Lions Led By Donkeys Analysis

A popular opinion amongst historians today is that the generals of World War One were incompetent and were just “a bunch of upper-class delinquents” (Blackadder Goes Forth, 1989). “Lions led by donkeys” was a common phrase which is directed towards the British infantry and the generals, stating that brave soldiers were being led by incompetent generals. Widely known British Sitcom Blackadder Goes Forth’s depiction of World War 1 strongly captures the idea of “Lions led by Donkeys”. There are mixed opinions on the TV show about the historical accuracy and whether it is gives a misleading perspective to the audience. Is the phrase “Lions led by donkeys” a fair judgement? Does Blackadder accurately showcase World War One? The British infantry

More British generals were slaughtered than in the entire Second World War during the Battle of Loos. Statistics show that the casualty rates of ordinary soldiers were around 12% while the generals were 17% between the years of 1914-18. This cannot happen if the idea of the “generals hardly being in the front lines” were true.

AJP Taylor’s verdict “Lions led by Donkeys” is a popular opinion amongst many historians, such as Alan Clark and Leon Wolff. In Alan Clark’s “The Donkeys” published in 1963.

He states that most generals were ‘grossly incompetent for the tasks which they had to discharge and that Haig, in particular, was an unhappy combination of ambition, obstinacy and megalomania’ (Walker, n.d.)

Leon Wolff states that World War 1 was ‘a caricature of war…It was unfairly and brutally conducted up to the highest level’ (Walker, n.d.) in his book “In Flanders Field” published in 1958.

There are several historians who oppose this phrase, such as Gary Sheffield and Peter

By 1918, they had a large and operative fighting force which lead to the defeat of Germany. In my opinion, the “Lions led by donkeys” phrase is not completely true. It may be true that the generals failed to lead the infantry safely but they shouldn’t be blamed for it completely.

The Great War was unexpected and the generals could not have fully prepared for a war that long and of such a high calibre. The generals were blamed for the high casualty rates during WW1.

However, historians don’t take into account that there are many factors contributing to the mistakes the generals had made such as the rapid increase in soldiers they had to control, where prior to the war the British infantry were known to be small but well experienced.

More soldiers meant supplying more food, accommodation, medical supplies and clothes.
People may say the generals are meant to be prepared for any type of war; although this may be true, WW1 was the world's biggest war at that point and no one else could’ve had more experience to lead the