Winston Churchill is widely credited as the man who committed British, French and - above all - untested Australian and New Zealand forces to the ill-fated campaign to seize control of the Dardanelles Straits and western Turkey. Indeed, although it was Churchill's drive and aggressiveness - not to mention cunning - which resulted in the campaign actually taking place, the notion of capturing the Turkish Dardanelles Straits had long been given consideration.
It was widely believed however - at least in professional circles - that a purely naval attempt to win the Straits was bound to end in failure.
Some 480,000 Allied troops had been dedicated to the failed campaign. British casualties (including imperial forces) amounted to approximately 205,000. French losses were estimated at around 47,000. Turkey incurred around 250,000 casualties.
Read more on Gallipoli here.



