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This article is about the popular First World War phrase. For the British political campaign organisation, see Led By Donkeys.
Alan Clark, who popularised the phrase
"Lions led by donkeys" is a phrase used to imply a capable group of individuals are incompetently led. Coined in classical antiquity, the phrase was commonly used after World War I to describe senior commanders of militaries which participated in the war, most prominently those of the British Armed Forces. The historiography of the United Kingdom during the 20th century frequently described the infantry of the British Army as brave soldiers (lions) being sent to their deaths by incompetent and indifferent commanders (donkeys).[1]
The phrase was used by English military historian Alan Clark as the title of his 1961 study of the Western Front of World War I, The Donkeys.[2] Clark's work typified the mainstream historiographical view of World War I during the mid-20th century, being vetted by fellow historian B. H. Liddell Hart and helping to form mainstream perceptions of the conflict in the English-speaking world.[3] His study, which characterised British general officers of the period as incompetent has been the subject of intense criticism by other historians such as John Terraine.[4]
The phrase has also been used in a variety of other contexts, all with the intent of praising a group of individuals while criticising their leaders. In 2018, a British political campaign organisation named Led By Donkeys was established to oppose Brexit.
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^Ion Trewin, Alan Clark: The Biography, Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2009, p. 160.
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presenting an inaccurate view of the war, reinforcing the myth of "lionsledbydonkeys". Blackadder Goes Forth is set in 1917 on the Western Front in the...
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public opinion often repeated the theme that their soldiers were "lionsledbydonkeys". World War I generals are often portrayed as callously persisting...
(1998), pp. 155–7 Woodward (1998), pp. 148–9 "Sir David Henderson". LionsLedByDonkeys. Centre for First World War Studies, University of Birmingham. Retrieved...
fired for lying, and that frontline workers and civil servants were "lionsledbydonkeys". Boris Johnson faced criticism, with Cummings saying that there...
November 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011. David Green (9 August 2011). "Lionsledbydonkeys: why the police 'had it coming'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived...
Great War). Alan Clark's book The Donkeys (1961) led to the popularisation of the controversial phrase 'lionsledbydonkeys' which was used to describe British...
conference when he described the UK miners' strike (1984–85) as "lionsledbydonkeys". He refused to take the electricians in to the strike on the side...
and debates regarding the mistakes made by the high command typified by the popular slogan lionsledbydonkeys. Social history has brought in the home...
was attended by his granddaughter. First World War, accessed 19 August 2006 Bourne, John Charles Bertie Prowse in the LionsLedbyDonkeys Archive, University...
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