18 March 2008 is the 93rd anniversary of the wonderful defence of Dardanelle Straits by Turkish and German soldiers. Any one who reviews the history can easily see that, one man had the whole responsibility of these bloodshed operations. He was the First Lord of the British Admiralty, Winston Churchill. We think it would be better to recognize him in order to understand how and why Mr Churchill devoted himself so much to this operation.
MR. CHURCHİLL:
The year 1874 was an eventful one for Lord Randolph- he had been elected to parliament and he had married the girl he loved.Then, on 30th of November, his first son, Winston Leonard Spenser Churchill was born at Blenheim, the ancesteral estate of the Dukes of Malborough. Two years later he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of İreland by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Winston’s earliest memories are of these Dublin-years. While his father was busily involved in advancing his political career, Lady Churchill was equally busy with social activities. As a result Winston was really brought up by his nurse, Mrs. Everest.
With his father’s encouragement, Winston began to prepare for Sandhurst, the West Point/Harp Okulu of England. He took the Sandhurst entrance examinations twice and failed both times. With his third try , Winston won the examinations and he was accepted Sandhurst. At the end of two years, he was graduated with honours from sandhurst, eight in a class of one hundred and fifty.(1) His memories with this school is as fallows:
“İn Sandhurst I had a new start. I was no longer handicapped by post neglect Latin, French or Mathematic. We had now to learn fresh things and we all started equal. Tactic, Fortification, Tophography ( map making), Military Law and Military Administration formed the whole curriculum. İn addition were Drill, Gymnastic and Riding. My father instructed his book seller Mr.Brain to send me any book I might require for my studies. So I ordered many books, including stories dealing with the American Civil, Franco-German and Russo-Turkish wars.(2) Sometimes I was invited to dine at the Staff Collage, less than a mile away, where all the cleverest officers in the Army were being trained for the high command.(3) Here the study was divisions, Army Corps and even whole Armies, of bases ,of supplies and lines of communication and railway strategy. This was thrilling. My father arranged for me to go through additional course of riding school at Knightbridge Barracks with the Royal Horse Guards. I think I was pretty well trained to sit and menage a horse. This is one of the most important things in the world.” (4)
İn March 1895, Churchill received his commision in the 4th Hussars, a crack cavallary regiment composed of selected soldiers. İn the same year there was a revolt in Cuba against Spain. Using all his family connections, he obtain permission for himself and another subaltern.Then he went to see the editor of the London Daily Graphic and offered his services as a foreign correspondent- for a fee.The editor agreed to pay him 25 $ for each article he sent in. Early in September they arrived to Havana.(5)
İn September 1896 his main unit 4th Hussars was sent to İndia in a ship. While he was there,he heard about the revolt of Patans who where living in the North-West frontier of İndia. Churchill lost no time in calling on the editor of a local paper, The Allahabat Pioneer and easily talk the newspaperman into putting him on the staff. Churchill’s mother , who was being kept informed by wire , used her influence in London to get him an appointment as war correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. Thus armed with assignments from two newspapers, Churchill approached his commanding officer and wheeled an extended leave to cover the fighting. For the next two months Churchill stayed with the Army that was fighting what came to be known as the Frontier War. All during this time he was sending his reports on the fighting to the Daily Telegraph and Allahabat Pioneer. Signed simply “by a young officer” his articles became a sensation in the London newspaper world. Churchill had never thoought of himself as a professional writer, but his ability on style had improved greatly since his reports on the Cuban War. He was beginning to show a real talent for writing. He collected all of his newspapers articles, added some new material and in March 1898, his “The Story of the Malakand Field Force” was published. When his publisher sent him his share of the profits, Churchill was amazed to learn that it was equal to two years of his pay as an officer. İt was then that he began to think seriously of a career as a military writer covering wars whereever they broke out in the World. He made his mind to resign from the Army as soon as the trouble in İndia was over and concentrate on writing.(6)
Soon after the end of the Frontier War, news reached İndia that a British Army under General Herbert Kitchener’s command was gethering in Egypt for an attack on rebel forces in the Anglo-Egyptian-Sudan. Some years earlier The British Commander in Sudan, General C.G.Gordon had been killed by Dervish Army elements. This time British were ready to avange the murder of General Gordon. Every officer in İndia was eager for a chance to take part in this campaign. Churchill promptly applied for a transfer for Africa. His application to join the Anglo-Egyptian Army had been approved by the war office, but the commander Sir Herbert Kitchener wanted no part of him.He did not like young upstars who wrote books that criticized and gave advice to the high command. Churchill, however, was not going to accept defeat so easily. He obteined leave from his regiment and took the next boat to London.With her mothers effords he received a letter from the private secretary of Lord Salisbury, the Prime Minister. Lord Salisbury had read his book on İndia and like it.After their meetings, Salisbury sent a telegraph to General, couldn’t Kitchener find a place for young Churchill? But Kitchener didn’t change his mind and refused to accept Churchill as a regular army officer. But several days later Churchill received the following note from the war department:
“You have been attached as a supernumerary Lieutenant to the 21st Lancers for the Sudan Campaign…İt is understood that you will proceed at your own expense and that in the event of your being killed or wounded in the impending operations or for any other reasons , no charge of any kind will fall on British Army Funds. Churchill hurried down to the offices of the Morning Post and persueded the editor to give him an assignement as a war correspondent.This job would at least pay his expenses. Six days later he was in Cairo.(7) Churchill expected a message from General Kitchener ordering him to leave Africa, at any moment. But he later learned that Kitchener was glad upon hearing of the young officer’s appointment. He overcomed the Dervish Army problem and Churchill wrote all the stories of war to the Morning Post newspaper. Morning Post paid more than 300 pound for his series of articles on the battle of Omdurman. His new stories on the Sudan had attracted a great deal of attention and his name was beginnig to make an impression outside social and army circles.Churchill planned to resign from the army before the end of the year and he gave considerable thought to a writing career. As an author he would earn much more money than he ever could as a professional soldier. Beside this, the opportunity for adventure and travel would be limitless.
