Strategies 1915

Turkey's arrangement with the Central Powers closed the Dardanelles to the Allies, physically separating Russia from Britain and France leaving Russia almost completely cut off from vitally needed war supplies. The western Allies were anxious to regain access to the Ukrainian grain fields. Winston Churchill, first lord of the Admiralty, urged immediate seizure of the Dardanelles to restore the vital supply route to Russia; the British war minister, Lord Kitchener, was equally insistent that a decision be obtained on the stalemated western front. Despite opposition, in early January, the British War Council approved an expedition against the Dardanelles.