title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig did not speak to or visit Gough until 23 March. That day Haig arranged for reserves to be sent down from Flanders. Formal orders were issued to the Fifth Army to maintain contact with the Third Army to their north and the French to their south. After initial optimism, Tim Travers has written of "panic" setting in amongst senior officers like Herbert Lawrence and Tavish Davidson at GHQ on 23 March, and there is evidence that a retreat towards the Channel Ports may have been considered.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig had a GHQ Reserve which was massed in the north, 72 hours' march away, to protect the Channel Ports. The French Commander-in-Chief, Pétain and Haig met on 23 March (4pm), and Petain stressed the need for Gough's Fifth Army to keep in touch with Pelle's French V Corps on its right. Petain agreed to place two French armies under Fayolle as a reserve in the Somme valley, but could not agree to Haig's request to send 20 French divisions to Amiens because of the risk of a German attack around Champagne. Amidst mutual suspicion – a French officer recorded Petain's increasing fears on 22 and 23 March that the British would retreat on the Channel Ports – Petain was issuing orders to cover Paris as a priority and maintain contact with the British "if possible".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: 24 March was "probably the most traumatic day (Haig) had endured since" First Ypres in 1914. Half of BEF supplies came into Le Havre, Rouen and Dieppe and passed by train through Amiens, making it a major choke point. Planning that winter had left open the question of whether the BEF would retreat southwest or form "an island" around the Channel Ports (Calais, Boulogne, Dunkirk) through which Haig's armies drew the other half of their supplies. A retreat on the ports does not seem to have been decided until some days after 21 March. Haig remained composed in front of more junior officers.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: This is one of the occasions where doubt has been cast on the authenticity of Haig's diary. Haig's handwritten diary of the next meeting (Dury, 24 March at 11 pm) is brief. The typed diary – probably based on notes prepared in April – describes Petain as "almost unbalanced and most anxious", claiming that after attending a Cabinet meeting in Paris, where he had been ordered to "cover Paris at all costs", he threatened to retreat on Paris, leaving the British right flank uncovered. Tim Travers argues that Petain said at the meeting that he would only retreat on Paris if Haig retreated on the Channel Ports, and that Major-General Clive reported from the meeting that Petain had come away satisfied that Haig would not break contact. In a postwar exchange of letters with Haig Petain denied that he had ordered a retreat on Paris or had threatened Haig that he might, a recollection which Herbert Lawrence appears to have supported. It has been suggested that Haig and Lawrence, on the long drive back to GHQ from their meeting with Petain may simply have misunderstood his intentions, and that any factual errors in Haig's diary for this period were honest if mistaken recollections.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: In the typed diary, Haig also claimed that on returning at 3 am he telegraphed to Wilson (CIGS) and Milner (War Secretary – an error on Haig's part, as Milner did not hold this position until April) to come over to France and ensure the appointment of "Foch or some other determined general who would fight" as Allied Generalissimo. There is no record of the telegram, and Milner and Wilson were in fact already on their way to France at the time. Wilson's diary records that Haig telephoned him at 7 or 8 pm on 24 March, before the meeting with Petain, and after Haig's evening visit to Third Army, at which he had ordered that Army to maintain contact at all costs with First Army to its north. Travers suggests that Haig had written off both Fifth Army and the link with the French at this point, that he called Henry Wilson over to France to discuss a retreat on the Channel Ports, and that he wanted the 20 French divisions at Amiens not to maintain the link with the French but to cover the British retreat or perhaps to counterattack.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig's letter of 25 March, sent via Weygand, asked for 20 French divisions to cover the southern British flank as the BEF fought its way back "covering the Channel Ports". The letter is ambiguous and does not specifically mention a retreat "to" the ports. Sheffield argues that orders to Third Army were not a precursor to retreat but "a means to an end", pointing to orders for, if needs be, a counterattack onto the northern flank of the German attackers, and also argues that although GHQ had a duty to consider contingency plans, unlike in 1940, evacuation was never actually likely.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Wilson's diary for their meeting on 25 March (11am) describes Haig as "cowed" and saying that unless the French sent more help the BEF was beaten and "it would be better to make peace on any terms we could". Wilson claimed that Haig suggested Petain be appointed Allied generalissimo (which is not consistent with Haig's later claim that Petain was unwilling to help the British) and that he proposed Foch over Haig's objections. Petain had sent 3 French divisions on the evening of 21 March to help the British, not the 20 Haig demanded, vindicating Henry Wilson's warnings that relying on bilateral agreement with Petain would provide "very cold charity".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: At the Doullens Conference (26 March), Haig accepted the appointment of Foch to coordinate reserves of all nationalities wherever he saw fit. In his typed diary Haig claimed much of the credit for Foch's appointment and to have insisted that he have wider powers over Petain than Clemenceau had wanted to grant him. However, the typed version of Haig's diary, although fuller, does not specifically contradict the handwritten original, and it has been suggested that Haig either needed to reconcile himself psychologically to the need to accept a French superior or else was simply letting off steam and wanted to give himself the credit he felt he deserved. Milner, who represented the British government at Doullens, recorded that Clemenceau was unhappy with Petain's recent efforts, but claimed that he himself had persuaded Haig to accept the appointment of Foch; Haig's official biographer Duff Cooper gave Haig the credit but commented that the idea had probably occurred to several participants simultaneously. Wilson recorded that Haig seemed "10 years younger" that evening after Doullens.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: After a German offensive near Arras ("Mars", 9 German divisions, 28 March) was beaten back, between 29 and 31 March the Germans pushed on Amiens. A Canadian brigade took part in an action at Moreuil Wood. Attacks on 4 April (Villers-Bretonneux, east of Amiens) and 5 April on the Third Army front were beaten back by British and Australian forces, although contingency plans were still being prepared to cover Rouen and Le Havre in case Amiens fell.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Lloyd George demanded Haig sack Gough, and when Haig was reluctant he was given a direct order to do so by Derby (4 April). Haig recommended Cavan for the vacancy (it went to Rawlinson), and offered to resign. Lloyd George wanted to accept Haig's resignation and read out his offer to a meeting of the War Cabinet called (8 April) to discuss "the desirability of getting rid of Haig", but the other ministers, and Henry Wilson, thought there was no obvious successor (Hankey thought the only possibility was Plumer who was "about as stupid as Haig himself"). Rumours were rife in GHQ that Haig would soon be dismissed in favour of Robertson, Wilson (who may have been a prime mover for Haig's dismissal), or more likely Plumer, Byng or Allenby.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: During the second major German offensive, "Georgette" in Flanders (9 April), Haig issued his famous order (11 April) that his men must carry on fighting "With Our Backs to the Wall and believing in the Justice of our Cause" to protect "The safety of our homes and the Freedom of mankind" – the latter being a real concern after recent British propaganda dwelled on the harsh terms imposed on Russia at Brest-Litovsk. Just as "Michael" had swept over the Cambrai and the Somme battlefields, won at such cost by Haig's own offensives in previous years, this one swept over Passchendaele although not Ypres itself. The offensive threatened Hazebrouck, "the Amiens of the north", a key railhead through which supplies were brought from the Channel Ports – had it fallen the Channel Ports might have been at risk and Plumer's Second Army might have been cut off.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Foch had earlier refused to send 4 French divisions to Flanders but now redeployed Maistre's Tenth French Army to the Somme sector, freeing up British forces. At Beauvais (3 April) Foch had been given power of "strategic direction", although his powers were still largely based on persuasion rather than command and he was given the title of Generalissimo (he would have preferred "Commander-in-Chief") (14 April) to give him more clout over Petain, who was still reluctant to release French reserves. Eventually, later in the year, Petain would simply be placed under Foch's command, although Haig and Pershing retained their right of appeal to their own governments. During a renewed attack (17 April) Foch drew attention to the valour of the British at First Ypres and refused to send further French reinforcements so as to keep a strategic reserve. 24 April saw a further unsuccessful German attack at Villers-Bretonneux near Amiens, featuring the first tank-to-tank combat. Haig was suspicious of Foch's request to move British divisions to the French sector to free up French reserves, worrying that this might lead to "a permanent Amalgam" of French and British forces. Milner agreed but at a meeting on 27 April meeting the dispute was smoothed over, and British IX Corps moved to the French sector. On 30 April Ludendorff called a halt to the Flanders offensive.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Although some American divisions were now serving with the British forces, Haig thought Pershing "very obstinate and stupid" for refusing to integrate US troops (1 May) with Allied units (an ironic complaint in view of his reluctance to integrate British troops with French). At Abbeville (2 May) it was agreed that in the event of renewed attack British forces would retreat south if necessary and abandon the Channel Ports rather than lose touch with the French. Contingency plans were made (11 May) although it is unclear that they would ever have been executed.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: The near-debacle of March 1918 was an object of political controversy. Repington wrote that it was "the worst defeat in the history of the Army". Bonar Law claimed in a House of Commons debate (23 April) that Haig and Petain had agreed the extension of the British line, which was not wholly true as in January 1918 the Supreme War Council had ordered a longer extension than Haig and Petain had agreed between themselves in December 1917, only leaving them to sort out the details. Lloyd George was accused (in the Maurice Debate of 9 May 1918 in the House of Commons, after Maurice's public accusation three days earlier) of having hoarded troops in the UK to make it harder for Haig to launch offensives. Lloyd George misled the House of Commons in claiming that Haig's forces were stronger (1.75 million men) at the start of 1918 than they had been a year earlier (1.5 million men) – in fact the increase was caused by an increase of 335,000 in the number of labourers (Chinese, Indians and black South Africans), and Haig had fewer combat infantry (630,000, down from 900,000 a year earlier), holding a longer stretch of front (the rest of Haig's men would have been tank, air and artillery crews and above all logistical support personnel). Haig had opposed Maurice in taking his concerns into public, but was disappointed at how Lloyd George was able to get off the hook with a "claptrap speech". Maurice believed he had saved Haig from dismissal.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: By late spring the BEF had taken just over 300,000 casualties. Battalions had had to be brought in from the Middle East. Haig spent time touring his forces in May. Haig's wife reported rumours (11 May) that he was to be brought home as Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces; when Wilson denied the rumours to Haig's face, Haig recorded (20 May) that "no one has been chosen yet!" to replace him.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: A third major German offensive against the French on the Aisne ("Bluecher"), starting on 27 May, overwhelmed Hamilton-Gordon's IX British Corps which had been sent there to refit after being involved in "Michael" and "Georgette". At a conference at Versailles (1 June) there was friction between Haig, who was worried that the Germans would attack his sector again (intelligence reported extra German hospital spaces being made available near La Bassee) – this was indeed the German plan but the offensive in question, "Hagen", was repeatedly postponed and never actually took place – and Foch, who demanded that the US divisions trained by the British be moved to his sector to release French divisions (of whose fighting ability Haig was privately scornful) – Foch also accused Lloyd George of withholding British troops in the UK. Foch moved French forces down from Flanders, but there was further friction at a meeting in Paris about Foch's request to move British reserves south (7 June). Haig threatened to appeal to the British Government if he felt Foch was demanding too many British troops, so it was agreed that Haig and Foch should meet more frequently, and in time they developed a good working relationship (although wags at GHQ said he had to fight "Boche, Foch and Loygeorges").


