171-415: Diana Spencer Churchill (11 July 1909 – 20 October 1963) was the eldest daughter of British statesman Sir Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill . Diana Churchill was born at 33 Eccleston Square , London, on 11 July 1909, the first of five children of Winston Churchill – then a member of Parliament and government minister – and Clementine Hozier . She attended Notting Hill High School and then
342-681: A junior ministerial position he had requested. He worked beneath the Secretary of State for the Colonies , Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin , and took Edward Marsh as his secretary; Marsh remained his secretary for 25 years. Churchill's first task was helping to draft a constitution for the Transvaal ; and he helped oversee the formation of a government in the Orange River Colony . In dealing with southern Africa, he sought to ensure equality between
513-546: A tomb at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, but her remains were relocated in 2019 to join the rest of her family) at St Martin's Church, Bladon , near Woodstock, Oxfordshire . Sir Winston Churchill [REDACTED] Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 ( during
684-639: A truce was organised by Aubrey Herbert and others on 24 May, to bury the dead lying in no man's land , which led to a camaraderie between the armies, much like the Christmas truce of 1914 on the Western Front. A witness account from Private Victor Laidlaw of the Australian 2nd Field Ambulance described the day, The armistice was declared from 8:30 a.m. this morning till 4:30 p.m. it is wonderful, things are unnaturally quiet and I felt like getting up and making
855-673: A "sense of superiority" among the Entente, because of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and its poor performance in Libya during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912 and the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. Entente intelligence failed to adequately prepare for the campaign, in some cases relying on information gained from Egyptian travel guides. The troops for the assault were loaded on transports in
1026-511: A Liberal, Churchill attacked government policy and gained a reputation as a radical under the influences of John Morley and David Lloyd George . In December 1905, Balfour resigned as prime minister and King Edward VII invited the Liberal leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman to replace him. Hoping to secure a working majority , Campbell-Bannerman called a general election in January 1906, which
1197-544: A bay just south of Ari Burnu, due to undetected currents or a navigational error. The landing was more difficult, over ground which rose steeply from the beaches, unlike the objective to the south, which was more open. The landing site was garrisoned by only two Ottoman companies but from positions on commanding ground, the Ottomans inflicted numerous casualties on the Australians before being overcome. The broken terrain prevented
1368-426: A commander at Gallipoli, as founder and president . The campaign is often considered to be the beginning of Australian and New Zealand national consciousness . The anniversary of the landings, 25 April, is known as Anzac Day , the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in the two countries, surpassing Remembrance Day ( Armistice Day ). On 29 October 1914, two former German warships,
1539-413: A coordinated drive inland, with the Australians on unfamiliar ground and with inaccurate maps. In the maze of steep ravines, spurs and dense scrub, Australian parties that got forward quickly lost contact and were broken up into small groups. Some Australian troops reached the second ridge but fewer still reached their objectives and, having become dispersed, the covering force could provide little support to
1710-498: A destroyer. The submarine ran aground beneath a Ottoman fort but the Ottoman gunners could not bring their guns to bear and AE2 was manoeuvred free. Shortly after refloating, the periscope was sighted by a Ottoman battleship firing over the peninsula at Entente landing sites and the ship ceased fire and withdrew. AE2 advanced toward the Sea of Marmara and, at 08:30 , Stoker decided to rest
1881-425: A distinction between criminal and political prisoners , with rules for the latter being relaxed. There were educational innovations like the establishment of libraries, and a requirement to stage entertainments four times a year. The rules on solitary confinement were relaxed, and Churchill proposed abolition of automatic imprisonment of those who failed to pay fines. Imprisonment of people aged between 16 and 21
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#17330846057482052-557: A flat in London's Mayfair , using it as his base for six years. He stood again as a Conservative candidate at Oldham in the October 1900 general election , securing a narrow victory to become a Member of Parliament aged 25. In the same month, he published Ian Hamilton's March , a book about his South African experiences, which became the focus of a lecture tour in November through Britain, America and Canada. Members of Parliament were unpaid and
2223-454: A hill at Ariburnu saw a multitude of ships far on the horizon. Captain Faik, in charge of a company from the 27th Infantry Regiment verified it with his binoculars and immediately informed his commanding officer, Ismet Bey, at Kabatepe. By 3:00 a.m., the moon was covered and the ships were no longer visible to the Ottomans. The Ottomans were not sure if this was a real landing or a diversion. Once
2394-461: A landing on either side of the Straits was the 5th Army . This force, which initially consisted of five divisions with another en route, was a conscript force, commanded by Sanders. Many of the senior officers in the 5th Army were also German. Ottoman commanders and senior German officers debated the best means of defending the peninsula. All agreed that the best defence was to hold the high ground on
2565-590: A large majority, it established the principle of a minimum wage and the right to have meal breaks. In May 1909, he proposed the Labour Exchanges Bill to establish over 200 Labour Exchanges through which the unemployed would be assisted in finding employment. He promoted the idea of an unemployment insurance scheme, which would be part-funded by the state. To ensure funding for their reforms, Lloyd George and Churchill denounced Reginald McKenna 's policy of naval expansion, refusing to believe war with Germany
2736-696: A large number are down bathing and you would think today was Cup Day down at one of our seaside beaches. The truce was not repeated formally. The British advantage in naval artillery diminished after the battleship HMS Goliath was torpedoed and sunk on 13 May by the Muâvenet-i Millîye , killing 570 men out of a crew of 750, including the ship's commander, Captain Thomas Shelford. A German submarine, U-21 , sank HMS Triumph on 25 May and HMS Majestic on 27 May. More British reconnaissance patrols were flown around Gallipoli and U-21
2907-430: A minimum of troops guarding the coast. The 3rd Division and a cavalry brigade arrived from Istanbul in early April, bringing the front line strength of the Ottomans to 60,000–62,077 men, which Sanders concentrated in three groups. A maximum effort to improve land and sea communications was ordered, to move reinforcements swiftly to danger points; troops moving at night to avoid Entente air reconnaissance. Sanders' strategy
3078-625: A mutual de-escalation, but this was refused. Churchill pushed for higher pay and greater recreational facilities for naval staff, more submarines, and a renewed focus on the Royal Naval Air Service , encouraging them to experiment with how aircraft could be used for military purposes. He coined the term " seaplane " and ordered 100 to be constructed. Some Liberals objected to his level of naval expenditure; in December 1913 he threatened to resign if his proposal for 4 new battleships in 1914–15
3249-668: A preference for Protestantism over Roman Catholicism because he felt it "a step nearer Reason". Interested in parliamentary affairs, he declared himself "a Liberal in all but name", adding he could never endorse the Liberal Party 's support for Irish home rule . Instead, he allied himself to the Tory democracy wing of the Conservatives and on a visit home, gave his first speech for the party's Primrose League at Claverton Down . Mixing reformist and conservative perspectives, he supported
3420-648: A reputation as a conciliator. He worked with Lloyd George to champion social reform . He promoted what he called a "network of State intervention and regulation" akin to that in Germany. Continuing Lloyd George's work, Churchill introduced the Mines Eight Hours Bill , which prohibited miners from working more than an eight-hour day . In 1909, he introduced the Trade Boards Bill , creating Trade Boards which could prosecute exploitative employers. Passing with
3591-456: A row myself, the rifle fire is quiet, no shell fire. The stench round the trenches where the dead had been lying for weeks was awful, some of the bodies were mere skeletons, it seems so very different to see each side near each other's trenches burying their dead, each man taking part in the ceremonies is called a pioneer and wears 2 white bands on his arms, everybody is taking advantage of the armistice to do anything they want to do out of cover and
