The Dardanelles Commission
Updated - Saturday, 17 August, 2002

The Dardanelles Commission was established by the British government in the wake of the failed Dardanelles and Gallipoli expeditions of 1915.

During the course of 1916 witnesses of both expeditions were duly interviewed although the commission's final report was not issued until 1919.

Inevitably the report concluded that the undertaking - chiefly spearheaded by then First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill and led by Sir Ian Hamilton - was ill-planned and poorly executed, with the difficulties of the operation consistently underplayed, a state of affairs exacerbated by government procrastination and delay (which led to criticism of the late Lord Kitchener).

In addition to noting the personality clashes between military command personnel the commission also highlighted the often critical shortage of artillery and shells.

Perhaps inevitably given the wide-ranging nature of the report, implicating political and military figures alike, the commission's conclusions were widely regarded as insipid, and such censures as were issued were not considered serious.

The financial cost of the war is said to have amounted to almost $38 billion for Germany alone; Britain spent $35 billion, France $24 billion, Russia $22 billion, USA $22 billion and Austria-Hungary $20 billion.  In total the war cost the Allies around $125 billion; the Central Powers $60 billion.

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