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Cooperation improved when the Germans launched their "Gneisenau" Offensive on 9 June, to widen the "Bluecher" salient westwards. Lloyd George and Milner gave their full support to Foch on moving four British divisions. They told Haig that he should consider himself subordinate to Foch for the time being and that they were no longer interested in sacking him (this may have been untrue – as late as August, on the eve of the battle of Amiens, Lloyd George may have been trying to replace Haig with Cavan).


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: With another German attack imminent, Herbert Lawrence was asked (12–13 July – Haig was on leave in England) to send 8 Divisions – he sent only 2 (XXII Corps). Haig thought this was breaching an agreement of 1 July that covering Paris and the Somme area was to take priority. Wilson consulted the War Cabinet then (in the small hours of 15 July) told Haig to "exercise his judgement" about holding the British line. Haig felt that they would take credit for Foch's victory but might dismiss him if disaster befell the British forces. The German "Peace Offensive" began against the French at Rheims on the same day. Haig eventually agreed that the French could use XXII Corps if necessary "for exploitation".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: The "Peace Offensive" turned out to be the last German throw of the dice. "Hagen" was finally cancelled, and in July and August the Germans were defeated, by Allied forces at the Second Battle of the Marne, and by Rawlinson's Fourth Army (British Australian and Canadian Corps) at Amiens. The latter victory, enjoying complete air and artillery superiority and using over 500 tanks, was described by General Erich Ludendorff as "The Black Day of the German Army" after mass surrenders of German troops. On 11 August Haig, contrary to the wishes of Marshal Foch, insisted on a halt to the Amiens offensive (rather than engage new German troops with tired Allied ones who had outrun much of their artillery cover) and launched a new attack by Byng's Third Army on 21 August between the Scarpe and the Ancre. As with his previous offensives in 1916 and 1917, Haig encouraged his subordinates to aim for ambitious objectives, in this case a thrust from Albert to Bapaume, and this time with more success than in previous years, and more than the government were expecting: on 21 August Haig was visited by Winston Churchill, Minister of Munitions, who told him that new equipment (tanks, guns, new poison gases etc.) was being produced ready for what the government expected to be the war-winning offensive in July 1919. On 10 September Haig, on a brief visit to London, insisted that the war could end that year and asked Lord Milner (Secretary of State for War) to send all available able-bodied men and transportation. Milner afterwards shared with Wilson his scepticism and his concerns that Haig would embark on "another Passchendaele".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig's forces continued to enjoy much success, but when they began to advance towards the Hindenburg Line Haig received a supposedly "personal" telegram from the CIGS Henry Wilson (31 August), warning him that he was not to take unnecessary losses in storming these fortifications. Haig, surmising that the War Cabinet were not forbidding him to attack but might dismiss him if the assault failed, telegraphed Wilson back that they were a "wretched lot" (Wilson replied that the government were worried about needing to retain troops in the UK because of a police strike) and wrote that attacking the Germans now would be less costly than allowing them time to regroup and consolidate. When the Third and Fourth Armies reached the Hindenburg Line (18 September) Haig received a congratulatory note from Wilson saying "you must be a famous general", to which he replied that he was not (as this would have meant currying favour with Repington and the Northcliffe Press) but "we have a number of very capable generals". Milner visited GHQ, and warned him that manpower would not be available for 1919 if squandered now.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: There is some dispute over how much direct operational control Haig maintained at this time, Tim Travers in particular arguing that he allowed his Army Commanders (Plumer, Byng, Horne, Birdwood and Rawlinson) a very free hand, whilst at the same time Ferdinand Foch, whose role had initially been confined to advice and deployment of reserves, was exerting ever-greater influence over strategy. Haig was irritated that Foch insisted that Plumer's Second Army remain part of an Army Group commanded by the King of the Belgians, so that the French and Belgians could take credit for liberating Brussels.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Germany first requested an Armistice after the penetration of the Hindenburg Line at its strongest point, St Quentin/Cambrai, on 28 September, and the almost simultaneous capitulation of Bulgaria, and discussions continued for a month until the ceasefire on 11 November. Haig urged moderation, suggesting that Germany only be asked to give up Belgium and Alsace-Lorraine, and warning that intelligence reports suggested that the German Army was still "far from beaten" (an ironic claim in view of his willingness to pronounce Germany on the verge of defeat in previous years) and that humiliating terms might lead to a militarist backlash. After one set of talks on 21 October Haig suspected Wilson, a staunch Unionist, of wanting to prolong the war as an excuse to subdue southern Ireland by bringing in conscription there. In the end the collapse of Austria-Hungary encouraged the politicians to demand stricter terms (although less strict than Foch or Pershing would have liked) and Germany was required to evacuate the Rhineland as well. However, once Germany had accepted the strict armistice terms, Haig suggested Germany be split into independent states at the peace treaty.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: The forces under Haig's command – including Monash's Australian Corps and Currie's Canadian Corps – achieved impressive results: whereas the French, American and Belgian armies combined captured 196,700 prisoners-of-war and 3,775 German guns between 18 July and the end of the war, Haig's forces, with a smaller army than the French, engaged the main mass of the German Army and captured 188,700 prisoners and 2,840 guns – around half of these prisoners were captured by British cavalry. British daily casualty rates (3,645 per day) were heavier during this period than at the Somme (2,950) or Passchendaele (2,121) (but not Arras: 4,070 over a shorter period), because British forces were attacking across the line, instead of being rotated through a single offensive. The military historian, Gary Sheffield, called this, the so-called Hundred Days Offensive, "by far the greatest military victory in British history".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: As commander-in-chief, one of Haig's responsibilities was to give the final signature to the death warrants of British and Commonwealth soldiers (but not Australian – these went to the Governor-General of Australia) who had been first sentenced to death by Field General Court Martial. Although the book "Shot at Dawn" (1983), which began the campaign for pardons, says that it is "quite incorrect" to hold Haig solely responsible, as he was part of a legal process, by the late 1990s Haig was perhaps best known to the general public because of publicity which implied him to be a brutal disciplinarian – this was not the view of contemporaries. Of the 3,080 men sentenced to death in all theatres, 346 were executed, 266 (77%) were for desertion, 37 for murder and 18 for cowardice. Just over 250 of the executions took place during Haig's time as Commander-in-Chief, but only executed men's records survive, so it is hard to comment on the reasons why men were reprieved.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: During the war, Haig suffered from toothache and sent for a Parisian dentist. Consequently, within months the British Army had hired a dozen dentists and, by the end of the war, there were 831. This led to the formation of the Royal Army Dental Corps in 1921.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: After the conclusion of hostilities, Lloyd George arranged a ceremonial reception for Marshal Foch on 1 December; Haig was asked to travel in the fifth carriage with Henry Wilson but not invited to the reception. Feeling that this was a snub and an attempt to win votes for the imminent General Election, Haig declined to attend at all, although he did swallow his dislike of Lloyd George enough to vote for the Coalition. In November 1918 Haig refused Lloyd George's offer of a viscountcy, partly as he felt it was another snub, as his predecessor Sir John French had been awarded the same rank on being removed from command of the BEF, and partly to use his refusal to bargain for better state financial aid for demobilised soldiers, who Henry Wilson told him were amply provided for by charity. Haig held out despite being lobbied by the King, until Lloyd George backed down in March 1919, blaming a recently sacked pensions minister. Haig was created Earl Haig, Viscount Dawick and Baron Haig, of Bemersyde in the County of Berwick, received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and a grant of £100,000 (his secretary Philip Sassoon had asked for £250,000), to enable him to live in the style appropriate to a senior peer.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: In January 1919, disturbances broke out amongst troops at Calais, as men returning from leave were expected to return to full army discipline and key workers with jobs to go to (who had often been the last to enlist) were – contrary to Haig's advice – given priority for demobilisation. Haig accepted the advice of Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for War, that exercising his right to shoot the ringleaders was not sensible. For much of 1919, Haig served as Commander-in-Chief Home Forces in Great Britain, a key position as a General Strike seemed likely. Haig kept a low profile in this job and insisted the Army be kept in reserve, not used for normal policing. His military career ended in January 1920. Lord Haig arranged for his Dispatches to be published in 1922 as the General Election loomed, although in the end his nemesis Lloyd George was ousted for unrelated reasons.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: After retiring from the service, Lord Haig devoted the rest of his life to the welfare of ex-servicemen, making many speeches (which did not come easily to him) and answering all letters in his own hand. Haig pushed for the amalgamation of organisations, quashing a suggestion of a separate organisation for officers, into The British Legion which was founded in June 1921. He visited South Africa in 1921, Newfoundland in 1924, and Canada in 1925 (visits to Australia and New Zealand were being planned when he died) to promote ex-servicemen's interests. He was instrumental in setting up the Haig Fund for the financial assistance of ex-servicemen and the Haig Homes charity to ensure they were properly housed; both continue to provide help many years after they were created.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: An avid golf enthusiast, Haig was captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, from 1920 to 1921. He was president of The British Legion until his death and was chairman of the United Services Fund from 1921 until his death.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Lord Haig maintained ties with the British Army after his retirement; he was honorary colonel of the 17th/21st Lancers (having been honorary colonel of the 17th Lancers from 1912), The London Scottish and the King's Own Scottish Borderers. Royal Horse Guards, He was also Lord Rector and later Chancellor of the University of St Andrews.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig died at 21 Prince's Gate, London, from a heart attack, aged 66, on 29 January 1928, and was given an elaborate funeral on 3 February. "Great crowds lined the streets ... come to do honour to the chief who had sent thousands to the last sacrifice when duty called for it, but whom his war-worn soldiers loved as their truest advocate and friend." The gun-carriage that carried the Unknown Warrior to his grave and, in active service, had borne the gun that fired the first British shot in the First World War took the field marshal's body from St Columba's Church, Pont Street, London, where it had been lying in state, to Westminster Abbey. Three royal princes followed the gun-carriage and the pall-bearers included two Marshals of France (Foch and Pétain). The cortege was accompanied by five guards of honour at the slow march, with reversed arms and muffled drums: two officers and fifty other ranks from each branch of the British armed forces (Royal Navy, the Irish Guards, and the Royal Air Force); fifty men of the 1st French Army Corps; and 16 men from the Belgian Regiment of Grenadiers. After the service at the Abbey, the procession re-formed to escort the body to Waterloo station for the journey to Edinburgh, where it lay in state for three days at St Giles's Cathedral.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig's body was buried at Dryburgh Abbey in the Scottish borders, the grave being marked with a plain stone tablet in the style of the standard headstones of the Imperial War Graves Commission issued to British military casualties in the First World War.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: The Earl Haig Memorial, an equestrian statue in Whitehall commissioned by Parliament and sculpted by Alfred Frank Hardiman, aroused some controversy and was not unveiled until just before Armistice Day in 1937.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: After the war Haig was praised by the American General John J. Pershing, who remarked that Haig was "the man who won the war". He was also publicly lauded as the leader of a victorious army. His funeral in 1928 was a huge state occasion. However, after his death he was increasingly criticised for issuing orders which led to excessive casualties of British troops under his command on the Western Front, earning him the nickname "Butcher of the Somme".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Criticism of Haig occurred in the memoirs of politicians. Winston Churchill, whose "World Crisis" was written during Haig's lifetime, suggested that greater use of tanks, as at Cambrai, could have been an alternative to blocking enemy machine-gun fire with "the breasts of brave men".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig sent Churchill extracts from his diaries and commented on drafts, to which Churchill was willing to make amendments. Churchill told Haig (20 November 1926) that he was "a convinced and outspoken opponent to our offensive policy at Loos, on the Somme and at Passchendaele". He thought the Somme "a welter of slaughter which … left the (Allied) armies weaker in relation to the Germans than when it began". Haig thought these views "most mischievous" but was willing to accept criticism of his command, although he argued that decisions he took in August and September 1918 were responsible for the war ending in November.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Churchill also wrote that although the Allied offensives up until August 1918 had been "as hopeless as they were disastrous", requiring men of fifty to be called up because of the manpower shortage, "Haig and Foch were vindicated in the end" and that the Hundred Days "will excite the wonder of future generations." Churchill (23 Nov 1926) admitted to Lord Beaverbrook, who thought him too willing to praise Haig, that "subsequent study of the war has led me to think a good deal better of Haig than I did at the time. It is absolutely certain there was no one who could have taken his place."