Another possibility was a career in politics.During a visit to the Conservative Party headquarters, he was asked by a party member if he would be available to speak at a few fortcoming political events. Churchill made his first political speech in the city Bath and he was more amazed when the audience cheered him wildly. The next day Morning Post printed his speech and even published an editorial which proclaimed him a new and exciting figure on the political scene. Shortly after, he resigned from the Army.(8) During the voyage to London he spend most of his time complating a book on the Nile Campaign. Entitled “The River War”, it turned out to be a success with critics and public alike.(9) There was a special election, was being held in Oldham,Lancashire. The leaders of the Conservative Party thought that this would be a good opportunity for Churchill to get some experience in politics by seeking a seat in the House of Common. He enjoyed the campaign but lost his first election by 1300 votes.
İn the Autumn of 1899 a war broke out in the South African Republic ( Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. There was a new and wonderful opportunity for Churchill to exercise his talents as a war correspondent. The Morning Post quickly took advantage of his availibility. To his amazement he was offered a contract which guaranteed 250 Pound a month, plus expenses, for covering the South African conflict. While he was there and trying to make his job in the best way, his train was attacked by Boers. As a result of fighting The Boers took more than 75 prisoners. One of them was Mr. Churchill. He was herded off to an officers’ prisoner of war camp at Pretoria. (10) Churchill with his other two friends agreed upon an escape plan and after many adventures he succeeded. İn June 1900 both Johannesburg and Pretoria were captured by the British Army. Churchill participated in both engagements. And than he returned to England. Almost ten months’ accumulated salary from the Morning Post left him extremely well of financially. He went to Oldham, the scene of his first political defeat and try once again for a seat in Parliament. This time, as being a war hero, he won the elections and in February1901 he made his first appearance as a member of the House of Common.
İn 1904 Churchill severed his connection with the Conservative Party and dramatically took a seat next to Lloyd George on the Liberal side of the House of Commons. İn the next election which was held on January 1906 Liberals won by a huge majority.The new Prime Minister appointed the 31 years old Churchill Under- Secretary for the Colonies. Despite his intense involvement in politics, Churchill found time during these early days of his political career to write a two volume biography of his father. Some critics consider this biography, entitled “Lord Randolph Churchill” to be one of his best works. İn the same time he married with Clementine Hazier on September 12, 1908 and in the course of time five children was born to the Churchills. In 1910 he was moved to the Home Office. Toward the end of his term as Home Secretary, he was required to put down a series of violent doc and railway strikes that were sweeping the country.To preserve order Churchill called out the troops. As a result, demonstrations occurred and a number of people were killed. For his part in this bloodshed Churchill was bitterly denounced by the unions.(11)
İn the summer of 1911 an unexpected opportunity arouse for him to meet some of his ambitious. At that time during the course of a brifing about international crisis , The Asquit Government had been schocked to learn that the Admiralty was not prepared to carry out its wartime missions in support of the Army.To their amazement, Cabinet Ministers at the time were told that the Royal Navy was unable to transport British Expeditionary Force, across the English Channnel. They also learned that the Admiralty was unwilling to creat a Naval War Staff. İt became clear to Prime Minister Asquit and his colleagues that a new First Lord of the Admiralty had to be appointed to institute basic reforms. Churchill, then Home Secretary angled for the job, and his mentor Lloyd George, proposed him for it. Predictably, his candidacy was hampered by his youth.At thirty-six he was already, with a solitary exception, the youngest person ever to serve as Home Secretary; and his many enemies, who claimed that he had pushed himself forward unseemly haste, argued that he had run ahead of himself.To them he appeared to posses in excess charasteristic faults of youth: obstinacy, inexperience, poor judgement and impulsiveness.Beside these he often changed his views;and since he always held his views passionately, his change of mind were as violent and extreme as they were fraquent. He had been a Tory and now was a Liberal. He had been the most pro-German of ministers and had became the most anti-German. He had been the leading pro-Turk in the cabinet and was to became the most anti-Turk. The other leading contender for the position of First Lord expressed warm admiration for Churchill’s energy and courage, but echoed the usual accusation that the young Home Secretary was too apt “ to act first and think afterwards.” For whatever reason, the Prime Minister decided to take a chance on Churchill. (12)
