Two Problems, One Solution
At its meeting on January 13, 1915, the War Council supposedly authorized an attack at the Dardanelles in order to meet a Russian request for assistance and relieve pressure on the Western Front. This is incorrect. Not only did the government’s interest in the Dardanelles have other sources, but in fact it was leaning at this point toward offensives in Syria and the Balkans rather than Turkey. Churchill, however, continued to push for his Dardanelles operation and in so doing created chaos inside Admiralty, straining his relations with the admirals. On January 20 Asquith approved an offensive in the Balkans, but in so doing underestimated French resistance to the diversion of resources away from the Western Front.
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