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Churchill's essay on Haig in "Great Contemporaries", written after Haig's death, was slightly more critical, noting the government's refusal to offer Haig employment after 1920, his excessive (in Churchill's view) emphasis on the Western Front and his lack of the "sinister genius" possessed by the truly great generals of history; he was "quite friendly to the tanks", Churchill wrote, but would never have come up with the idea of inventing them himself.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Lloyd George was more critical in his "War Memoirs", published in 1936 when Haig was dead and Lloyd George was no longer a major political player. In Chapter 89, he poured scorn on Haig's recently published diaries (clearly "carefully edited" by Duff Cooper) describing Haig as "intellectually and temperamentally unequal to his task" and "second-rate" (compared to Foch, p. 2014), although "above the average for his profession—perhaps more in industry than intelligence". He attributed his own "distrust of his capacity to fill such an immense position" to Haig's lack of a clear grasp even of the Western Front (likening him to "the blind King of Bohemia at Crecy"), let alone the needs of other fronts and his inability, given his preference for being surrounded by courteous "gentlemen", to select good advisers. He also criticised Haig for lacking the personal magnetism of a great commander, for his intrigues against his predecessor Sir John French, his willingness to scapegoat Hubert Gough for the defeat of March 1918 (although he had actually defended him and the alternative would probably have been Haig's own dismissal), and his claims to have subsequently accepted the appointment of Foch as Allied Generalissimo, which Lloyd George claimed that Haig had opposed. On another occasion he is said to have described Haig as "brilliant – to the top of his boots". Lloyd George's biographer John Grigg (2002) attributed his vitriol to a guilty conscience, that he had not intervened to put a stop to the Passchendaele Offensive. John Terraine, writing of the "shrill venom" with which Lloyd George sought to "exculpate himself", also found some "faint stirring of consciousness" of how he had destroyed trust between politicians and soldiers by the Nivelle Affair (making it impossible for Robertson to raise his concerns about the Battle of Passchendaele with the Prime Minister) and called the memoirs "a document as shabby as his behaviour at Calais".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: B. H. Liddell Hart, a military historian who had been wounded during the First World War, went from admirer to sceptic to unremitting critic. He wrote in his diary:


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: One of Haig's defenders was the military historian John Terraine, who published a biography of Haig ("The Educated Soldier") in 1963, in which Haig was portrayed as a "Great Captain" of the calibre of the Duke of Marlborough or the Duke of Wellington. Terraine, taking his cue from Haig's "Final Despatch" of 1918, also argued that Haig pursued the only strategy possible, given the situation the armies were in: that of attrition which wore down the German army and delivered the "coup de grâce" of 1918. Gary Sheffield stated that although Terraine's arguments about Haig have been much attacked over forty years, Terraine's thesis "has yet to be demolished".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Australian historian Les Carlyon wrote that while Haig was slow to adapt to the correct use of artillery in sufficient quantities to support infantry attacks and was generally sceptical that the science of such doctrine had much place in military theory, he was fully supportive of excellent corps and field commanders such as Herbert Plumer, Arthur Currie and John Monash, who seem to best grasp and exercise these concepts, especially later in the war. Carlyon also wrote out that there was a case to answer, for his support of more dubious commanders such as Ian Hamilton, Aylmer Hunter-Weston and Hubert Gough.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Critics like Alan Clark and Gerard De Groot argued that Haig failed to appreciate the critical science of artillery or supporting arms and that he was "unimaginative", although de Groot added that he has had the misfortune to be judged by the standards of a later age, in which the cause of Britain and her Empire were no longer thought worthy of such bloodshed. Paul Fussell, a literary historian, wrote in "The Great War and Modern Memory" that,