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#17330846057483762-544: A shore overlooked by dunes and obstructed with barbed wire. On both beaches, the Ottoman defenders occupied good defensive positions and inflicted many casualties on the British infantry as they landed. Troops emerging one by one from sally ports on River Clyde were shot by machine-gunners at the Seddülbahir fort and, of the first 200 soldiers to disembark, 21 men reached the beach. The Ottoman defenders were too few to defeat
3933-586: A state funeral . One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK and the rest of the Anglosphere . He is generally viewed as a victorious wartime leader who played an integral role in defending liberal democracy against the spread of fascism . He has sometimes been criticised for his imperialism and certain comments on race , in addition to some wartime decisions such as area bombing, but historians nevertheless rank Churchill as one of
4104-653: A strike in munitions factories along the Clyde and increased munitions production. In his October 1917 letter to his Cabinet colleagues, he penned the plan of attack for the next year, that would bring final victory to the Allies. He ended a second strike, in June 1918, by threatening to conscript strikers into the army. In the House of Commons, Churchill voted in support of the Representation of
4275-468: A three-week patrol, which became one of the most successful Entente naval actions of the campaign, in which four ships were sunk, including the transport Gul Djemal which was carrying 6,000 troops and a field battery to Gallipoli. While the quantity and value of the shipping sunk was minor, the effect on Ottoman communications and morale was significant; Boyle was awarded the Victoria Cross. Following
4446-422: A transport alongside the arsenal, sinking a gunboat and damaging the wharf. The Ottoman forces lacked artillery ammunition and field batteries were only able to fire c. 18,000 shells between early May and the first week of June. After the defeat of the counter-attack at Anzac in mid-May, the Ottoman forces ceased frontal assaults. Late in the month, the Ottomans began tunneling around Quinn's Post in
4617-771: A war zone. In the autumn, he and friend Reggie Barnes , went to observe the Cuban War of Independence and became involved in skirmishes after joining Spanish troops attempting to suppress independence fighters. Churchill sent reports to the Daily Graphic in London. He proceeded to New York and wrote to his mother about "what an extraordinary people the Americans are!" With the Hussars, he went to Bombay in October 1896. Based in Bangalore , he
4788-613: The Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) and the entrance to the Black Sea through the Dardanelles was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. While the Ottomans remained neutral, supplies could be sent to Russia through the Dardanelles but prior to the Ottoman entry into the war, the straits had been closed; in November the Ottomans began to mine the waterway. The French politician, Aristide Briand , proposed in November to attack
4959-710: The 1945 general election , he became Leader of the Opposition . Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union , he publicly warned of an " iron curtain " of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. Between his terms, he wrote several books recounting his experience during the war. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. He lost the 1950 election but was returned to office in 1951 . His second term
5130-539: The Agadir Crisis of April 1911, when there was a threat of war between France and Germany, Churchill suggested an alliance with France and Russia to safeguard the independence of Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands to counter possible German expansionism. The Crisis had a profound effect on Churchill and he altered his views about the need for naval expansion. In October 1911, Asquith appointed Churchill First Lord of
5301-644: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), began its assault at Gallipoli . Both campaigns failed and Churchill was held by many MPs, particularly Conservatives, to be responsible. In May, Asquith agreed under parliamentary pressure to form an all-party coalition government , but the Conservatives' condition of entry was that Churchill must be removed from the Admiralty. Churchill pleaded his case with Asquith and Conservative leader Bonar Law but had to accept demotion. On 25 November 1915, Churchill resigned from
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5472-552: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), commanded by Lieutenant General Sir William Birdwood , comprising the volunteer 1st Australian Division and the New Zealand and Australian Division . The ANZAC troops were joined by the regular 29th Division and the Royal Naval Division . The French Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient (Orient Expeditionary Corps), initially consisting of two brigades within one division,
5643-539: The Budget League , and warned that upper-class obstruction could anger working-class Britons and lead to class war. The government called the January 1910 general election , which resulted in a Liberal victory; Churchill retained his seat at Dundee. He proposed abolition of the House of Lords in a cabinet memo, suggesting it be succeeded by a unicameral system, or smaller second chamber that lacked an in-built advantage for
5814-731: The Central Powers , by taking control of the Ottoman straits . This would expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by Entente battleships and cut it off from the Asian part of the empire. With the Ottoman Empire defeated, the Suez Canal would be safe and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits would be open to Entente supplies to the Black Sea and warm-water ports in Russia. In February 1915
5985-537: The Conservative politician Duncan Sandys (later life peer Lord Duncan-Sandys). They had three children together and divorced in 1960. In 1962, Churchill changed her name by deed poll back to Diana Spencer Churchill. With Duncan Sandys she had three children: Churchill was an officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service during World War II . Churchill had several nervous breakdowns. In 1962, she began working with
6156-792: The Dardanelles campaign , the Defence of Gallipoli or the Battle of Gallipoli ( Turkish : Gelibolu Muharebesi , Çanakkale Muharebeleri or Çanakkale Savaşı ) was a military campaign in the First World War on the Gallipoli peninsula (now Gelibolu) from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Entente powers, Britain , France and the Russian Empire , sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire , one of
6327-761: The First Battle of Ypres in Flanders. The war of manoeuvre had evolved into trench warfare . The German Empire and Austria-Hungary closed the overland trade routes between Britain and France in the west and Russia in the east. The White Sea in the Arctic and the Sea of Okhotsk in the Far East were icebound in winter and distant from the Eastern Front ; the Baltic Sea was blockaded by
6498-519: The Hughligans , but was critical of the Conservative government on various issues, especially increases in army funding. He believed additional military expenditure should go to the navy. This upset the Conservative front bench but was supported by Liberals, with whom he increasingly socialised, particularly Liberal Imperialists like H. H. Asquith . Churchill later wrote that he "drifted steadily to
6669-496: The Partition of Ireland . Concerning the possibility of partition, Churchill stated: "Whatever Ulster's right may be, she cannot stand in the way of the whole of the rest of Ireland. Half a province cannot impose a permanent veto on the nation. Half a province cannot obstruct forever the reconciliation between the British and Irish democracies". Speaking in the House of Commons on 16 February 1922, Churchill said: "What Irishmen all over
6840-507: The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , where she spent five terms, although her focus was not on acting. On 12 December 1932, Churchill married John Milner Bailey (15 June 1900 East Grinstead – 13 February 1946 Cape Town , South Africa), who became the Bailey baronet Sir John Milner Bailey, 2nd Bt, but the marriage was unsuccessful and they divorced in 1935. On 16 September 1935, she married
7011-411: The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Entente employed a small force of seaplanes and other aircraft from 3 Squadron , RNAS (Commander Charles Samson ) which arrived at Tenedos at the end of March. The aircraft were unopposed by the small Ottoman air force at first and during the planning, the force had been used to provide aerial reconnaissance, although this ultimately proved inadequate to meet
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7182-621: The Russian Civil War , but soon recognised the people's desire to bring them home. After the Soviets won the civil war, Churchill proposed a cordon sanitaire around the country. In the Irish War of Independence , he supported the use of the paramilitary Black and Tans to combat Irish revolutionaries. After British troops in Iraq clashed with Kurdish rebels, Churchill authorised two squadrons to
7353-453: The Samaritans , an organisation created for the prevention of suicide. On 20 October 1963, she died at 58 Chester Row, Westminster, S.W.1, leaving an estate valued at £59,259. The cause of death was an overdose of barbiturates , and a coroner later concluded that it was a case of suicide. She is buried with her parents (who both outlived her) and her siblings (Marigold originally was interred in
