The Assault: Germany Before the Outbreak and England in War-TimeWile, Frederic William
History
The Assault: Germany Before the Outbreak and England in War-Time
Wile, Frederic William
World War, 1914-1918
But Northcliffe, who possesses those valuable twin assets of the true
journalist, an elephantine hide and utter fearlessness, returned to the
attack, day after day. He never let up. The "shells tragedy," though
Liberal organs were reluctant to admit it, dealt the Asquith Liberal
Government a body blow. It was reeling from the effects of still
another revelation. Lord Fisher, "Fighting Jack," the First Lord of the
Admiralty, tendered his resignation. He refused longer to hold office
under the temperamental Mr. Winston Churchill or even under a government
to which that impetuous young statesman belonged. The public learned
that Fisher had not acquiesced whole-heartedly in Mr. Churchill’s
schemes for limiting the Dardanelles campaign to a purely naval
operation. England was now seething with unrest. The political position
was chaotic. Acrimonious debate in Parliament on the shells question
was inevitable. For weeks previous there had been demands from many
quarters that the conduct of the war should be transferred from a purely
Party Government to the hands of a "National Cabinet" of all political
complexions. Mr. Asquith yielded to the inevitable. Before _The Daily
Mail’s_ exposure of "Kitchener’s Tragic Blunder" was a week old, the
reconstruction of the Cabinet into a "Coalition" Administration was in
full progress. Northcliffe’s papers were still being burnt in public
places, but he had won a victory for England for which, as she lives,
she will yet come to acclaim his name. The completion of the Coalition
Ministry was announced on June 11. Lord Kitchener remained Secretary of
War, but a "Ministry of Munitions," which took shells and other sinews
of war out of Kitchener’s hands, was created, and the "hustler" of the
Cabinet, Lloyd-George, was entrusted with its organization and
administration. Northcliffe had carried his point.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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