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: although one doesn't want to be too hard on Haig ... who has been well calumniated already ... it must be said that it now appears that one thing the war was testing was the usefulness of the earnest Scottish character in a situation demanding the military equivalent of wit and invention. Haig had none. He was stubborn, self-righteous, inflexible, intolerant—especially of the French—and quite humourless ... Indeed, one powerful legacy of Haig's performance is the conviction among the imaginative and intelligent today of the unredeemable defectiveness of all civil and military leaders. Haig could be said to have established the paradigm.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Military historian John Bourne wrote that this was not the case. Haig, although not familiar with technological advances, encouraged their use. He also rejected claims that Haig was a traditionalist and focused only on cavalry tactics. Cavalry represented less than three percent of the BEF in France by September 1916, whilst the British were the most mechanised force in the world by 1918, supported by the world's largest air force. The Tank Corps was the world's first such force and some 22,000 men served in it during the war. The Royal Artillery grew by 520 percent and the engineers who implemented combined arms tactics grew by 2,212 percent. Bourne wrote that this hardly demonstrates a lack of imagination. Other historians, notably John Keegan, refused to accept that the British Army underwent a "learning curve" of any sort; despite this example, Bourne wrote that there "is little disagreement among scholars about the nature of the military transformation". Popular "media opinion" had failed to grasp that under Haig, the British Army adopted a very modern style of war in 1918, something that was very different from 1914, 1916 and 1917.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: There is no consensus on the speed of a learning curve. Tim Travers wrote that there was no one "villain" but the pre-war regular army. Travers blamed the management of early campaigns on the ethos of the pre-war officer corps, which was based on privilege, with a hierarchy intent on self-preservation and maintaining individual reputations. As a consequence the army was poorly positioned to adapt quickly. Travers wrote that initiative was discouraged, making advancement in a learning curve slow and that the ethos of the army was pro-human and anti-technological. The offensive spirit of the infantry, quality of the soldier, rapid rifle-fire and the idea of the soldier being the most important aspect of the battlefield prevailed. The lessons of the Russo-Japanese War and the power of artillery were ignored, which caused costly tactical mistakes in the first half of the war. The tactics that Haig pursued (a breakthrough battle deep into enemy territory) were beyond the mobility and range of artillery, which contributed to operational failures and heavy losses. Travers also criticised Haig "and" enemy commanders for (in Travers' opinion) seeing battle as perfectly organised and something that could be planned perfectly, ignoring the concept of fog of war and confusion in battle. Travers wrote that top-down command became impossible in the chaos of battle and lower levels of command were relied upon. Owing to the lack of attention at this level in the early years of the war, a command vacuum was created in which GHQ became a spectator.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Bourne considered this to be too harsh. Haig belonged to the lower officer corps of the pre-war army, yet he progressed along with other commanders of the Edwardian era from battalion, brigade, division and corps command, to the army group and commanders-in-chief of the First World War. The advances in operational methods, technology and tactical doctrine were implemented by these officers, Haig among them. Bourne also wrote that it was difficult to reconcile the commanders of 1918 with the dogma-ridden, unprofessional, unreflecting institution depicted by Tim Travers, who did not take into account the year 1918, when the officer corps succeeded in integrating infantry, artillery, armour and aircraft in a war-winning operational method, a process which began on the Somme in 1916 and which would have been impossible, had these Edwardian officers been hostile to change in operational methodology and technological terms.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Biographers Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson, writing in the "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" (2004) state that:


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig has been criticised for the high casualties in British offensives, but it has been argued by historians like John Terraine that this was largely a function of the size of the battles, as British forces engaged the main body of the German Army on the Western Front after 1916. Although total deaths in the Second World War were far higher than in the First, British deaths were lower, because Britain fought mainly peripheral campaigns in the Mediterranean for much of the Second World War, involving relatively few British troops, while most of the land fighting took place between Germany and the USSR (which suffered roughly as many dead in the Second World War, not including civilians, as every country in the First World War combined). When British forces engaged in Normandy in 1944, total losses were fewer than on the Somme in 1916, as Normandy was around half the length and less than half the size but casualties per unit per week were broadly similar. David French wrote that British daily loss rates at Normandy, in which divisions lost up to three quarters of their infantry, were similar to those of Passchendaele in 1917, while average battalion casualty rates in 1944–45 (100 men per week) were similar to those of the First World War.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: He also wrote that British perceptions were coloured by the terrible losses of 1 July 1916 (57,000 casualties) but that it should also be remembered that the British never suffered anything like the losses of June 1916, when the Austro-Hungarian Army had 280,000 casualties in a week, or of August 1914 when the French Army lost 211,000 in 16 days, or of March and April 1918 when the Germans lost nearly 350,000 in six weeks (8,600 per day), or 1915 when Russia suffered 2 million casualties in a year.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Total British First World War deaths seemed especially severe as they fell among certain groups such as Pals Battalions (volunteers who enlisted together and were allowed to serve together – and were often killed together) or the alleged "Lost Generation" of public school and university educated junior officers. British deaths, although heavy compared to other British wars, were only around half those of France or Germany as a proportion of the population.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Denis Winter in his book "Haig's Command", wrote that Haig protected his reputation by falsifying his diary, to mislead historians as to his thoughts and intentions. Sheffield and Bourne wrote that all three versions of Haig's diary (the handwritten original, the carbon copy thereof, to which he sometimes made amendments and the version typed up by Lady Haig) have been available in the National Library of Scotland since March 1961. Barring a few disputes over contentious meetings, such as the War Council of early August 1914 and the Doullens Conference of March 1918, "the overall authenticity of Haig's diary is, however, not in doubt", not least because of the frequency with which its contents have been used to criticise him and because the facts do not appear to have been distorted, to fit a retrospective interpretation of the war, such as that contained in the "Final Despatch" of 21 March 1919, in which Haig claimed to have delivered final victory, after several years of "wearing-out" (attrition). Dr John Bourne wrote that (given the low regard in which Haig had come to be held by the general public) "Winter's perceived conspiracy would appear to be one of the least successful in history. The falsification of his diary seems equally inept, given the frequency with which its contents are held against the author's competence, integrity and humanity, not least by Winter himself." Bourne and Bond wrote that the critics of Haig tend to ignore the fact that the war was won in 1918.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Winter also wrote that Haig and the British Government had conspired with the Official Historian, Brigadier J. E. Edmonds, to show Haig in a better light in the Official History. These claims were rejected by a number of British and Australian historians, including Robin Prior and Correlli Barnett. Barnett's comments were supported by John Hussey and Dr. Jeffrey Grey of the University of New South Wales, who wrote that


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Winter wrote that Edmonds did not canvass the opinion of veterans, which was untrue – some volumes were sent to 1,000 or more officers for their comments, as well as being checked against unit diaries down to battalion level – in some cases entire chapters were rewritten (or in the case of Passchendaele, the volume was rewritten several times in the 1940s, during disputes about the roles of Haig and Hubert Gough, who was still alive). Winter quoted, out of context, Edmonds' advice to his researchers to write a draft narrative first, then invite interviewees to comment over lunch: Andrew Green, in his study of the Official History, wrote that this was done deliberately, for memories to be jogged by the draft narrative and that senior officers were more likely to be frank if approached informally. Winter doubted that Haig had passed out of Sandhurst top of his year or been awarded the Anson Sword but this was refuted by S. J. Anglim, who consulted the Sandhurst records.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig has commonly been portrayed as an inept commander who exhibited callous disregard for the lives of his soldiers, repeatedly ordering tens of thousands of them to supposedly useless deaths, during battles such as the Battle of Passchendaele 1917). Sometimes the criticism is more against the generation of British generals which he is deemed to represent, a view aired by writers such as John Laffin ("British Butchers and Bunglers of World War One") and John Mosier ("Myth of the Great War"). Alan Clark's book "The Donkeys" (1961) led to the popularisation of the controversial phrase 'lions led by donkeys', which was used to describe British generalship. Clark attributed this remark to the German generals Max Hoffmann and Erich Ludendorff but later admitted that he lied. A critical biographer finds "no evidence of widespread contempt for Haig; the claim that ordinary soldiers universally thought him a butcher does not accord with their continued willingness to fight".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Haig was played by Sir John Mills in the 1969 film, "Oh! What a Lovely War", in which much of the dialogue is taken from Clark's "The Donkeys". He is portrayed as being indifferent to the fate of the troops under his command, his goal being to wear the Germans down even at the cost of enormous losses and to prevail, since the Allies will have the last 10,000 men left. Gary Sheffield notes that although the film said more about 1960s attitudes than it did about the war, it helped to shape popular memory of the war, being "much quoted, alluded to and parodied".


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: In the 1989 BBC comedy series "", Haig, played by Geoffrey Palmer, makes an appearance in the final episode. Referring to the limited gains made during the 1915–1917 offensives, Blackadder says: "Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin". Haig is also portrayed sweeping up model soldiers from a large map with a dustpan and brush, and tossing them casually over his shoulder.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: In the 1985 Australian television mini-series "Anzacs", Haig was played by actor Noel Trevarthen and the series included scenes featuring meetings between Haig and prominent Australian journalist Keith Murdoch, the father of News Corp. CEO and Chairman Rupert Murdoch. Haig was portrayed as a cold and aloof man whose scepticism about the fighting abilities of the Australian and New Zealand troops arriving on the Western Front in 1916 was aggravated by the conduct of the Australians behind the lines. The series also portrayed British Prime Minister Lloyd George having a strong dislike of Haig and wishing to see him removed from command in 1917.


title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: The Argentine football club Club Atlético Douglas Haig, founded in 1918, is named after Haig. In the early 1920s, several years before his death, a new road of council houses in Kates Hill, Dudley, Worcestershire (now West Midlands) was named Haig Road in honour of Haig. In August 1920, the Great Central Railway gave the name "Earl Haig" to one of their newly built 4-6-0 express passenger locomotives, no. 1166 of class 9P (LNER class B3). It carried the name until October 1943. In 1921, Ash Lane in Southport, Merseyside and the football ground of Southport F.C. that was situated there, were both renamed as Haig Avenue in his honour. Earl Haig Secondary School in Toronto was also named after Haig. A species of cottage tulip, "Marshal Haig" with purple flowers, is also named after him. The Hundred of Haig, a cadastral unit in the Australian state of South Australia was named after Haig in 1918.


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: Stephanie Zimbalist (born October 8, 1956) is an American actress best known for her role as Laura Holt in the NBC detective series "Remington Steele".


