We are aware that after Caligula was killed and Claudius was raised to be Emperor, he decided to conquer Britain as a way of establishing his military credibility that was sorely lacking to solidify his position.
Britain however was not the only target he could have picked. What made the conquest worth it for the Romans was its silver mines, however, it quickly became a resource drain administratively and militarily. Claudius could have just as easily picked a different target.
What if he would have tried to do what Augustus could not and fully subdue Germania up to the Elbe? Militarily, with the resources of the Empire fully laid to bare on this, I think it could have been done. Claudius was not a commander by any stretch, but he didn't really do anything in Britain either and that still went off alright. Germania by this point had been in contact with Rome for about a hundred years. Mercantile relationships, intermarriage, and the slow adoption of Roman institutions that would transform the region over the next few centuries was underway. As time went on after Germanicus cowed the Germans in the mid 10s AD, the possibility for conquest only increased.
Claudius just as easily could have decided to campaign against the Parthians or the Dacians. I am not particularly sure of the political situation of either at this point, but with the resources he was willing to put into taking Britain, he may have found success.
Any thoughts?