The Auckldand Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1928. A SOLDIER AND A MAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 25, 31 January 1928, Page 6

The Auckldand Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1928. A SOLDIER AND A MAN.

For the cause that tacks assistant*, For the wrong that needs resistance For the future in the distance And the good that «oe can

"Not only a great soldier, but a great gentleman," was the comment of a British general who ay as serving under Douglas Haig. It is doubtful if Haig will rank with the masters of war, or whether historians will attribute to him the quality of genius. Both questions arc subjects of controversy. His gifts seem to have been moral rather than intellectual. He was painstaking, firm, patient; sometimes bold and imaginative in his generalship; stubbornness itself in defence; entirely free from envy and ambition; and he never subordinated the cause to baser considerations. It has been said that he was better in defence than in attack, but against this we must set the fact that his offensives were frequently intended to relieve the pressure on other parts of the Allied line. If the sacrifices on the Somme were largely fruitless in regard to inflicting any decisive blow on the enemy, this was due rather to the politicians than to the military. Passchendaele was a desperate attempt to recover ground which probably would not have been lost had the original plans been followed.

In the crisis of 1918, during which Haig issued his famous "Backs to the wall" order, it was evident that unity of control alone could save the Western front. The establishment of this control was due quite as much to Haig as to Milner. Haig's offensive later showed that he could attack as well as defend. The sweep forward from the beginning of August was masterly in design and execution. The British Government maintained that victory was not possible before 1919, when more American troops would be available. Haig thought otherwise. The Government allowed him to make the attempt on condition that he shouldered the entire responsibility. He knew that the politicians desired to replace him, and that failure meant the ruin of his career. He took the ri§k, and the collapse of the Germans and the end of the war in November justified his decision. Mr. John Buchan's judgment of him at the end of the war was that more than any other soldier Haig made Foch's final conception possible.

When the war was over he devoted himself to the welfare of ex-soldievs. In this he affords a striking contrast to Wellington, with whom he has been compared. Wellington was notoriously indifferent to the welfare of his former comrades in arms. Haig never captured the popular imagination, though he commanded the confidence of both the army and the public. He remains a knightly figure, remote, self-contained, and reserved. He never advertised himself, never sought political influence, never retaliated on his traducers, and exhibited alike the old Roman virtues of firmness and calmness in the hour of trial and modesty in the hour of victory. "Drawing comfort from deep springs, he bore in the face of difficulties a gentle and unshakable resolution." His character stood the wear and tear of the war. It will stand also for many generations as an example of the steadfastness that is more than genius, and of the personal honour that is so much more than the empty acclamations of the market-placc.