Turkey Archives - Richard M. Langworth

How “Goeben” Changed History, by Dal Newfield

10 January 2023

An obscure "What-If" of history: Had Goeben not passed the Dardanelles, it was very possible Turkey would have remained neutral in WW1. Absent Turkey, the Allies lost their only supply route to Russia. This loss was so serious that in 1915 Churchill felt it imperative to assault the Dardanelles. The resulting debacle was the principal reason Churchill was ousted from the Admiralty. Because of Goeben, the Russian armies starved for food and materiel. The Czar fell and the Bolsheviks took over.

Why the Turks Like Churchill

18 June 2017

"There is a long story of the friendly relations between Great Britain and Turkey. Across it is a terrible slash of the Great War, when German intrigues and British and Turkish mistakes led to our being on opposite sides. We fought as brave and honourable opponents. But those days are done, and we move forward into a world arrangement in which peaceful peoples will have a right to be let alone and in which all peoples will have a chance to help one another."