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: Stephanie Zimbalist was born in New York City, the daughter of Loranda Stephanie (née Spalding) and actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr., who helmed the television series "77 Sunset Strip" and "The FBI" as well as theatrical films. The family soon moved to Los Angeles, where Stephanie grew up. She was educated at the Marlborough School (Los Angeles) and graduated from Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia. She attended the Juilliard School before commencing her acting career.


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: Zimbalist's paternal grandfather, Efrem Zimbalist, born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, was a symphony conductor, concert violinist and music teacher at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and composer. Her paternal grandmother, Alma Gluck, born in Romania, was a leading soprano of her day.


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: Zimbalist's early television and movie appearances include "The Gathering" (1977, with Edward Asner), "In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan" (1977), "Forever" (1978), "The Magic of Lassie" (1978), "Long Journey Back" (TV, 1978), "The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal" (1979), "The Awakening" (1980, with Charlton Heston), "The Golden Moment" (1980), in which she played a Soviet Olympic gymnast, "The Babysitter" (1980) and "Tomorrow's Child" (TV, 1982). She co-starred with her father, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., in the tragic 1979 TV movie "The Best Place to Be".


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: Another early role for Zimbalist was that of Elly Zendt in the mini-series "Centennial", based on James Michener's epic novel of the same name, which was first televised on NBC between October 1978 and February 1979. She also guest starred as Josephine "Josie" Collins in the television series "Family" episode "Ballerina" (1979).


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: In her TV work, Zimbalist is best known in the TV role of sleuth Laura Holt in the NBC series "Remington Steele" (1982–87) opposite Pierce Brosnan and Doris Roberts, on which her father also guest-starred.


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: Since then, Zimbalist has taken leading roles in several television movies such as "The Man in the Brown Suit" (1988), the Emmy Award winning "Caroline?" (1990), "The Great Elephant Escape" (1995), and some guest roles in television series such as "Touched by an Angel" and "Diagnosis Murder".


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: Onstage, Zimbalist played opposite Tommy Tune in the touring musical "My One and Only", taking the featured role of "Edith Herbert". She has made several appearances with the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, California, winning the local critics' "Robby Award" for Best Actress in a Drama in "The Rainmaker", at the Rubicon community theatre in 2001. Throughout the 2000s, Zimbalist took roles in plays concerning nineteenth-century artists including Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Van Gogh.


title: Stephanie Zimbalist

text: Zimbalist has also released audiobooks, including "The Girls", which won a Listen-Up award in 2006, and "Queen of the Underworld".


title: Flying fish

text: The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird does, flying fish can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of the water where their long wing-like fins enable gliding for considerable distances above the water's surface. The main reason for this behavior is thought to be to escape from underwater predators, which include swordfish, mackerel, tuna, and marlin, among others, though their periods of flight expose them to attack by avian predators such as frigate birds.


title: Flying fish

text: Barbados is known as "the land of the flying fish", and the fish is one of the national symbols of the country. The Exocet missile is named after them, as variants are launched from underwater, and take a low trajectory, skimming the surface, before striking their targets.


title: Flying fish

text: The term Exocoetidae is both the scientific name and the general name in Latin for a flying fish. The suffix "-idae", common for indicating a family, follows the root of the Latin word "", a transliteration of the Ancient Greek name . This means literally "sleeping outside", from "outside" and "bed", "resting place", verb root κει- "to lie down" (not "untruth"), so named as flying fish were believed to leave the water to sleep ashore, or due to flying fish flying and thus stranding themselves in boats.


title: Flying fish

text: Flying fish live in all of the oceans, particularly in tropical and warm subtropical waters. They are commonly found in the epipelagic zone, the top layer of the ocean to a depth of about 200 m (656 ft).


title: Flying fish

text: Numerous morphological features give flying fish the ability to leap above the surface of the ocean. One such feature is fully broadened neural arches, which act as insertion sites for connective tissues and ligaments in a fish's skeleton. Fully broadened neural arches act as more stable and sturdier sites for these connections, creating a strong link between the vertebral column and cranium. This ultimately allows a rigid and sturdy vertebral column (body) that is beneficial in flight. Having a rigid body during glided flight gives the flying fish aerodynamic advantages, increasing its speed and improving its aim. Furthermore, flying fish have developed vertebral columns and ossified caudal complexes. These features provide the majority of strength to the flying fish, allowing them to physically lift their bodies out of water and glide remarkable distances. These additions also reduce the flexibility of the flying fish, allowing them to perform powerful leaps without weakening midair. At the end of a glide, they fold their pectoral fins to re-enter the sea, or drop their tails into the water to push against the water to lift for another glide, possibly changing direction. The curved profile of the "wing" is comparable to the aerodynamic shape of a bird wing. The fish is able to increase its time in the air by flying straight into or at an angle to the direction of updrafts created by a combination of air and ocean currents.


title: Flying fish

text: Species of genus "Exocoetus" have one pair of fins and streamlined bodies to optimize for speed, while "Cypselurus" spp. have flattened bodies and two pairs of fins, which maximize their time in the air. From 1900 to the 1930s, flying fish were studied as possible models used to develop airplanes.


title: Flying fish

text: The Exocoetidae feed mainly on plankton. Predators include dolphins, tuna, marlin, birds, squid, and porpoises.


title: Flying fish

text: In May 2008, a Japanese television crew (NHK) filmed a flying fish (dubbed "Icarfish") off the coast of Yakushima Island, Japan. The fish spent 45 seconds in flight. The previous record was 42 seconds.


title: Flying fish

text: The flights of flying fish are typically around 50 m (160 ft), though they can use updrafts at the leading edge of waves to cover distances up to . They can travel at speeds of more than . Maximum altitude is above the surface of the sea. Flying fish often accidentally land on the decks of smaller vessels.


title: Flying fish

text: Flying fish are commercially fished in Japan, Vietnam, and China by gillnetting, and in Indonesia and India by dipnetting. Often in Japanese cuisine, the fish is preserved by drying to be used as fish stock for dashi broth. The roe of "Cheilopogon agoo", or Japanese flying fish, is used to make some types of sushi, and is known as "tobiko". It is also a staple in the diet of the Tao people of Orchid Island, Taiwan. Flying fish is part of the national dish of Barbados, "cou-cou" and flying fish. The taste is close to that of a sardine. Flying fish roe is known as cau-cau in southern Peru, and is used to make several local dishes.


title: Flying fish

text: In the Solomon Islands, the fish are caught while they are flying, using nets held from outrigger canoes. They are attracted to the light of torches. Fishing is done only when no moonlight is available.


title: Flying fish

text: Barbados is known as "the land of the flying fish", and the fish is one of the national symbols of the country. Once abundant, it migrated between the warm, coral-filled Atlantic Ocean surrounding the island of Barbados and the plankton-rich outflows of the Orinoco River in Venezuela.


title: Flying fish

text: Just after the completion of the Bridgetown Harbor / Deep Water Harbor in Bridgetown, Barbados had an increase of ship visits, linking the island to the world. The overall health of the coral reefs surrounding Barbados suffered due to ship-based pollution. Additionally, Barbadian overfishing pushed them closer to the Orinoco delta, no longer returning to Barbados in large numbers. Today, the flying fish only migrate as far north as Tobago, around southwest of Barbados. Despite the change, flying fish remain a coveted delicacy.


title: Flying fish

text: Many aspects of Barbadian culture center around the flying fish; it is depicted on coins, as sculptures in fountains, in artwork, and as part of the official logo of the Barbados Tourism Authority. Additionally, the Barbadian coat of arms features a pelican and dolphinfish on either side of the shield, but the dolphinfish resembles a flying fish. Furthermore, actual artistic renditions and holograms of the flying fish are also present within the Barbadian passport.


title: Flying fish

text: Flying fish have also been gaining in popularity in other islands, fueling several maritime disputes. In 2006, the council of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea fixed the maritime boundaries between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago over the flying fish dispute, which gradually raised tensions between the neighbours. The ruling stated both countries must preserve stocks for the future. Barbadian fishers still follow the flying fish southward.


