Memories (1919)  By Lord Fisher (Admiral Sir John Arbuthnot Fisher)
 
This is the memoir of Admiral Sir John Arbuthnot Fisher (1841-1920).
 
 A legendary figure, Fisher would ultimately become most famous for his association with Winston Churchill during the disastrous Dardanelles campaign of the First World War.
 
Fisher joined the navy in 1854 when British warships still carried sails. During his first stint as First Sea Lord (1904-1910), he presided over the transformation of the British Navy. But he also cemented a reputation for volatility and vindictiveness.
 
In 1914 when Churchill again made him First Sea Lord, Fisher was in his mid-70s, retired, and a member of the peerage. Churchill, only 39, had been First Lord of the Admiralty since 1911. The dominating event of their partnership would be the British assault on the Dardanelles. In 1915, with Fisher's support and endorsement, Churchill conceived a strategy to defeat Turkey. Fisher himself "suggested a substantial naval and military assault against Turkey, including a naval attack at the Dardanelles and a military landing at Gallipoli peninsula". (Martin Gilbert) The plan was enthusiastically backed by the Prime Minister's War Council. Unfortunately, the Admiral in command called off the attack as soon as several ships expectedly hit mines. Churchill's exhortations to press on were ignored. Worse still, Fisher turned on the enterprise, raging dishonestly that he had opposed the enterprise "all along". Fisher's Cabinet tantrums forced the recall of some ships. Then, after being placated at the cost of the campaign, Fisher abruptly resigned and deserted his post, refusing even direct appeal from the Prime Minister to return.
 
The subsequent military attack failed - partly due to naval failure. Gallipoli claimed more than 60,000 soldiers. By resigning, Fisher likely aimed to distance himself from a military endeavor he had both supported and doomed and to politically cripple Churchill. For a time, he succeeded. Churchill would assume blame for the Dardanelles and resign from the Admiralty in 1915, after which he served as a lieutenant colonel leading a battalion in the trenches. By the war's end, Churchill was exonerated by the Dardanelles Commission and rejoined the Government. History would confirm that the naval force came close to penetrating the Dardanelles minefields and that the Turkish shore batteries were short of ammunition. But these facts did Churchill no good at the time and the stigma of the Dardanelles would linger. Here is Fisher's story, published a year before his death. "The Dardanelles" consumes pages 49-90, of course with frequent discussion of Churchill. 
 
Hard Cover
295 pages
In Good condition