The counterfactual matters far beyond the prestige of reaching Constantinople. Roughly ninety percent of Russian trade moved through the Dardanelles, with the route especially important for agricultural exports and food imports. Removing the Ottoman barrier could expand Allied supply and free resources otherwise consumed by that theatre. Reopening Russia's principal maritime route might therefore shorten the war, though the scale of that effect remains uncertain.
Notable Point · 45:28-47:39
The Dardanelles were Russia's economic lifeline
A successful breakthrough could alter the wider war because the Turkish Straits carried most Russian trade, including critical agricultural commerce and food imports.