battalion, which he commanded for only one month. In late June Haig took part in the preparations for the Battle of the Somme, going to the front lines to ascertain the condition of the barbed wire in front of the German positions, and advising that more be done with artillery to cut it.[9][19] He was then promoted to lieutenant colonel in July and given command of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment in the 25th Infantry Brigade.[9] The battalion had lost all its senior officers in the first day on the Somme, with a second lieutenant left in command.[20]

Haig's battalion fought at the Battle of Le Transloy in October, serving in support of the centre of the brigade's line.[21] Haig fought in another attack, this at Bouchavesnes-Bergen, on 4 March 1917.[22] While commanding his regiment he received a bar to his DSO on 18 June, for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" in a successful attack against an enemy position.[23] Between 9–10 July his regiment was taken out of the line for rest, but one company stayed behind for a night raid on Hooge on 11 July. Haig led this raid, entering the German trenches and destroying a hastily set up enemy machine gun position. The raid was finished in forty-four minutes, having captured one prisoner and killed between seventy and eighty enemy soldiers.[24] Haig also fought with his regiment at the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, the beginning of the Battle of Passchendaele, between 31 July and 1 August. Wounded by a bullet in the right thigh during the battle, he was relieved of his command and sent home to recover.[9][25][26]

Haig returned to the Western Front in October and on 21 November was promoted to brigadier-general as commander of the 24th Infantry Brigade, part of the 8th Division he had already been serving in with the Berkshires.[1][9][27] Major-General William Heneker had promoted him to replace the previous commanding officer of the brigade, who Heneker thought was "not very satisfactory".[28][29] Military history J. M. Bourne comments favourably on the appointment, describing Haig as "a man of great courage and leadership".[12] The brigade was made up of the 1st Battalions of the Worcestershire Regiment and Sherwood Foresters, and the 2nd Battalions of the East Lancashire Regiment and Northamptonshire Regiment.[Note 1][27]

The brigade entered the front line, having been in a period of rest and training, on 25 December, at Passchendaele.[30] The brigade was then brought into action to defend against the German spring offensive in March 1918, being the first part of the division to reach their positions near Eterpigny on 23 March.[31] The position was attacked heavily as part of Operation Michael, and by 25 March Haig had been forced to partially withdraw, making his new headquarters at Ablaincourt.[32] By 27 March the front around 8th Division had stabilised, and the unit was relieved on 2 April.[33][34] Haig's brigade returned to the front line on 20 April, and on 23 April was engaged in fighting as part of the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux.[34]

Haig went on to fight with his brigade in the Third Battle of the Aisne in May.[35] On 27 May the German advance succeeded in pushing back the units to the flanks of 8th Division, leaving Haig's brigade exposed. At 6 a.m. his headquarters at Berry-au-Bac was attacked, and having been gassed in the assault, Haig and his brigade major only narrowly escaped capture. At 9 a.m. the brigade mustered only three officers and sixty-eight men, who were sent to garrison a trench near Roucy. Haig relinquished his command, due to his gassing and more general exhaustion, on 4 June.[36][37][28][38][39] He received his second bar to the DSO on 26 July, cited for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during a long period of active operations", with particular mention given to an action in which he personally rode forwards to re-establish the wavering front line. He saw no more active service during the war having, as well as his DSOs, been mentioned in dispatches on five occasions. Back in England, Haig was given command of the 5th Cyclist Brigade in Kent on 21 June.[1][40][41]