As a First Lord of Admiralty, Winston Churchill surrounded himself with a group of well trained advisers, one of them was a retired Admiral John Fisher. He was almost 74 years old when churchill, against some opposition, called him back to the service. The two, made a wonderful team despite the differences in their ages. İn accordance with the evaluation of his one friend (doughter of Prime Minister Asquit) “ Winston found in Fisher a veritable volcano of knowledge and of inspiration.” (13) The impact of Churchill’s personality vibrated through the Admiralty. He created an efficient and capable staff, framing a joint strategy for the Navy in close union with Army. He and his staff spend every afford to meet the urgent need to increase gun-powder and the speed of the new ships and to prepare against a sudden attack by Germany as though it may come next day. He decreed that Naval officers as well as resident clerks should be on duty night and day on week-days, Sundays and holidays, so that in the event of a surprise attack no moment should be lost in giving the alarm. Naturally there were new appointments to be made- some admirals transferred to other duties and some new comers joint the new headquarters. He also ordered a large chart of the North Sea to be hung up upon the wall behind his chair. On this chart a staff officer marked the position of German Fleet with flags. His first Job was to look at this map every morning. (14) At the result of all of these measures when England entered the First World War on August 4, 1914, the naval superiority of the British navy was undisputed.
STORİES OF THE BATTLE SHİPS:
At the end of Balkan War, Djemal Pasha Minister of Marine invited a British advisory mission to Turkey. With Churchill’s support, Rear Admiral Sir Arthur H. Limpus was assigned as the head of the British naval mission. The British Advisory Mission to the Ottoman Navy was almost as large as the similar German mission to the Ottoman Army, led by the Prussian General of cavallary, Otto Liman von Sanders. The two missions to some extent counter- balanced each other. İn 1913 The Turks were suffering from their defeat in Balkan Wars. The conflict with Greece for Aegean islands was still continuing. Turks were determined to equalise their naval position in the Aegean and bought a battleship from Brazil. Despite the protests of Djemal pasha to the U.S. Ambassador, Henry Morgenthau, a violent Phil Hellene who rejoiced in his discomfiture, U.S.A. immediately sold two modern ships, the Idaho and the Mississippi, to the Greeks. (15) With the advice and assistant of British Naval advisors Turks ordered two modern battle ships to England, Sultan Osman and Reshadieh. Both had been built in British shipyards and were immensely powerful; the Sultan Osman mounted more (including 13.5 inch) guns than any battleship ever built before. The Sultan Osman was completed in May and the Turks had paid half of her purchased price; the Reshadieh was ready in early July.
Their overall cost was 7.500.000. Pound. The money had been raised from the people voluntarily and every Anatolian peasant felt he had a share in these magnificent new ships, which at one move would wipe out of the Greeks’ sharp deal over the Idaho and Mississippi. It is well known that; women had sold their jewellery and school children had given up their pocket money to contribute to the popular subscription. Istanbul was ready to meet the arrival of the ships. Admiral Limpus had put out to sea from Istanbul on 27 July 1914, with ships of the Turkish Navy, waiting to greet the Sultan Osman I, and escort her back through the Straits of Dardanelle to the Ottoman capital, where a “Navy Week” had been scheduled with lavish ceremonies for the Minister of Marine, Ahmet Djemal, and for the cause of British- Ottoman friendships. In early July Turkish crew (about 500 soldiers under the command of Captain Rauf Bey) were ready to take over the ships.
