"This book offers a new history of an old subject-the genesis of Britain's disastrous 1915 Dardanelles campaign. It also offers a new history of a new subject-the strategic implications of globalization-because in order to comprehend the former, it is necessary to grasp the latter. Thanks to the development of the international wheat market during the late nineteenth century, the British government came to realize that the national dependence upon imported food had become the Achilles Heel of the British Empire. The book then shows how the disruption of the global wheat trade during the early months of the First World War exceeded the government's worst nightmare. By January 1915, the rising price of bread and consequent threat of social unrest required a political response. It came in the form of a seemingly unrelated event: the disastrous British attack at Gallipoli in the spring of 1915. Contrary to all previous narratives which argue this was done for the military-strategic objective of relieving pressure on the Western Front, this books demonstrates that the British Government authorized the attack for mainly political-economic reasons: to open the flow of grain from Russia through the Dardanelles in order to bring down the politically dangerous level of bread prices in Britain, and to enable Russia to export wheat and so earn foreign exchange that would obviate the need for huge British loans to support its war effort. In so doing, the book offers a case study of grand strategic policy-making under pressure"-- Provided by publisher

Britannia's Achilles heel --War in a globalized world -- The Turkish irritant -- The beggar giant -- The military and diplomatic strands -- The political economic strands -- Two problems, one solution -- Seven days in January -- Not such a bargain -- The fortunes of war -- This wicked gamble.