Editing Winston Churchill (section)

==Military service, 1915–1916==
{{main|Winston Churchill's Liberal Party years, 1904–1924}}
[[File:WinstonChurchill1916Army.gif|thumb|Churchill commanding the 6th Battalion, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, 1916.]]
On 25 November 1915, Churchill resigned from the government, although he remained an MP. Asquith rejected his request to be appointed [[List of colonial governors and administrators of Kenya|Governor-General]] of [[British East Africa]].{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=328}} Churchill decided to return to active service with the Army and was attached to the 2nd [[Grenadier Guards]], on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|pp=329–332}} In January 1916, he was temporarily promoted to [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|lieutenant-colonel]] and given command of the 6th [[Royal Scots Fusiliers]].{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|pp=340–341}}<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=29520 |date=24 March 1916 |page=3260 |supp=y}}</ref> The battalion was moved to a sector of the Belgian Front near [[Ploegsteert]].{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|pp=342–245}} For three months, they faced continual shelling, though no German offensive.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=346}} Churchill narrowly escaped death when, during a visit by his cousin the Duke of Marlborough, a large piece of [[Shrapnel shell|shrapnel]] fell between them.<ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=David |title=Guide to Blenheim Palace |year=1980 |publisher=The Blenheim Estate Office |location=Blenheim Palace, UK |page=17}}. The inscribed shrapnel piece was subsequently displayed at Blenheim Palace.</ref> In May, the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers were merged into the 15th Division. Churchill did not request a new command, instead securing permission to leave active service.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=360}} His temporary promotion ended on 16 May 1916, when he returned to the rank of [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=29753 |date=16 September 1916 |page=9100 |supp=y}}</ref>

Back in the House of Commons, Churchill spoke out on war issues, calling for conscription to be extended to the Irish, greater recognition of soldiers' bravery, and for the introduction of steel helmets.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|pp=361, 364–365}} It was in November 1916 that he penned "The greater application of mechanical power to the prosecution of an offensive on land", but it fell on deaf ears.{{sfn|Churchill|1927}} He was frustrated at being out of office, but was repeatedly blamed for the [[Gallipoli campaign|Gallipoli disaster]] by the pro-Conservative press.{{sfnm|1a1=Rhodes James|1y=1970|1p=86|2a1=Gilbert|2y=1991|2pp=361, 363, 367}} Churchill argued his case before the [[Dardanelles Commission]], whose report placed no blame on him personally for the campaign's failure.{{sfnm|1a1=Rhodes James|1y=1970|1p=89|2a1=Gilbert|2y=1991|2pp=366, 370}}