Gallipoli: Britain merely wanted something to trigger a war

IN his letter (April 12), Mark Cronin reasserts the British view that the Turks bear responsibility for being invaded at Gallipoli because “the pro-German faction within the Turkish government was the controlling party in the lead-up to the war”.

There was indeed someone within Ottoman ruling circles (Enver) who may have favoured a more substantial alliance with Germany.

However, the fact that the Turks remained neutral, despite various provocations such as the seizing of their battleships by Winston Churchill, and kept offering numerous alliances to the Entente powers up until the declarations of war on them suggests Enver was not such a “controlling” influence.