The Story of the Great War, Volume 4: Champagne, Artois, Grodno; Fall of Nish; Caucasus; Mesopotamia; Development of Air Strategy; United States and the War
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 4: Champagne, Artois, Grodno; Fall of Nish; Caucasus; Mesopotamia; Development of Air Strategy; United States and the War
World War, 1914-1918
About this time Germany began her preparations for a final attack upon
Serbia. Try as the Allies might, they had not been able to force an
agreement between Serbia and Bulgaria on the question of the ownership
of those parts of Macedonia won from the Turk in the First Balkan War,
and taken from the Bulgar by the Serbians in the second. Germany,
taking advantage of these irreconcilable differences, was about to
launch a heavy attack from the north upon the kingdom of aged Peter.
In these circumstances there came before the British Government, in
common with the French Government, the question of just how great an
obligation rested on the shoulders of the two great powers. Serbia
certainly looked to them to assist her with all their strength, and at
the height of the agitation Sir Edward Grey made a public declaration
that in every circumstance Serbia could look to England for unlimited
support.
It was when those who knew began to discuss the question of where
Great Britain was to find the military force to make good Grey's
pledge to Serbia that the Dardanelles campaign came in for hot
criticism. It was known that few, if any, fully trained troops were
available in England for a fresh campaign. Indeed, as matters
ultimately worked out, it was France who found the bulk of the force
that was hurried to Saloniki when Bulgaria declared war on Serbia and
joined in the Austro-German attack upon the Balkan kingdom. Later,
under French pressure, England withdrew 40,000 of her troops from the
western front and rushed them off to Saloniki, but much too late to
succor Serbia.
Finally, so powerful became the influences calling upon the Government
to retire from the Dardanelles with as much grace as possible that the
opinion of Sir Ian Hamilton was asked. Probably the inside truth of
the affair will not be known for some years, but it later developed
that there was considerable friction between Sir Ian Hamilton and the
British War Office at the time. Sir Ian, it is known, laid a large
part of blame for the failure at the Strait to the fact that Earl
Kitchener did not send him large reenforcements that were expressly
promised. At any rate he was against a withdrawal from Gallipoli in
the circumstances and in favor of a swift and overwhelming assault
with all the troops and forces that could be gathered. He was still
firmly convinced that the forcing of the Dardanelles was possible and
probable.
Just what were the relations between France and England, and
especially how they each regarded the Dardanelles campaign in the
winter of 1915, it is impossible to say with any degree of assurance.
It is known, however, that there were serious differences of opinion,
not only among the more influential men in both Paris and London, but
between the two Governments.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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