What if Turkey invaded Persia in 1926?

In OTL after the last Shah of the Qajar dynasty got couped, Ataturk approached him with a proposal to invade Persia and install him back into the throne, but he refused. Let's say that for some reason he does accept to return to power, and so he travels into Turkey and take part on a campaign against Reza Pahlevi, what happens next? How the british react? How the soviets react? What about the Iranian people, are they going to accept the last Shah back home? A interesting thing is that this could have been considered the last dynastic war ITTL.
 

raharris1973

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This probably makes Iran a big mess, and overextends Turkey. Creates opportunities for the USSR.
 
What if the Greeks take advantage of the situation to try and take eastern Thrace or even the Bosphorus?
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What if the Greeks take advantage of the situation to try and take eastern Thrace or even the Bosphorus?

They don't have a navy for such a thing, plus this would prompt Bulgaria to attack Greece.

And I don't think that such a large force would be necessary, we must remember that Pahlevi at first was a dictator that took power by force and tried to impose a republic, but was convinced to declare his own dynasty instead. I believe (with my limited knowledge on the subject) that as soon the news that the Shah is returning are heard, a huge chunk of the army is going to instantly switch sides.
 
They don't have a navy for such a thing, plus this would prompt Bulgaria to attack Greece.

Why Bulgaria? I remember reading that Constantinople and the surrounding area was also claimed by them after WWI, but I don't know enough about the background here.

Anyway, would the British intervene on both ends?
 
Why Bulgaria? I remember reading that Constantinople and the surrounding area was also claimed by them after WWI, but I don't know enough about the background here.

Anyway, would the British intervene on both ends?

Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria was obsessed with the idea of restoring the byzantine empire.
 
What if the Greeks take advantage of the situation to try and take eastern Thrace or even the Bosphorus?

If my reading is correct, the ethnic cleansing that occurred as the Greek/Turk war wound down was near complete. Over one million greeks had been displaced from Ionia & the Istambul region. Greece had its hands full a sorbing them. Beyond that The turks had just finished defeating Greek armies & run them out of Anatolia. As I understand the Greeks were in no shape to restart the war & Britain was not going to loan them the money, even if the army and civilians wanted a rematch.

Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria was obsessed with the idea of restoring the byzantine empire.

Cute idea. & the ruler of a small Slavic group was just the guy to lead that? Was there any chance of a solid alliance between Greece & Bulgaria?
 
Cute idea. & the ruler of a small Slavic group was just the guy to lead that? Was there any chance of a solid alliance between Greece & Bulgaria?

Greece is out of question, since he had plans to annex it on the long run. The best oportunity would be to wait until greece and Turkey had beaten up themselves enought and then invade both. Ferdinand I came to the point to use byzantine regalia and to make maps of his dreamed Bulgarian Byzantine empire.
 
Too much to hope that Greek & Bulgaria might set up as the start of a 'Byzantine' federation. Starting to sound ASB. Serbs & Turks would both see it as counter to their interests as well. Doubt the Romanians would get on board either.

Perhaps after ten or fifteen years of a greater Hellenic nation encompassing Greece, Constantinople, & Ionia some sort of customs union or other economic accommodation might emerge in the region?
 
But I digress. Assuming the Persian Army does this restoration, where does this leave relations between the Persian government and Britain. Does it affect the completion of the Persian railway project, from Terhan to the Gulf ports? What other political or economic fallout might there be in the long run?
 

raharris1973

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Didn't Pahlavi have the loyalty of the most modern portions of the Persian military though?

What would the Qajars be promising the Turks to make them feel the operation is worthwhile?

And in terms of foreign intervention, what's Britain going to do?

Brits might not be happy with such move.

This has become a cliche of the group. the Brits showed they were in no mood to fight Turkey when they bugged out of the Chanak Crisis.
If financial measures and arms aid to Reza Pahlavi look like they might work, Britain might try them, but they don't want parliament asking too many questions.

If the Turks are getting a permanent troop presence in Persian Azerbaijan and the shores of the Caspian sea, the USSR might find that provocative and react by supporting Reza Pahlavi.
 
Didn't Pahlavi have the loyalty of the most modern portions of the Persian military though?

What would the Qajars be promising the Turks to make them feel the operation is worthwhile?

Actually, the Turks asked the Qajars to do that, and in OTL the former Sultan had no interest on returning to power. I don't know which interests Ataturk had on Persia.
 
Never underestimate the power of memory and history to motivate people to act. All the Balkan nations suffered at one time or another at the hands of the Ottomans, all nurse grievances, and some (Bulgaria and Russia, recognizing Russia isn't part of the Balkans) have historic claims to Ottoman territory, stretching back as far as the Byzantine Empire. If the Balkan nations can negotiate with each other, in advance, and lay out what they each are to get, (recognizing there will be lingering issues of distrust) then they would go after the Turks, again, IMO. The biggest issue for them to not act in this way is that they are all still suffering the effects of WWI and before that, the Balkan Wars. Their treasuries are still small and (WAG) still nearly empty and their people tired. If however, Britain decides to bankroll this affair, possibly provide arms and munitions, then its a possibility. Failing to act means the Soviets may intervene on their own. It means the Persian Oil fields the RN needs may be threatened. The big issue in the UK not acting is the war weariness of the people, but if British troops aren't involved directly, this may not matter. I'll leave it to others better versed in British interwar politics to tell more on the plausibility of the above.
 
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