A window of opportunity 1905

Turkey 1948
Turkey had tried to renew its airforce by imports from Germany which had worked to some degree but along the Navy it was the weak service.
Seizing part of Caucasus had been something of a gamble and it had as predicted annoyed the British. Though as Baku hadn't been threatened the British had laid low which had prompted an outburst on Mosul – as in why not go the whole way. Turkey still claimed Mosul as part of Turkey even if the Treaty of Lausanne had seen it become part of the British Mandate Area in the Middle East. Even if parts of the British Army in India had been retreated to the Persian Gulf area no more British opposition had been encountered.

Unknown to the Turks and the British - the latter initially - the Italians were working behind the scenes; during the Hungarian – Romanian War Italy along the British and Romanians had regularly complained on the Turks closing the Straits.
Now the Italians had sent feelers to Whitehall of a possible Italian – Greek intervention in Turkey; the feeler were well received at Whitehall as a distraction of Turkey from Mosul.

At the same time the Turks had raised the question of the Sanjak of Alexandretta/Hatay and demanded its separation from the French Mandate of Syria which the French rejected.
France also contacted Whitehall rejecting the idea of Italy intervening in Turkey though the British argued that it would diminish Italian activity in Spain and serve to have some control over Italy's doings.
Thus the Turks had really painted themselves into a corner.
The French mobilized its colonial forces in the Syrian Mandate Area and the British moved a couple of Brigades up the Tigris River to Mosul determined to defend the oil fields.
The Italians had strengthened its troops in the Dodecanese Islands and enlarged the airfields there.
The Greeks were buying more modern military equipment in Italy.

Sane heads in Turkey were being overlooked and Government kept speawing poison in all directions including demanding the return of the Dodecanese Islands from Italy.
At the close of the year it seemed only a matter of time before the powder keg would explode.

The Turks really have a go at everybody; what seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime..

France 1948
It wasn't just in the Far East and Syria that the French were stretched at this time; the policy in North Africa of making northern Algeria French Departements had seriously alieniated the local Berber and Arabs and these were taking up arms against the French oppressors who were forcibly resettling them south of those areas.
More French Army units had to be mobilized to secure the north of Algeria.

India
The tension between the mainly Hindu and Islam confessors had made for violence to erupt with the resultant killings in the 100,000's before the Indian Army had been able to make safe passages for minority peoples from the majority areas to be able to move off in relative safety; barring infighting within the former Indian Army between Hindu and Islam confessing units to fight it out as part of the chaos.

Turkish War/Third Balkan War 1949
The British and French had finally tired with the demands of the Turk Government regarding Mosul and Sanjak of Alexandretta and demanded a Turkish official renouncement of any claims to the two as well as lifting the blockade of the Straites however random it being; as the Turk Government refused the British and French declared war on Turkey and blockaded the western end of the Straits and in cooperation with the Greek and Italian Navies blockaded the Aegean Ports, the French Navy blockaded Turkish Mediterranean ports.
Unknown why the Turkish Battleship Yavuz along two old Cruisers left Istanbul and sortied through the Dardanelles to attack the British Sqadron on guard; the British were taken by surprise though sustained no losses; a Turk Light Cruiser sunk before the Turk ships left the scene.

Following this incident the French Army in Syria and the British Division at Mosul moved pickets forward across the border to watch Turk Army movements.
At this time Greek and Italian Airforces attacked Turk Airbases in Western Anatolia destroying the Turk Airforce in that part of the country.
Shortly following the Italian Army crossed the sea from Kos to Bodrum and from Rhodes to Marmaris landing a Brigade at each plade but a main Division size landing occuring at the mouth of the Menander River north of Bodrum with the aim at moving up the river valley to capture Aydin.
The Greeks moved a Brigade from Chios to Cesme across the narrow strait and another from Mytiline to Fada both with the intention of marching on Izmir in a pincer movement.
The Greek participation in Anatolia was soon hampered by the Bulgarian declaration of war having allied to the Turks from fear that the Greeks and Italians would capture Istanbul and dominate the Straits which forced the Greeks to deploy a sizeable Army in Macedonia to cover the rear of the one in Thrace facing the Turks and Salonika.

Engaged in a full scale war it didn't want but should have known to be the result of its policy the Turks hurried to enter negotiations with Britain and France entering an addendum to the Treaty of Lausanne that ended that part of the War; ending any claims to Mosul and the Sanjak of Alexandretta and opening the Straits to non-bellingerent shipping.
The Turks then moved the bulk of its troops west to face the Italo - Greek invasion.
In Thrake the fighting was much a trench war along the Maritza River on the Greek – Turkish Border and in the Rhodope Mountains on the Greek – Bulgarian Border. Being equal in equipment and troops the front mostly stayed static though the Bulgarians had tried moving on Thessalonika in their opening offensive to be stopped by the Greeks throwing everything at them desperately though losing the main railway going east towards the Turk border and had to ship supplies to Thrake for the remainder of the War.
In Anatolia things went much diffrently due to the modern Italian Army and Airforce and not quite so modern Greek Airforce taking a heavy toll on the Turks mainly during the redeployment from the east but also in the amount of weapons being delivered by the Italian Airforce in support of the Army which to a large degree offset Turk weapons positions in the mountains and allowing the Italians moving fast up the Menander River to Aydin and capture the city.
The Greeks forged their way forward towards Izmir.

Germany 1949
Having experienced the annoyance of being cut off from Romanian oil because of Turk activity and wanting to free itself from such difficulties chose to resume payments to the USA of reparations of the Great War.
Not wanting to lean onto Italy Germany chose to do the unexpected; it also entered negotiations with Czechoslovakia and Austria regarding trade and security. Germany partially mobilized Wehrkreis V Stuttgard, VII Munich and XII Nürnberg because of the situation in the Balkans.
The European world had become a worrying place to be in especially when You in regard to the contested areas were quite inaccessed were situated.
Germany needed to make alliances and access to needed raw materials – not least oil and was going to swallow its pride to get it.

On the cultural side Berlin as Copenhagen enjoyed their influx of American Jazz-musicians which had taken off post the Great War as being the New Fad that every European wanted to experience finding a large audience craving for their rhythm.
Also Blues musicians found their way to Europe due to the ongoing race-segregated society in the USA as a way for black musicians to have a interested and responsive audience because of their performance. They found a very attentive audience in Germany with its founding history in Romanticism and the memory of starvation and hardship during and post Great War. Blues became a new musical language to unite generations of Germans; it was often heard in Beer-Gardens out of Oktober-season and as such had much attraction; the combination of good old days and not so good, of remembrance and sorrow but also past greatness during the late Empire held it all together.