7524-667: The Siege of Ladysmith and take Pretoria. He was among the first British troops into both places. He and cousin, Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough , demanded and received the surrender of 52 Boer prison camp guards. Throughout the war, he publicly chastised anti-Boer prejudices, calling for them to be treated with "generosity and tolerance", and afterwards urged the British to be magnanimous in victory. In July, having resigned his lieutenancy, he returned to Britain. His Morning Post despatches had been published as London to Ladysmith via Pretoria and sold well. Churchill rented
7695-491: The Siege of Sidney Street ; three Latvian burglars had killed police officers and hidden in a house in the East End of London , surrounded by police. Churchill stood with the police though he did not direct their operation. After the house caught fire, he told the fire brigade not to proceed into the house because of the threat posed by the armed men. Afterwards, two of the burglars were found dead. Although he faced criticism for his decision, he said he "thought it better to let
7866-447: The greatest British prime ministers . Churchill was born on 30 November 1874 at his family's ancestral home, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. On his father's side, he was a member of the aristocracy as a descendant of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . His father, Lord Randolph Churchill , representing the Conservative Party , had been elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Woodstock in February 1874. His mother, Jennie ,
8037-434: The "disgusting butchery of the natives" by Europeans. With Campbell-Bannerman terminally ill, Asquith became prime minister in April 1908. He appointed Churchill as President of the Board of Trade . Aged 33, Churchill was the youngest Cabinet member since 1866. Newly appointed Cabinet ministers were legally obliged to seek re-election at a by-election. On 24 April, Churchill lost the Manchester North West by-election to
8208-411: The 19th Division, reinforced by six battalions from the 5th Division, counter-attacked the six Entente brigades at Anzac. With the support of naval gunfire, the Entente held back the Ottomans throughout the night. The following day the British were joined by French troops transferred from Kum Kale on the Asiatic shore to the right of the line near 'S' Beach at Morto Bay . On 28 April, the Entente fought
8379-471: The Admiralty , and he took up official residence at Admiralty House . He created a naval war staff and, over the next two and a half years, focused on naval preparation, visiting naval stations and dockyards, seeking to improve morale, and scrutinising German naval developments. After Germany passed its 1912 Naval Law to increase warship production, Churchill vowed that for every new German battleship, Britain would build two. He invited Germany to engage in
8550-591: The Board of Trade and Home Secretary , championing prison reform and workers' social security. As First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War, he oversaw the Gallipoli campaign , but after it proved a disaster, was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster . He resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions , Secretary of State for War , Secretary of State for Air , and Secretary of State for
8721-422: The British and Boers. He announced a gradual phasing out of the use of Chinese indentured labourers in South Africa; he and the government decided a sudden ban would cause too much upset and might damage the colony's economy. He expressed concerns about the relations between European settlers and the black African population; after the Zulu launched their Bambatha Rebellion in Natal , Churchill complained about
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#17330846057488892-436: The Colonies , overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East . After two years out of Parliament, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin 's Conservative government , returning sterling in 1925 to the gold standard , depressing the UK economy. Out of government during his so-called " wilderness years " in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for rearmament to counter
9063-411: The Conservative candidate by 429 votes. On 9 May, the Liberals stood him in the safe seat of Dundee , where he won comfortably . Churchill proposed marriage to Clementine Hozier ; they were married on 12 September 1908 at St Margaret's, Westminster and honeymooned in Baveno , Venice, and Veveří Castle in Moravia . They lived at 33 Eccleston Square , London, and their first daughter, Diana ,
9234-414: The Conservatives. In April, the Lords relented and the People's Budget passed. Churchill continued to campaign against the House of Lords and assisted passage of the Parliament Act 1911 which reduced and restricted its powers. In February 1910, Churchill was promoted to Home Secretary , giving him control over the police and prison services; he implemented a prison reform programme. Measures included
9405-446: The Dardanelles neutral zone, which was policed by the British army based in Chanak . Churchill and Lloyd George favoured military resistance to any Turkish advance but the majority Conservatives in the coalition government opposed it. A political debacle ensued which resulted in the Conservative withdrawal from the government, precipitating the November 1922 general election . Also in September, Churchill's fifth and last child, Mary ,
9576-477: The Dardanelles, to divert Ottoman troops from Caucasia. On 17 February 1915, a British seaplane from HMS Ark Royal flew a reconnaissance sortie over the Straits. Two days later, the first attack on the Dardanelles began when an Anglo-French flotilla, including the British dreadnought HMS Queen Elizabeth , began a long-range bombardment of Ottoman coastal artillery batteries . The British had intended to use eight aircraft from Ark Royal to spot for
9747-436: The Entente dug in, having failed to take Krithia or Achi Baba. A brief period of consolidation followed; the Entente had almost run out of ammunition, particularly for the artillery and both sides consolidated their defences. The Ottomans relieved troops opposite the Australian line, which was reinforced by the Australian Light Horse operating as infantry. Sporadic fighting continued, with sniping, grenade attacks and raids,
9918-411: The Entente fleet failed to force a passage through the Dardanelles. An amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula began in April 1915. In January 1916, after eight months' fighting, with approximately 250,000 casualties on each side, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn. It was a costly campaign for the Entente powers and the Ottoman Empire as well as for the sponsors of
10089-426: The Entente fleet, comprising 18 battleships with an array of cruisers and destroyers, began the main attack against the narrowest point of the Dardanelles, where the straits are 1 mi (1.6 km) wide. Despite some damage to the Entente ships by Ottoman return fire, minesweepers were ordered along the straits. In the Ottoman official account, by 2:00 p.m. "all telephone wires were cut, all communications with
10260-424: The Entente landed unopposed and advanced inland. There were only a small number of defenders in the village but, lacking orders to exploit the position, the "Y" Beach commander withdrew his force to the beach. It was as close as the Entente ever came to capturing the village as the Ottomans brought up a battalion of the 25th Regiment, checking any further movement. The main landings were made at "V" Beach , beneath
10431-472: The Entente planners was illustrated by a leaflet that was issued to the British and Australians while they were still in Egypt, Turkish soldiers as a rule manifest their desire to surrender by holding their rifle butt upward and by waving clothes or rags of any colour. An actual white flag should be regarded with the utmost suspicion as a Turkish soldier is unlikely to possess anything of that colour. The underestimation of Ottoman military potential stemmed from
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#173308460574810602-496: The Entente' intelligence needs and make up for the lack of adequate maps. After the landings, Entente aircraft conducted photographic reconnaissance, observed naval gunfire, reported on Ottoman troop movements and conducted a small number of bombing raids. Allocated the northern landing, Birdwood's force included the 1st Australian Division (Major General William Bridges ) and the New Zealand and Australian Division (Major General Sir Alexander Godley ), about 25,000 men. The force
10773-410: The First Battle of Krithia to capture the village. Hunter-Weston made a plan which proved overly complex and was poorly communicated to the commanders in the field. The troops of the 29th Division were still exhausted and unnerved by the battles for the beaches and for Seddülbahir village, which was captured after much fighting on 26 April. The Ottoman defenders stopped the Entente advance halfway between
