It's March, 1915. Turkey has entered the war on Germany's side and promptly closed the Dardanelles strait, closing off a vital sea route for our Russian allies. Britain and France decide to take decisive action - they will send a fleet to Gallipoli and storm the Dardanelles! Armed with a half-baked plan, 16 obsolete warships and little idea of the formidable Turkish defences, the navy was determined to steam to Constantinople and victory. What could possibly go wrong? In the first episode of our special series on the Gallipoli campaign, Mat is joined by historian Peter Hart to tell the story of the disastrous naval battle of March 18, 1915. Hosts: Mat McLachlan and Peter Hart Producer: Jess Stebnicki Subscribe via Patreon to listen to EVERY EPISODE NOW in this special series! You'll also receive exclusive bonus episodes, early access to all episodes, ad-free listening and special online events with Mat McLachlan! https://www.patreon.com/MMHistory Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit https://battlefields.com.au/ for more information. Find out more about the podcast and everything Mat is doing at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.