The Oriental Not So Express

   General Alexander Fok had spent the earlier part of the war in the far eastern region of the Russian Empire. He had also served in Manchuria and eventually Korea, where he commanded the Sixth Siberian Rifles. So far, the Russo-American army had fought the Japanese to a stand still just south of the Yalu River. With the presence of the American fleet at Port Arthur, the British were having a hard time providing the Japanese army with everything they needed on the peninsula. It limited the size and scope of Japanese operations and, as such, they never could build up a large enough presence to overwhelm Entente Forces.
Back in St Petersburg, Emperor Nicholas did not quite see the American Navy as the principle author of victory in Korea. He did not seem to even understand that what had been achieved there was not even a victory, but rather, just one more stalemate. No matter the military situation, the stalemate was all that was required to allow continued domination of the Chinese Emperor Gangxhu and, by extension, Russian control of Manchuria and American dominance in Northern China. It was victory enough for Nicholas.
It was also a sideshow and Nicholas did seem to grasp this much. He at least understood that victory in the overall war would greatly depend on the outcome of the campaign in the Balkans. Nicholas reasoned that since his forces had done so well in the east then, an Eastern General should command his troops on the southern front. That was how Fok was promoted and posted to Bucharest where he was given overall command of all forces in the region. The campaign had bogged down and Fok was expected to get things moving again.
Fok was not met with a total disaster nor were his prospects bleak. The Balkans had not degenerated into an elongated siege line as had all of the other fronts. There was still room to maneuver and the Russian Army still had most of their potential foes outnumbered and gunned. There was also a larger plan at work that involved Russia’s principle allies in the theater, those being Italy and France. If the overall strategy succeeded then Constantinople would fall. This would allow the naval power of Russia to combine with those of France and Italy. Britain could not possibly hope to hold that back and the entire Mediterranean would belong to the Entente. Fok had good reason to be optimistic.
When Italy found itself at war with the wrong side, they did not seem to take very long to be confused about what had happened on the diplomatic front. Many in the kingdom realized that it did not really matter. They only needed to be in the war to carry out their goals and the side they were on was only a technicality. The Italians wasted no time changing their war plans to fit the new situation and quickly launched an attack on Trieste in the Austrian Hungarian Empire. It was a disaster.
The Austrians mauled some of Italy’s best troops. Soon Trieste was reinforced with not just other units from the Hapsburg empire, but also, a flood of fresh German conscripts and some of the reserve divisions from Alsace Lorraine. Given the terrain on the Austro-Italian border, the fighting quickly bogged down and both sides seemed content to leave the front be.
It still forced Italy to do something they had not really wished to do and would be unpopular for the entire war. They had to invite French troops into Italy in order to help defend their northern border. A few months later a French Army was also occupying southern Italy, near ports, where they awaited transport across the Ionian Sea. The plan was to move this army, along with large numbers of Italian soldiers, to Albania. Once there they could move inland and link up with Fok’s Russian army. Nothing that the allies had in the region would be able to stop them. Constantinople would fall.
The allies were not unaware of the danger they faced. They were also very aware of the other problem that an Entente landing in Albania would bring about. Greece had remained on the sidelines, so far. This was not a sign of peaceful intentions and everyone knew it. The Greeks were itching for an excuse to go to war with Turkey. The only thing holding them back was the stalemate just north of their border, in Serbia. If the Entente, also at war with Turkey, could gain the upper hand then there would be very little to hold back the Greeks.
The situation was already so close that anything could tip the scales including the very small Greek military. Still, this was not the primary concern of Kitchener in Egypt. If Greece joined the Entente then their ports and railroads, that led directly to the front, would become available to the French and Italians. This would give them a vastly superior position compared to Albania where they would have to use roads that barely deserved the name.
Once Tirpitz returned to Egypt, to command the naval part of allied operations, both he and Kitchener were in complete agreement. If they reacted to the enemy moves then they would loose. That left them with only one choice and this was to go over on the offensive. The allies would have to seize Albania first. Roberts, who was still stalled in front of Belgrade, would have to get around the city somehow, and then it would need to be the allies who linked up first. This would turn the tables on the situation. There was only one monumental problem standing in the way. It was the Italian Navy.