10944-525: The First World War began in August 1914. The navy transported 120,000 troops to France and began a blockade of Germany's North Sea ports. Churchill sent submarines to the Baltic Sea to assist the Russian Navy and sent the Marine Brigade to Ostend , forcing a reallocation of German troops. In September, Churchill assumed full responsibility for Britain's aerial defence. On 7 October, Clementine gave birth to their 3rd child, Sarah . In October, Churchill visited Antwerp to observe Belgian defences against
11115-421: The German High Seas Fleet , in a Dardanelles operation, with a small occupation force provided by the army. It was hoped that an attack on the Ottomans would also draw Bulgaria and Greece into the war on the Entente side. On 2 January 1915, Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia appealed to Britain for assistance against the Ottomans, who were campaigning in the Caucasus. Planning began for a naval demonstration in
11286-401: The Helles headland and Krithia around 6:00 p.m., having inflicted 3,000 casualties. As Ottoman reinforcements arrived, the possibility of a swift Entente victory on the peninsula disappeared and the fighting at Helles and Anzac became a battle of attrition. On 30 April, the Royal Naval Division (Major General Archibald Paris ) landed. The same day, Kemal, believing that the Entente were on
11457-410: The Liberals won in a massive landslide. Churchill won the Manchester North West seat and his biography of his father was published; he received advance payment of £8,000. It was generally well received. The first biography of Churchill himself, written by the Liberal MacCallum Scott , was published. In the new government, Churchill became Under-Secretary of State for the Colonial Office ,
11628-476: The Malakand Field Force , which received positive reviews. He wrote his only work of fiction, Savrola , a Ruritanian romance . To keep occupied, Churchill embraced writing as what Roy Jenkins calls his "whole habit", especially through his career when he was out of office. Writing was his safeguard against recurring depression , which he referred to as his "black dog". Using London contacts, Churchill got attached to General Herbert Kitchener 's campaign in
11799-412: The Middle East, and was involved in the installations of Faisal I of Iraq and Abdullah I of Jordan . Churchill travelled to Mandatory Palestine where, as a supporter of Zionism , he refused an Arab Palestinian petition to prohibit Jewish migration. He did allow temporary restrictions following the Jaffa riots . In September 1922, the Chanak Crisis erupted as Turkish forces threatened to occupy
11970-423: The New Zealand Infantry Brigade, along with 20 Australian field guns, to the Helles front as reserves for the Second Battle of Krithia . Involving a force of 20,000 men , it was the first general attack at Helles and was planned for daylight. French troops were to capture Kereves Dere and the British, Australians and New Zealanders were assigned Krithia and Achi Baba . After 30 minutes of artillery preparation,
12141-420: The Ottoman Yavûz Sultân Selîm and Midilli , conducted the Black Sea raid , in which they bombarded the Russian port of Odessa and sank several ships. On 31 October, the Ottomans entered the war and began the Caucasus campaign against Russia. The British briefly bombarded forts in Gallipoli, invaded Mesopotamia and studied the possibility of forcing the Dardanelles. Before the Dardanelles operation
12312-403: The Ottoman Empire but this was rejected and an attempt by the British to bribe the Ottomans to join the Entente side also failed. Later that month, Winston Churchill , First Lord of the Admiralty , proposed a naval attack on the Dardanelles, based in part on erroneous reports of Ottoman troop strength. Churchill wanted to use a large number of obsolete battleships, which could not operate against
12483-489: The Ottoman guns had almost run out of ammunition but the views of de Robeck, the First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher and others prevailed. Entente attempts to force the straits using naval power were terminated, due to the losses and bad weather. Planning to capture the Ottoman defences by land, to open the way for the ships, began. Two Entente submarines tried to traverse the Dardanelles but were lost to mines and
12654-532: The Ottoman minelayer Nusret ten days before and were also damaged. The losses forced de Robeck to sound the "general recall" to protect what remained of his force. During the planning of the campaign, naval losses had been anticipated and mainly obsolete battleships, unfit to face the German fleet, had been sent. Some of the senior naval officers like the commander of Queen Elizabeth , Commodore Roger Keyes , felt that they had come close to victory, believing that
12825-609: The Ottoman railway network, its capture would cut the empire in two. Vice Admiral Sir Richard Peirse , Commander-in-Chief, East Indies , ordered Captain Frank Larkin of HMS Doris to Alexandretta on 13 December 1914. The Russian cruiser Askold and the French cruiser Requin were also present. Kitchener was working on the plan in March 1915, the beginning of the British attempt to incite an Arab Revolt . The Alexandretta landing
12996-506: The People Act 1918 , which gave some women the right to vote. In November 1918, four days after the Armistice , Churchill's fourth child, Marigold, was born. Lloyd George called a general election for 14 December 1918. During the campaign, Churchill called for nationalisation of the railways, a control on monopolies, tax reform, and the creation of a League of Nations to prevent wars. He
13167-506: The Rhine . Churchill was one of the few government figures who opposed harsh measures against Germany, and he cautioned against demobilising the German Army, warning they might be needed as a bulwark against Soviet Russia . He was outspoken against Vladimir Lenin 's Communist Party government in Russia. He initially supported using British troops to assist the anti-Communist White forces in
13338-581: The Second World War ) and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from 1922 to 1924, he was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies . Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism , he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party , which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924. Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill
13509-736: The Sudan as a 21st Lancers subaltern while, working as a journalist for The Morning Post . After fighting in the Battle of Omdurman in September 1898, the 21st Lancers were stood down. In October, Churchill returned to England and began writing The River War , about the campaign published in 1899. He decided to leave the army as he was critical of Kitchener's actions, particularly the unmerciful treatment of enemy wounded and his desecration of Muhammad Ahmad 's tomb. On 2 December 1898, Churchill embarked for India to settle his military business and complete his resignation. He spent much time playing polo ,
13680-460: The animosity of party members would prevent him gaining a Cabinet position under a Conservative government. The Liberal Party was attracting growing support, and so his defection in 1904 may have been influenced by ambition. He increasingly voted with the Liberals. For example, he opposed an increase in military expenditure, supported a Liberal bill to restore legal rights to trade unions, and opposed
13851-453: The area held by the British and French became known as the Helles sector or Helles. The French made a diversionary landing at Kum Kale on the Asian shore before re-embarking to hold the eastern area of the Helles sector. The Royal Naval Division simulated landing preparations at Bulair and a New Zealand officer, Bernard Freyberg , swam ashore under fire to light flares to distract the defenders from
14022-485: The area, proposing they be equipped with "poison gas" to be used to "inflict punishment upon recalcitrant natives without inflicting grave injury upon them", although this was never implemented. He saw the occupation of Iraq as a drain on Britain and proposed, unsuccessfully, that the government should hand control back to Turkey. Churchill became Secretary of State for the Colonies in February 1921. The following month,
14193-593: The army form. After two unsuccessful attempts to gain admittance to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , he succeeded. He was accepted as a cadet in the cavalry , starting in September 1893. His father died in January 1895. In February 1895, Churchill was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars regiment of the British Army , based at Aldershot . Eager to witness military action, he used his mother's influence to get posted to
14364-504: The assault began at mid-morning on 6 May. The British and French advanced along the Gully, Fir Tree, Krithia and Kereves spurs which were separated by deep gullies, fortified by the Ottomans. As the attackers advanced, they became separated when trying to outflank Ottoman strong points and found themselves in unfamiliar terrain. Under artillery and then machine-gun fire from Ottoman outposts that had not been spotted by British aerial reconnaissance,
14535-416: The attack was stopped; next day, reinforcements resumed the advance. The attack continued on 7 May and four battalions of New Zealanders attacked up Krithia Spur on 8 May; with the 29th Division the attackers managed to reach a position just south of the village. Late in the afternoon, the Australian 2nd Brigade advanced quickly over open ground to the British front line. Amidst small arms and artillery-fire,
