Recently, I've been reading up a bit on my WWI history (mostly in "A History of the Great War," by C.R.M.F. Cruttwell), and I've had no shortage of interesting PODs tumbling about my head. Here's one of the most appealing, though I'm sure it's been thought of before. I'm thinking of turning it into a TL, though I'm not sure.
In OTL, the Allies launched a series of offensives in along the Western Front in Artois in September, 1915. One of these, the Battle of Loos, was plagued by a number of poor strategic decisions and accidents. Firstly, the British forces lacked artillery ammunition, and could not properly bombard the German lines before their assault. Secondly, the British commander, Douglas Haig, refused to attack without a gas attack. Thirdly, the French commander, Foch, refused to coordinate the French offensive with the British one, wishing to wait for a few hours of daylight before attacking. Finally, Sir John French, Haig's superior, jealously kept his infantry reserves from Haig, keeping them under his own direct command sixteen miles from the battle.
And, in OTL, the battle was joined and still was somewhat successful in the beginning; the British captured the town of Loos and sent the Germans into a high state of alarm; however, this success was not followed up on, as no proper reserves were available (there were some cavalry prepared, as the British wanted them to be able to take advantage of a breakthrough; but, as this never happened, the cavalry were wasted). The British were smashed by a counterattack but were still in a good position; in the words of Haig, "If there had been even one division in reserve up close we could have walked right through." The British outnumbered the Germans and reached their last trench in places; the German commanders were panicking, unsure of what to do.
Still in OTL, both Haig and Foch protested French's decision to hold onto the reserves so far behind. So here's an obvious Point of Divergence; let's have a British infantry division in reserve, being deployed about midday. Haig's prayers are answered and the British are able to completely overcome the German trenches in Artois, smashing through with superior numbers. Now, the British are in a position to deploy their cavalry and cause the Great War to become mobile once again, though not at all in the way the German Empire expected. Even if the expedition is ultimately a failure, it would provide evidence that trenches could be overcome, and perhaps, following the example provided at Loos, Entente (or particularly canny German) forces could achieve similar breakthroughs.
What happens next? I have a few ideas, but I want to see if there's anything glaring I'm missing before I dedicate myself to a TL.
In OTL, the Allies launched a series of offensives in along the Western Front in Artois in September, 1915. One of these, the Battle of Loos, was plagued by a number of poor strategic decisions and accidents. Firstly, the British forces lacked artillery ammunition, and could not properly bombard the German lines before their assault. Secondly, the British commander, Douglas Haig, refused to attack without a gas attack. Thirdly, the French commander, Foch, refused to coordinate the French offensive with the British one, wishing to wait for a few hours of daylight before attacking. Finally, Sir John French, Haig's superior, jealously kept his infantry reserves from Haig, keeping them under his own direct command sixteen miles from the battle.
And, in OTL, the battle was joined and still was somewhat successful in the beginning; the British captured the town of Loos and sent the Germans into a high state of alarm; however, this success was not followed up on, as no proper reserves were available (there were some cavalry prepared, as the British wanted them to be able to take advantage of a breakthrough; but, as this never happened, the cavalry were wasted). The British were smashed by a counterattack but were still in a good position; in the words of Haig, "If there had been even one division in reserve up close we could have walked right through." The British outnumbered the Germans and reached their last trench in places; the German commanders were panicking, unsure of what to do.
Still in OTL, both Haig and Foch protested French's decision to hold onto the reserves so far behind. So here's an obvious Point of Divergence; let's have a British infantry division in reserve, being deployed about midday. Haig's prayers are answered and the British are able to completely overcome the German trenches in Artois, smashing through with superior numbers. Now, the British are in a position to deploy their cavalry and cause the Great War to become mobile once again, though not at all in the way the German Empire expected. Even if the expedition is ultimately a failure, it would provide evidence that trenches could be overcome, and perhaps, following the example provided at Loos, Entente (or particularly canny German) forces could achieve similar breakthroughs.
What happens next? I have a few ideas, but I want to see if there's anything glaring I'm missing before I dedicate myself to a TL.