The Person Truly Responsible for the Gallipoli Defeat: Churchill

As one of the most fervent supporters of British imperialism, Winston Churchill believed that Russians would advance to Istanbul and claim the Straits as soon as they got the opportunity. Therefore, he wanted to act first, believing that he would go down in history if he took Istanbul.

However, Churchill overlooked the spiritual strength of the Turks and thought that as soon as the formidable British ships with modern weapons were seen in the Bosphorus Strait of Istanbul, the Turks would surrender. This was a big mistake and Churchill had to pay for it with a shocking defeat, first at sea, then on land.

Jon Henley from the Guardian pointed out the irrationality of Churchill's acts in his piece 'Remembering Gallipoli: Honoring the Bravery Amid the Bloody Slaughter' and called Churchill the 'ambitious' conceiver of the 'badly planned and appallingly executed' Gallipoli Campaign.⁸² Even if he was right about Churchill's futile ambitions, Henley must have known that the Gallipoli Campaign resulted in a defeat for the British, not because it was appallingly executed, but because of the faith and determination of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the passion of the Turkish people, resulting from their unshakable faith in God.

Following the fiasco, Churchill resigned as the person primarily responsible for the loss of the British army in Gallipoli (December 1915). When Lloyd George took over as the Prime Minister in 1917, Churchill was appointed as the Minister of Munitions and continued his political career despite minor interruptions. It is interesting that, even after the Gallipoli defeat, Churchill could make a come-back on the political scene. This was possible because he was a loyal –as the British put it– 'British bulldog'. As a matter of fact, during WWII, instigated by the British deep state, Churchill was again on the scene.

After the British navy and army sustained a heavy defeat in Gallipoli, many criminal investigations were started against Churchill. While before the defeat, he was confident in his skills and made arrogant remarks saying that he would soon be sitting in the center of Muslims, Istanbul, in his navy uniform, he completely changed his tone following the defeat, especially in the face of accusations directed at him. One day, backed into a corner by the criticism, he said: "Don't you understand? We didn't fight the Turks at Gallipoli. We fought God and of course we lost."⁸³ (Certainly Almighty God is above such remarks).

British General Sir Ian Hamilton, who led the Allied forces during the Gallipoli Campaign, would make a similar remark:

We lost not to the physical strength but to the spiritual strength of the Turks because they didn't even have any gunpowder left. But we fought powers descending from heavens. It was as if, even before we came here our destiny was set and it was being implemented.⁸⁴

Poisonous Caltrops Used against Turkish Soldiers in the Battle of Gallipoli

The British deep state committed a war crime by using poisonous caltrops during the Gallipoli Battle, which it had produced specifically for Turkish soldiers.

These weapons were made of four sharp nails, each smeared with poison and were constructed to make sure that no matter how they landed, one sharp nail would always point upward.

Thousands of Turkish soldiers, who were wearing only rawhide sandals at the Gallipoli front, unknowingly stepped on these caltrops thrown from airplanes and got gangrene as a result. Because of these poisonous nails, 12,000 soldiers had their legs cut off with saws. The British deep state knew perfectly well that it was a war crime and a crime against humanity, but still didn't refrain from resorting to this vile method against Turkish soldiers, because due to its sick Darwinist mentality, it didn't consider Turks as human beings. (The noble Turkish nation is above such claims)

Churchill Planned to Use Chemical Gas on the Turks in Gallipoli

According to the documents at the Churchill Archives Center, Churchill, then Secretary of State for War, claimed that the Turks were not human, but barbarians, and therefore poisonous gas could be used on them.⁸⁵ Churchill criticized his colleagues for their squeamishness in using chemical weapons, saying: 'I am strongly in favor of using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes.'⁸⁶ (The noble and respectable Turkish nation is above such remarks) When he faced objections that such an act would be a crime against humanity, he would claim that the only way to gain victory in the Gallipoli battle was through chemical warfare.

