Kitchener and the Dardanelles

From author George Cassar's experience in researching and writing about various aspects of the First World War, he became convinced long ago that Kitchener was made a scapegoat by his political enemies in the cabinet, not only because they found him difficult to work with, but perhaps more importantly they needed to conceal their mistakes by blaming someone in authority who was no longer around to refute the charges. Professor Cassar thought about writing this book for at least a decade and what finally drove him to make that commitment was the way writers have continued to view Kitchener as principally culpable for the Dardanelles debacle.

As the architect of the naval plan to force the Dardanelles, Winston Churchill disregarded the elementary principles of war, driven as he was by wishful thinking and imagined benefits with the result that the scheme never had a chance of succeeding.