Hashasheen
Banned
As seen above, I'm attempting a Strangerverse Caliphate-wank, and an Inclusion of control of the south Caucasus is involved, but I'm not sure about the butterflies.
So No south Caucasus means weaker 5 year plans and a less mobile and slower war industry against the Nazis?OTL the South Caucasus fell like dominoes -- first Azerbaijan, then Armenia eight months later, then Georgia four months after that.
And there was a strong element of opportunism. The Soviets had only modest forces in theater; they were able to move aggressively because there was a complete power vacuum in the region, with all other major powers being either distracted or uninterested, and the three new Caucasus states being too weak to offer serious resistance.
The key here is Azerbaijan. Once it fell, it was easy to pick off Armenia, which in turn left Georgia surrounded on three sides. Keep Azerbaijan independent, on the other hand, and the Soviets will find it much harder to capture the other two -- they'd only be able to attack Georgia along the narrow coastal plain, and they wouldn't be able to reach Armenia at all.
The problem is, Azerbaijan was also an irresistible target -- weak, internally divided, and sitting on what would become the USSR's largest oilfields. During WWII the Baku fields were producing well over half of the Soviet Union's crude. So, there was a very strong strategic imperative to take them out.
Ergo, in order to keep the Soviets out of Azerbaijan, you need to either
3) place it under the protection of a power that the USSR can't or isn't willing to confront.
Good luck!
cheers,
Doug M.
So No south Caucasus means weaker 5 year plans and a less mobile and slower war industry against the Nazis?
Heck with the Oil, Important things first.most of their wine and all of their decent brandy and cognac.
?Isn't Azerbaijan Muslim? The only possible power to protect Azerbaijan is TurkeyThe key here is Azerbaijan. Once it fell, it was easy to pick off Armenia,
No, No, No, the Ottomans are getting whats coming to them in my TL.And if You are fooling around with the Caliphate, Them you are fooling with the Ottoman's in WW1. And there were Turkish plans for the Caucasus and the trans Caspian.
It is a TL to be done in the ASB forum, but one has to stick to what makes sense. Go and read Big Tex's Ameriwank, and you'll see how the new AH meme is like.You need weaker Bolsheviks and more recognition from the West for the states of Caucasus. You need the south Caucasian nations to somehow not fight eachother like crazy dogs and also to avoid a Turkish- Armenian war. I must say this sounds like asb.
Perhaps, involving the British substantially in the region during World War I would lead to some figurre, a "Lawrence" if you will, advocating for their cause in London and getting a British protectorate set up.
Yes, Armenians and Georgians would be real happy to be a part of Turkish EmpireThe British decide that instead of partitioning the Turkish Empire than can still keep it in place more or less intact and now that Russia has gone Bolshevik even expand it towards the Caucasus region. So the Caucasus will be part of the Turkish Empire the same way that Egypt was.
It's not just avoiding Soviet or Turkish invasion, you must also somehow get the Georgians, Armenians and Azeris to not fight eachother, and that is as hard as keeping the Russians and Turks out.
So, you want to preserve the Transcaucasian Federation?