"
Lions led by donkeys" is a phrase popularly used to describe the
British infantry of the
First World War and to blame the
generals who led them. The contention is that the brave soldiers (
lions) were sent to their deaths by incompetent and indifferent leaders (
donkeys).
[1] The phrase was the source of the title of one of the most scathing examinations of British First World War generals,
The Donkeys—a study of
Western Front offensives—by politician and writer of military histories
Alan Clark.
[2] The book typified the mainstream First World War history of the 1960s, was vetted by
Basil Liddell Hart,
[3] and helped to form a popular view of the First World War (in the English-speaking world) in the decades that followed. However, the work's viewpoint of incompetent military leaders was never accepted by some mainstream historians, and both the book and its viewpoint have been criticised.
[4]
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
en.wikipedia.org
