Q&A · 55:39-57:09

Would better maintenance of the Ottoman Navy have changed Gallipoli?

Maintenance alone would not make the Ottoman Navy competitive with the attacking powers. The long development needed to achieve that could also have changed the empire's alliances.

Question

Would better maintenance of the Ottoman Navy under the Three Pashas have changed the Gallipoli campaign?

Short answer

Maintenance alone would not make the Ottoman Navy competitive with the attacking powers. The long development needed to achieve that could also have changed the empire's alliances.

Notes

A better-maintained Ottoman Navy would still face a much larger Allied naval concentration. Competing with it would require sustained institutional and material development over many years. Such development would probably involve close cooperation with Britain, as Japan's naval growth had done. Those connections could leave the Ottoman Empire allied with Britain or willing to change sides, reducing the importance of Goeben and Breslau. The follow-up distinguishes three dreadnoughts on paper from ships actually available for service. Even those three ships would have to be judged against the Allied fleets available when they arrived.