[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Randomizer

Escape of the Goeben - As First Lord he interfered directly in the deployments and actions of the two Admirals on the spot, Adm Milne, CinC Med and RAdm Troubridge SO 1 Cruiser Squadron. Due to confusing, poorly written and untimely orders directly from Churchill, Goeben was allowed to escape to Constantinople without being brought to action. Milne was cashiered (no great loss to the Navy but still...) and Troubridge was court-martialed for interpreting a poorly worded Churchill order regarding engaging superior forces in a manner the Churchill (and the Navy generally) did not like.
See The Ship that Changed the World by Dan van der Vat; and
Superior Force by Geoffery Miller.

According to Richard Hough's The Great War at Sea Troubridge was court-martialed for making his own decision to break off the interception after discussing it with his flag-captain and deciding that his entire squadron would be wiped out without harming Goeben. His actions were contrasted with those of the Kelly brothers who engaged Goeben and Breslau at great risk to their ships and their lives.

Action off the Broad Fourteen's - Churchill directly interfered against the advice of the technical experts in the Admiralty Operations Division and ordered patrols off the Dutch coast using elderly armoured cruisers ill suited to the task in waters where U-Boat were known to operate. This after tasking the escorting destroyers to other duties.
See The Great war at Sea by Richard Hough; and
From Dreadnaught to Scapa Flow Vol II by Arthur Marder

And according to my reading of the events the three cruisers were well escorted, but the destroyers were sent home due to the constantly worsening weather. I have a copy of Hough as well. I hope the misspelling of Dreadnought is yours. If the book has it that way I wouldn't trust it.

Battle of Coronel - Again Churchill's micro-managing assets from the Admiralty and confusing orders placed RAdm Cradock in a position where he felt he had no choice but to fight a greatly superior East Asia Squadron. Amongst these were orders telling Cradock he was being reinforced by HMS Defence followed by new orders to Defence's captain to proceed elsewhere - without informing Cradock! By the time Cradock knew Defence was not joining he was already in the Pacific and committed to a fight, particularly as Troubridge's court-martial was pending.
See Coronel and the Falkland's by Geoffery Bennett, Hough and Marder.[/quote]
I haven't read that one, but I have read the excellent Graf Spee's Raiders, by Keith Yates. Was Churchill aware of Defence's redeployment at the time he sent the message to Craddock, i.e. was he misinformed or did he flat-out lie? I know about Craddock's own decision. How much blame does Churchill truly deserve.

The fleet action off the Dardinelles was Churchill's own creation.

That one I won't argue, as the whole Gallipoli campaign was a disaster which led to his dismissal, so blame was assigned and properly so.

As to the others, yes, you can blame the man in charge, but I don't think it has been shown that any of the failures was actually caused by him directly, or even indirectly.