The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-11-24

scribed supervened. Justifying the
sending of naval division, he said:
1.-THE situation was desperate. The
need was bitter. knew that Lord
Kitchener would not send terri
torials, and that it would be wrong
to lock up regulars in a fortress
there. Apart from all other consid-
erations they were the equal Of the
marine fusiliers sent by the French
at the same time"
Concerning the Dardanelles, MIR.
Churchill said he was not going to
try to prove that the plan adopted
was the best that could have been
adopted. Least Of all was he going
to try to- prove that his responsibility
in the matter was not great one.
II am concerned to make clear
to the House and the navy" he
said, "that this enterprise was pro-
foundly and elaborately consider
ed, and that there was great vol
ume Of expert opinion behind 1t;
that it was framed entirely by eH-
perts and technical minds, and that
In no circumstances could 1t be re-
carded as having been undertaken
with carelessness Or levity."
Remarking that the political situa-
ton in southeast Europe in Decem-
Der was stagnant and torpid, and
that the current of opinion favorable
to the Allies flowed sluggishly or
even ebbed, Mr.. Churchill proceeded:
Even in Italy the negotiations
made little progress, and at the same
time the Russian government asked
whether some action against Turkey
in the Mediterranean was not pos
sible to relieve the pressure on the
Caucasus. In consequence. Of COM
munications to the foreign and war
offices, I directed the attention OF
the First Sea Lord and other naval
officers to the possibility Of action
in Turkish waters.
"Of course. all recognized that
Joint naval and military action in the
Dardanelles was the best way OF. at
tacking them. We asked the war Of
fee what number Of troops would be
necessary to seize Gallipoi. by joint
amphibious coordination, and on
November 80 sent minute to Lord
Kitchener, offering to congregate
transports for forty thousand men In
Egypt, as I could see the situation
developing in the direction Of an at
tack from the Mediterranean on the
Turkish empire. We were informed
that no army was available"
Having obtained from Vice Ad-
miral Sackville H. Garden, then In
command In the Dardanelles, and
Admiral Sir Henry Bradwardine
Jackson, the present first sea lord,
the opinion that the Dardanelles
could not be rushed, but could be re-
duced by a regular sustained naval
bombardment, which, MIR. Churchill
said, made a profound impression OF
his mind, and knowing that LORD
Fisher was strongly In favor Of some
action in Turkish waters, Mr.
Churchill had an interview on Jan.
uary % with Premier Asquith and
Lord Fisher, at which he gathered
the impression that LORD Fisher con-
sented to a purely naval attack on
the Dardanelles. He also sid that
at a war council, which Lord Fisher
attended, nobody spoke a woro
against the plan. The French staff
also approved the project, and the
operations wero undertaken, with the
result already known.
eve lost two old vessels" re.
marked Mr.. Churchill, which, II
they had not been lost in the Oar.
danelles, would have been rusting IN
some foreign port
A third attack was about to begin
on March 18, whom, after consulta:
ton with Admiral de Robeck anc
General Sir Ian Hamilton, it was de-
cided to postpone it until the troops
were ready. He opposed delay, bu'
was overruIed by the experts. 1t was
after this that Churchill and LORD
Fisher came 20 loggerheads, and
added the former Sea Lord: 1.-THE
month, which passed between the
cessation of tho naval operations and
the opening of the military opera
tions, was ono of the least pleasant
1 ever spent in my life
He complained that he had not re-
ceiyed from the First Sea Lord the
clear guidance before, or the firm:
support after, to which he was en-
titled.
There Is no place in war for mis-
givings, or reserve after decision Is
taken" he continued. "If the First
Sea Lord did not approve Of the op'
erations, he should have refused his
consent. If he had refused, they
would not have taken place. Then
was the time for his resignation.
[Later in his speech, however, the
speaker paid tribute to Lord Fisher
sor improvements made in the nisVy
since the war began
Mr.. Churchill accepted genera!
ministerial responsibility for the Oar,
danelles failure, subject to his writ
ten and recorded opinion, adding:
"If we had known what we now
know Of the cost Of the military ope--
ations, I can not think th@.t any one
would have hesitated to f:ce the loss
of prestige, involved in breaking OH
tho operations.
Pointing cut that the British army
had stood all summer within a few
miles Of a decisive victory, MI.
Churchill emphasized the point th"t
on no other front could an equal ad-
vance have produced comparable
strategic results. 1t would have set
tied the fate Of the Turkish army on
the promontory, might have deter
mined the attitude of the Balkans;
cut off Germany from the east, and
saved Serbia. Throughout the year
he had urged the government to DO
I'll it could in the west, but in any
case to take Constantinople while
time remained.
1.-THE situation is now entirely
changed" he said, land If there
has been any operation in the his
tory Of the world that, having
been taken, it was worth while to
carry through with the utmost
vigor, fury, and sustained flow OF
reinforcements and utter disre-
gard of life, it is that operation,
so daringly begun under Ian Ham