page_title: Battle of Sarikamish
section_title: Light infantry
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Sarikamish / Assessment / Operation / Light infantry
caption_attribution_description: Battalion of en:Armenian volunteer units pictured in 1914
context_page_description: The Battle of Sarikamish was an engagement between the Russian and Ottoman empires during World War I. It took place from December 22, 1914, to January 17, 1915, as part of the Caucasus Campaign.
  The battle resulted in a Russian victory. The Ottomans employed a strategy which demanded highly mobile troops, capable of arriving at specified objectives at precise times. This approach was based both on German and Napoleonic tactics. The Ottoman troops, ill-prepared for winter conditions, suffered major casualties in the Allahuekber Mountains. Around 25,000 Ottoman soldiers froze to death before the start of the battle.
  After the battle, Ottoman Minister of War Enver Pasha, who had planned the Ottoman strategy in Sarikamish, publicly blamed his defeat on the Armenians and the battle served as a prelude to the Armenian Genocide.
context_section_description: During the battle, light infantry was used by both sides. The detachment of Armenian volunteer units on the Russian side, and the detachment I Corps unit under the control of Stange, provided a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying of the enemy advance or preventing them escaping.
  The Armenian detachment units were credited in no small measure for the success of the Russian forces, as they were natives of the region, adjusted to the climatic conditions, familiar with every road and mountain path, and were fierce and resolute in combat. The Armenian units were small, mobile, and well adapted to the semi-guerrilla warfare. They did good work as scouts and took part in many severe engagements. Armenian detachment battalions challenged the Ottoman operations during critical times: "the delay enabled the Russian Caucasus Army to concentrate sufficient force around Sarikamish".
caption: 3rd battalion and cavalry unit commanded by Hamazasp (Srvandztian)[19]
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