Editing Shell Crisis of 1915 (section)

== ''The Times'' attacks Kitchener ==
Shortage of ammunition had been a serious problem since the autumn of 1914 and the British Commander-in-Chief [[Field Marshal]] Sir [[John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres|John French]] gave an interview to ''The Times'' (27 March) calling for more ammunition. On the basis of an assurance from Kitchener, Asquith stated in a speech at Newcastle (20 April) that the army had sufficient ammunition.{{sfnp|Holmes|2004|p=287}}

After the [[Battle of Aubers Ridge|failed attack at Aubers Ridge]] on 9 May 1915, ''The Times'' war correspondent, Colonel [[Charles à Court Repington]], sent a telegram to his newspaper blaming lack of high-explosive shells. French had, despite Repington's denial of his prior knowledge at the time, supplied him with information and sent [[Brinsley FitzGerald|Brinsley Fitzgerald]] and [[Freddie Guest]] to London to show the same documents to Lloyd George and senior Conservatives [[Bonar Law]] and [[Arthur Balfour]].{{sfnp|Holmes|2004|p=287}}

''The Times'' headline on 14 May 1915, was: "Need for shells: British attacks checked: Limited supply the cause: A Lesson From France".{{sfnp|Holmes|2004|pp=287–289}} It commented "We had not sufficient high explosives to lower the enemy's parapets to the ground ... The want of an unlimited supply of high explosives was a fatal bar to our success", blaming the government for the battle's failure.{{sfn|Duffy|2009}} However, due to his reputation, the British public were hesitant to question Kitchener, leading to the subsequent circulation decline of the newspapers despite the growing consensus that the political role was ill-suited.<ref>{{Cite web|title=First World War.com - Encyclopedia - The Shell Scandal, 1915|url=https://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/shellscandal.htm|access-date=2021-09-22|website=www.firstworldwar.com}}</ref>