Dominic Sandbrook

There's a slight sign at this point.

I think that Churchill is beginning to wobble himself.

Lloyd George said he was looking worried and looking ill.

The former Tory Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour, asked Churchill, how's it going to go, this business at Gallipoli?

You know, you must be absolutely, I bet you can't wait.

And Churchill then said, I think there's nothing for it but to go through with the business.

No one can count with certainty on the issue of a battle, which suggests that he is beginning to wobble.

And then he says, but we have the chances in our favour and we play for vital gains with non-vital stakes.

And I think the tens and tens of thousands of men who died at Gallipoli would be probably quite offended to be referred to as non-vital stakes.

Anyway, the landings were initially set for the 23rd of April, the day that Brooke died.

But they are postponed by two days because of bad weather.

Another bad omen, possibly?

We shall see.

The plan calls for two distractions to kind of confuse the Turks.

So the French will land at Kumkala in Asia.

They'll get off their ships.

Then they'll get back on again and come back the other side.

This is to trick the Turks.

What a wheeze.

And then a brilliant wheeze, actually.