Actually three battleships were sunk (Irresistable, Ocean and the French Bouvet) as well as heavy damage to others. Ships could not engage the forts from a close enough range because of the minefields and the (civilian) trawler crews could not sweep the mines because of the smaller guns. Of course de Roebuck didn't know there were only 20 mines. He must have thought there could be mines all the way.

So I think it's fair to credit the Turkish defenders with knowing their job more than crediting Winston Churchill who, as usual, was trying to tell everybody else how to do theirs.

You're right about failure to advance at Suvla Bay, though, Dave - much more correct than Eric Bogle! 'The Turks they were ready...' No they weren't! And the Aussie telling the story must have got to the wrong place - the Aussies were at Anzac Cove! Actually it might have been better if the Aussies were there - they had a much better commander than the useless General Stopford.

I must admit I've little time for Churchill. He betrayed his political party (twice), brought back the idiot 'Jacky' Fisher in the First World War, destroyed the British economy, opposed self-determination for India, insisted in trying to support Norway in the Second World War when everyone told him it was useless (it was) and generally acted like the stuck-up overbearing bully that he was. And he couldn't even catch Peter the Painter!