‘By the middle of February the imposing armada that had been designated to carry the operation through had, with the exception of a very few vessels still on the way, assembled in the vicinity of the Dardanelles, and only favourable weather was now needed to begin…’

The Dardanelles is a frank, studious, yet enthralling examination of the broad strategical aspects of the campaign during the Great War. Severely restricted in munitions, supplies and forces due to more pressing needs in other ‘theatres of war’, the Allies suffered both great losses in furious battles as well as successful landings and evacuations.

This volume aims not to furnish the reader with an account of the war as a great and thrilling adventure, but to reveal the tactical elements of the campaign from which there is much to learn. As such, episodes of explosive fighting are only touched upon, while the tactical elements of the enterprise are favoured.

The famous landing of the Gallipoli peninsula, for example, is dealt with in exquisite detail, as is the strategy behind forcing the straits without military cooperation, and the volume also aims to reveal in new light the art of amphibious warfare.

The Dardanelles is a must read for all military enthusiasts.

C. E. Callwell was a well-known military historian, having already written several books and biographies by the time The Dardanelles was first published in 1919. His military experience is also extensive – a retired colonel by the outbreak of war, Callwell was recalled and immediately promoted to Temp Major-General and Director of Military Operations. This vast experience of war and military operations manifests itself in an objective and thorough text, made all the more readable through Callwell’s smooth and accessible prose style.