Dominic Sandbrook

Yeah, exactly.

So they're in the Mediterranean too.

So they start by shelling these outer forts at the entrance to the straits.

And they're horrified when they get there to find out that

The Ottomans, who they've assumed will be completely useless, have spent the winter laying minefields, preparing kind of howitzers, reinforcing their artillery batteries and whatnot.

So basically, it's just going to be tougher than they thought.

Takes them a week, they finally knock out these outer forts, they clear some of the minefields.

Churchill is thrilled with all this.

He's sitting next to Asquith's daughter Violet at a dinner.

He says, I love this war.

I know it is smashing and shattering the lives of thousands every moment, and yet I can't help it, I enjoy every second of it.

So people may reflect on those words when we get into the suffering of some of the troops at Gallipoli.

And he says, this operation of mine is going brilliantly.

Soon the Royal Naval Division will be marching into Constantinople.

That will make them sit up, the swine who snarled at the Naval Division.

He's talking about the people who said they were useless at Antwerp.

And in fact, Churchill is so giddy now that three days after this, so the 25th of February, so that's six days after the operation began,

He goes to the war council and he says, we will be in Constantinople by the end of March.

We will be able to capture and destroy all Turkish forces in Europe.

And we will eliminate Turkey as a military factor in the war.