The Aborted British Salonika Expedition of February 1915

Abstract

The lack of Allied military successes, east or west, by the end of 1914 became the basis first of disappointment and then of controversy within the British government. Men in England were disheartened with the situation on the two major fronts, and the horrors of trench warfare were becoming increasingly evident. It was therefore logical that many should revert to expounding Britain's traditional policy of secondary operations, especially those which could make use of British seapower. In the last week of December three such schemes were addressed to Prime Minister Asquith. They came from Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, David Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Colonel Maurice Hankey, the secretary to the War Council.