14706-421: The attack, of which 3,000 men were killed; Australian and New Zealand casualties were 160 killed and 468 wounded . The dead included a stretcher bearer , John Simpson Kirkpatrick , whose efforts to evacuate wounded men on a donkey while under fire became famous amongst the Australians at Anzac; afterwards, his story became part of the Australian narrative of the campaign. Ottoman losses were so severe that
14877-597: The attackers. The following night, Birdwood ordered the New Zealand and Australian Division to attack from Russell's Top and Quinn's Post towards Baby 700. The Australian 4th Infantry Brigade (Colonel John Monash ), the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and Royal Marines from the Chatham Battalion took part in the attack. Covered by a naval and artillery barrage, the troops advanced a short distance during
15048-423: The beaches and awaited signs of an invasion from his post at Boghali, near Maidos . The Ottomans created Ottoman Aviation Squadrons with German assistance and had four aircraft operating around Çanakkale in February, conducting reconnaissance and army co-operation sorties. From 11 April, an Ottoman aircraft made frequent flights over Mudros, keeping watch on the assembly of the British naval force and an airfield
15219-495: The besieging Germans and promised reinforcements. Soon afterwards, Antwerp fell to the Germans and Churchill was criticised in the press. He maintained that his actions had prolonged resistance and enabled the Allies to secure Calais and Dunkirk . In November, Asquith called a War Council including Churchill. Churchill set the development of the tank on the right track and financed its creation with Admiralty funds. Churchill
15390-469: The bill would "appeal to insular prejudice against foreigners, to racial prejudice against Jews, and to labour prejudice against competition" and expressed himself in favour of "the old tolerant and generous practice of free entry and asylum to which this country has so long adhered and from which it has so greatly gained". On 31 May 1904, he crossed the floor to sit as a member of the Liberal Party. As
15561-567: The boat on the seabed until nightfall. At around 9:00 p.m. , AE2 surfaced to recharge batteries and sent a wireless report to the fleet. The landing at Cape Helles was going well but the landing at Anzac Cove was not as successful and the Anzac commander, Lieutenant General Sir William Birdwood, contemplated the re-embarkation of his troops. The success of AE2 was a consideration in Birdwood deciding to persist and reports about AE2 were relayed to
15732-410: The bombardment but only a Short Type 136 , was serviceable. A period of bad weather slowed the attack but by 25 February the outer forts had been reduced and the entrance cleared of mines. Royal Marines were landed to destroy guns at Kum Kale and Seddülbahir, while the naval bombardment shifted to batteries between Kum Kale and Kephez . Frustrated by the mobility of the Ottoman batteries, sited on
15903-460: The brigade charged towards Krithia and gained 600 m (660 yd), about 400 m (440 yd) short of the objective, with 1,000 casualties. Near Fir Tree Spur, the New Zealanders managed to get forward and link up with the Australians, although the British were held up and the French were exhausted, despite having occupied a point overlooking their objective. The attack was suspended and
16074-464: The commanding heights of Chunuk Bair and Sari Bair. The right flank of the small lodgement taken by the Australians was driven in at 10:30 a.m., with most of 400 Plateau being lost. During the afternoon and evening, the left flank was pushed back from Baby 700 and the Nek. By evening, Bridges and Godley recommended re-embarkation; Birdwood agreed but, after receiving advice from the navy that re-embarkation
16245-406: The defenders in a perimeter less than 1.2 mi (2 km) long. The Australian submarine HMAS AE2 (Lieutenant Commander Henry Stoker ) penetrated the Straits on the night of 24/25 April. As landings began at Cape Helles and ANZAC Cove at dawn on 25 April, AE2 reached Chanak by 6:00 a.m. and torpedoed an Ottoman gunboat believed to be a Peyk-i Şevket-class cruiser then evaded
16416-643: The expedition, especially the First Lord of the Admiralty (1911–1915), Winston Churchill . The campaign was considered a great Ottoman victory . In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the history of the state, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire retreated. The campaign became the basis for the Turkish War of Independence and the declaration of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , who rose to prominence as
16587-577: The first exhibit of his paintings took place in Paris, with Churchill exhibiting under a pseudonym. In May, his mother died, followed in August by his daughter Marigold, from sepsis . Churchill was haunted by Marigold's death for the rest of his life. Churchill was involved in negotiations with Sinn Féin leaders and helped draft the Anglo-Irish Treaty . He was responsible for reducing the cost of occupying
16758-477: The first health and unemployment insurance legislation, the National Insurance Act 1911 , which Churchill had been instrumental in drafting. In May, Clementine gave birth to their second child, Randolph , named after Winston's father. In response to escalating civil strife in 1911, Churchill sent troops into Liverpool to quell protesting dockers and rallied against a national railway strike . During
16929-409: The follow-up force. The 1st and 2nd Brigades, then the New Zealand and Australian Division, landed on the beaches around Ari Burnu but became entangled, which took time to sort out. About four hours after the landings began, the bulk of the 1st Australian Division was ashore safely and its leading elements were pushing inland. By mid-morning, Kemal had reorganised the defenders for a counter-attack on
17100-457: The following day as they fought their way inland. Five squads of Ottoman infantry led by Sergeant Yahya distinguished themselves by repulsing several attacks on their hilltop position, the defenders eventually disengaging under cover of darkness. After the landings, so few men remained from the Dublin and Munster Fusiliers that they were amalgamated into The Dubsters. Only one Dubliner officer survived
17271-461: The forts were interrupted, some of the guns had been knocked out ... in consequence the artillery fire of the defence had slackened considerably". The Bouvet struck a mine, causing her to capsize in two minutes, with just 75 survivors out of 718 men. Minesweepers, manned by civilians, retreated under Ottoman artillery fire, leaving the minefields largely intact. HMS Irresistible and HMS Inflexible struck mines and Irresistible
17442-508: The government, although he remained an MP. Asquith rejected his request to be appointed Governor-General of British East Africa . Churchill decided to return to active service with the Army and was attached to the 2nd Grenadier Guards , on the Western Front . In January 1916, he was temporarily promoted to lieutenant-colonel and given command of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers . The battalion
17613-450: The horses and guard ANZACs "many vehicles and mountains of baggage" . On 19 May, 42,000 Ottoman troops launched an attack at Anzac to push the 17,000 Australians and New Zealanders back into the sea. Short of artillery and ammunition, the Ottomans intended to rely on surprise and weight of numbers but on 18 May, the crews of a flight of British aircraft spotted the Ottoman preparations. The Ottomans suffered c. 13,000 casualties in
17784-538: The house burn down rather than spend good British lives in rescuing those ferocious rascals". In March 1911, Churchill introduced the second reading of the Coal Mines Bill ; when implemented, it imposed stricter safety standards. He formulated the Shops Bill to improve working conditions of shop workers; it faced opposition from shop owners and only passed in a much emasculated form. In April, Lloyd George introduced
17955-442: The initiative of ships' captains. A reluctance to approach the shore later affected the landings at "V" and "W" beach where some of the worst losses among the infantry occurred, while naval gunfire was of some assistance at "S", "X" and ANZAC. Even then its effectiveness was limited by the initial confusion ashore, the broken terrain, thick vegetation and the lack of observation. Kitchener had ruled that air requirements must be met by
18126-477: The instructions of General Otto Liman von Sanders , which evaded the Entente bombardments and threatened the minesweepers sent to clear the Straits, Churchill pressed the naval commander, Admiral Sackville Carden , to increase the fleet's efforts. Carden drew up fresh plans and on 4 March sent a cable to Churchill, stating that the fleet could expect to arrive in Istanbul within 14 days. A sense of impending victory
18297-411: The intense artillery was heard, at around 6:00 a.m. the two remaining battalions of the 27th Infantry Regiment were ordered to make their way to Ariburnu urgently. Sanders had left his HQ and was at Bulair, distracted by the few Entente ships that had appeared; he had been confident that this was where the landings would take place. For two days, he remained at Bulair with the 5th Division waiting for
