In January 1915, Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, overrode the advice of his First Sea Lord and persuaded the Cabinet to sanction a naval expedition to force its way to Constantinople. It was to eliminate Turkey from the war and thus sustain Russia's war effort. The campaign, which veered from the brink of victory to final resounding defeat, was one of the grimmest in modern history.
This work traces the roots of the catastrophe to the remoteness of war leaders in London, the incompetence of admirals and generals on the spot, and the extraordinary diversity of the Allied troops. By drawing on official papers, diaries and letters, the author aims to give an impression of what it was like for the fighting men who did their best but who were, in the words of one of them, "beaten in the end by our own leaders".