Churchill was aware that these ships meant a great deal to the Ottoman Turks. They were intended to be the making of the modern Ottoman Navy and it was assumed that they would enable the empire to face Greece in the Aegean and Russia in the Black Sea. He was against of this view in principle and although there was a strong British Naval Advisory team in Turkey, he received a very hostile decision for these ships. During the development of world crisis, 0n 27 July 1914, Churchill raised the issue of whether the Turkish Battleships could be taken by the Royal Navy. The chain of events which apparently flowed from Churchill’s initiative in this matter eventually led to him being blamed for the tragic outbreak of war in the Middle East. The next day Churchill directed to the First Sea Lord, Sir Archibald Moore. “ In case it may became necessary to acquire the 2 Turkish battleships that are nearing completion in British yards.”(16)
The Turks suspected what Churchill had in mind, Rauf Bey and his sailors already on board a transport in the Tyne, attempted to hoist the Turkish flag and take his ships away. On 29 July the Foreign Office warned the Admiralty that the Sultan Osman I was taking on fuel and was under orders to depart for Istanbul immediately, even though unfinished. Churchill immediately ordered British security forces to guard the vessels and to prevent the Turkish crews from boarding them or from raising the Ottoman flag over them. (Which would have converted them, under prevailing international law, into Ottoman territory?) There had been a clash around the ships with a few causalities from both Turkish and British sides. On 31 July the cabinet accepted Churchill’s view that he ought to take both Turkish vessels for the Royal navy for possible use against the Germany in the event of war. Sultan Osman I became HMS Agincourt and Reshadieh became HMS Erin after this decision. (17) This events created a very big disappointments and hatred in Turkey and two days later an agreement was signed between Ottoman Empire and Germany.
In Berlin, the German Government decided to send Mediterranean Fleet, which was composed of Goeben and Breslau under the command of Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon to Istanbul, in the early morning of 4 August. French Navy was occupied in convoying their troops from North Africa to France, so the task of intercepting the Goeben and Breslau fell to the British. No one in the British Fleet ever dreamed that the German ships were heading for Istanbul; presumably Churchill’s fear of the Turks had evaporated once he had carried out his coup on the Tyne. Churchill warned the Admiral in the Mediterranean, Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne for these two ships. Goeben, the one German ship at large in the Mediterranean, which outstripped in speed and power every vessel in the French Navy. British battle cruisers the Indomitable and the Indefatigable, which alone could compete with her speed were ordered to shadow and sink her. Prime Minister Asquit noted “Winston’s mouth watered for the Goeben.” Milne’s second-in-command, Rear Admiral Sir Ernest Troubridge was commanding an armoured cruiser squadron of four good ships and eight destroyers. (18) British Fleet couldn’t do anything to Goeben and Breslau and German Admiral Suchon found himself his ships untouched, on august 11th at the entrance to the Dardanelles, under the guns of the fortress of Cahanakkale. Enver Pasha, on his own responsibility ordered the commander at Chanakkale to allow the Goeben and Breslau to steam up to Istanbul. It was announced that the Germans sold these two ships instead of the two ships blocked by Winston Churchill two weeks ago. The crews put aside their caps and donned the fez, the Star and Crescent was hoisted, the Goeben became the Yavuz Sultan Selim and the Breslau the Midilli. Souchon replaced British Admiral Limpus in command of the Turkish fleet and on the 9th September the British Naval Mission was dismissed. Almost three months later on October 28 these two ships still German crewed, accompanied by some small Turkish vessels, entered the Black Sea and shelled the Russian Ports of Odessa, Sevastopol and Theodosia. Thus Ottoman Empire had been pushed into the war. (19) Winston Churchill remained as First Lord of the Admiralty, Admiral Milne had retired from the Navy on August 18th, but Rear Admiral Troubridge was court martialled in November and although acquitted, never held a sea command again.
REFERENCES:
(1) Quentin Reynolds: Winston Churchill, p.2-12 (Random House New York-1963)
(2) Winston S. Churchill: My Early Life, p.51 (Collins Fontana Books, 8th impression, London And Glasgow – 1972)
(3) I have had the honour of to be a student of this school (British Staff Collage Camberley) in the year of 1971
(4) My Early Life, p.52-53
(5) Q.Reynolds, p.17-18
(6) Q.Reynolds, p.33-34
(7) Q.Reynolds, p.36-39
(8) Q.Reynolds, p.46-49
(9) Winston Churchill, The River War- Battle of Omdurman.
(10) Q.Reynolds, p.52-54
(11) Q.Reynolds, p.72-78
(12) David Fromkin: A Peace The End All Peace, p.52 (Avan Books, New York-1990)
(13) Violet Benham Carter: Winston Churchill, As I Knew Him,p.240 (The Reprint Society, London- 1966)
(14) Q.Reynolds,p.82-83
(15) David Wilder: The Chanak Affair,p.24 ( Hutchinson of London-1969)
(16) D.Fromkin,p.56-57
(17) Philip J.Haythornthwhite: Gallipoli-1915, Frontal assault on Turkey,p.6 ( London-1991)
(18) Violet Bonham,p.320-321
(19) David Walder,p.27-28