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The thing is, there actually are opportunities, but the operations of 1915 on the Western Front are largely overshadowed by 1916 and the battles at Verdun and the Somme. At Neuve Chapelle in March, a meticulously-planned British offensive broke clean through the German line, but communication...

Falkenhayn had wanted to undertake a major offensive in the West in the spring of 1915, and it was only the necessity of action to save the Austro-Hungarian position which prevented this. In early March, initial proposals came from 6th and 1st Armies for offensives on either side of Arras and...

Interesting question. It may not have had that much of an impact on the Mesopotamian campaign itself - a significant problem for the Brits was logistics, so I'm not sure they would have been able to advance on Baghdad before 1917 regardless of whether Townshend's division survives or not. On...

If Fisher doesn't start the dreadnought leap, someone else does - either the Japanese Satsuma or the American South Carolina-class are the most likely first 'dreadnoughts'. If for whatever reason the British don't launch the first all-big-gun warship, someone else does and the British find...

The mines at Longwy and Briey, in German hands for the duration of the war.

In some ways, though, the arrival of the Americans in Europe were a drain on the combat power of the French Army: 84% of artillery, 79% of tanks, and 77% of aircraft used in combat by American forces in Europe were provided to them by the French. Indeed, if the French had not had to equip the...

No they didn't - the Americans did not show up in strength until after the Spring Offensives of 1918 were halted. Plus, it took time for the Americans to learn the tactical and operational lessons that the British and French had spent the past four years learning.

I don't see Italy entering the war until at least after the death of Foreign Minister San Giuliano on October 16th, 1914, regardless of the situation on the Eastern Front, as he strongly favoured the policy of neutrality, and it was only after his death & replacement by Sonnino. Even then...

You have to think Bush would have responded better to Katrina than Kerry, given how the latter was roasted for elitist aloofness in the days after - who can forget the famous 'let them eat cake' cartoon? Responding to a disaster like Katrina might have been a golden opportunity to revive the...

And how exactly is that German army going to be supplied while marching across the Sinai? Britain would only agree to a peace if the Germans accept a 'peace without victors' on the Western Front, and be willing to hand over its colonies to Britain if it wants annexations on the Eastern...

Except there isn't a Liberal parliamentary majority - the Liberals and Conservatives won almost the exact same number of seats in December 1910, and the Liberals were kept in power only by the support of the Irish Nationalists and Labour. Since the last election, the Conservatives had made a...

In terms of the Russo-German peace deal, an underlying assumption appears to be that Ludendorff doesn't mess it up by demanding too much. Are we sure Ludendorff isn't in a position to interfere ITTL? Even if Falkenhayn is still Chief of Staff (which is something I'm not sure about), Ludendorff...

I'm not sure about this - Falkenhayn felt that it was only on the Western Front that a decisive victory could be achieved. If he had had his way, the Gorlice offensive would have been launched on the Western Front, not the Eastern Front. If the CP does comparatively better on the Eastern...

I'm not sure a mega Tannenberg is possible in such a case, because the problem remains that the other half of the pincer movement, namely the Austro-Hungarian armies attacking from the south, got absolutely nowhere, and I just don't think the German 9th Army is large enough to slice all the way...

In such a scenario I think the most likely Russian response would be to have the Russian 9th Army come into the line east, instead of west, of 4th Army - i.e. 9th Army plugs the gap created by the annihilation of 5th Army. This would leave 3rd & 8th Armies free to continue their advance. I...

With the Straits in Entente hands, the Russians would have been able to export its grain surpluses while Britain and France would have been able to send munitions to Russia. It is no exaggeration to suggest that Entente control of the Straits would have ensured no Russian Revolution.

None of the three are particularly inspiring options. I suppose I'd choose Falkenhayn, but more by default - Moltke deserves every bit of opprobrium heaped on him, & Ludendorff is significantly over-rated.

I think, regardless of when in 1915 the POD occurs & the Straits are opened, Gorlice-Tarnow is going to happen more or less as in IOTL - the best the Russians can hope for is to perhaps stop the German advance a bit further westward if they are getting lots of British/French munitions. More...

That was pretty much the deal Japan offered in its ultimatum - hand over Tsingtao or we go to war. If Germany goes for the deal (a rather big if) I could see Japan staying neutral - the British weren't very enthusiastic about Japanese ambitions, & the Anzacs were downright hostile. If Japan is...

If Britain and Germany do reach an agreement, I don't think it would be so formal. Instead, I think there would be more of a *nudge, nudge, wink, wink* arrangement, in which the Germans restrict naval construction, and lo and behold, a few months later Britain just happens to have some colonial...