18468-499: The introduction of import tariffs. Arthur Balfour 's government announced protectionist legislation in October 1903. Two months later, incensed by Churchill's criticism of the government, the Oldham Conservative Association informed him it would not support his candidature at the next election. In May 1904, Churchill opposed the government's proposed Aliens Bill, designed to curb Jewish immigration. He stated that
18639-529: The island of Lemnos in Greece on 12 April, where a small garrison had been established in early March and practice landings were undertaken. The British 29th Division departed for Mudros on 7 April and the Royal Naval Division rehearsed on the island of Skyros , after arriving there on 17 April. That day, the British submarine HMS E15 tried to run the straits but hit a submarine net, ran aground and
18810-524: The land from every side at the tip of the peninsula. At Gaba Tepe, the short distance to the eastern coast meant that the Entente could easily reach the Narrows, the right-angled bend in the middle of the Dardanelles. Sanders considered Besika Bay on the Asiatic coast to be the most likely invasion site, since the terrain was easier to cross and was convenient to attack the most important Ottoman batteries guarding
18981-483: The landing but inflicted many casualties and contained the attack close to the shore. By the morning of 25 April, out of ammunition and with nothing but bayonets to meet the attackers on the slopes leading up from the beach to the heights of Chunuk Bair, the 57th Infantry Regiment received orders from Kemal: "I do not order you to fight, I order you to die. In the time which passes until we die, other troops and commanders can come forward and take our places". Every man of
19152-471: The landing while, of the 1,012 Dubliners who landed, just 11 survived the Gallipoli campaign unscathed. After the landings, little was done by the Entente to exploit the situation, apart from a few limited advances inland by small groups of men. The Entente attack lost momentum and the Ottomans had time to bring up reinforcements and rally the small number of defending troops. On the afternoon of 27 April,
19323-560: The left". He privately considered "the gradual creation by an evolutionary process of a Democratic or Progressive wing to the Conservative Party", or alternately a "Central Party" to unite the Conservatives and Liberals. By 1903, there was division between Churchill and the Conservatives, largely because he opposed their promotion of protectionism . As a free trader , he helped found the Free Food League . Churchill sensed that
19494-597: The mine owners and striking miners as "very unreasonable". The Times and other media outlets accused him of being soft on the rioters; in contrast, many in the Labour Party , which was linked to the trade unions, regarded him as too heavy-handed. Churchill incurred the long-term suspicion of the labour movement . Asquith called a general election in December 1910 , and the Liberals were re-elected with Churchill secure in Dundee. In January 1911, Churchill became involved in
19665-403: The most indispensable measures to be taken". Roads were constructed, small boats built to carry troops and equipment across the Narrows, beaches were wired and improvised mines were constructed from torpedo warheads. Trenches and gun emplacements were dug along the beaches and troops went on route marches to avoid lethargy. Kemal, whose 19th Division was vital to the defensive scheme, observed
19836-472: The night but got separated in the dark. The attackers came under massed small-arms fire from their exposed left flank and were repulsed, having suffered about 1,000 casualties. On 30 April, the submarine AE2 began to rise uncontrollably and surfaced near the Sultanhisar , then dropped precipitously below the safe diving depth , then broke the surface again at the stern. Sultanhisar immediately fired on
20007-559: The old Seddülbahir fortress, and at "W" Beach , a short distance to the west on the other side of the Helles headland. The covering force of Royal Munster Fusiliers and Hampshires landed from a converted collier, SS River Clyde , which was run aground beneath the fortress so that the troops could disembark along ramps. The Royal Dublin Fusiliers landed at "V" Beach and the Lancashire Fusiliers at "W" Beach in open boats, on
20178-400: The only ball sport in which he was ever interested. Having left the Hussars, he sailed from Bombay on 20 March 1899, determined to launch a career in politics. Churchill spoke at Conservative meetings and was selected as one of the party's two candidates for the June 1899 Oldham by-election . While campaigning, Churchill referred to himself as "a Conservative and a Tory Democrat". Although
20349-568: The only hope of success lay in the mobility of the three groups, particularly the 19th Division near Boghali, in general reserve, ready to move to Bulair, Gaba Tepe or the Asiatic shore. The time needed by the British to organise the landings meant that Sanders, Colonel Hans Kannengiesser and other German officers, supported by Esat Pasha ( III Corps ) had more time to prepare their defences. Sanders later noted, "the British allowed us four good weeks of respite for all this work before their great disembarkation ... This respite just sufficed for
20520-526: The opposing trenches separated in places by only a few metres. The Australians lost a number of officers to sniping, including the commander of the 1st Division, Major General William Bridges, who was wounded while inspecting a 1st Light Horse Regiment position near "Steele's Post" and died of his injuries on the hospital ship HMHS Gascon on 18 May. At the end of April Birdwood told GHQ MEF (General Headquarters Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) that he could not land 6,000 horses at Anzac Cove as there
20691-667: The order they were to disembark, causing a long delay which meant that many troops, including the French at Mudros , were forced to detour to Alexandria to embark on the ships that would take them into battle. A five-week delay until the end of April ensued, during which the Ottomans strengthened their defences on the peninsula, although bad weather during March and April might have delayed the landings anyway, preventing supply and reinforcement. Following preparations in Egypt, Hamilton and his headquarters staff arrived at Mudros on 10 April. The ANZAC Corps departed Egypt in early April and assembled on
20862-503: The political almanack. In an 1898 letter, he referred to his beliefs, saying: "I do not accept the Christian or any other form of religious belief". Churchill had been christened in the Church of England but underwent a virulently anti-Christian phase in his youth, and as an adult was an agnostic. In another letter to a cousin, he referred to religion as "a delicious narcotic" and expressed
21033-543: The promotion of secular, non-denominational education while opposing women's suffrage . Churchill volunteered to join Bindon Blood 's Malakand Field Force in its campaign against Mohmand rebels in the Swat Valley of north-west India. Blood accepted on condition he was assigned as a journalist, the beginning of Churchill's writing career. He returned to Bangalore in October 1897 and wrote his first book, The Story of
21204-478: The rank of major . Back in the House of Commons, Churchill spoke out on war issues, calling for conscription to be extended to the Irish, greater recognition of soldiers' bravery, and for the introduction of steel helmets. It was in November 1916 that he penned "The greater application of mechanical power to the prosecution of an offensive on land", but it fell on deaf ears. He was frustrated at being out of office, but
21375-410: The real landing. His absence created problems in chain of command and delays in decision making which negated his defence scheme that relied on rapid movement of troops. At 4:00 a.m. on the morning of 25 April, the first wave of troops from the 3rd Brigade began moving towards the shore on lighters and ships' boats. The covering force landed approximately 1.2 mi (2 km) too far north, in
21546-476: The real landings; Freyberg was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order . Arrangements for naval gunfire support to the landings had originally included bombarding the beaches and approaches but was changed to engagement of the ridges during the landings, with the beaches only to be shelled prior to the landings. No decision was ultimately made on the issue of close support and it was left to
21717-527: The regiment was either killed or wounded. At "W" Beach, thereafter known as Lancashire Landing, the Lancashires were able to overwhelm the defenders despite the loss of 600 casualties from 1,000 men . Six awards of the Victoria Cross were made among the Lancashires at "W" Beach. A further six Victoria Crosses were awarded among the infantry and sailors at the "V" Beach landing and three more were awarded
21888-489: The ridges. There was disagreement as to where the Entente would land and where to concentrate forces. Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal was familiar with the Gallipoli peninsula from his operations against Bulgaria in the Balkan Wars and forecast that Cape Helles (the southern tip of the peninsula) and Gaba Tepe were the likely areas for landing. Mustafa Kemal believed that the British would use their naval power to command
22059-453: The rioting. Churchill, learning that the troops were already travelling, allowed them to go as far as Swindon and Cardiff , but blocked their deployment; he was concerned their use lead to bloodshed. Instead he sent 270 London police, who were not equipped with firearms, to assist. As the riots continued, he offered the protesters an interview with the government's chief industrial arbitrator, which they accepted. Privately, Churchill regarded
