Sir Humphrey said:
Gen. Allenby in charge of the Ottoman empire, Beatty capturing Constantinople, Ruskies sailing in, and Lloyd George making dramatic speeches in the house.
An example to us all.
Kurt_Steiner said:
Wonderful!
Next step, Vienna, methinks...
Sofia is next on the list. Vienna would probably be a rather optimistic hope, unless divisions were transferred to the Italian front...
Lord E said:
An absolutely wonderful update Allenby. A very impressive and well conducted campaign there, a great show by Allenby and his generals. Also Beatty did very well I think, continuing to press forward even when his ships got a good beating from the Turks, had that been done in 1915 the Ottoman Empire might have been forced out of the war much earlier. I can only imagine the scene onboard the Lion as Beatty and Chatfield lead their squadron into Constantinople and then using gunboat diplomacy forces the Ottoman authorities to sign the treaty of surrender.
Thank you, E-man.
Under these circumstances, Beatty benefitted from his characteristic lack of restraint. The Straits required battering, and if it failed, another pounding, until they fell - all a matter of materiel and persistence.
Vincent Julien said:
Excellent update. Excellent, just what the doctor ordered. This puts the Central Powers in the Balkans at even greater peril. Surely Austria won't be long in folding too.
Thank you, VJ! Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria shall look southwards with foreboding. Although with Russia still on the precipice of defeat, it might be unlikely that they will seek peace too readily, unless forced to do so...
Sir Monty said:
Its a Pleasure to see this return, With a Welcome victory in the Middle East
Thank you very much! I am glad that you are still reading.
Vann the Red said:
Your updates are always worth the wait, Allenby. This particular update leaves me with two huge questions. What effect will the opening of the straits -- and the concomicant ease if trade with France and Great Britain -- have on Russia? How will Turkey (or rather, what is left of Turkey) evolve with Enver in exile?
Thank you! Regarding the Straits, the Allies are able to send shipments of arms and munitions to Russia. However, they may be inclined to regard such efforts to be a waste of time. At the best of times, large quantities of Allied armaments were stockpiled at northern ports without being transported into the Russian interior and to the front line. Now with the Bolsheviks in charge of the Russian railway system and the Provisional Government appearing shaky, France, Britain and the United States would probably expect new shipments to fall into the wrong hands upon reaching Russia.
The supreme authority in the Ottoman Empire is now the Allied military and navy although the civil government has been maintained for the sake of continuity. So the Sultan remains in place but is an effective prisoner of the Allies.
Vincent Julien said:
Lend-lease here we come. :nods:
The Allies might hesitate - it is a great risk to send arms to a country that does not control its own military.
Mettermrck said:
Oh my, Constantinople falls! I can't wait to see how this what-if is written out in Allenby's detailed historical style. Good show, sir!
Thank you! It is a pleasure. I am glad you are still reading after so long!
Vincent Julien said:
btw, it'll be interesting to see what happens once the 'historical' (broadly, at least) war is over. As Mr A. is going to run this to 1924, there's doubtless going to be a lot of action in the early twenties. Based on the events in the 1914 mod, and a fairly secure hunch, I imagine there's going to be a huge rumpus from Bolshevism post-war, but who knows. It'll be interesting to see what happens in Russia - and Austria, if she goes down the shitter too.
Who knows when the war will even end? I might lose.
After such a cataclysm I think that you can be assured of a great number of countries venturing
near the shitter, if not completely falling into it. I wonder whether the Allies, if successful, would have the strength and determination to maintain order across the continent?
Miral said:
Superb and detailed update. The Turks really never stood a chance against such force.
Indeed. Ultimately, the Ottomans ended the war demonstrating the same determination that they had showed since 1915.
Raze said:
I'm not trying to start a fire or anything but I can't believe that anybody would still be playing this game.
I do not believe anybody is...I certainly don't, apart from for the sake of the AAR.
Kurt_Steiner said:
Following with the topic. Are we going to see a rush towards Bulgaria?
By the way... A hard coup for the westeners, methinks.
Desperate Frankie has already turned his thoughts to tackling Bulgaria and the SWC wants him to get on with it as soon as possible. So you can expect news from that front in the near future.
As for the advocates of a western stategy, I expect that they would remain unmoved until it can be proven that the defeat of Turkey has a substantial effect on the balance of forces on the western front or the internal condition of Germany. They would point out, for example, that it would be extremely hard to move such a large army through the Balkans without immense logistical efforts...
Vincent Julien said:
Oh, and, btw, I really rather hope that Austria is preserved generally intact post-armistice. Would be nice to see A-H totter onwards into the twenties. Monarchism uber alles and all that.
Don't bank on it.
The defeat events in the TGW tended to automatically rip Austria-Hungary to shreds.
But admittedly, I have not revealed how many of the Austro-Hungarian events have unfolded in my updates...