title: Flying fish

text: The oldest known fossil of a flying or gliding fish are those of the extinct family Thoracopteridae, dating back to the Middle Triassic, 235–242 million years ago. However, they are not related to modern flying fish, with the wing-like pectoral fins being convergently evolved in both lineages.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz (; born 13 April 1983) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Betis and captains the Chile national team.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: He started playing with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Sociedad in 2006, appearing in 237 official games with the latter club. Barcelona signed him for €12 million in 2014, and he won the treble and the Zamora Trophy in his first season. In the summer of 2016, he moved to Manchester City, where he won several titles. After four years in England, he returned to Spain, signing for Real Betis.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: Bravo is Chile's third-most capped player with 144 total appearances, behind only Alexis Sánchez and Gary Medel. He represented the nation in two World Cups, a FIFA Confederations Cup, and six Copa América tournaments. He captained his side to victory at the 2015 and 2016 editions of the latter competition.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: Bravo was born in Viluco, Maipo Province. His father recognized his son's emerging talent and took him to Colo-Colo's youth academy, and he eventually made his professional debut in 2002. There, he was given the nickname "Cóndor Chico", after former club goalkeeper Roberto Rojas. Similarly, during that years he complemented his football career with technical studies of physical activity at the University of the Americas, where he had as classmates to his teammates Fernando Meneses, Luis Mena and Miguel Riffo.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: After an injury to Eduardo Lobos, manager Jaime Pizarro gave Bravo his first chance, which would be however short-lived, as he too was injured, which prompted the subsequent signing of Jonny Walker. He recovered in mid-2003, and with Lobos still in the sidelines he took over the starting role which he would never lose again, with his competitor eventually being sold.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: In 2006, Bravo won his first title, making an acrobatic save in the "Apertura"'s penalty shootout final win against arch-rival C.F. Universidad de Chile.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: For the 2006–07 season, Bravo signed a five-year contract with Real Sociedad in Spain, in a reported €1.2 million deal – he and Asier Riesgo formed the youngest pair of goalkeepers that year in La Liga. He started on the bench, but eventually gained the battle for first-choice (29 games to nine) as the Basque side was relegated (despite this, he finished in fifth place for the Ricardo Zamora Trophy with a goal-against average of 1.00); his league debut came on 22 October 2006, in a 0–0 away draw against RCD Mallorca.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: The following season, Riesgo reclaimed his starting position. For 2008–09, however, after Riesgo was loaned to Recreativo, Bravo was again the starter, but Real remained in Segunda División. He was the joint-recipient of the campaign's Zamora, alongside David Cobeño of Rayo Vallecano.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On 24 January 2010, Bravo was sent off for the first time in a loss to Elche CF at Anoeta Stadium, fouling Óscar Trejo in the ninth minute, from which Jorge Molina scored a penalty for the only goal of the game. Three weeks later, he scored the first goal of his career, from a direct free kick against Nàstic, the game's only in a home triumph; however, shortly after, he suffered a severe knee injury during Real Sociedad's 2–0 loss at Córdoba CF, which rendered him unavailable for the remainder of the season. He still featured in 25 matches to help his team finish champions and return to the top division, after three years.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: Bravo joined FC Barcelona on 25 June 2014, with the four-year deal being made effective on 1 July for a reported €12 million (£9.7 million) fee, the fourth most expensive player ever sold by Real Sociedad after Darko Kovačević, Xabi Alonso and Asier Illarramendi, becoming the second Chilean to ever play for the club after Alexis Sánchez and succeeding Víctor Valdés as the first-choice. After joining, he set a Spanish League record for the club of not conceding from the start of season for 754 minutes, previously held by Pedro María Artola with 560 minutes; the streak was broken when he conceded his first goal of the season from the penalty spot to Cristiano Ronaldo in a 1–3 defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: After playing 37 straight league games, Bravo was rested for the last game of the campaign against Deportivo de La Coruña, with Jordi Masip starting instead. Bravo was named as the goalkeeper in the La Liga Team of the Season as one of six Barcelona players, including three of his defenders. He won the Zamora for the best goals against average in the competition, conceding 19 times for an average of 0.51, 0.47 off the all-time record by Francisco Liaño of Deportivo in 1994.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: After Marc-André ter Stegen was preferred for Barcelona's wins in the year's Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup, Bravo made his cup debut for the team as they won the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, keeping clean sheets in their 3–0 wins over Guangzhou Evergrande and River Plate in Japan. Interviewed by Esport3 on the subject of the rotation, he said "If I were to say that I'm taking it well, I would be lying, but I accept it".


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On 25 August 2016, Bravo signed a four-year deal for English club Manchester City for a reported fee of £17 million. He made his debut on 10 September in a 2–1 triumph over local rivals Manchester United, being at fault for the opposition's goal and receiving widespread criticism for his performance, although manager Pep Guardiola said that he had "one of the best performances I've ever seen".


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On his return to the Camp Nou on 19 October 2016, in a Champions League group stage match, Bravo was sent off after handling the ball outside of his area, in an eventual 4–0 loss. After a number of high profile errors, including being beaten by all six shots on target in his previous two appearances for City, he was dropped to the bench in February 2017, with backup Willy Caballero replacing him; having finished with the worst save success rate (54.1%) among all goalkeepers, he was named by many journalists as one of the worst signings of the season.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On 24 October 2017, after a 0–0 home draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the first 120 minutes of the EFL Cup fourth-round tie, Bravo saved two penalties to give his team a 4–1 win. In the next round of the cup, Bravo was the hero again as he saved the last penalty in a shootout against Leicester City, after a 1–1 draw. On 25 February 2018, Bravo started in the EFL Cup final against Arsenal and got the assist for Sergio Agüero's opening goal in a 3–0 victory at Wembley Stadium, winning his first trophy with the club.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: Several days after winning the Community Shield in August 2018 against Chelsea, he ruptured his Achilles tendon in training, going on to be sidelined for several months. He missed the entirety of the 2018–19 season, with Aro Muric replacing him as City's second choice goalkeeper. He did not play again until the next edition of the tournament, when he saved from Giorginio Wijnaldum to win the penalty shootout against Liverpool, earning praise from Guardiola.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: Bravo came on as a half-time substitute for the injured Ederson Moraes on 6 November 2019, in a Champions League group game at Atalanta. He was sent off in the 81st minute for a foul on Josip Iličić, which meant that defender Kyle Walker had to come on as the goalkeeper for the final minutes.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On 1 March 2020, City won the EFL Cup for the third time in a row, beating Aston Villa 2–1 in the final. Bravo made a late save from Björn Engels to preserve City's lead, pushing his header onto the post. He left in August when his contract expired.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On 30 August 2020, Bravo signed an initial one-year deal with Spanish club Real Betis, with an option for a second year. In his first season, he was marred by injuries and compatriot manager Manuel Pellegrini preferred to play Joel Robles in his place.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: Bravo represented Chile at under-17, under-20 and under-23 levels. He made his debut with the full side on 11 July 2004 against Paraguay in the 2004 Copa América, and retained his place for the rest of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: Bravo was again called for duty in the 2007 Copa América held in Venezuela, where he started all four games. He became team captain after Marcelo Salas announced his international retirement. Rested for the final group game, he played three matches at the 2011 Copa América as the country again reached the quarter-finals.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Bravo started in all four matches for Chile (remaining as captain), conceding five goals in an eventual 3–0 round-of-16 loss against Brazil. He was also selected by new manager Jorge Sampaoli to the squad of 23 for the following edition, starting all the games and conceding only four times – one by Australia, two by the Netherlands and one by Brazil – which again ended in the same stage and at the hands of the same opponent, but in a penalty shootout.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On 10 October 2014, in a friendly 3–0 win against Peru, Bravo earned his 85th cap, surpassing Leonel Sánchez as Chile's most capped player of all time. He was the captain and played every minute as they won the 2015 Copa América on home soil, their first major international honour. In the final against Argentina at the Estadio Nacional, he kept a clean sheet as the match finished goalless after extra time, and then saved from Éver Banega in the subsequent penalty shootout; he was subsequently chosen for the Team of the Tournament.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On 24 March 2016, Bravo became the first Chilean to win his 100th cap, in a 2–1 home loss to Argentina in qualification for the 2018 World Cup. In the final of the Copa América Centenario at the MetLife Stadium, against the same opponent and also on penalties, he saved Lucas Biglia's attempt in an eventual 4–2 win.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: After sitting out the first two games at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, due to fitness problems, Bravo started for the remainder of the tournament in Russia, notably saving all three penalty shootout attempts in the semi-finals against Portugal (0–0 after 120 minutes). Although his team lost out 1–0 to reigning World champions Germany in the final, his performances saw him being chosen the competition's best goalkeeper.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: On 13 October 2015, Peru and Chile played a 2018 World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Nacional del Perú. The match ended 4–3 in favor of the latter. Prior to the start of the game the home crowd booed the playing of Chile's national anthem and in response a defiant message was left in the Chilean team's dressing room. The message read: "RESPETO, POR AQUÍ PASÓ EL CAMPEÓN DE AMÉRICA" (Respect, America's champion was here). This event was criticized by the media in South America, and two years later a witness revealed that Bravo was the one who had left this message; additionally, the player was caught on camera kicking a door after the match.


title: Claudio Bravo

text: An authoritative presence in goal, Bravo is known for his agility, composure, and shot-stopping ability, as well as his reflexes and concentration; he is also highly regarded for his control, distribution and skill with the ball at his feet. Due to his speed when rushing off his line to anticipate opponents who have beaten the offside trap, he has been described as a "sweeper keeper"; he has also been labelled as a playmaking goalkeeper, due to his ability to play the ball out from the back or launch attacks from goal-kicks. He has also drawn praise in the media for his leadership and mental strength. Moreover, he is known for his penalty–saving abilities. Bravo was regarded by several figures in the sport as one of the best goalkeepers in the world in his prime; however, he suffered a loss of form during his first season at Manchester City, which saw him lose his place in the starting line-up the following season.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) (; ) is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city of Ras Al Khaimah, abbreviated to RAK or RAK City, is the capital of the emirate and home to most of the emirate's residents. It is linked to the Islamic trading port of Julfar. Its name in English means "headland of the tent". The emirate borders Oman's exclave of Musandam, and occupies part of the same peninsula. It covers an area of and has of beach coastline. As of 2015, the emirate had a population of about 345,000.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The city of Ras Al Khaimah has two main areas - the Old Town and Nakheel - on either side of a creek that is home to mangroves and is framed by the North-Western Hajar Mountains. The emirate also consists of several villages and new gated residential developments, such as Al Hamra Village and Mina Al Arab. The emirate is served by Ras Al Khaimah International Airport. Its geography consists of a northern part (where Ras Al Khaimah City and most towns are situated) and a large southerly inland exclave (near the Dubai exclave of Hatta), and a few small islands in the Persian Gulf. Ras Al Khaimah has the most fertile soil in the country, due to a larger share of rainfall and underground water streams from the Hajar Mountains, which overlook the city on the landward side.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Ras Al Khaimah has been the site of continuous human habitation for 7,000 years, one of the few places in the country and the world where this is the case, and there are many historical and archaeological sites throughout the emirate - local sources cite 1,000 - dating from different time periods, including remnants of the Umm Al Nar Culture (3rd millennium BC). The area of Shimal contains both Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq burials and a number of notable finds, including one grave that contained no fewer than 18 fine bronze arrowheads.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Wadi Suq era graves found at Seih Al Harf in the Emirate in October 2012 briefly held up the construction of the northern spur of the arterial E611 road.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Ras Al Khaimah is often linked with the medieval port and city of Julfar, but was in fact an independent settlement which eventually grew to encapsulate the area formerly occupied by Julfar.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Archaeological evidence has demonstrated that the settlement known as Julfar shifted location over time as harbour channels silted up. Excavations of a sizable tell, which revealed remnants of a Sassanid era fortification, indicate that early Julfar was located in the north of the present city of Ras Al Khaimah, not far from other sites of historical and archaeological interest such as the Pre-Islamic fort, 'Sheba's Palace' (Shimal Fort).


