The point was to win
Sir: It was surprising to read (Arts, 22 August) that Sheridan Morley apparently holds the — I thought — outdated view that Haig was 'murderous'. Surely he was typical of the generals of his time, but more intelligent than many, and the relative casu- alties of the BEF were no greater than those of the French, German, Italian, Rus- sian or Austro-Hungarian armies. It is offensive to describe the martyred armies as being 'pointlessly slaughtered'. The point was to win the war. They were condemned to fight that war the way that war was fought — smashing the German Empire was a hideously difficult and brutal busi- ness. How confidently, indeed contemptu- ously, Lord Chief Justice Now hands down his judgments on the past! If any castiga- tion is due, it is better directed at those leaders who lost the peace and paved the way to the second war.
C.A. Latimer
3 The Street, Melton, Woodbridge
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