Haig, Sir Douglas, commander-in-chief of the British military forces in France and Belgium from 1915 to the close of the First World War. Haig was born in 1861, entered the army at the age of twenty-four and served in India and Africa, rising steadily in rank. In 1912, Haig was made commander at Aldershot, the principal training camp of the British army. On the outbreak of the First World War he was raised to the rank of general and made commander of the first army corps that went to France, and December, 1915, succeeded Sir John French as commander-in-chief. He was considered one of the ablest commanders durtng the war, and the most brilliant successes of the British troops were under his leadership. In 1917, he was given the rank of field marshall, the highest rank in the British military service.

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