22230-581: The seats had been held by the Conservatives, the result was a narrow Liberal victory. Anticipating the outbreak of the Second Boer War between Britain and the Boer republics , Churchill sailed to South Africa as a journalist for the Morning Post . In October, he travelled to the conflict zone near Ladysmith , then besieged by Boer troops, before heading for Colenso . At the Battle of Chieveley , his train
22401-482: The soldiers ashore to improve morale. Stoker was ordered to "generally run amok" and, with no enemies in sight, he sailed into the Sea of Marmara, where AE2 cruised for five days to give the impression of greater numbers and made several attacks against Ottoman ships, which failed because of mechanical problems with the torpedoes. The Helles landing was made by the 29th Division ( Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston ). The division landed on five beaches in an arc about
22572-486: The straits; a third of the 5th Army was assembled there. Two divisions were concentrated at Bulair at the north end of the Gallipoli peninsula, to protect supply and communication lines to the defences further down the peninsula. The 19th Division (Kemal) and the 9th Division were placed along the Aegean coast and at Cape Helles on the tip of the peninsula. Sanders kept the bulk of the Ottoman forces inland in reserve, leaving
22743-765: The strong currents. After the failure of the naval attacks, troops were assembled to eliminate the Ottoman mobile artillery, which was preventing the Entente minesweepers from clearing the way for the larger vessels. Kitchener appointed General Sir Ian Hamilton to command the 78,000 men of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF). Soldiers from the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) were encamped in Egypt , undergoing training prior to being sent to France. The Australian and New Zealand troops were formed into
22914-417: The submarine, puncturing the pressure hull. Stoker ordered the company to abandon ship, scuttled the submarine and the crew was taken prisoner. AE2 ' s achievements showed that it was possible to force the Straits and soon Ottoman communications were badly disrupted by British and French submarine operations. On 27 April, HMS E14 (Lieutenant Commander Edward Boyle ), entered the Sea of Marmara on
23085-417: The success of AE2 and E14 , the French submarine Joule attempted the passage on 1 May but struck a mine and was lost with all hands. (Several weeks earlier another French boat, Saphir , had been lost after running aground near Nagara Point.) On 5 May, the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division was dispatched from Egypt. Believing Anzac to be secure, Hamilton moved the Australian 2nd Infantry Brigade and
23256-549: The threat of militarism in Nazi Germany . At the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, he became prime minister, succeeding Neville Chamberlain . Churchill formed a national government and oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers , resulting in victory in 1945 . After the Conservatives' defeat in
23427-580: The tip of the peninsula and then advance upon the forts at Kilitbahir . The ANZACs, with the 3rd Australian Infantry Brigade spearheading the assault, were to land north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast, from where they could advance across the peninsula, cut off the Ottoman troops in Kilitbahir and stop reinforcements from reaching Cape Helles. This sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula became known as ANZAC;
23598-470: The tip of the peninsula, named "S", "V", "W"', "X" and "Y" Beaches from east to west. On 1 May, the 29th Indian Brigade (including 1/6th Gurkha Rifles ) landed, took and secured Sari Bair above the landing beaches and was joined by 1/5th Gurkha Rifles and 2/10th Gurkha Rifles ; the Zion Mule Corps landed at Helles on 27 April. At "Y" Beach, during the first engagement, the First Battle of Krithia ,
23769-458: The tour was a financial necessity. In America, Churchill met Mark Twain , President McKinley and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt , who he did not get on with. In spring 1901, he gave lectures in Paris, Madrid and Gibraltar. In February 1901, Churchill took his seat in the House of Commons , where his maiden speech gained widespread coverage. He associated with a group of Conservatives known as
23940-414: The verge of defeat, began moving troops forward through Wire Gulley, near the 400 Plateau and Lone Pine. Eight battalions of reinforcements were dispatched from Istanbul a day later and that afternoon, Ottoman troops counter-attacked at Helles and Anzac. The Ottomans briefly broke through in the French sector but the attacks were repulsed by massed Entente machine-gun fire, which inflicted many casualties on
24111-545: The whole of the twenty years I had lived". Churchill began boarding school at St George's in Ascot, Berkshire , aged 7, but he was not academic and his behaviour was poor. In 1884, he transferred to Brunswick School in Hove , where his academic performance improved. In April 1888, aged 13, he passed the entrance exam for Harrow School . His father wanted him to prepare for a military career, so his last three years at Harrow were in
24282-462: The world most desire is not hostility against this country, but the unity of their own". Following a Cabinet decision, he boosted the naval presence in Ireland to deal with any Unionist uprising. Seeking a compromise, Churchill suggested Ireland remain part of a federal UK, but this angered Liberals and Irish nationalists. As First Lord, Churchill was tasked with overseeing Britain's naval effort when
24453-531: Was a committed opponent, and targeted his meetings for protest. In November 1910, the suffragist Hugh Franklin attacked Churchill with a whip; Franklin was imprisoned for six weeks. In November 1910, Churchill had to deal with the Tonypandy riots , in which coal miners in the Rhondda Valley violently protested against working conditions. The Chief Constable of Glamorgan requested troops to help police quell
24624-555: Was a daughter of Leonard Jerome , an American businessman. In 1876, Churchill's paternal grandfather, John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough , was appointed Viceroy of Ireland . Randolph became his private secretary and the family relocated to Dublin . Winston's brother, Jack , was born there in 1880. For much of the 1880s, Randolph and Jennie were effectively estranged, and the brothers cared for by their nanny, Elizabeth Everest . When she died in 1895, Churchill wrote "she had been my dearest and most intimate friend during
24795-581: Was abandoned because militarily it would have required more resources than France could allocate and politically France did not want the British operating in their sphere of influence, a position to which Britain had agreed in 1912. By late 1914, on the Western Front , the Franco–British counter-offensive of the First Battle of the Marne had ended and the Belgians, British and French had suffered many casualties in
24966-522: Was abolished except for the most serious offences. Churchill reduced ( "commuted" ) 21 of the 43 death ( "capital" ) sentences passed while he was Home Secretary. A major domestic issue was women's suffrage. Churchill supported giving women the vote, but would only back a bill to that effect if it had majority support from the (male) electorate. His proposed solution was a referendum, but this found no favour with Asquith and women's suffrage remained unresolved until 1918. Many suffragettes believed Churchill
25137-572: Was born in Oxfordshire into the wealthy, aristocratic Spencer family . He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India , the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War , gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. Elected a Conservative MP in 1900, he defected to the Liberals in 1904. In H. H. Asquith 's Liberal government , Churchill was president of
25308-473: Was born in 1909. The success of their marriage was important to Churchill's career as Clementine's unbroken affection provided him with a secure and happy background. One of Churchill's first tasks as a minister was to arbitrate in an industrial dispute among ship-workers and employers, on the River Tyne . He afterwards established a Standing Court of Arbitration to deal with industrial disputes, establishing
25479-533: Was born, and in the same month he purchased Chartwell , in Kent, which became his family home. In October 1922, he underwent an appendectomy . While he was in hospital, Lloyd George's coalition was dissolved. In the general election, Churchill lost his Dundee seat to Edwin Scrymgeour , a prohibitionist candidate. Later, he wrote that he was "without an office, without a seat, without a party, and without an appendix". He
25650-464: Was conceived, the British had planned to conduct an amphibious invasion near Alexandretta on the Mediterranean, an idea originally presented by Boghos Nubar in 1914. This plan was made by the Secretary of State for War , Field Marshal Earl Kitchener , to sever the Ottoman capital from Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Alexandretta was an area with a Christian population and was the strategic centre of
