JP Raud Dugal Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I would like to know if the Dardallelles' failure in 1915 was simpy considered as a mistake or a complete disaster? I tried to find some websites on whether Churchill was greatly responsible or not. I'm not sure he can be compared to D. Haig...but I would like to know his responsibility in this battle. Thanks by advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I would like to know if the Dardallelles' failure in 1915 was simpy considered as a mistake or a complete disaster?I tried to find some websites on whether Churchill was greatly responsible or not. In Britain the Dardanelles campaign is generally considered to be a disaster. Churchill was held responsible for it and was moved to the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Unhappy about not having any power to influence the Government's war policy, he rejoined the British Army and commanded a battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front. The best historian I have read on the campaign is by the Australian Charles Bean. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWbean.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymond Blair Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I usually teach this (in a five minute flurry as a part of WWI in a Twentieth Century World History class) as a relatively good idea gone bad. Like the Verdun campaign it had possibility of victory without committing to a massive front. Churchill supported the campaign (he must have thought he was in a position of glory as a leader of the navy until the cruel reality of WWI made Britain's navy much less significant than it was in the days of Nelson) and seized the opportunity to use Britain's mighty navy. Verdun was a smart campaign because the idea was to bleed the French white through artillery bombardment. It was something that wore down the morale of the French troops, but then the Germans decided that they had so pulverized (sp?) the ancient fort city that the defenders couldn't possibly defend the spot. They were wrong and hundreds of thousands died. At Gallipoli, the navy could have carried the major burden of risk. If they were able to blast their way through the army could land to secure the victory. However the plan assumed victory, or assumed the Turks would be no match for the Imperial army, and they landed their forces without a naval victory. That victory never came and the British paid the price by being in a poor tactical situation. I'm sure my take has errors, but that's the dose I give out in class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 In the past I have played June Tabor's version of Eric Bogle's The Band Played Waltzing Matilda to the students. When I was a young man I carried my pack And I lived the free life of a rover From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback I waltzed my Matilda all over Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun And they sent me away to the war And the band played Waltzing Matilda As we sailed away from the quay And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers We sailed off to Gallipoli How well I remember that terrible day When the blood stained the sand and the water And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well He showered us with bullets, he rained us with shells And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell Nearly blew us right back to Australia But the band played Waltzing Matilda As we stopped to bury our slain And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs Then it started all over again Now those who were living did their best to survive In that mad world of blood, death and fire And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive While the corpses around me piled higher Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit And when I woke up in my hospital bed And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was dead Never knew there were worse things than dying And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda To the green bushes so far and near For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs No more waltzing Matilda for me So they collected the cripples, the wounded and maimed And they shipped us back home to Australia The legless, the armless, the blind and insane Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay I looked at the place where me legs used to be And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me To grieve and to mourn and to pity And the band played Waltzing Matilda As they carried us down the gangway But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared And they turned all their faces away And now every April I sit on my porch And I watch the parade pass before me I see my old comrades, how proudly they march Reliving the or their dreams of past glory I see the old men, all twisted and torn The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war And the young people ask me, "What are they marching for?" And I ask myself the same question And the band plays Waltzing Matilda And the old men still answer to the call But year after year their numbers get fewer Some day no one will march there at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 You can find a good collection of photographs of the Dardanelles campaign here: http://www.geocities.com/~worldwar1/default.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cigdem Göle Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 The Dardanelles War means victory for Turks, defeat for the Anzac, the British Empire and France but it also caused peoples of countries that are so far from each other to establish a connection which will live forever. Each year in April, we (Turks, Australians and New Zealanders) come together in Çanakkale to remember and pray for the brave men who gave their lives in Gaba Tepe, Ari Burnu, Seddülbahir and all around Gelibolu. I hope to meet my friends in Çanakkale again in April 2009. http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/ http://www.57ncialay.com/hava.htm http://www.anzacday.biz/anzac_day/archive/news.asp?index=204 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWdardanelles.htm http://www.anzacs.net/AnzacStory.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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