The butcher of the Somme was a nickname given to British General Douglas Haig by German soldiers. Haig was commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during World War I, and oversaw the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The battle was one of the bloodiest in history, with over a million casualties on both sides. German soldiers nicknamed Haig the butcher of the Somme because of the high number of British casualties.