Turkish participation in the Seven Years War

What would have happened if the Ottoman Turks had gotten involved in the Seven Years War (1756 to 1763) and who would they have sided with?

Since the main thing blocking Ottoman participation in OTL was leadership instability and Turkish military weakness by this time, let's say that both of these aren't as big an issue and the Turks decide to use the war as a means to push back Austrian and Russian expansion into their holdings.

This of course would mean that they'd side with the British and Prussians. In OTL, the Prussians fought the French, Austrians, Russians and Swedes to a standstill in Continental Europe while Britain managed to seize control of many of France's colonial holdings.

With the Turks forcing the Austrians to divert resources to fighting them, I could see the Prussians doing better then in OTL and perhaps even gaining territory at the expense of the smaller German states and Austria. It could even lead to a German reunification in the late 18th century as opposed to it being in the late 19th century.

That of course could be good for the Turks as the Austrians and Russians would be forced to divert some of their resources in containing a stronger Prussia hence taking some pressure off the Turks.

As for the Turks themselves, anything could happen with them. They could perhaps lose the Crimea to Russia sooner then in OTL or perhaps with British support, the Turks hold their enemies off and make some minor territorial gains. It could even lead to a long term British/Ottoman alliance and with it, a degree of modernization of their military.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy? Do I have any good ideas?
 
This of course would mean that they'd side with the British and Prussians. In OTL, the Prussians fought the French, Austrians, Russians and Swedes to a standstill in Continental Europe while Britain managed to seize control of many of France's colonial holdings.

That is not totally correct. While the Prussians performed amazingly, the Russians had them solidly, convincingly beat, and only a political 180 due to Elizabeth's death changed that. Them doing better against the Austrians wouldn't help them any when the Russians are sitting in Berlin and there's hardly any army left, which is what would have happened had the Russians stayed in.

As for the Turks themselves, anything could happen with them. They could perhaps lose the Crimea to Russia sooner then in OTL or perhaps with British support, the Turks hold their enemies off and make some minor territorial gains. It could even lead to a long term British/Ottoman alliance and with it, a degree of modernization of their military.

Okay, here's a prediction: the British are able to offer zero succour to the Ottomans. Even if there's a naval presence in the Black Sea the Russian advance won't be stopped just as was the case with the Prussian campaign. The British navy will at best supply besieged Turkish forts.

However, while the Russian army is superb at this particular point, the navy has been neglected and the Ottomans may not even need British help in defending its coastal fortresses.

So all in all, the Ottomans stand to gain minimally while still being able to hold off the Russians without British support. Why get involved?

Meanwhile, all that happens is that the Russians (whose interest in the war was weak to start with) will pull out earlier and Prussia will get away with it. Considering that's what happened in OTL...what's so different about this TL?

It looks like a good idea at first, but the 7YW was already as wide as you could conceivably make it, with many of the combatants having little real interest in it other than lobbying by pensioned ministers and alliance obligations. I don't know all the facts of course but if I was the padishah at the time, I wouldn't be interested in fighting Russia simply so that the British could continue their divide and conquer shenanigans on the continent.
 
Well, when I thought of this scenario, I had thought that the Turks might enter the Seven Years War on the grounds that they may wish to make Prussia grow stronger in order to distract the Austrians and Russians while slowing down their incursions into Turkish territories in the Balkans.

Also, by helping out the British, the Turks COULD get a strong ally to help prop them up against the Russians as the British would want to curb Russia's influence. Why else did the British fight the Russians in the Crimean War in OTL?
 
Also, by helping out the British, the Turks COULD get a strong ally to help prop them up against the Russians as the British would want to curb Russia's influence. Why else did the British fight the Russians in the Crimean War in OTL?

That was in the 19th c., when Russia defeated the greatest enemy the British hitherto faced and thus itself became the biggest enemy. In 1770, Russia isn't the boogeyman it becomes in 1850.
 
I had just thought that the Turks may have gotten worried about Russia's growing strength along with the ties between Russia and Austria and decided to use the war and British support to keep their two troublesome neighbors in check.

As for the British, I assumed that they'd want to keep the Russians and Turks as evenly matched while being focused on each other so neither one could threaten their own interests.
 
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