The alternate outcome leaves Russia victorious and the Ottoman Empire intact rather than defeated alongside Germany. Russia's historic interest in Constantinople and the Straits would then collide with British policy, much as it had during the Crimean War. Even a battered Royal Navy would retain older battleships and rebuild, giving Britain tools to intervene. Afghanistan supplies the other major arena for renewed Anglo-Russian rivalry, while Ottoman neutrality keeps the Straits question open rather than settling it through wartime collapse.
Notable Point · 1:08:22-1:09:25
A surviving Ottoman Empire could redirect the next Anglo-Russian crisis
If the Ottoman Empire stayed out of the war after a Royal Navy victory, Russian pressure on Constantinople could make the Straits and Afghanistan the next Anglo-Russian flashpoints.