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Fisher, Churchill, and the Dardanelles. By Geoffrey Penn. London: Leo Cooper, 1999. ISBN 0-85052-646-9. Maps. Photographs. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. viii, 280. 25.00,
This book, by a former naval officer, adds to our understanding of the depressingly inept origins of the British attempt early in 1915 to force the passage of the Dardanelles and put Turkey out of the war. It was the defective mechanism for the higher direction of the war that caused the difficulties which beset the servicemen, naval and military, who had to execute the policy into which their political masters drifted so aimlessly.
In common with many biographies that seek to restore or defend the reputation of a historical figure, in this case Admiral Lord "Jacky" Fisher, there has to...