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Historical revisionism
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====Poor British and French military leadership==== The military leadership of the [[British Army]] during [[World War I]] was frequently condemned as poor by historians and politicians for decades after the war ended. Common charges were that the generals commanding the army were blind to the realities of [[trench warfare]], ignorant of the conditions of their men and unable to learn from their mistakes, thus causing enormous numbers of casualties ("[[lions led by donkeys]]").<ref>Lions Led By Donkeys *Thompson, P.A. ''[https://www.churchillbooks.com/detail.cfm?item_num=38200&is_mil_book=1 ''Lions Led By Donkeys: Showing How Victory In The Great War Was Achieved By Those Who Made the Fewest Mistakes''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927044244/https://www.churchillbooks.com/detail.cfm?item_num=38200&is_mil_book=1 |date=September 27, 2007 }} T. Werner Laurie, Ltd. 1st English Edition. 1927 *Bournes, John. [https://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/donkey/index.htm "Lions Led By Donkeys"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208132234/http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/donkey/index.htm |date=December 8, 2009 }}, Centre for First World War Studies, [[University of Birmingham]].</ref> However, during the 1960s, historians such as [[John Terraine]] began to challenge that interpretation. In recent years, as new documents have come forth and the passage of time has allowed for more objective analysis, historians such as [[Gary Sheffield (historian)|Gary D. Sheffield]] and [[Richard Holmes (military historian)|Richard Holmes]] observe that the military leadership of the British Army on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] had to cope with many problems that they could not control, such as a lack of adequate military communications, which had not occurred. Furthermore, military leadership improved throughout the war, culminating in the [[Hundred Days Offensive]] advance to victory in 1918. Some historians, even revisionists, still criticise the British High Command severely but are less inclined to portray the war in a simplistic manner with brave troops being led by foolish officers. There has been a similar movement regarding the French Army during the war with contributions by historians such as [[Anthony Clayton]]. Revisionists are far more likely to view commanders such as French General [[Ferdinand Foch]], British General [[Douglas Haig]] and other figures, such as American [[John Pershing]], in a sympathetic light.
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