Churchill's Iniatives (WWI); Long patrol p4/4 - Gallipoli

Russia's weak northern transport links and dependence on imported supplies underpin the case for opening a southern route through Gallipoli.

A proposed Dardanelles plan starts by modifying old pre-dreadnoughts with bulges and sealed compartments so mines do not decide the operation.

The alternative plan combines dreadnought cover, expendable pre-dreadnought lines, minesweepers, small craft, and landings against forts.

The critique blames the immediate timetable for denying the fleet and landing force the preparation that Churchill's strategic aim required.

Naval divisions and the Royal Marines offered an alternative source of troops if the army would not participate, provided there was time to prepare them.

The campaign critique lists intelligence, surprise, ship preparation, and synchronized troops as the missing requirements.

Anzac Day is imagined to retain its importance after a Gallipoli victory, with a different meaning attached to the campaign.

The 18 March order of battle shows a mixed fleet of dreadnought-era ships, new pre-dreadnoughts and older British and French battleships.

The conversion proposal trades a couple of knots for mine protection and counts ten older British pre-dreadnoughts even without French participation.

A successful Gallipoli operation is imagined to remove the Ottoman Empire from World War I and release the forces fighting it.

Regular supplies are imagined to sustain Russia's army and possibly forestall its second revolution, with further consequences for eastern Europe and World War II.