02824oam 2200313z- 450 991079265070332120210111155645.00-19-100700-50-19-100699-8(CKB)3710000001018577(MiAaPQ)EBC4806700(EXLCZ)99371000000101857720190811c2017uuuu -u- -engChurchill and the Dardanelles /Christopher M. BellOUP Oxford0-19-870255-8 0-19-870254-X The failure of the Allied fleet to force a passage through the Straits of the Dardanelles in 1915 drove Winston Churchill from office (First Lord of the Admiralty) in disgrace and nearly destroyed his political career. For over a century, Churchill has been both praised and condemned for his role in launching this highly controversial campaign. For some, the Dardanelles offensive was a brilliant concept that might have dramatically shortened the First World War. To many others, however, Churchill was a reckless amateur who drove his unwilling and misinformed colleagues into a venture that was doomed to fail. This book, based on exhaustive archival research, provides a detailed and authoritative account of the Gallipoli campaign's origins and execution, stripping away the layers of myth that have long surrounded these dramatic events, and showing that no simple verdict is either possible or fair. Naval historian Christopher M. Bell untangles Churchill's complicated relationship with the dynamic First Sea Lord, Admiral Jacky Fisher, and reveals for the first time the behind-the-scenes machinations that led to Churchill's removal from office, including Fisher's covert campaign to undermine support for the Dardanelles operation, and the leaks by figures in high places that fuelled a bitter press campaign to drive Churchill from power. Equal attention is also given to the perhaps even more important story of Churchill and the Dardanelles after 1915. As Bell shows, Churchill spent a good deal of time and effort in the following two decades trying to refute his critics and convince the wider public that the campaign had in fact nearly succeeded. These efforts were so successful that the legacy of the Dardanelles did not stand in the way of Churchill becoming Prime Minister in May 1940--Provided by publisher.World War, 1914-1918CampaignsTurkeyGallipoli PeninsulaWorld War, 1914-1918CampaignsTurkeyGallipoli PeninsulaPublic opinionWorld War, 1914-1918CampaignsWorld War, 1914-1918CampaignsPublic opinion.940.4/26Bell Christopher M.1139129BOOK9910792650703321Churchill and the Dardanelles3775809UNINA