"Haig, to me, remains – however much I think about him, and whatever defenses of him I listen to – remains a profoundly unattractive figure.

"He does seem to have been cursed by some emotional deficiency. He was continually thinking of his own position and he was continually thinking of victory. Those things seem to have been more important to him than conserving lives.

"I mustn't be unfair here.

"All sides, all generals, still thought in terms of victory, in the sense at least, they didn't want to lose the war. But Haig does seem to have been guilty of persuading himself and persuading politicians that he could actually achieve a victory in a classic military sense. And I don't think such a victory was possible in the conditions of 1914 to '18."