Ottomans enter WW1 in 1915

BlondieBC

Banned
On October 1 1914, the Ottomans closed the Dardanelles. It was the actions of the Goeben that brought them into the war. The Ottomans had completed mobilization by late September 1914, but they would not have finished moving units to the needed theaters before very late November 1914, and by then the winter snows are falling on the Caucasus front. So WI the Ottomans enter in May 1915 (after the snows melts and mud dries) ? I think the Germans made a mistake by provoking the Ottomans in the war so soon. I am not saying it would be a war winner, just a help to the CP.

1) Russia has to keep the two corp to defend the hostile border anyway. Yes there is some savings on supplies, but not huge compared to the main front.

2) Straights are still close.

3) UK may well attack the Ottomans. Good potential diplomatic benefits.

4) Ottomans can still import from overseas.

5) Ottomans can attack with good weather at time and place of their choosing.

6) I don't see any real disadvantages for the CP that are major.
 

Catspoke

The whole armenian massacre crisis plays out differently (as it does in your Ottoman conrad waits TL). IOTL the region was starting to boil over anyway, perhaps leading to the next crisis point if the Archduke wasn't shot. With the straits closed anyway, I suspect the Russians will try to instigate things here regardless.

The baghdad railway might be a bit further along with more materials and if the armenian crisis butterflies away (much of the help was armenian), plus the motivation of war looming to move things along (OTL there was political stuff slowing things down before the war started).
 

Deleted member 1487

Don't you think the Entente would declare war over the Straights being closed?
 

Devolved

You delay a Gallipoli campaign until later in 1915 or maybe even the Spring of 1916.

If the Entente tries to force the straits and land troops in 1916 then they have more ammunition (a big problem they had OTL 1915) and more war experience.

The Russians have more troops for the Eastern Front until Summer 1915 and the British Empire has more troops especially ANZACS but also more British and Territorial divisions deployed on the Western Front. This would increase the pressure on the Germans in the West.

IMO the advantages of a late Ottoman entry for the CP are cancelled out by the disadvantages.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
wiking said:
Don't you think the Entente would declare war over the Straights being closed?
Click to expand...

Personally, yes. Since the plans for Gallipoli start before October 29th. Now plans in the Admiralty don't automatically mean the war cabinet agrees, but probably sometime before July 1915 (Russia setbacks in Poland), the authorization to proceed starts. Also the Basra forces left India pre-October 29th. But I lack confidence on these opinions.
 
Historyman 14

Historyman 14

For my, i say England would have to send a lot of troops from the front to fight the Ottomans, that might cause some trouble in Europe.
 

Tom_B

Ottomans might let certain goods pass through the Straits but exclude clear cut contraband like ammunition (hmm ironically like what Romania did)

The real question is how this late entry impacts the Caucasian campaign. Even in very bad weather the Ottoman Third Army came close to success at the Battle of Sarikamish (though if they succeeded exposure casualties would have made the victory pyrrhic) If late entry means something likes Sarakamish succeeds in decent weather it would undermine the Russian position in both Caucasia and northern Persia. Unfortunately for the OE Enver is likely to ruin things by overreaching.
 
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