Early hopes dashed
General Haig was never one to believe that the war with Germany would be over quickly.
This point is reinforced in his diary of 1 October 1914 where he describes how, after the early battle of the Aisne, things were reaching deadlock:
'Thus the 1st October marks the beginning of the final stage of the operations on the River Aisne, so far as concerns my Corps. In front of this Corps, and for many miles on either side, affairs have reached a deadlock, and no decision seems possible in this area.'
