By John Terraine
Cassell, 1963
Commentary by Christopher M. Hand
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| Generals Haig and Pershing |
Much of the controversy that surrounds the late John Terraine (1921-2003) is undeserved. When his work is placed in a larger historical context, his arguments and thesis appear to be consistent, forceful, convincing and above all balanced. He is to be admired for his conviction in the face of what must, at first, have seemed to have been an overwhelming majority opinion against his arguments. That he has stuck with it for over three decades speaks volumes. It is these attributes that have won him his influence. John Terraine's work is essential to any balanced study of the First World War and any work that does not include him is probably incomplete.
In 1963, John Terraine published Douglas Haig, The Educated Soldier. This is Terraine's first biography and it seems oddly placed. Given the broad scope of his later books one asks if it would not have been better to concentrate on Haig at the end. Regardless, Terraine chose Britain's most challenging figure as a vehicle to explain the larger issues, and in doing so also attempted to rehabilitate Haig's reputation. It is in this biography that Terraine introduces two of his major themes, his support of Haig as a capable and competent commander and his views on the Western Front and the BEF as being instrumental in defeating the Germans. The reviews were mixed. An American review by Elbridge Colby in Best Sellers calls it "unabashedly partisan" and criticised the book and Terraine for being anti-American. The Economist found it thorough but not a lively read and accused Terraine of being to quick to praise Haig. "He [Haigl deserves rehabilitation but not an accolade; and in seeking the first objective, Mr. Terraine has been perhaps a little too willing to award the second distinction."
. . . One of the more interesting insights was made in the Times Literary Supplement where Terraine's Douglas Haig was favourably compared to Duff Cooper's Haig, and claimed that Terraine's book could "take its place beside Cooper's as an outstanding biography, " as the book made excellent use ofthe sources available. Travers also considers that Terraine's Haig is "pretty good," and that it is well researched, and well written, although he still labels Terraine as an "apologist. " Dennis Winter in his recent book Haig's Command also accused Terraine of being an apologist for 'Haig the Butcher'. Terraine counters such accusations by stating that he has nothing to apologize for, and neither did Haig.
Whether it was praised or condemned, it was Douglas Haig which created an audience for Terraine's work, and which established him as a historian who's point of view had to be considered. From this point on, his work became increasingly more analytic in nature and began to reflect that wider view of military history championed by Michael Howard.
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To a certain extent Terraine's influence on the historiography of the First World War exists simply because he wrote so much [since his Haig biography], but also because much of what he has written runs contrary to the accepted view of Britain's role in the war. Despite his relatively late start as a publishing historian, he prove[d] to be a prolific writer. From 1960 to 1982 Terraine published nine books on the First World War along with several other major works, notably his biography of Lord Mountbatten. During that period he was also editor for Brigadier-General J.L. Jack's diary, and J.F.C. Fuller's The Decisive Battles of the Western World and Their Influence Upon History. He also wrote for several journals and is listed as a regular contributor to History Today, Spectator, the RUSI Journal, the Listener and Punch magazine.
Christopher M. Hand
For more on John Terraine, read my article on my 1989 interview with him, "Tea and Biscuits with John Terraine", HERE. MH
Source: Excerpted from "John Terraine A Study of a First World War Revisionist", Canadian Military History, Volume 6, Number 2, Autumn 1997,
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