, Randolph (1911-1968), Sarah (1914-1982), and Mary (1922-...). Another daughter, Marigold, died in 1921 at the age of 3. World War I. In 1911, Prime Minister Herbert H. Asquith appointed Churchill first lord of the admiralty. The build-up of German military and naval forces had convinced Asquith that the admiralty needed a strong leader. Churchill was one of the few people in England who realized that war with Germany would probably come. He reorganized the navy, developed antisubmarine tactics, and modernized the fleet. He also created the navy's first air service. When the United Kingdom entered World War I, on Aug. 4, 1914, the fleet was ready. In 1915, Churchill urged an attack on the Dardanelles and the Gallipoli Peninsula, both controlled by Turkey. If successful, the attack would have opened a route to the Black Sea. Aid could then have been sent to Russia, the United Kingdom's ally. But the campaign failed disastrously, and Churchill was blamed. He resigned from the admiralty, although he kept his seat in Parliament. Churchill regarded himself as a political failure. "I am finished," he told a friend. In November 1915, Churchill joined the British army in France. He served briefly as a major in the 2nd Grenadier Guards. Then he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of a battalion of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers. David Lloyd George became prime minister in December 1916. He appointed Churchill minister of munitions in July 1917. While in the admiralty, Churchill had promoted the development of the tank. Now he began large-scale tank production. Churchill visited the battlefields frequently. He watched every important engagement in France, often from the air. Between warsWorld War I ended in November 1918. The next January, Churchill became secretary of state for war and for air. As war secretary, he supervised the demobilization (release of men) of the British army. In 1921, Lloyd George named him colonial secret...
