Key Figures of World War One
11. Sir Douglas Haig
A former cavalry commander, Haig worked as Commander of the British 1st Army in 1915, and used his political connections to criticise the BEF’s commander, French, and have himself named replacement at the end of the year. For the remainder of the war Haig led the British army, mixing faith that a breakthrough could be achieved on the Western Front with a total imperturbability at the human cost, which he believed was inevitable in modern war. He was certain victory should be actively pursued or else the war would last decades, and in 1918 his policy of wearing the Germans down and developments in supply and tactics meant he oversaw victories. Despite a recent turn to his defence, he remains the most controversial figure in the English historiography, for some a bungler who wasted millions of lives, for others a determined winner.More »
12. Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg
Hindenburg was called out of retirement in 1914 to command the Eastern Front in tandem with the formidable talents of Ludendorff. He was soon just the gloss on Ludendorff’s decisions, but was still officially in charge and given total command of the war with Ludendorff. Despite the failure of Germany in the war he remained hugely popular, and would go on to become the President of Germany who appointed Hitler.
13. Conrad von Hötzendorf
The head of the Austro-Hungarian army, Conrad is perhaps the individual most responsible for the outbreak of World War One. Before 1914 he had called for war perhaps over fifty times, and he believed strong action against rival powers was needed to maintain the empire’s integrity. He wildly overestimated what the Austrian army could achieve, and put in place imaginative plans with little regard to reality. He started the war by having to divide his forces, thus making little impact on either zone, and continued to fail. He was replaced in February 1917.
14. Marshal Joseph Joffre
As Chief of the French General Staff from 1911, Joffre did much to shape the way France would respond to a war, and as Joffre believed in a strong offence, this involved promoting aggressive officers and pursuing Plan XVIII: an invasion of Alsace-Lorraine. He advocated full and fast mobilization during the July Crises of 1914, but found his preconceptions shattered by the reality of war. Almost at the last minute he changed plans to stop Germany just short of Paris, and his calmness and unflustered nature contributed to this victory. However, over the next year a succession of critics eroded his reputation, and he fell open to heavy attack when his plans for Verdun were seen to have created that crisis. In December 1916 he was removed from command, made a Marshal, and reduced to performing ceremonies.
15. Mustafa Kemal
A professional Turkish soldier who predicted that Germany would lose a major conflict, Kemal was nonetheless given a command when the Ottoman Empire joined Germany in the war, albeit after a period of waiting. Kemal was sent to the Gallipoli Peninsula, where he played a key role in defeating the Entente invasion, propelling him to the international stage. He was then sent to fight Russia, winning victories, and to Syria and Iraq. Resigning in disgust at the state of the army, he suffered from health problems before recovering and being sent to Syria again. As Ataturk, he would later lead a rebellion and found the modern state of Turkey.
16. Field Marshall Horatio Kitchener
A famed imperial commander, Kitchener was appointed British War Minister in 1914 more for his reputation than his ability to organise. He almost immediately bought a realism to the cabinet, claiming the war would last years and require as large an army Britain could manage. He used his fame to recruit two millions volunteers through a campaign which featured his face, and kept French and the BEF in the war. However, he was a failure in other aspects, such as securing Britain’s turn to total war, or providing a coherent organisational structure. Slowly sidelined during 1915, Kitchener’s public reputation was so great he couldn’t be fired, but he drowned in 1916 when his ship, travelling to Russia, was sunk.
17. Lenin
Although by 1915 his opposition to the war meant that he was only the leader of a terribly small socialist faction, by the end of 1917 his continued call for peace, bread and land had helped him take charge of a coup d’etat to lead Russia. He overruled fellow Bolsheviks who wanted to continue the war, and entered into talks with Germany which turned into the Brest-Litovsk treaty.
18. British Prime Minister Lloyd-George
Lloyd-George’s political reputation in the years before the First World War was one of a vocal anti-war liberal reformer. Once conflict broke out in 1914 he read the public mood and was instrumental in getting the Liberals to support intervention. He was an early ‘Easterner’ – wanting to attack the Central Powers away from the Western Front – and as Minister for Munitions in 1915 intervened to improve production, throwing open the industrial workplace to women and competition. After politicking in 1916 he became Prime Minister, determined to win the war but save British lives from his commanders, of whom he was deeply suspicious and with whom he warred. After victory in 1918 he personally wanted a careful peace settlement, but was pushed into harsher treatment of Germany by his allies.
19. General Erich Ludendorff
A professional soldier who had gained a political reputation, Ludendorff rose in esteem in seizing Liege in 1914, and was appointed Hindenburg’s Chief of Staff in the east in 1914 so he could make an impact. The pair – but chiefly Ludendorff with his great talents – soon inflicted defeats on Russia and pushed them right back. Ludendorff’s reputation and politicking saw he and Hindenburg appointed in charge of the entire war, and it was Ludendorff who drew up the Hindenburg Programme to allow Total War. Ludendorff’s power grew, and he both authorised Unrestricted Submarine Warfare and tried to win a decisive victory in the west in 1918. The failure of both – he innovated tactically, but drew the wrong strategic conclusions – caused him a mental collapse. He recovered to call for an armistice and to create a German scapegoat, and effectively started the ‘Stabbed in the Back’ Myth.More »
20. Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke
Moltke was the nephew of his great namesake, but suffered an inferiority complex to him. As Chief of Staff in 1914, Moltke thought war with Russia was inevitable, and it was he who had the responsibility of implementing the Schlieffen Plan, which he modified but failed to plan through properly pre-war. His changes to the plan and the failure of the German offensive on the Western Front, which owed a deal to his inability to cope with events as they developed, opened him up to criticism and he was replaced as Commander in Chief in September 1914 by Falkenhayn.
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