25821-662: Was derailed by Boer artillery shelling, he was captured as a prisoner of war (POW) and interned in a POW camp in Pretoria . In December, Churchill escaped and evaded his captors by stowing aboard freight trains and hiding in a mine. He made it to safety in Portuguese East Africa . His escape attracted much publicity. In January 1900, he briefly rejoined the army as a lieutenant in the South African Light Horse regiment, joining Redvers Buller 's fight to relieve
25992-1019: Was elevated as one of 50 members of the Order of the Companions of Honour , as named in Lloyd George's 1922 Dissolution Honours list. Gallipoli campaign 5 divisions (initial) 15 divisions (final) Total : 489,000–550,000 Supported by: 6 divisions (initial) 16 divisions (final) Total : 250,000–315,500 British Empire: 198,340 (31,389 killed, 9,708 missing and POW 78,749 wounded 78,494 evacuated sick) France: 9,000 killed & missing 18,000 wounded 20,000 evacuated sick Australia: 8,709 killed 18,500 wounded New Zealand: 3,431 killed 4,140 wounded Total: 300,000 Ottoman Empire: 255,268 (56,643 killed, 97,007 wounded or injured, 11,178 missing or POW, 69,440 evacuated sick, 21,000 died of disease) Total: 255,268 The Gallipoli campaign ,
26163-413: Was established near Gallipoli. The Entente planned to land and secure the northern shore, capture the Ottoman forts and artillery batteries for a naval force to advance through the Narrows and the Sea of Marmara towards Istanbul. Scheduled for 23 April but postponed until 25 April due to bad weather, landings were to be made at five beaches on the peninsula. The 29th Division was to land at Helles on
26334-501: Was forced to leave the area but ignorant of this, the Entente withdrew most of their warships to Imbros, where they were "protectively tethered" between sorties, which greatly reduced Entente naval firepower, particularly in the Helles sector. The submarine HMS E11 (Lieutenant Commander Martin Nasmith , later awarded a Victoria Cross) passed through the Dardanelles on 18 May and sank or disabled eleven ships, including three on 23 May, before entering Constantinople Harbour, firing on
26505-425: Was heightened by the interception of a German wireless message that revealed the Ottoman Dardanelles forts were running out of ammunition. When the message was relayed to Carden, it was agreed the main attack would be launched on or around 17 March. Carden, suffering from stress, was placed on the sick list by the medical officer and command was taken over by Admiral John de Robeck . On the morning of 18 March 1915,
26676-409: Was impossible, Hamilton ordered the troops to dig in instead. The Ottoman counter-attack was eventually repulsed and the Australians established a perimeter roughly from Walker's Ridge in the north to Shell Green in the south. ANZAC casualties on the first day numbered around 2,000 men killed or wounded. The failure to secure the high ground led to a tactical stalemate, with the landings contained by
26847-440: Was in India for 19 months, visiting Calcutta and joining expeditions to Hyderabad and the North West Frontier . In India, Churchill began a self-education project, reading widely including Plato , Edward Gibbon , Charles Darwin and Thomas Babington Macaulay . The books were sent by his mother, with whom he shared frequent correspondence. To learn about politics, he asked her to send him copies of The Annual Register ,
27018-420: Was inevitable. As Chancellor, Lloyd George presented his " People's Budget " on 29 April 1909, calling it a war budget to eliminate poverty. With Churchill as his closest ally, Lloyd George proposed unprecedented taxes on the rich to fund Liberal welfare programmes. The budget was vetoed by the Conservative peers who dominated the House of Lords . His social reforms under threat, Churchill became president of
27189-408: Was interested in the Middle Eastern theatre , and wanted to relieve pressure on the Russians in the Caucasus by staging attacks against Turkey in the Dardanelles . He hoped that the British could even seize Constantinople . Approval was given and, in March 1915, an Anglo-French task force attempted a naval bombardment of Turkish defences. In April, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force , including
27360-507: Was moved to a sector of the Belgian Front near Ploegsteert . For three months, they faced continual shelling, though no German offensive. Churchill narrowly escaped death when, during a visit by his cousin Marlborough , a large piece of shrapnel fell between them. In May, the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers were merged into the 15th Division. Churchill did not request a new command, instead securing permission to leave active service. His temporary promotion ended on 16 May 1916, when he returned to
27531-421: Was no water for them. GHQ MEF was unhappy that the ANZAC force would be immobilised on the beachhead, but they would have been no use. Some of the thousands of men and horses remained on board ship for up to a month. Birdwood signalled on 17 May that 17 transports would be returning to Alexandria to offload 5,251 horses accompanied by 3,217 men. GHQ MEF insisted that some of the men remain in Alexandria to look after
27702-427: Was opposed by Ottoman commanders, including Kemal, who believed that the defenders were too widely dispersed to defeat the invasion on the beaches. Kemal thought Sanders' classic strategy was suitable when there was strategic depth to the front but Gallipoli did not offer that. His commander Esat Passa was not forceful enough in making the objection. Sanders was certain that a rigid system of defence would fail and that
27873-401: Was preoccupied with foreign affairs, especially Anglo-American relations and preservation of what remained of the British Empire , with India no longer a part of it. Domestically, his government's priority was their extensive housebuilding programme, in which they were successful. In declining health, Churchill resigned in 1955, remaining an MP until 1964 . Upon his death in 1965, he was given
28044-402: Was rejected. In June 1914, he convinced the House of Commons to authorise the government purchase of a 51% share in the profits of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company , to secure oil access for the navy. The central issue in Britain was Irish Home Rule and, in 1912, Asquith's government introduced the Home Rule Bill . Churchill supported it and urged Ulster Unionists to accept it as he opposed
28215-458: Was repeatedly blamed for the Gallipoli disaster by the pro-Conservative press. Churchill argued his case before the Dardanelles Commission , whose report placed no blame on him personally for the campaign's failure. In October 1916, Asquith resigned as prime minister and was succeeded by Lloyd George who, in May 1917, sent Churchill to inspect the French war effort. In July, Churchill was appointed Minister of Munitions . He negotiated an end to
28386-407: Was returned as MP for Dundee and, though the Conservatives won a majority, Lloyd George was retained as prime minister. In January 1919, Lloyd George moved Churchill to the War Office as both Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air . Churchill was responsible for demobilising the army, though he convinced Lloyd George to keep a million men conscripted for the British Army of
28557-438: Was shelled by a Ottoman fort, killing its commander, Lieutenant Commander Theodore S. Brodie and six of his crew; the survivors were forced to surrender. The Entente fleet and British and French troops assembled at Mudros, ready for the landings but poor weather from 19 March grounded Entente aircraft for nine days and on 24 days only a partial programme of reconnaissance flights was possible. The Ottoman force prepared to repel
28728-432: Was subsequently placed under Hamilton's command. Over the following month, Hamilton prepared his plan and the British and French divisions joined the Australians in Egypt. Hamilton chose to concentrate on the southern part of the Gallipoli peninsula at Cape Helles and Seddülbahir, where an unopposed landing was expected. The Entente initially discounted the fighting ability of the Ottoman soldiers. The naïveté of
28899-435: Was sunk, with most of her crew rescued; Inflexible was badly damaged and withdrawn. There was confusion during the battle about the cause of the damage; some participants blaming torpedoes. HMS Ocean was sent to rescue Irresistible but was disabled by a shell, struck a mine and was abandoned, eventually sinking. The French battleships Suffren and Gaulois sailed through a new line of mines placed secretly by
29070-460: Was to come ashore and form up to advance across the peninsula. The force was to assemble at night and land at dawn to surprise the defenders and on the evening of 24 April, the covering force embarked on battleships and destroyers, with the follow on forces in on transports. The troops would disembark from the transports into ships' boats and be towed close to the shore by steamboats and then row ashore. At around 2:00 a.m., an Ottoman observer on
29241-455: Was to land and advance inland to cut the lines of communication to the Ottoman forces in the south. The 1st Australian Division would land first, with the 3rd Infantry Brigade leading as a covering force moving inland to establish positions on Gun Ridge. The 2nd Infantry Brigade was to follow and to capture the higher ground on Sari Bair. The 1st Infantry Brigade would land last as the divisional reserve. The New Zealand and Australian Division
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