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: One of Ras Al Khaimah's most celebrated sons, Ibn Majid, was a hugely influential seaman, navigator and cartographer, and there is evidence in his writing that the town he came from was at that time known as Ras Al Khaimah, that town having eclipsed Julfar as the principal port and settlement of the Shimal coast.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: There is considerable debate locally regarding the 18th-century charge of maritime piracy, attracting the British label 'The Pirate Coast' to the Eastern Gulf. The historian and Sultan of Sharjah, Sulṭān ibn Muḥammad al-Qāsimī, has written that the allegations of piracy were exaggerated by the East India Company to cut off the untaxed trade routes between the Middle East and Company rule in India. However, in the early 18th century, the Qawasim (singular Al Qasimi) established themselves in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah on the Arabian Peninsula, growing to become a significant maritime force with holdings on both the Persian and Arabian coasts that frequently came into conflict with British flagged shipping.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: It was the Al Qasimi links to Persia that drew them to the attention of Ahmed bin Said, the Ruler of Muscat, who had wrested control of the coast and interior of Oman back from the Persian forces who had taken it under Nadir Shah and Mirza Taki Khan, the governor of Shiraz. Ahmed bin Said threw 12,000 men under the command of Kandhala bin Saif Al Suwaidi in an attack on Ras Al Khaimah which was met at Buraimi by 14,000 men of the Al Qasimi and Na'im. They were defeated, leading the garrison at Khor Fakkan, besieged by Ahmed bin Said, to surrender. He went on to take Khasab and then blockaded Ras Al Khaimah, Rams, Jazirat Al Hamra, Fasht and Sharjah. This led to all but Ras Al Khaimah suing for peace in 1763. The Sheikhs of Ras Al Khaimah submitted in 1771, but in 1775 revolted and re-took the towns on the West and East coast, consolidating their gains under the weak rule of Sultan bin Ahmed bin Saeed. This longstanding war between the Al Qasimi and Muscat pitted them naturally against Muscat's ally – Britain.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: In the aftermath of a series of attacks in 1808 off the coast of Sindh involving 50 Qasimi raiders and following the 1809 monsoon season, the British authorities in India decided to make a significant show of force against the Al Qasimi, in an effort not only to destroy their larger bases and as many ships as could be found, but also to counteract French encouragement of them from their embassies in Persia and Oman. The British mounted the Persian Gulf campaign of 1809, in which the Al Qasimi fleet was largely destroyed. The British operation continued to Lingeh on the Persian coast which was, like the Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands, administered by the Al Qasimi.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: By the morning of 14 November, the military expedition was over and the British forces returned to their ships, having suffered light casualties of five killed and 34 wounded. Arab losses are unknown, but were probably significant, while the damage done to the Al Qasimi fleets was severe: a significant portion of their vessels had been destroyed.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: With the 1809 campaign concluded without significant treaty concessions, an 1815 arrangement was made between the British and the Al Qasimi. By 1819, it was clear the arrangement had broken down and so in November of that year, the British embarked on a second expedition against the Al Qasimi, led by Major-General William Keir Grant, voyaging to Ras Al Khaimah with a force of 3,000 soldiers. The British extended an offer to Said bin Sultan of Muscat in which he would be made the ruler of the Pirate Coast if he agreed to assist the British in their expedition. Obligingly, he sent a force of 600 men and two ships.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The force gathered off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah on 25 and 26 November and, on 2 and 3 December, troops were landed south of the town and set up batteries of guns and mortars and, on 5 December, the town was bombarded from both land and sea. Continued bombardment took place over the following four days until, on the 9th, fortress and town of Ras Al Khaimah were stormed and found to be practically deserted. On the fall of Ras Al Khaimah, three cruisers were sent to blockade Rams to the North and this, too was found to be deserted and its inhabitants retired to the 'impregnable' hill-top fort of Dhayah.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The British landed a force at Rams on 18 December, which fought its way inland through date plantations to Dhayah Fort on the 19th. There, 398 men and another 400 women and children held out, without sanitation, water or effective cover from the sun, for three days under heavy fire from mortars and 12-pound cannon.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The two 24-pound cannon from HMS Liverpool which had been used to bombard Ras Al Khaimah from the landward side were once again pressed into use and dragged across the plain from Rams, a journey of some four miles. Each of the guns weighed over 2 tonnes. After enduring two hours of sustained fire from the big guns, which breached the fort's walls, the last of the Al Qasimi surrendered at 10.30 on the morning of 22 December.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: In January 1820, the British imposed the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 signed by Sheikh Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Sharjah who was reinstated by the British in Ras Al Khaimah after the deposition of Hasan Bin Rahma Al Qasimi. The treaty stipulated the end of piracy and slavery, and laid the foundation for the British protectorate over the Trucial States that lasted until December 1971. In 1869, Ras Al Khaimah became fully independent from neighbouring Sharjah. However, from September 1900 to 7 July 1921, it was re-incorporated into Sharjah; the last governor became its next independent ruler.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: On 10 February 1972, Ras Al Khaimah, under the leadership of Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qasimi, joined the United Arab Emirates after the Iranian seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: In 2020, Ras Al Khaimah's Antiquities and Museums Department formed a partnership with the University of South Alabama and Quinnipiac University to study 4,000-year-old human remains found in Shimal.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: In 1975, the total population of Ras Al Khaimah was 43,845 of which 29,613 were nationals and 14,232 were foreigners. This figure increased to 73,918 (39,148 locals; 34,770 foreigners) in 1980, 96,578 in 1985, 143,334 in 1995, and 210,063 in 2005. The total population, as of 2015, was estimated to be about 345,000 people, both Emiratis and expatriates.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Ras Al Khaimah's desert climate (Köppen climate classification "BWh") is hot and arid with very hot summers and mild winters. The average temperature is in January and in July. However, temperatures often reach 45 °C in the summer; the highest recorded temperature is . The humidity is usually high in the summer months. Rains and thunderstorms occur rarely, and only in winter. Snow has been reported in December 2004, January 2009 and February 2017 in the high mountains of Ras Al Khaimah.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Temperatures as low as have been measured at the peak of Jebel Jais, the highest mountain in the UAE.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: As one of the emirates that has never discovered oil, Ras Al Khaimah has focused on diversifying its economy and has had real success with its thriving industrial sector. It has one of the most diverse economies in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, with no one area exceeding more than 20% of total GDP. The main economic sectors are the following:


