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The Churchill Project - Hillsdale College > Search results for 'damn the dardanelles'
“Damn the Dardanelles, they will be our grave.” – Admiral Fisher
25
Sep
2017
By BARRY GOUGH
Britain’s mercurial First Sea Lord in 1915 was nothing if not vociferous, and often indulged in exaggeration. But for Fisher and the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill, the Dardanelles proved to be just that, almost. Here is an insightful inquiry by noted naval historian Christopher Bell of Dalhousie University. His account of the ill-fated Dardanelles campaign is welcome testimony to how Winston Churchill’s career was temporarily ruined by events beyond his control. All the same, the book reminds us that at the time, Churchill’s critics, growing in strength and number, regarded him as a danger to British futures.
“The World Crisis” (5) Dardanelles to Gallipoli: Failure is an Orphan
09
Mar
2024
By RICHARD M. LANGWORTH
What a story! A prime minister unwilling to be prime; a war minister reluctant to make war; backbiting among colleagues; idle babble to outsiders; changes of tune; dreams about the spoils of war; unwillingness to hear those who understood. It doesn't sound so far removed from the criticism now thrown at Western governments who have inherited the mistakes of a generation, and are expected to mend them overnight.
“The World Crisis” (4) Dardanelles: Success Has 1000 Fathers
04
Mar
2024
By RICHARD M. LANGWORTH
The War Council waxed euphoric over Dardanelles prospects, "turning eagerly from the dreary vista of a ‘slogging match’ on the Western Front." Next, why not a naval attack up the Danube, landing at Salonika, and sending a fleet up the Adriatic? One member envisioned the end of the Ottoman Empire and expansion of the British Empire as far as Palestine. None of these naively optimistic visions were voiced by Winston Churchill.
Churchill and Fisher (Or: Charlie Brown and the Football)
16
Mar
2018
Who Really “Shaped” Winston Churchill?
09
Feb
2024
By MICHAEL MCMENAMIN
“Mirrors of Greatness” mainly substitutes figures Churchill interacted with for those who actually shaped him. Where are the people who really influenced Churchill before he was “firmly set” in his character—in his mid-twenties? Besides Bourke Cockran, whom he revered all his life, where are Elizabeth Everest, Lady Randolph Churchill, Pamela Plowden, John Morley, Bindon Blood and Bishop James Welldon? None are included.
Jack Pease Insights on the 1911-15 Liberal Government
15
Jan
2024
By RAYMOND A. CALLAHAN
Pease enhances our understanding Cabinet decisions during the Great War’s first critical months, hitherto mainly represented by Asquith’s gossipy letters to his lady friend. But virtually every entry is accompanied by a superb editorial gloss that not only fills in the context but acts as a review of all recent scholarship on the subject covered, or alluded to in the entry. Everything is good about this book—except the price.
The Modern Middle East: How Much is Churchill’s Fault?
06
Nov
2023
2
By DAVID FROMKIN
The Middle East was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for almost 500 years, but by 1918 it was occupied by a British army of one million. No other major military force was on scene. British plans were in shambles: subversive foreign plots were suspected. At this truly horrendous moment, Lloyd George in effect turned to Churchill and said, in effect: You deal with it. Britain would often do that when all else had failed and other policies had proven not to work.
Robin Prior Describes Britain’s Role in Two World Wars
02
Nov
2023
By CYRIL MAZANSKY
Robin Prior concludes that the critical need in war for the correct political leadership. Lloyd George in the First World War and Churchill in the Second were right for the task. Both managed to gain the support of their citizens. Once that is accomplished, Prior concludes, “democracies at war can be fearsome.”
Charles Stephenson Examines WSC as Home Secretary
07
Aug
2023
4
By WILLIAM J. SHEPHERD
Churchill was the youngest Home Secretary since Sir Robert Peel in 1822. His, accomplishments, the greatest of which was prison reform, did not rank among his most remarkable. Still, he proved himself administratively and politically competent. Stephenson portrays a strange mix of radical and traditionalist, with a “mercurial approach to politics”— “a political Lazarus” who proved that the Home Office was not a career-ending move.
Pure Gold: Martin Gilbert’s “In Search of Churchill”
10
Jul
2023
By RICHARD M. LANGWORTH
More than any of his nearly 90 works, "In Search of Churchill" is deeply personal. It is Sir Martin’s answer to all those critics over the years who accused him of being uncritical about a figure some have spent years denouncing. It is also, therefore, a self-defense manual for friends of Churchill: a smorgasbord of historical karate-chops.
“Winston Churchill & The Queen,” by Oliver Williams
26
Jun
2023
By RICHARD M. LANGWORTH
Much passed between The Queen and her first prime minister in their years of close association. But none of this is in the book, and Churchill’s quoted words are few. Instead, we get a hodgepodge of paraphrase, opinion, false trails, red herrings and off-the-wall pronouncements which sidetrack the story and will throw off the unwary.
Cheers, Mr. Liddle: Building a Better Scottish Churchill
25
Apr
2023
By WILLIAM JOHN SHEPHERD
Andrew Liddle believes today’s Scotland ignores Churchill in part because the hero of 1940 eclipses the memory of his earlier Liberal phase. Also, Churchill is a victim of the constitutional debate that sees him as representing the union with England now resisted by some Scots. Yet Churchill supported Scottish devolution long before it became politically popular.