Gallipoli

by Michael Hickey

This is the story of the Gallipoli campaign. It draws upon official papers, diaries and letters to show the tenacity, heroism and terrible conditions that prevailed ("beaten in the end by our own leaders"). At the same time, the author also shows how Gallipoli was the end of an era in Britain.

Genres: Military History

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1981

About the author

There is more than one person in the Goodreads catalog with this name. This entry is for Michael ^ Hickey.

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most ignominious defeats of the British in WWI and if not for the browbeating of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, it would never have been attempted. His decision affected his political career until the onset of WWII.

The Russians had appealed to His Majesty's government for help in opening the Dardanelles Straits which would provide access to Russian ships into the Sea of Marmara and an opportunity to take the Turkish city of Constantinople. The Straits were well defended on both sides by Turkish forts and artillery placements and the chances of British ships breaking the trail were very slim. But the British Navy was the greatest in the world and Churchill felt that it could be accomplished, followed by the landing of troops at Gallipoli. History tells us that it was not to be and thus began a bloody slaughter of some of the best of British and Anzac troops Lack of leadership, miscommunication,outdated or no maps and a paucity of matériel and reserve troops doomed the action from the beginning and this book covers it in detail.

Granted, the names of the battalions, brigades, etc.and some of the officers are difficult to remember but it does not particularly hamper the reader from following the battle(s). And the author provides good maps. It still amazes that the use of trench warfare and "over the top" mentality was utilized, as it was on the Western Front, and the result was the same......men being mowed down like wheat in the field for a few yards of ground that was meaningless. The Turks, under the leadership of German officers, fought like demons and consistently overcame the British who were under the mistaken impression that they were facing a ragged and ineffective army.

If anything positive came from this experience it was the fact that the Anzac troops were proven to be the consummate soldiers, a reputation that would be sealed in the desert battles of the Second World War.

A descriptive and well told history of Gallipoli (although the fighting was not solely centered there) and should be a book to be read by all students of that campaign. Recommended.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is the edition and/or copy I read. B.

[Elgin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been curious about Gallipoli since years ago hearing the beautiful Eric Bogle song "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", a story about an Australian man drafted during WWI who ended up fighting and losing both legs at Gallipoli. Evidently the Australians made a "folklore" about their role in the campaign though the author claims they have since exaggerated their role. Whatever the situation, this was a very disturbing book about a campaign
run by British officer and politicians who repeatedly sacrificed hundreds and thousands of men in poorly planned, wing and a prayer attacks on the seemingly unassailable Turkish defenses...again and again and again. Even when the generals came to their senses and realized that the situation
was hopeless and that the best thing was to retreat from the Gallipoli peninsula, the politicians in Britain took months to give permission for fear of "losing face" in the Mideast. Could this happen nowadays? I suspect (and hope) not. War in the time of poorly developed military theory and primitive communications must have been incredibly difficult. However even more disturbing was the self serving egos of the military and political leaders (like Churchhill) that were willing to sacrifice thousands of lies on plans that had almost no chance of succeeding on the hopes that they would reap personal glory. And they did not learn from their mistakes but did so again and again and again. A disturbing and depressing book but also a testament to the futility of war.

[Oles Berezhny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it up to the point where the stalemate got settled on the peninsula, around July or so. I think that's where the book hit the plateau, too, somewhere in the middle. Then I got crushed by the awful conditions of the trench warfare, endlessly mounting casualties and somewhat repetitive and dry descriptions of pointless and horrendous battles with the confusing litany of names and numbers of participating battalions, brigades, divisions. Otherwise, I find it useful to learn more about some lesser known aspects of the campaign such as air warfare and submarine actions. I am glad the author provided some glimpses into the Turkish side, too. I only wished the Turkish perspective were presented more to get a richer and more comprehensive picture.