A Gallipoli Association lecture from the 2024 Annual Conference.

The Royal Navy today and the enduring lessons of Gallipoli by Vice Admiral (Ret’d) Paul Bennett CB OBE.

Carl von Clausewitz’s treatise ‘On War’ states ‘The nature of war, its essence and purpose, is unchanging within the human condition. By contrast, its character, the conduct of warfare, is in constant flux’. In studying its nature, we learn that war is deeply unsatisfying and, wherever possible, should be avoided. But in studying its character, we learn the lessons of the past through the varying lenses of individual failures and successes, strategy, tactics and military capability. This talk explores those enduring lessons for the Royal Navy from Gallipoli and consider whether we have learned them.

Paul Bennett retired from the Royal Navy in January 2022 after a career of some 36 years. He commanded at every rank, including as the Commander of the UK’s Amphibious Task Group 2009-2011. It was during this period that a general interest in Gallipoli morphed into a more professional study. Since leaving the military, he is pursuing a portfolio career, based around being a Senior Mentor for NATO, but, amongst other things, also providing advice to a number of companies and supporting professional military education at the Defence Academy.