ABSTRACT
The failed naval campaign in the Dardanelles and the subsequent futile attempts to take the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915 haunted the rest of Churchill’s political life. The entire campaign was judged to be badly planned, poorly coordinated and timidly executed. Churchill was identified as its strongest advocate, so when it failed so dismally, he took the blame. The failure of the first landings at Gallipoli in April 1915 led directly to his ousting from the Admiralty. As the campaign was reduced to stalemate he was forced out of government altogether and resigned his parliamentary seat in November 1915. The issue of Churchill’s
responsibility for the failure of the campaign has been muddied by the high emotion the campaign itself aroused at the time, by the findings of the Dardanelles Commission, and by Churchill’s own explanations of the affair.
