The Dardanelles Disaster: Winston Churchill's Greatest Defeat

by Dan van der Vat

Book Overview

Acclaimed naval military expert Dan van der Vat argues that the disaster at the Dardanelles prolonged the war by two years, led to the Russian Revolution, forced Britain to the brink of starvation, and contributed to the destabilization of the Middle East. With never before published information on Colonel Geehl's mine laying operation, which won the battle for the Germans, The Dardanelles Disaster is essential reading for everyone interested in great...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590202236
• ISBN13: 9781590202234
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Abrams Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A Different Opinion. . .

I would like to offer a slightly different take. If you want a book covering the Gallipoli Campaign, I would recommend Alan Moorehead's book. It has just about everything and still stands up well. This book, however, makes no pretention of covering the entire campaign. If you are interested in the decision making process (or lack thereof) to engage in this campaign, if you want to know more about the Admiralty investigation and how that process evolved, and if you want to know about the communications (or lack thereof!) between and within military and civilian leadership, then this book is for you. There are also lessons here for those who knew how to initiate step one but did not anticipate what would happen had the operation worked or had it failed. For example, even if the ships had forced the straits, what then? Clearly, there wasn't even much of a plan beyond the naval engagements until those engagements failed. In short, don't blame the book for not being about all that was Gallipoli. This is not a book about a military campaign as much as it is an analysis of why and how the British wound up as they did and what they did once the withdrawal of land forces had taken place. However, it is an excellent read covering grand strategy and where it can conflict with tactical demands and/or short term goals. For my part, the inexcusable weakness, once again, is the lack of charts and maps. PS - We all know that Gallipoli isn't the first or the last time a nation has embarked on a military campaign without "thinking ahead" about the consequences or ramifications of a military attack.