At the end of WWI, he pushed for the use of poisonous gas. Despite the horrible casualties that chemical warfare caused on the Western Front, where Churchill himself had seen active duty for six months between 1915 and 1916,⁸⁷ records showed that he stressed the 'military value' of chemical warfare despite the horrific injuries it caused. In fact, 'he wanted to gas the Turks at Gallipoli.'⁸⁸

To Churchill, chemical gas was just another advanced weapon British possessed. He told his political colleagues that mustard gas could have a destructive effect and help reach a breakthrough in the Gallipoli war, and hoped that 'the unreasonable prejudice against the use by us of gas upon the Turks will cease.' He even took into account the season and claimed the high wind 'would afford a perfect opportunity for the employment of gas.'⁸⁹

One document in the archive penned by Churchill himself, reveals that Churchill requested 'gas masks' for the British troops in Gallipoli. In May 1915, at the height of the Gallipoli battle, Churchill told British General Kitchener to send a gas-making outfit to the Dardanelles, as 'the use of gas on either side might be decisive.'⁹⁰ Churchill was arguing with Kitchener that gas should be used on the Gallipoli front as the Turks were without gas masks.⁹¹

With this approach, Churchill supported the twisted views of British politician and former Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, who vilified the Turks by calling them an 'anti-human specimen of humanity' not only because of their religion but because of their race: 'Let me endeavor very briefly to sketch … what the Turkish race was and what it is… They were, upon the whole, from the black day when they first entered Europe, the one great anti-human specimen of humanity.'⁹² (The noble and respectable Turkish nation is above such remarks)

The Ottoman archives also show in great detail how the British used chemical gas during the Gallipoli battle. The Ottoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that 'Allied forces used poisonous gas that caused choking' and called for an explanation from Britain.⁹³

Famous writer Noam Chomsky also denigrates Churchill for his enthusiasm for using poison gas and quotes him saying, 'Poison gas would be a fine weapon against uncivilized tribesmen and recalcitrant Arabs.' (Arabs are certainly above such remarks) He argues Churchill considered chemical weaponry to be simply 'the application of Western science to military warfare' and that he had approved the use of it as experiments on Afghans and Arabs.⁹⁴

After the First World War, David Lloyd George appointed Churchill as the Secretary of State for War and Air. In May 1919, Churchill gave orders for the British troops to use chemical weapons during the campaign to subdue Afghanistan.⁹⁵

'The 10 greatest controversies of Winston Churchill's career' as detailed by BBC's website revealed how Churchill used poisonous gas against his enemies: Churchill has been criticized for advocating the use of chemical weapons - primarily against Kurds and Afghans. 'I do not understand this squeamishness about the use of gas', he wrote in a memo during his role as minister for war and air in 1919. 'I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes'⁹⁶, he continued.

The piece continues to reveal the inhumane, sadistic character of the British deep state that Churchill so well represented:

And it's important to note that he was in favour of using mustard gas against Ottoman troops in WW1, says [Warren] Dockter [a research fellow at the University of Cambridge and the author of Winston Churchill and the Islamic World] …⁹⁷

The British Deliberately Blinded Turkish Prisoners of War in Egypt's Sidi Bashir Prisoner Camp

The Ottoman Empire fought on multiple fronts during WWI and the British took many Turkish soldiers as prisoners in these regions. One prisoner camp where the British kept Turkish prisoners of war was Sidi Bashir, situated 15 km northeast of Alexandria, Egypt.

The commander of the camp was the British Lt. Col. Coates. Under the supervision of the military doctor Captain Gillespie, an Armenian physician, one British corporal and 5 British nurses were in charge of the prisoners' health.

This camp held the Ottoman troops of the 48th regiment of the 16th division that were taken as prisoners in Palestine in 1918. For two years until June 12, 1920, these soldiers were subjected to constant torture, mistreatment, insults and humiliation. One source reveals how the captive Turkish soldiers were martyred due to the inhumane treatment of the British:

Beginning from August 1, 1919, the British started to give horse and donkey meat to all Ottoman prisoners. Forced to eat rotten horse and donkey meat in the scorching heat of Egypt in the middle of August, many couldn't escape catching dysentery, while some others got a horrible disease resembling mange, which the British doctors called Pellagra, before they died.⁹⁸

However, this wasn't the only appalling treatment that the Turkish prisoners encountered at the camp. Historical sources report that British deliberately blinded around 15,000 Turkish soldiers in the camp. This shocking violence caused great outrage during the time and was widely debated at the Turkish Parliament and in the Turkish media throughout 1919, 1920 and 1921. These claims were based on two significant documents. The first is the Turkish Parliament's decision of June 28, 1921, which was signed by Mustafa Kemal, the Chairman of the Turkish Parliament, and eleven ministers. The decision reads as follows:

