A successful Gallipoli campaign could reopen supply through the Black Sea, with consequences for Battenberg's family and finances. Historically, his sisters-in-law Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna were killed by the Bolsheviks, and Battenberg and his wife helped arrange Elizabeth's burial in Jerusalem. In the counterfactual, a better-supplied Russia could undergo a different transfer of power, while easier naval access could improve the chances of evacuating imperial relatives. If the Bolsheviks did not take power, his Russian investments might escape seizure. His historical losses also included German investments and the sale of his German castle. The change from Battenberg to Mountbatten remains likely in this scenario, possibly in 1914 or 1915 as he renounced his old title and adopted a British one.
Notable Point · 2:05:38-2:08:35
Russia, family survival, and the Mountbatten name
A successful route into the Black Sea could alter the fate of Battenberg's Russian relatives and investments, while wartime politics could bring the family's change to Mountbatten on an earlier timetable.