General Douglas Haig led the British effort during the First World War--and planned the Battle of the Somme (July 1- November 18, 1916). Reflecting on the meaning of the heroic death of his soldiers, Haig cited a speech by the Moslem Emperor Baber (in 1527) before sending his troops into battle:
“The most High God has been propitious to us—that if we fall in the field, we die the death of martyrs; if we survive, we rise victorious avengers of the cause of God.”
This statement, Haig said, conveyed the “root matter of the present war.”
Haig cites this passage because his thinking is identical to the thinking of the Moslem Emperor: If the British soldier falls in the field, he will "die the death of a martyr." If he survives, the soldier will "rise victorious the avenger of the cause of God."
Haig gave credit to the “splendid officers” who led soldiers forward to attack again and again. For many of these young men, he says (similar to the case of an Islamic suicide bomber), attacking meant “certain death.”
Haig states that these soldiers "must have known" (that death was certain) before they began their attack.
Summarizing British casualties in his report of August 22, 1919, Haig noted that British casualties were “no larger than to be expected.” British casualties—killed, wounded, missing and prisoners—were “approximately three million (3,076,388).
What was the First World War? The greatest martyrdom operation in human history.
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