DAMN THE DARDANELLES! The Agony of Gallipoli

Hardback. Controversy still rages about the Gallipoli campaign, inspired by Winston Churchill and designed to knock Turkey out of the First world War, thereby opening a supply route to arms-starved Russia. Was it one of the greatest blunders of the war, misconceived from the start and mishandled by the tactitians? Or was it a strategic masterstroke, ruined by incompetence on the spot? Whichever view is accepted, the campaign was of decisive importance, its failure paving the way first to the collapse of the Imperial Russian army and later to socialist revolution. With access to hitherto unpublished material and illustrations, and an intimate knowledge of the Gallipoli peninsula, the author provides more than just another account of the action on the field. He has written a critical and challenging analysis of the whole campaign, assisted by detailed maps and contemporary photographs, and examines the premises on which it was conceived, the way in which it was executed, the personalities of the generals and the conflicts amongst them. Illus., Bibliog. and Index. 224pp. 8vo. h/back. With pictorial glazed covers. F. in Nr. F. dw.