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Taxation is legislated for by the UAE Federal Authorities and implemented across the seven Emirates of the UAE by the Federal Tax Authorities. In general, no income or wealth taxes are payable by individuals nor is corporation tax charged. In addition, there are no exchange controls or withholding taxes. However, a sales tax at 5% (VAT) was imposed in 2018 and import taxes apply in certain circumstances.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Whilst a local partner or sponsor is typically required to do business, companies may be owned 100% by foreign investors in one of the many Free Trade Zones in Ras Al Khaimah which include Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, RAK Maritime City Free Trade Zone, RAK International Corporate Centre. These zones provide trade and access to the Middle East, and wider markets in a variety of sectors including manufacturing and industry, education, consultancy and professional services, technology and aviation. Employment visas are available for these companies and, when approved, this type of company can own property. International, or "offshore" free zone companies are also available to be used for numerous business purposes, ranging from owning overseas financial and real estate assets, inheritance planning, setting up holding companies and special purpose vehicles and ship registration.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The UAE culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab culture. The influence of Islamic and Arab culture on its architecture, music, attire, cuisine and lifestyle are very prominent as well. Five times every day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques which are scattered around the country. Since 2006, the weekend has been Friday-Saturday, as a compromise between Friday's holiness to Muslims and the Western weekend of Saturday-Sunday. A great majority of the population are non national citizens, coming from India, Pakistan, and a wide range of nations.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The annual Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, first held in 2007, resulted in a world record from Samuel Wanjiru in 2007 and the second fastest run of all time from Patrick Makau Musyoki in 2009. Kenya's 19-year-old Stephen Kiprop won the 2019 edition of the half marathon in a course record-equaling 58 minutes and 42 seconds, the fastest time ever recorded by a teenager.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: In the 2020 iteration, Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh broke the women's half marathon world record by 20 seconds with a time of 1:04:31, eclipsing the previous record of 1:04:51 set by Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei in Valencia in 2017.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The UAE Awafi Festival is an annual cultural and heritage festival held in the Ras Al Khaimah desert. It is a three-week event, held in December or January, one attraction being a sand dune race. There is a heritage village with traditional food and dance, as well as shops for food and souvenirs.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The Terry Fox Run RAK is a yearly charity run organized in Ras Al Khaimah to support cancer research in the UAE. The first event was organized in 2010. Participation in this event has grown from hundreds to thousands since its inception, averaging about 5,000 participants in recent years.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival is an annual event that has taken place since 2013, organised by the Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research. It started with just 26 artists but by 2018 that number had grown to 84. The not-for-profit festival takes place every February–March and since 2019 has taken place at the redeveloped Al Jazirah Al Hamra Heritage Village.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Each year, a number of events are lined up in Ras Al Khaimah to mark the United Arab Emirates' National Day, usually involving an air show by the "Fursan Al Emarat" aerobatics team and a free concert featuring some of the best singers in the Arab world.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: In 2018, Ras Al Khaimah became the new host for the season-ending tournament on the Challenge Tour, the second tier of European Tour golf. The "Road to Ras Al Khaimah" ends with the Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final played at Al Hamra Golf Course.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Within Ras Al Khaimah city, the main mode of public transport are metered taxis, with public buses operating on long-haul routes and catering mainly to smaller towns (e.g. Sha`am, Rams, and Al Jazirah Al Hamra). A local bus service operated by RAK Transport Authority provides infrequent connections between Nakheel, Al Hamra and the airport. In November 2019, RAK Transport Authority launched its five-year strategy for 2020–2025, part of which involved making its entire fleet of cars eco-friendly. At the time, 60% of its fleet of 850 taxis were already hybrid.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Ras Al Khaimah is connected to the other emirates by taxis and buses which embark from the Bus station located at RAK Transport Authority Headquarters near the new Ras Al Khaimah Police Headquarters and opposite the Cove Rotana hotel.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: The main highways linking Ras Al Khaimah with other emirates is Mohammed bin Zayed Road (E311) and Emirates Road (E611), both of which travel from Ras Al Khaimah through Umm Al Quwain, Ajman and Sharjah and onto Dubai and Abu Dhabi. These highways allow for journeys from Ras Al Khaimah to Dubai in under 45 minutes.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Dual carriageways connect major areas within the emirate, with one following the coast and another running inland towards the airport in the direction of Khatt, Masafi, Fujairah, Dhaid, and eventually Oman.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: In July 2018, the first phase of the Ras Al Khaimah Ring Road opened, connecting the industrial areas of the mountainous north with the E311 to the south. The road has decreased the volume of industrial traffic through RAK City. In spring 2013 work on the RAK Ring Road was held up by a three-month rescue excavation after the discovery of megalithic tombs dating to the Wadi Suq period, from 2000 to 1600 BC.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Saqr Port, located in the industrial area of Khor Khwair, is the emirate's main port, providing bulk and container services. It is the largest bulk-handling port in the Middle East. It has eight deep-water berths, each long, is dredged to and has two "ro-ro" ramps plus specialised berths for handling bulk cement and aggregate. Other services include ship-handling, crew changes, and of covered storage, together with a vast open storage area. It is also the closest port in the UAE to Bandar Abbas, Iran, but there is no shipping from Saqr port to Bandar Abbas.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT) offers cargo and passenger services to a variety of destinations covering the Middle East, North & East Africa, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and Europe (to Luxembourg). It serves as a hub for low-cost carrier Air Arabia and, in May 2019, it was announced that direct flights operated by Pegasus airline would commence to Istanbul, Turkey, from Ras Al Khaimah in October 2019.


title: Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

text: SpiceJet, India's second largest carrier, announced in October, 2019 that RAK Airport would become its first overseas hub in a deal that brought with it direct flights from the Indian capital New Delhi to Ras Al Khaimah.


title: The Phantom of the Open

text: The Phantom of the Open is a 2021 British biographical comedy-drama film directed by Craig Roberts, about the exploits of Maurice Flitcroft. The screenplay by Simon Farnaby was based upon the biography "The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World's Worst Golfer" by Farnaby and Scott Murray. The film stars Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans, Jake Davies, Christian and Jonah Lees, Mark Lewis Jones and Johann Myers.


title: The Phantom of the Open

text: "The Phantom of the Open" had its world premiere at the 65th BFI London Film Festival on 12 October 2021, and was released in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2022, by Entertainment One. It received positive reviews.


title: The Phantom of the Open

text: In May 2020, it was announced Craig Roberts would direct the film, from a screenplay by Simon Farnaby based upon his biographical book "The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World's Worst Golfer". Flitcroft's son, James, was used as a consultant. In June 2020, Mark Rylance joined the cast of the film. In October 2020, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans, Jake Davies, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Mark Lewis Jones and Johann Myers, joined the cast of the film, with Entertainment One set to distribute in the United Kingdom.


title: The Phantom of the Open

text: In July 2021, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the North America, Thailand, France and China rights to the film. It was released in the United States on June 3, 2022.


title: The Phantom of the Open

text: "The Phantom of the Open" had its world premiere at the 65th BFI London Film Festival on 12 October 2021.


title: The Phantom of the Open

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 134 critic reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website’s critical consensus states, "Led by a stellar performance from Mark Rylance, "The Phantom of the Open" turns a stranger-than-fiction true story into crowd-pleasing entertainment." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews”. "The Guardian"s Simran Hans rated the film 4/5, praising Rylance's decision to play his character straight, and complimenting the accompanying musical score.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: Twelve Carat Toothache is the fourth studio album by American rapper and singer Post Malone. It was released on June 3, 2022, by Republic Records and Mercury Records. The album contains 14 tracks and includes guest appearances from Roddy Ricch, Doja Cat, Gunna, Fleet Foxes, the Kid Laroi, and the Weeknd. The deluxe edition was later released on June 7, 2022, including two new tracks.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: "Twelve Carat Toothache" was supported by three singles: "One Right Now", "Cooped Up", and "I Like You (A Happier Song)". The album received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success. It debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200, earning 121,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. The album is Post Malone's fourth top-five album in the US.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: On April 24, 2020, Post Malone announced that a new album is in progress during a live stream performance. On July 21, 2020, Malone was interviewed by "The Wall Street Journal", in which he said:


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: On April 23, 2021, his manager, Dre London, shared that he and Malone had agreed that he would release two projects in 2021, which however, did not happen. On January 10, 2022, London revealed that "Twelve Carat Toothache" had been completed and was ready to be released, but said that Republic Records and its parent label, Universal Music Group, had been delaying its release.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: On January 26, 2022, Malone was interviewed by "Billboard". He felt that the songs on the album "speak more to how I'm feeling at the moment: the ups and downs and the disarray and the bipolar aspect of being an artist in the mainstream". American record producer Louis Bell, a close friend and frequent collaborator of Malone, felt that it blends "molten lava and fire" and "cyan blues and whites". Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Malone was unable to go on tour, which gave him less incentive to make as much music. The album contains 14 songs and runs for 43 minutes, making it Malone's shortest album to date. Malone announced two additional songs "Waiting for Never" and "Hateful" for release on June 7.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: On April 11, 2022, Malone's manager Dre London announced via Instagram that the album would be released in May 2022. On April 23, 2022, Malone took to Instagram live, previewing some of the album's songs. Among those songs, he played "Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol", a collaboration with Fleet Foxes's Robin Pecknold, which details Post's' "struggle with alcohol". Malone said the band is one of his favorites, and praised Pecknold as "the most beautiful fucking vocalist". Post described "Wasting Angels", featuring the Kid Laroi, as being about "a celebration of life and a human spirit to be able to fight no matter what". He also previewed a song called "Wrapped Around Your Finger", as well as the Doja Cat-assisted "I Like You (A Happier Song)", which sees the two "playfully" going back and forth. On April 27, 2022, Malone announced that the album will be released on June 3, 2022. On May 14, 2022, he appeared as a musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" and performed "Cooped Up" with Roddy Ricch, as well as "Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol", joined by Fleet Foxes. Malone had previously confirmed that he had worked with Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold on a song for the album. "Twelve Carat Toothache" was released on June 3, 2022, through Mercury Records and Republic Records. The standard edition was released on cassette, CD, digital download, and streaming, with a pre-order for the vinyl release going live days later. The bonus tracks of deluxe edition, "Waiting for Never" and "Hateful", were released to streaming services on June 7, 2022.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: On November 2, 2021, Malone and the Weeknd posted a 7-second snippet of the song titled "PM&TW-ORN-Update.5.nonhyped.w1.mp3" on their Instagram accounts. The post received over 150,000 likes in just an hour. While it was initially unknown what the title of the song was going to be, Malone's manager Dre London revealed that the collaboration would be titled "One Right Now". On November 5, 2021, Malone released "One Right Now" with the Weeknd, as the lead single from the album. The song marks the first time the artists appeared on a song together. The song was produced by Louis Bell, Brian Lee, and Andrew Bolooki. It debuted and peaked at number six on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: Malone released the album's second single, "Cooped Up" with Roddy Ricch, on May 12, 2022. It debuted and peaked at number 12 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: "I Like You (A Happier Song)" featuring Doja Cat, was sent to US contemporary hit radio as the third single from the album on June 7, 2022. It debuted at number nine and peaked at number three on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: On June 13, 2022, to further promote the album, Post announced the North American leg of his upcoming concert tour, the Twelve Carat Tour. It began on September 10 in Omaha, Nebraska, and concluded on November 16 in Los Angeles, California. Roddy Ricch joined as the opening act on most dates.


title: Twelve Carat Toothache

text: "Twelve Carat Toothache" was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 68, based on 15 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 5.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.