Edirne MPs Şeref and Faik Bey presented their notice of motion regarding the troops held captive in Malta, as well as about the British doctors, garrison commander and officers in Egypt who deliberately disabled fifteen thousand prisoners of war, to the Cabinet of Ministers, which submitted the same to the Turkish Parliament on 29.5.337 with number 354/706. The message was read during the meeting of the Cabinet on 28.6.337 and it was decided that scientific investigation is required and the findings shall be presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with the copy of the notice of motion. June 28, 1337.⁹⁹

This document is the Turkish parliament's decision to initiate a criminal investigation into the actions of the British doctors, garrison commander and officers that deliberately disabled 15 thousand prisoners of war in Egypt. Another document is the motion presented by Edirne MPs Faik and Şeref Bey during the 37^th session of the Turkish Parliament on May 28, 1921. The last part of the motion refers to the Turkish prisoners of war who were deliberately blinded in Egyptian camps:

In Egypt, the British has deliberately blinded the 15,000 sons of our nation by making them enter baths, which contained cresol more than necessary, with the pretense of disinfecting them. We hereby ask the premeditators of this murderous crime, who are the British physicians, the garrison commander and officers, be declared as criminals...¹⁰⁰

After the motion was read at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Mehmet Şeref Bey took the stage and explained the horrible events:

… When the British took prisoners the sons of our nation from Anatolia and Rumelia, who fought for the dignity and honor of this country, they were directly transferred to Egypt. They were forced to enter baths that had a specially formulated, smelly solution up to their necks... When the Turkish soldiers didn't want to immerse their heads, British soldiers would come by and force them in with their bayonets. When the helpless dear ones put their heads in the solution, both eyes would go blind. This is how the British blinded 15,000 Turks...¹⁰¹

At the onset of the Turkish War of Independence, the news that the British deliberately blinded Turkish prisoners of war had been widely covered by Istanbul and Anatolian media. People of Konya especially reacted very strongly and a newspaper of Konya, Öğüt covered the news with bold headlines.

As a result, a serious anti-British sentiment spread across Anatolia. It was not long until, upon the orders of the British General Milne, one of the Allied Powers commanders in Istanbul, Öğüt was forced to stop its news about the blinded prisoners of war. Not only did they stop this news; the newspaper was shut down permanently.

This incident drew the attention of Mustafa Kemal, who went to Ankara to organize the War of Independence. As soon as he found out why Öğüt was shut down, he sent a telegram to the Konya Governor on behalf of the Representative Committee, where he condemned the British pressure and attacks on the Turkish media and said that the development should be strongly protested by a rally.¹⁰²

Another source that details the events is Eyüp Sabri Bey's book entitled Bir Esirin Hatıraları (Memoirs of a Prisoner of War) written in 1922. Eyüp Sabri Bey was a Gaziantep resident who had previously worked in the Defter-i Hakanı (Directorate for Title Deeds). In his book, he gave a detailed account of how the Turkish prisoners of war were tortured and mistreated under British supervision. Eyüp Sabri Bey recalls his personal experiences when he was in British-controlled Heliopolis prison camp in Egypt and explains the 'deliberate blinding procedure' that the Turkish prisoners of war were subjected to:

However, since they [the doctors at the hospital] were given extensive powers, these horrid people felt free to act as they wished and gouged the eyes of our helpless, innocent sons that were prisoners of war there, amidst painful screams. Who is responsible for these murders? I think every conscientious person will agree that in addition to the actual perpetrators, the entire British government is to be held responsible for being the cause of these crimes.

In Abbasiye hospital… the doctors, with metal bars in their hands, sleeves rolled up to elbows, continuously operated on the Turkish soldiers and gouged their eyes out. According to the accounts of many Egyptian brothers and local prisoners, these eye surgeries took place in the past as well, but it intensified especially after the armistice, as the British felt proud with their victory. When we went there, I personally saw that it was going on at full speed.¹⁰³

These examples of violence and brutality directed at the Turks once again show that the British deep state is the center of the dajjali system. Although this violence caused outrage among both the Turkish public and government, all their time and energy had to be used for the survival of the state and the nation. Therefore, it wasn't possible to take real action about these outrageous crimes.

Regrettably, this oppression and violence were later denied and swept under the rug, just like countless other crimes of the British deep state throughout history.

Although there were talks about exchanging prisoners of war during the Conference of Lausanne, there is no indication that the situation of the 15,000 Turkish soldiers deliberately made blind was ever discussed. This shows the skill of the British deep state to hide its crimes and its true face and how it employs various threats, intimidation and pressure tactics to achieve its goals.