Evening star., 1915-01-03
SLAVS ROUT TURKS
| AND ENVER PASKA
FLEES, 7|FL|S SAYS
Ottoman Attack From Three
| Sides, Forcing Muscovites
First to Retreat.
| REINFORCED, RUSSIANS
SLAUGHTER THE ENEMY
Foes Fight Fiercely in Snow, But
Sultan's Army Is Overwhelmed
and Crushed.
JAMMED INTO NARROW PASS
Lose Thousands of Men and Aban-
don Great Quantities Of Mill
tary Supplies in Flight,
Says Petrograd.
REINFORCED, RUSSIANS
SLAUGHTER THE ENEMY
JAMMED INTO NARROW PASS

RUSSIAN FIELD HEADQUARTERS.
Tiflis. via Petrograd, January 2.-Enver
Pasha, the Turkish minister of war,
commanding the Turkish troops invad-
ing the Transcaucasus, has been de-
feated and has fed from the 'front.'
leaving Gen. Won Sanders, a German,
and Shukir Pasha to command the de-
feated army, and bear the brunt OF the
rear guard fighting. The Turks were
routed and driven back in great dis
order. They left great quantities OF
war materials behind.
The Turks made a forced march
through a deep snow in an effort to
deliver a surprise attack against Sarl-
kamisch before reinforcements could
arrive. The battle opened with both
sides fighting in snow to their armpits.
The Turks were plentifully supplied
with ammunition and they must have
exercised superhuman exertions to haul
it to the front through the enormous
snowdrifts. At the outset the Russians
were compelled to fall back. fighting
all the way, and the Turks were able
to occupy Sarikamisch, but Russian
reinforcements came up and the fight
was renewed.
Slaughter the Turks.
The Turks attacked from three Sides
having only a narrow deile in the rear
of their lines for retirement, but the
fresh Russian troops proved superior
and the Turks were driven back into
the parrow pass. The Turkish SOL
diers. being jammed in the narrow
c1o Nv
thousands.
On December q two Turkish columns
were directed toward Ardagan, 100
miles east Of the frontier. One force
went through Ardanuch and the other
marched from Olti pass, eighty miles
further to the south. third column
crossed the frontier at Zivin, on the
and took a village on the upper Sari-
kamysh Their position there was under
constant artillery fire and both forces
frequently resorted to bayonet charges,
ending in Turkish defeat.
The Russians on December 81 stopped
the Turkish advance at the River
Laursin, eighteen miles to the south
ward, where fighting continued for
possession of the village Of Merdernek.
At the same time battle was pro-
crossing close to and west of Ardagan
between the Russian garrison and a
Turkish column advancing from Ar
danuch.
On December 20 these Turks occu-
pied the village of Bogdata. eight
miles southwest of Ardagan. and the
battle was being continued the next
day at a point between the village and
the city itself.
Russian Staff Report.
The following statement from the
general staff of the army of the Cau-
casus was given out here last night:
Fierce encounters have taken place
around Sarintamysh Gin Transcaucasia,
thirty-f1ve miles southwest of Kars).
I'VE have stopped the Turkish often
sive toward Olti (fifty-five miles west
of Kars).
I'm the region of Ardahan Ga forti-
fled town forty-ffve miles northwest of
kars) the situation is unchanged. and
it is not modified on the other fronts"
Reveals Turkish Diplomacy.
Sergius Sazonof. Russian minister for
foreign affairs, today had published IN
Orange Book, which deals with the
events preceding the Turkish attacks
on Russian seaports in the Black sea-
The Orange Book contains ninety
eight documents and Is intended to
throw light on what is termed in a
summary of the contents issued through
the Petrograd Telegraph Agency "the
clandestine and obstinate methods en-
ployed by Austro- German diplomacy in
forcing the Turkish government re-
luctantly to war against the triple
entente powers
The documents in the book" it is
stated in the official summary, gave
evidence that the independence of the
ottoman empire was already imperilad
when the German military mission was
esta blished in Constantinople. 1t van
ioh 6sAfv tta1N
German cruisers Goeben and Breslau