The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #158817   Message #3764386
Posted By: Steve Shaw
10-Jan-16 - 03:55 PM
Thread Name: History and mythology of WW1
Subject: RE: History and mythology of WW1
Well led, eh? Well my old mum told me just today that her uncle, my great uncle Jimmy Curliss, was blown to pieces at Gallipoli on August 7 1915. His name's on a plaque in Salford Cathedral, though I'm not sure that his surname isn't slightly misspelled. I was prompted to have a look on wiki at Gallipoli. It doesn't make nice reading for the "they were well-led" brigade.

The Allied campaign was plagued by ill-defined goals, poor planning, insufficient artillery, inexperienced troops, inaccurate maps and intelligence, overconfidence, inadequate equipment and logistics, and tactical deficiencies at all levels.[199][200] Geography also proved a significant factor. While the Allied forces possessed inaccurate maps and intelligence and proved unable to exploit the terrain to their advantage, the Ottoman commanders were able to utilise the high ground around the Allied landing beaches to position well-sited defences that limited the Allied forces' ability to penetrate inland, confining them to narrow beaches.[66] The campaign's necessity remains the subject of debate,[85] and the recriminations that followed were significant, highlighting the schism that had developed between military strategists who felt the Allies should focus on fighting on the Western Front and those that favoured trying to end the war by attacking Germany's "soft underbelly", its allies in the east.[201]

There's tons more of that. What I quoted is just a snippet. Maybe wiki isn't all written by recent historians. But there are plenty of references to look up. Well led at Gallipoli? Prove it.