Churchill and the Dardanelles

The story of the highly controversial First World War campaign that nearly destroyed Churchill's reputation for good and of his decades-long battle to set the record straight - a battle which ultimately helped clear the way for Churchill's appointment as Prime Minister in Britain's 'darkest hour'.

The failed naval offensive to force a passage through the Straits of the Dardanelles in 1915 drove Winston Churchill from office in disgrace and nearly destroyed his political career. For over a century, the Dardanelles campaign has been mired in myth and controversy. For some, it was a brilliant concept that might have dramatically shortened the First World War and saved millions of lives. For others, it was fundamentally misconceived and doomed to fail. Churchill is either the hero of the story, or the villain.

Drawing on a wide range of original documents, Christopher M. Bell shows that both perspectives are flawed. Bell provides a detailed and authoritative account of the campaigns origins and execution, explaining why the naval attack was launched, why it failed, and how it was transformed into an even more disastrous campaign on the Gallipoli peninsula. He untangles Churchills complicated relationship with Britains admirals, politicians, and senior civil servants, an d uncovers the machinations behind the bitter press campaign in 1915 to drive him from power.

The book goes on to explore the origins of the myths surrounding the ill-fated campaign. It provides the first full account of Churchills tireless efforts in the decades after 1915 to refute his legion of critics and convince the public that the Dardanelles campaign had nearly succeeded. Largely by his own exertions, Churchill ensured that the legacy of the Dardanelles would not stop him becoming Prime Minister in 1940.

Inhaltsverzeichnis:

Winston Churchill and the Dardanelles: A Riddle wrapped in Myths inside a Legend
1: Stalemate and Frustration: The First Months of War
2: The Origins of the Naval Offensive
3: 'A Great Experiment': The Naval Plan Approved
4: 'I will find the men': The Plan Remade
5: 'Groping round without a plan'
6: From the Dardanelles to Gallipoli
7: Jacky Fisher's Crisis
8: The Duchy of Lancaster goes to War!
9: Exile
10: The Dardanelles Commission I: The Preliminaries
11: The Dardanelles Commission II: The Naval Staff under Scrutiny
12: The Dardanelles Commission III: An Instalment of Fair Play
13: The Cabinet Minister as Censor: The Official Histories
14: The Battle of the Memoirs
15: From Millstone to Myth: 'The Great Movement of Opinion'
Conclusion: What about the Dardanelles?
Notes
Bibliography

Rezension:

A book which combines a thoroughly researched, well-written and convincing new assessment of one of the British Empires most controversial and disputed campaigns with a thoughtful and reflective survey of how the episode has come to be understood since ... one of the best additions to the scholarship on the First World War produced since 2014. David G. Morgan-Owen, English Historical Review