Allied Commanders Henri Philippe Pétain, Douglas Haig, Ferdinand Foch, and John J. Pershing. Foch was Allied Commander in Chief, the other men commanders of the French Army, the British Expeditionary Force, and the American Expeditionary Force respectively. From The Memoirs of Marshall Foch by Marshall Foch.
Commanders of the Allies in 1918 and their autographs.Pétain Haig Foch Pershing
"Marshall Haig has embarked upon this giant offensive in Flanders at the risk of exhausting the entire British Army. They are in their eighth battle! The weather is becoming quite unfavourable. This operation has been badly staged: a narrow front, and a pivoting movement demanding an advance on the part of the right flank, which could not be realised. Furthermore, the enemy had time to bring all his reserves up to Flanders, as a result of the inaction of the French troops and the growing weakness of the Russian Army.Marshall Haig is supported in his obstinacy by several politicians who look upon this offensive from the standpoint of political advantages, which bear no relationship to the military point of view."
Excerpt from the entry for October 17, 1917 from the diary of King Albert I of Belgium. British commander General Douglas Haig and his general Gough and Plummer continued attacks in the Third Battle of Ypres. British politicians, including Prime Minister David Lloyd George, expected Haig to fail, but did not stop him.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, pp. 178 and 179, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
1917-10-17, 1917, October, Albert, Haig
