Quick allied victory in WW1

Well, he could. It just doesn't seem a likely war aim for Russia at the beginning of the war to defeat Germany and A-H, nab half of Galicia, then voluntarily surrender Poland and some other bits and bobs to form its own self-governing state.

Wasn't Congress Poland, self-governing for a while, the Russians would get the gratitude of the Poles, if they create a self-governing state within the Russian Empire, comprising all polish lands.
 
Russian Poland would become an more or less dependent state.

Like it was post-1815? yeah, that worked out real well. :rolleyes:

True, the "Eastern" Empires did not want another polish "empire".
Anything else was possible.

No, the Austrians didn't want a Polish state, period. The Germans didn't want a Polish state, period. And the Russians didn't want a Polish state, period.
 

MrP

Banned
Wasn't Congress Poland, self-governing for a while, the Russians would get the gratitude of the Poles, if they create a self-governing state within the Russian Empire, comprising all polish lands.

I'm not sure that outweighs having Poland as a militarised buffer zone. I could be wrong. After all, it was considered such a dangerous area strategically, that it was held better to evacuate it than risk losing several armies in an envelopment by A-H and German forces - hence Rennenkampf and Samsonov having to travel tens of miles before getting even to the German border.

In the end, this is really a political matter, not a military one, and I'm stronger on matters military. Plus it's Eastern, and I'm stronger on Western stuff.
 
Now there's an unpleasant setup. A treaty of Sevres that sticks, a short war with acceptable casualties, and enough gains all around to make it seem worthwhile. Messy peace and even less weak but humiliated Germany, plus chaotic post-war Balkans, and disputes over distribution of the spoils leaves plenty of unresolved fault lines for revanchist or expansionist powers to take advantage of after a few years of peace... Only to then launch an even bigger war of poor mobility and mass casualties.

Abdul, how would the Ottoman Empire be partitioned in that mildly dystopic timeline? It's hard to get too much worse that OTL, isn't it? Unless someone wants to go to the trouble of holding the Anatolian plateau, which would be a nasty, costly mess for all involved.

With no Russian collapse, Russia gets the Straits and the Armenian provinces are either made autonomous under Russian protectorate or just given to Russia outright.
 
No Ottoman entry would speed up the victory quite a bit:

- Access to the Straits makes Russia's position much better and cooperation/supply between the Entente possible

- No Ottoman entry means no Bulgarian entry which means Serbia can hold out longer

- Serbia holding out and no Ottoman front means the Entente can open a new Serbian front, very, very bad for Austria-Hungary. This could bring in Italy earlier.
 
When did become the avoiding of years of military imperial german occupation a bad thing?



Why did you think "the Russians" want to destroy Poland?

When the alternative is years of military Imperial Russian occupation.

The Russians on numerous occassions launched Russification campaigns on Poland - I didn't mean literally destroy, as in dismantle, I meant destroy the Polish national identity.
 
When the alternative is years of military Imperial Russian occupation.

Russian Poland (20th century) did have a normal imperial russian administration and was not an area of military occupation.

The Russians on numerous occassions launched Russification campaigns on Poland - I didn't mean literally destroy, as in dismantle, I meant destroy the Polish national identity.

By 20th century, the failure of assimilation campaign was largely known.
 
With no Russian collapse, Russia gets the Straits

Would the British really accept that?

And, in the case of no Ottoman entry, what would the Russians claim besides Galicia? Or would they be satisfied with only that?

Also, would Italy still enter the war if the Allies feel they can win it more easily?
 
In pretty much ASB territory. A quick Allied victory was impossible, for the same reason that a quick German victory in the West was impossible: Logistics.
 
In pretty much ASB territory. A quick Allied victory was impossible, for the same reason that a quick German victory in the West was impossible: Logistics.

That depends on your definition of quick and the cause of the victory.

A french-British advance to Berlin by Christmas 1914 is impossible.

A german colapse - due to lack of ammo - by spring 1915 is not.
 
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