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Gallipoli Perennial Classics Alan Moorehead 9780060937089 Books

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Gallipoli Perennial Classics Alan Moorehead 9780060937089 Books

Having traveled to Australia twice now, I have been curious as to why a country would “celebrate”, what seemed to me, a major defeat in World War I. To me this seemed like the United States celebrating the day we left Vietnam. This book clarified it for me.

Australia had just unified as a commonwealth of Great Britain, and World War I became the unifying factor, especially the battle fought on a small beachfront in Turkey. The story of Gallipoli is one of amazing bravery, comradery, incompetent politicians, and soldiers who did not question orders that led to so many deaths.

Peter Fitzsimons has compiled an incredible amount of research, combined with a writing style that makes this a page turner, in a book of over 700 pages. Detailing from both sides of this battle, he gives a very accurate picture of not only what happened here. but paints a vivid account of what it is like to fight a war.

The soldiers are remembered to this day in Australia as the country gathers on ANZAC day to both mourn the losses and celebrate the bravery of those who fought. I am writing this as Memorial Day approaches in the U.S., and we could take a lesson in patriotism from the Aussies and Kiwis.

The sad part of the book is the reminder of how in so many wars, those who lead us in, are often politicians who sit back and make decisions, some bad, some good, that result in the loss of so many of a country's finest. Fitzsimons does not shy away from documenting both types of decisions at Gallipoli.

This book will enlighten you, anger you, make you tear up, make you smile. An incredible read!!


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Gallipoli Perennial Classics Alan Moorehead 9780060937089 Books Reviews

This book provides a fascinating account of one of the more pointless exercises in WWI, the Franco-British effort to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula and force the Dardanelle Straits. The strategic goal of this effort was to force Turkey, one of the Central Powers, from the war thus removing the threat posed by Turkey to the Suez Canal and UK and French interests in general in the Near East. Winston Churchill, First Sea Lord of the Admiralty appears to have first conceived of capturing Gallipoli and the principal force behind getting the British War Cabinet to approve the venture.

The author of this book, Peter Hart, makes his viewpoint clear by characterizing the idea as an "idiocy generated by muddled thinking." Although he considers the whole venture doomed from the start that does not prevent him from providing a gripping and probably accurate account of the entire Gallipoli Campaign.

Reading his account of this Campaign one is reminded of an earlier and equally pointless Franco-British effort, the Crimean War some sixty years before. As in the Crimea the Gallipoli Campaign was hampered from the first by poor planning and intelligence. The commanding officer General Sir Ian Hamilton never seemed to develop a sense of either the terrain over which his troops were attempting to fight or of the logistical requirements an of an army on a hostile shore. Like his predecessor, Lord Raglan, General Hamilton appeared to assume that the toughness, courage, and endurance of his troops would make up for everything. As a result the British and French forces suffered appalling losses and unnecessary privations, yet still managed to successfully disengage in the end and escape the horrors of Gallipoli. Hart also notes that General Hamilton and indeed the entire British High Command continually underestimated and denigrated the Turkish Army opposing them. He gives the Turks credit for fighting with courage, tenacity, and skill and in the end out fighting their opponents. Gallipoli was only a footnote to the First World War, but contains useful lessons even today.
Peter Hart has written what must rank as the best history of Gallipoli thus far. What I found most refreshing about this book was his willingness to express opinions clearly based on his interpretations of the facts and the actions of those involved. Many historians and particularly miltary historians fall prey to the tendancy to adopt the middle ground and provide "unbiased" analysis which often excuses even the most blantant ineptitude. Not so Mr. Hart. He positively impales the almost complete lack of realistic strategic analysis leading to the decision to first launch a naval attack on the Dardanelles and then to commit troops to the Gallipoli Peninsula and then turns his attention to the ineptitude of the operational and tactical planning prior to the landings. He then further examines the actions of the senior and mid-level officers who led the assault and these are in the main found wanting. Conversely he is unstinting in his praise for those unfortunate enough, the junior officers and other ranks, to find themselves fighting the battle, whether on the side of Britain and its allies or on the Turkish side. The highlighting of each nation's contribution to the battle is important. While the sacrifice of the British and ANZACs is well known, the actions and bravery of the French have been, perhaps, less acknowledged. As indeed is the toughness and effectiveness of Turkish troops.

His use of quotes from those involved is excellent and it is by reading the words of those caught up in the fighting that one realizes how awful a battle this was, whether to be in the gun turret of a dreadnought hit by a Turkish shell or to find oneself in a trench waiting for the signal to "go over the top". Coupled with his own excellent writing style and the use of Turkish sources that have been lacking from earlier works on this battle this provides the reader with a fast moving, almost novel-like view of the campaign.

One of the best military histories I have read recently. Highly recommended.
Having traveled to Australia twice now, I have been curious as to why a country would “celebrate”, what seemed to me, a major defeat in World War I. To me this seemed like the United States celebrating the day we left Vietnam. This book clarified it for me.

Australia had just unified as a commonwealth of Great Britain, and World War I became the unifying factor, especially the battle fought on a small beachfront in Turkey. The story of Gallipoli is one of amazing bravery, comradery, incompetent politicians, and soldiers who did not question orders that led to so many deaths.

Peter Fitzsimons has compiled an incredible amount of research, combined with a writing style that makes this a page turner, in a book of over 700 pages. Detailing from both sides of this battle, he gives a very accurate picture of not only what happened here. but paints a vivid account of what it is like to fight a war.

The soldiers are remembered to this day in Australia as the country gathers on ANZAC day to both mourn the losses and celebrate the bravery of those who fought. I am writing this as Memorial Day approaches in the U.S., and we could take a lesson in patriotism from the Aussies and Kiwis.

The sad part of the book is the reminder of how in so many wars, those who lead us in, are often politicians who sit back and make decisions, some bad, some good, that result in the loss of so many of a country's finest. Fitzsimons does not shy away from documenting both types of decisions at Gallipoli.

This book will enlighten you, anger you, make you tear up, make you smile. An incredible read!!