Was Russia ready for amphibious invasion of Istanbul in 1914?
score:6
Yes, but Not Successfully.
The Russians quite likely had the capability to do what was described. But "do" and "do successfully" are not the same things. (As an aside, I'm very fond of The Russian Origins of the First World War and think the author does an excellent job overall.) They could probably have landed the troops, at least the first wave of 30,000ish. I doubt they could actually have pulled off a successful seaborne invasion. One of the reoccurring themes of the war, especially the early war, is that Russian armies were woefully unprepared logistically. Not just in the "normal" WWI sense of "not enough shells per gun" but in totally self-inflicted wound sort of ways. For instance, Logistics were COMPLETELY IGNORED in Russian wargames. Mostly (per Prit Buttar in Collision of Empires) to spare the various army commanders' embarrassment because they knew very little about the subject. This had practical effects at the outbreak of the war, not least in the fact that Rennekampf's army and others were woefully under-supplied in logistics officers because those sorts of rear echelon troops were moved LAST in the Russian mobilization orders, and were in the early days simply left behind. Imagine a D-Day beachhead with no beachmasters, no plan for moving supply from ship to the troops in the field, and the guys who were in charge of moving said supplies being on the LAST boat to leave. It's not pretty.
While I think the Russians could have gathered up enough ships and men to launch an invasion, given the state of Russian logistics I doubt very much any force actually put on Turkish territory via naval landing in 1914 would have been successful. My best bet would be that they'd land somewhere near-ish Constantinople, potentially push aside whatever initial blocking force was there.... and promptly run out of food and ammunition. Or be forced to hold back reinforcements for the "initial" 30,000 in favor of food and supplies to keep the first wave active. The Russians had massive logistical problems mere kilometres outside their territory (and sometimes even within it!) during 1914. Supplying an army in enemy territory via a contested sea route would almost certainly have been beyond them.
*** ADDENDUM ***
The above assumes a "best-case" scenario for the Russians from a naval perspective. No storms impeding shipping, the Turkish navy brushed aside in the opening acts of the war and the Central Powers having 0 ability to interfere with the transport of troops and supplies. If the Turks or the Germans retained surface ships or submarines enough to disrupt the shipping involved, the odds get even worse.
Upvote:1
I agree with the answer of Dario Qunit about disastrous logistics and how this could imper the capabilities to put an efficient force on shore. But it should be noted that the Russian navy had far better experience on logistical problems, and thus it might have led the Army to put their forces into correct shape before embarking. I mean, the sailors could have insisted on bringing food and ammo for themselves, and thus inspire army forces to do the same.
Even if the Russians, using a coordinated action with French and British to destroy the Turkish navy nearly in its bases, had secure the sea route, they would have faced an heavy resistance from the Turkish army. Not only a Gallipoli-style resistance, but also a resistance using land forces in an open-field battle and the Russians might have failed to destroy it.
More post
- 📝 Why did families in 6th century Mecca send their babies to be raised in the desert?
- 📝 Has Puerto Rico experienced fewer privileges and autonomy than other US territories?
- 📝 How common among Abolitionists was the goal of complete civil equality for Blacks?
- 📝 Did Lisa Chester (Xiola Blue) miss her father's funeral?
- 📝 When did the allies start evacuating from the Dunkirk mole during the Dunkirk evacuation?
- 📝 Trying to understand the idea of a totalitarian administration from the pages of history
- 📝 Historical assessments of the effectiveness of torture
- 📝 What was the role of Konstantin Rokossovsky during WW1?
- 📝 Did classical Romans wear any sort of swimwear?
- 📝 Did Roman statutory law in the 1st century allow for crucifixion of non slaves?
- 📝 Roman Letters in Japanese Postmarks
- 📝 What was the 'indemnity' paid out by Haiti actually for?
- 📝 Are there any accounts of German junior enlisted soldiers surviving the siege of Stalingrad and subsequent captivity?
- 📝 Why did Hawaii become a dependent state of USA after USA was born 300 years ago?
- 📝 Were ships effective for sieging cities?
- 📝 How many USA men dodged the draft in Vietnam, and how?
- 📝 What led to the romantic perception of the Mayan civilization?
- 📝 World War 1: Why did Italy not fight until 1915?
- 📝 Was pie crust originally meant for throwing away in England?
- 📝 Was Heinrich Himmler's death a suicide?
- 📝 What were all the countries of the First, Second and Third Worlds, when WWII ended?
- 📝 What kind of clothing was worn in Mahgreb states circa the high medieval period?
- 📝 How were smallpox vaccines enforced in the US?
- 📝 Is it true that slavery was endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa previous to the establishment of the trans-Atlantic slave trade?
- 📝 Why was there a reference to the Battle of Hastings in Harper Lee's novel?
- 📝 Which cannon could fired this Austrian brass shell case (Berndorf 1910 R)?
- 📝 Were railway guns ever critical in any battle during WWI and WWII?
- 📝 How were the cities of Milan and Bruges spared by the Black Death?
- 📝 To what extent is the independence of India a result of Indian Independence Movement?
- 📝 Where was the site of Mary Seacole's store in Aldershot?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Was Russia ready for amphibious invasion of Istanbul in 1914?
- 📝 Were British fears of Russia using Afghanistan as a staging post for an invasion of India unfounded?
- 📝 How was Napoleon's invasion of Russia supplied?
- 📝 What was the timetable for Germany's Invasion of the Low Countries (Fall Gelb) in WW2?
- 📝 What was the reason for the Ottoman invasion of Otranto?
- 📝 Was there a rational reason for Napoleon to attack Russia while the Peninsular War was still in progress?
- 📝 Was murdering a slave illegal in American slavery, and if so, what punishments were given for it?
- 📝 Why did Britain not purchase Alaska when Russia had it up for sale?
- 📝 Why was it "acceptable" for Prince Charles to marry a divorced woman, when Edward VIII had to abdicate for marrying divorcee Wallis Simpson?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 Was it militarily possible to "island hop" the Philippines if not for MacArthur?
- 📝 Was there a plan to use nuclear weapons for terrain modification in North America?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 Why was no Nobel Prize for Literature awarded in 1935?
- 📝 If the Ch’in dynasty was so short-lived, why was China named for it?
- 📝 Is there evidence to suggest the "war on drugs" was a cover for class warfare?
- 📝 What was the plan for an abort of the Enola Gay's mission to drop the atomic bomb?
- 📝 What was the economic basis for West Berlin?
- 📝 How did medieval manors handle population growth? Was there room for more fields to be ploughed?
- 📝 What kind of ink was used by medieval scribes in Iceland, given that there were no plant galls for iron-gall ink?
- 📝 Was there a tax in the fifties for British citizens traveling abroad?
- 📝 How was titanium transported from Soviet Union to Area 51 for Oxcart?
- 📝 Was it ever possible to join the US military instead of going to prison for a crime?
- 📝 Was there any practical use for German spiked helmets (Pickelhaube)?
- 📝 Was frequent bathing for personal hygiene in medieval Europe common or not?
- 📝 What was a plausible timetable for a train journey across Europe in 1870?
- 📝 What was the planned line of succession for the Nazi Party in the event that Hitler died?
- 📝 Was it possible for a message from Paris to reach London within 48 hours in 1782?
- 📝 Was it possible for a young Japanese woman to end up enslaved in Great Britain in the mid-1600s?
- 📝 What was the 1970s name for skinny jeans?