Admiral Sackville Carden

On 19th February, 1915, the British attacked the Turkish forts at the Dardanelles. The assault started with a long range bombardment followed by heavy fire at closer range.

As a result of the bombardment the outer forts were abandoned by the Turks. The minesweepers were brought forward and managed to penetrate six miles inside the straits and clear the area of mines.

Further advance up into the straits was now impossible. The Turkish forts were too far away to be silenced by the Allied ships.

The minesweepers were sent forward to clear the next section but they were forced to retreat when they came under heavy fire from the Turkish batteries.

Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, became impatient about the slow progress that Admiral Sackville Carden was making and demanded to know when the third stage of the plan was to begin.

Admiral Carden found the strain of making this decision extremely stressful and began to have difficulty sleeping.

On 15th March, Carden's doctor reported that the commander was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Carden was sent home and replaced by Vice-Admiral Sir John de Robeck, who immediately ordered the Allied fleet to advance up the Dardanelles Straits.

Not related to Nelson, obviously. "On March 15 the Admiralty agreed to Carden's plan for all-out attack. Carden replied that he would attack on the first fine day. The next day he was too ill to go on. Explanations of his illness include indigestion, a nervous breakdown, strain and worry and the inability to eat or sleep; one account has Carden locked in the lavatory signing orders that had to be slid under the door. It may also have been that, as with Jackie Fisher, Churchill was pushing Carden too rudely to do something he didn't believe in". From Page 62 of "Gallipoli" by Les Carlyon ISBN 0-7329-1128-1

Sir Sackville Hamilton Carden (1857-1930) was given responsibility for launching the Allied naval assault upon the Dardanelles in February 1915.

Carden entered the navy in 1870 and, prior to World War One, saw active service in the Egyptian and Sudan campaigns of 1882-84. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1908 and upon the outbreak of war had served as superintendent of the Malta dockyard from 1912.

His war began with an appointment (surprising to many) as commander of British naval forces in the Mediterranean in September 1914, where he replaced Sir Berkeley Milne. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill lost no time in asking Carden (in January 1915) whether he thought an entirely naval assault upon the Dardanelles was feasible.

Carden replied that while he thought a rushed approach unlikely to succeed, he believed that a sustained assault could force the Straits. Churchill used detailed plans submitted by Carden to this effect to persuade the British War Council to sanction operations using 'spare' shipping, despite reservations expressed by First Sea Lord (the mercurial) Admiral John Fisher.

Consequently Carden began a bombardment on 19 February 1915 and quickly found the operational environment for British and French shipping in the Straits to be markedly more difficult than expected. Nevertheless he was ordered to proceed by Churchill in a communiqué dated 11 March.

Having planned a major assault for 18 March Carden, a long-time sufferer from an ulcer, collapsed two days prior to its commencement. He was replaced by Admiral John de Robeck and the operation launched on schedule: it was a heavy failure, so much so that de Robeck immediately barred any steps to repeat the action (much to Churchill's chagrin).

Carden formally retired from the Royal Navy in October 1917 as a full Admiral. He died in 1917.

Text from http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/carden.htm