• The First World War was a gigantic episode of potlatch or ostentatious destruction. Each nation sacrificed the lives of their soldiers, offering them up as “gifts” or sacrificial victims.
   
• General Douglas Haig directed the Battle of the Somme. In spite of the disastrous failure of this battle and of subsequent battles, he retained the title of Commander-in-Chief until the end of the war, November 11, 1918. Although the battles he initiated and directed resulted in enormous casualties, Haig received encouragement and support from the King and a substantial portion of the British population. The following letter addressed to Haig was found among his papers:
   

Illustrious General, the expectation of mankind is upon you—the ‘Hungry Haig’ as we call you here at home. You shall report 500,000 casualties, but the Soul of the empire will afford them. And you shall break through with the cavalry of England and France for the greatest victory that history has ever known. Drive on, Illustrious General!
 

• This note was preserved by Haig probably because it expressed his own feelings. This letter—and similar messages he received from the British public—reinforced Haig’s belief that there was a great mass of people who shared his willingness to pursue victory even at the cost of the lives of hundreds-of-thousands of men.
   
• It’s taken years for me to come to terms with the phrase that appeared in the letter to Douglas Haig: “You shall report 500,000 casualties, but the Soul of the Empire will afford them.” It will take years for historians—and all of us—to acknowledge the truth of the First World War: that the British nation took pleasure in—was gratified by—the slaughter of its own soldiers.
   

Richard Koenigsberg