On the one hand, there were the flamboyant views of General Sir Douglas Haig, the 55-year-old commander-in-chief of the BEF [British Expeditionary Force], the eternal optimist. Unfortunately, unbeknown to the public and to those poor soldiers who would have to go over the top, there were hidden fissures beneath the surface unity of the high command. He was adamant that any attack plan should be The British Army’s inefficiency when it came to organising the most basic actions might have been excused if only its generals had sensibly carried out their most important task: the planning of the great attack.

Source: The Times June 12, 2016 23:03 UTC