Professor John Bourne talks about the role, impact and reputation of the British Expeditionary Force Commander in Chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig.

Bourne challenges the commonly held idea that Haig was a bone-headed, callous butcher, who through his incompetence as commander of the British Army in WWI, killed a generation of young men on the Somme and at Passchendaele. He suggests that to understand Haig you need to understand the First World War. Though Haig had his weaknesses, John argues Haig was played a significant role in achieving victory on the Western Front. John edited Douglas Haig: Diaries and Letters 1914-1918 with Professor Gary Sheffield. This volume was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 2015.