Arising out of a discussion on my own board...
How about instead of the Dardanelles/Gallipolli in 1915, the ANZAC forces gathered in Egypt are inserted into Northern Albania ? This will serve both to bolster Serbia and Montenegro, and to act as a demonstration of Entente power and will to Italy, Greece and the other Balkan nations. It also of course threatens the Habsburgs underbelly.
Whilst it doesn't have the intended aim of the Dardanelles campaign of opening the Straits to Russia, it would serve to relieve some pressure as the Habsburgs will need to move a large number of forces to deal with the threat. Even if the new force doesn't do much more than hold the line, and threaten Dubrovnik (long a Montenegrin dream) or Bosnia, the potential for a Habsburg disaster is greater than simply having the OTL Serb armies stay alive as in OTL in this time period.
I was thinking mainly of a landing at Shkoder, and perhaps Durazzo. What needs to be covering such a landing ? Would a mixed bag of French and British pre-dreadnoughts, including the Dantons be enough ? Or would the KuK fleet actively attack ? How many dreadnoughts are worked up in this period ? Would France deploy its own dreadnoughts ? They aren't doing much elsewhere...
Grey Wolf
How about instead of the Dardanelles/Gallipolli in 1915, the ANZAC forces gathered in Egypt are inserted into Northern Albania ? This will serve both to bolster Serbia and Montenegro, and to act as a demonstration of Entente power and will to Italy, Greece and the other Balkan nations. It also of course threatens the Habsburgs underbelly.
Whilst it doesn't have the intended aim of the Dardanelles campaign of opening the Straits to Russia, it would serve to relieve some pressure as the Habsburgs will need to move a large number of forces to deal with the threat. Even if the new force doesn't do much more than hold the line, and threaten Dubrovnik (long a Montenegrin dream) or Bosnia, the potential for a Habsburg disaster is greater than simply having the OTL Serb armies stay alive as in OTL in this time period.
I was thinking mainly of a landing at Shkoder, and perhaps Durazzo. What needs to be covering such a landing ? Would a mixed bag of French and British pre-dreadnoughts, including the Dantons be enough ? Or would the KuK fleet actively attack ? How many dreadnoughts are worked up in this period ? Would France deploy its own dreadnoughts ? They aren't doing much elsewhere...
Grey Wolf