Dominic Sandbrook

And he really hates the Dardanelles scheme.

Fisher says, this is absolutely insane.

The only way this could work is if you landed 200,000, it would take 200,000 men to secure the coastline so you could get your ships through the strait.

And frankly, we don't have enough men to send 200,000 men.

Churchill doesn't listen to him.

Fisher is more and more enraged.

He goes to see Lloyd George's secretary stroke mistress, Frances Stevenson.

And he says, we are trying, people at the Admiralty are trying to argue with Churchill.

And I quote, but he simply overrides them and talks them down.

If he continues his domineering course, they fear there may be a catastrophe.

But Fisher's not good at the internal politics and Churchill is.

So when they have meetings, Churchill's very excited and ebullient and tells everybody about his scheme.

Fisher sits there sulking, staring out of the window, you know, irritable, difficult.

So people don't listen to him.

They listen to Churchill instead.

So anyway, they sign off on the scheme.

On the 19th of February, Admiral Carden's fleet, combined British and French fleet, launches the first stage of the operation.

So the French have joined as well?

The French are involved as well, exactly.

In much smaller numbers, nobody ever talks about the French at Gallipoli, but there are French ships and there will in due course be French troops.