Mr. Churchill on Gallipoli Mr. Winston Churchill, in an article specially contributed to the "Liverpool Courier," asserts that the Gallipoli. expedition, had it been supported with sufficient vigour, might have brought the whole forces of the Balkan Confederation into the war upon our side—a transference of strength which might have been decisive—and have caused Italy to join us sooner than she did. The ruin of Russia would have been prevented, and all those tens of millions of homes which were shattered or stricken by the fearful events of 1917 and 1918, or by the events still taking place in Russia and Central Europe, would have been successfully preserved. He proceeds:
These considerations were not afterthoughts marshalled to explain a commitment or excuse a failure. All are upon record, clearly set out beforehand by those who in December, 1914, and in January, 1915, were convinced that the best opportunity for 1915 lay in the Eastern "Mediterranean against Turkey and in the Balkans. Historious will long ponder over the strange fatality which prevented these simple and even obvious conceptions from being whole-heartedly shared and accepted by those who had the power, and from dominating the policy and the action of the Allies. Had they been accepted, had a general plan been made in concert and agreement between England and France, and a clear and resolute diplomacy lent its indispensable aid to military and ni action, the war might have "teen over in 1916, Turkey might have been permitted a reasonable peace. the Balkan States. greatly enlarged at the pense both of Turkey and Austria, might have formed a powerful and prosperous confederation, the ruin of Russia would have been prevented, and all those tens of millions of homes which were shattered or stricken by the fearful events 1917 and 1918, or by the events which are still taking place in Russia and in Central Europe would have been mercifully preserved. £6 was not to be. Divided counsels at home resulted in grudging support and driblets of reinforcements which always arrived too late. When the Cabinet was at last convinced it sent five new divisions of troops. but so tardily was this substantial reinforcement despatched that five fresh Turkish divisions, drawn laboriously from all parts ut the Turkish Empire. reached the peninsula in time to meet and to cancel it out. The high explosive shell fired in the first two days of the battle of Loos exceeded the whole quantity fired on the Galli poli peninsula from beginning to end. Sent to Ian Hamilton's army, it would have overwhelmed the Turks. On the other hand, if every shell fired by Sir Tan Hamilton had instead been fired at Loos it would not appreciably have altered the disastrous issue.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.