Gallipoli

The classic account of one of the most tragic battles in modern history.

“The story is told superbly. Because Mr. Moorehead knows what a battlefield looks, smells, and sounds like, the reader gets the ‘feel’ of the battle....I have read no better descriptive writing about either world war.” — Drew Middleton, New York Times

When Turkey unexpectedly sided with Germany in World War I, Winston Churchill as First Sea Lord for the British conceived a plan of smashing through the Dardanelles, reopening the Straits to Russian shipping, and immobilizing the Turks.

On the night of March 18, 1915, this plan nearly succeeded—the Turks were virtually beaten. But poor communication left the Allies in the dark, allowing the Turks to prevail and the Allies to suffer a crushing quarter-million casualties. 

A vivid chronicle of adventure, suspense, agony, and heroism, Gallipoli brings to life the tragic waste in human life, the physical horror, and the sheer heartbreaking folly of fighting for impossible objectives with inadequate means on unknown, unmapped terrain. 

When Turkey unexpectedly sided with Germany in World War I, Winston Churchill, as Sea Lord for the British, conceived a plan: smash through the Dardanelles, reopen the Straits to Russia, and immobilize the Turks.

On the night of March 18, 1915, this plan nearly succeeded -- the Turks were virtually beaten. But poor communication left the Allies in the dark, allowing the Turks to prevail and the Allies to suffer a crushing quarter-million casualties.

A vivid chronicle of adventure, suspense, agony, and heroism, Gallipoli brings fully to life the tragic waste in human life, the physical horror, and the sheer heartbreaking folly of fighting for impossible objectives with inadequate means on unknown, unmapped terrain.