# General Haldane — Now It Can Be Told character guide

> General Haldane in Now It Can Be Told by Philip Gibbs.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** XVI General Haldane, General Haldane, XVI, General

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

A division commander whose dugout becomes the scene of a cavalry major's desperate bid for glory, and whose curt refusal captures the gap between ambition and orders.

## Who they are

When a major swaps beds, leaves flowers, and begs to lead a squadron round Delville Wood, Haldane's reply is a flat "Get on with your job"—a small moment that reveals how the war grinds down individual initiative. He belongs to the layer of command where the Somme's piecemeal attacks are decided, and his presence in the narrative helps the narrator anatomize a system that spent lives in small, uncoordinated pushes. He is not a villain; he is the machinery, and the machinery is the problem.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_professional_

General Haldane is a high-ranking commander who communicates with the Narrator regarding strategic matters.

### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_officer)

_professional_

General Haldane and the Officer have a command relationship, with Haldane likely giving orders to the Officer.

### [The Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans)

_rivalry_

General Haldane is a British commander who opposes the German forces in the war.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_professional_

General Haldane is a high-ranking commander who communicates with the Narrator regarding strategic matters.

### [The Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans)

_rivalry_

General Haldane is a British commander who opposes the German forces in the war.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_professional_

General Haldane is a high-ranking commander who communicates with the Narrator regarding strategic matters.

### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_officer)

_professional_

General Haldane and the Officer have a command relationship, with Haldane likely giving orders to the Officer.

### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_officer)

_professional_

General Haldane and the Officer have a command relationship, with Haldane likely giving orders to the Officer.

## In the story

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvi)

Described as having intellect and 'quality', with a slow-burning fire, hatred of the enemy, and rage against inefficiency. He was ruthless, aloof, yet gracious to visitors and sympathetic to ideas outside the old caste.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiii)

Mentioned in the context of the First Army command.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvi)

Commanded the 3rd Division during their long tenure in the Ypres salient; annoyed by the loss of the Bluff and ordered the recapture.

### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/x)

General Haldane is approached by a cavalry major eager to lead a charge, but he dismisses the idea, reflecting the tension between old cavalry tactics and trench warfare.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvi)

As commander of the 6th Corps, he paraded the Bantams and dismissed the unfit with a prod of his stick, effectively ending the Bantam Division.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/general_haldane
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters