"The 1915 Gallipoli campaign of WWI began as a bold move by the British to capture Constantinople -- but as this definitive history shows, from the initial landings to the desperate attacks of early summer and the battle of attrition that followed, it was a tragic folly destined to fail from the start. Peter Hart provides a vivid, boots-on-the-ground account that brilliantly evokes the confusion of war, the horrors of combat, and the grim courage of the soldiers, as well as an unflinching assessment of those in charge. Gallipoli forced the young Winston Churchill from office, established Turkey's iconic founder Ataturk, and marked Australia's emergence as a nation in its own right. Capturing the sheer drama and bravery of the ferocious fighting, the chivalry demonstrated by individuals on both sides amid merciless slaughter, and the futility of the cause for which ordinary men fought with extraordinary courage and endurance, Gallipoli is a riveting account of a battle that continues to fascinate and horrify us a hundred years after that event"--Back cover.

"First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2014"--Title page verso. "Originally published in Great Britain in 2011 by Profile Books"--Title page verso.

Dodging the issue -- Navy in action -- Gathering of the forces -- Plans : countdown to disaster -- 25 April : landings at Anzac -- 25 April : landings at Helles -- 25 April : drama at V Beach -- 25 April : Kum Kale and diversions -- Anzac : the holding pen -- Helles : the real fight for Gallipoli -- Helles : writing on the wall -- New beginnings : Hamilton's plans -- August : Helles sacrifice -- August : Anzac, diversions, and breakout -- August : Suvla Bay landings -- 21 August 1915 : a useless gesture -- Should they stay or should they go? -- The beginning of the end -- Last rites at Helles -- Myths and legends.