Gallipoli

In GALLIPOLI, Alan Moorehead describes the great amphibious campaign of WW I. Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, was its strongest proponent. He was blamed for the fiasco that followed: a plan so admirable in concept yet so abominable in its execution.

The idea was to relieve pressure on the Western Front. An Anglo-French campaign to force the Dardanelles was designed to link up the Allies and sever Turkey from the other Central Powers.

But the idea stalled in planning and was delayed in execution. Results were disastrous. Turkish artillery and machine guns scythed down British troops. The failure cost Churchill his post: he served the remainder of the war as an officer in the trenches in France.