Churchill as Warlord in WWI : The Admiralty, Tanks, Gallipoli and Munitions

Winston Churchill is famous these days primarily for his role as the wartime leader of the British Empire during World War 2. He led Britain through the darkest days of the war and won timeless fame through his defiant oratorical eloquence in defending the values of the democratic philosophy behind western civilization. His contribution to the allied victory in World War 1 however, is less well known or understood. He occupied two critical ministries during the war – First Lord of the Admiralty and Minister of Munitions. His fame has been tarnished by widely held views of his responsibility for the Gallipoli campaign and its disastrous outcome. But do the facts accord with these widely held views? In fact, he was only responsible for the naval operation against the Dardanelles and was never in a position to make any dispositions related to the Army which were solely the responsibility of Lord Kitchener, who was Secretary of State for War. He also opposed the army campaign at the time it was mooted, because he saw it as a high risk and knew that the Turks were fully aroused for the defence of the Gallipoli position. The fact is that his replacement at the Admiralty at the same time as the Gallipoli campaign reached its douanement was the result of political manoeuvring by the Prime Minister in forming a coalition government and bitter antagonisms created by Churchill’s resignation from the Conservative Party 12 years before. Thus, it is time to review all the evidence regarding the Dardanelles campaign and determine his real contribution during WW1. This book looks at the facts regarding the Dardanelles campaign and Churchill’s other contributions to victory in WW1. That the facts are very different to the commonly held views is not surprising.