Battle of Sarikamish 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 outcome was a Russian victory . The Russians gave heavy casualties but still attacking on Ottoman lands . The Ottomans employed a strategy which demanded that their troops be highly mobile and to arrive 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 at the Allahüekber mountains . Background . Russia viewed the Caucasus front as secondary to the Eastern Front and the Eastern Front enjoyed the major share of Russian resources . Russia had taken the fortress of Kars from the Turks during the Russo - Turkish War in 1877 and feared a Caucasus Campaign aimed at retaking Kars and the port of Batum . The Ottoman generalship and organization were negligible compared to the Russians . A Caucasus Campaign would have a distracting effect on Russian forces . The plan found sympathy with German advisors in that a success in this region would mean a diversion of Russian forces to this front from the Polish and Galician fronts . Germany supplied resources and the Ottoman 3rd Army was used in the battle . The immediate strategic goal of the Caucasus Campaign was to retake Artvin , Ardahan , Kars , and the port of Batum . As a longer term goal , head of the Ottoman war ministry İsmail Enver hoped a success would facilitate opening the route to Tbilisi and beyond , with a revolt of Caucasian Muslims . Another Turkish — or rather German — strategic goal was to cut Russian access to its hydrocarbon resources around the Caspian Sea . The Anglo - Persian Oil Company had exclusive rights to work petroleum deposits throughout the Persian Empire except in the provinces of Azerbaijan , Ghilan , Mazendaran , Asdrabad and Khorasan . In 1914 , before the war , the British government had contracts with the company for the supply of fuel oil for the navy . Prelude . The headquarters of the 3rd Army was located in Erzurum under the command of Hasan Izzet . On October 30 , 1914 , the 3rd Army headquarters was informed by High Command in Istanbul about an exchange of fire during the pursuit of " Goeben " and " Breslau " in the Black Sea . High Command expected the Russian Army to cross the Ottoman border at any time . The Bergmann Offensive ( November 2 , 1914 – November 16 , 1914 ) ended with the defeat of Russian troops under Bergmann . The Russian success was along the southern shoulders of the line . Hasan İzzet stabilized the front by letting the Russians inside the Ottoman Empire along the Erzurum - Sarıkamış axis . The war minister , İsmail Enver , devised an operation plan while he was at the Department of War in Istanbul . His strategy was based on German principles copied from Napoleon . Enver ' s plan involved a single envelopment using three Corps . On the right flank , XI Corps would fix the Russians in place and conduct feint attacks . In the center , IX Corps would fight in the direction of Sarıkamış Pass . Assistant Chief of Staff Colonel Hafız Hakkı ’ s X Corps , which was to be on the left flank , would drive to Oltu , cross the Allahüekber Mountains , cut the Kars road , and drive the Russians to the Aras Valley , where the Russian forces would be destroyed by all three Corps attacking in concert . Meanwhile a detachment unit under Stange Bey would conduct highly visible operations to distract and pin Russian units . Success depended on all troops arriving at their specified objectives at the correct moment . The first part of the plan was fulfilled when the Russians concentrated their forces at Sarıkamış and Köprüköy after the Bergmann Offensive . Hasan İzzet was not in favor of an offensive action in the harsh winter conditions . He was planning to remain in a defensive posture by pulling the Russians to Erzurum Fortress and launching a counterattack . Hafız Hakkı was sent to replace the commander of X Corps to energize the 3rd Army . Enver released Hasan İzzet from command on December 14 . İzzet told Enver : We have to consider 8 or 9 days for a large scaled encircling manoeuvre . However , during this time the XI Corps , which will remain at the front , might be jeopardized . Even if we execute the manoeuvre with two corps , they will probably face difficulties against the enemy . Enver wanted his plan executed through a winter offense , and decided to take charge . He left Istanbul with General Fritz Bronsart von Schellendorf and the head of the Operations Office Lieutenant Colonel Otto von Feldmann . They arrived in Erzurum on December 21 . Senior Turkish commanders opposed the forced resignation of Hasan İzzet due to his rejection of the plan . Battle . Battlefield . The war zone was nearly 1 , 250 - 1 , 500 kilometers ( 776 – 932 miles ) wide from the Black Sea to Lake Van , which made military concentration difficult . The operation was executed at a plateau averaging 1 , 500 – 2 , 000 meters ( 5 , 000 – 6 , 500 feet ) above sea level . The main difficulty with the region was the roads , with the transportation infrastructure on the Ottoman side far from adequate . Russia ' s main advantage was the Kars Gyumri Akhalkalaki railway line and a terminal at Sarıkamış . The railway was from the border . The only way for an army to get through the Caucasian heights was the high mountain passes in which lay the cities Kars and Sarıkamış . Beyond , the upper valleys of the Aras River and Euphrates extended westward . Everywhere else the roads were mere tracks which were impenetrable to artillery . The forces were concentrated about on each side of the border at the fortresses of Kars on the Russian side and Erzurum on the Ottoman side . The 3rd Army , under the command of Enver , was composed of the IX , X and XI Corps . 3rd Army ' s headquarters and the IX Corps were located in Erzurum . The X Corps was stationed in Sivas , and the XI Corps was in Elazığ ( Mamuretülaziz ) . A detachment unit under the command of the German Lieutenant Colonel Stange was established from the 3rd Infantry Division , originally stationed in Thrace , to reinforce the offense and pin down the Russians . This detachment unit , known as " Stanke Bey " , consisted of two battalions of the 8th Infantry Regiment and two artillery batteries . The fighting power of 83 , 000 regular troops , reserves , and personnel from the Erzurum Fortress totalled 118 , 000 . The total manpower including transportation units , depot regiments , and military police was 150 , 000 . There were 73 machine guns and 218 artillery pieces . Ottoman forces were inadequately prepared for the campaign . Two divisions of the IX Corps began a long trek with no winter clothing and only dry bread and olives for rations . The Russian Caucasus Army was a well - equipped 100 , 000 troops . However , the Russians redeployed almost half of the Caucasus Army to the Prussian front due to the defeats at the Battle of Tannenberg ( August 23 – September 2 , 1914 ) and the Masurian Lakes ( September 9 – 14 , 1914 ) , leaving behind 65 , 000 troops . To remedy these troop movements Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov - Dashkov consulted with the Mayor of Tbilisi Alexandre Khatsian , the primate of Tbilisi Bishop Mesrop , and the prominent civic leader Dr . Hakob Zavriev about the creation of Armenian volunteer detachments . The Russian Armenian reservists had already been drafted into the regular armed forces and sent to the European theatre . The volunteer units consisted of Armenians , who were not citizens of the empire or obligated to serve . Originally , there were four volunteer battalions created . Along the Kars Oblast , the 3rd battalion commanded by Hamazasp ( Srvandztian ) and 4th battalion by Keri ( Arshak Gavafian ) operated on the front facing Erzurum between Sarıkamış and Oltu . The Commander - in - Chief of the Caucasian Military District ( Caucasian Army ) was Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov - Dashkov . Effective command was in the hands of Infantry General Aleksandr Zakharevich Myshlayevsky , who was originally a military historian graduated from the Imperial General Staff Academy . General Nikolai Yudenich was his Chief of Staff . Initial manoeuvres , December 22 – 28 . Hafız Hakki was at the left flank . His order was to move the IX and X Corps to Sarıkamış and Kars . He contemplated a two step plan : a sudden initial attack and a second step with both Corps proceeding at full speed towards Oltu . He expected the assault at Narman to be concluded by the afternoon of December 22 . Then the Corps would march 30 kilometers a day and arrive in the Kars - Sarıkamış line by December 25 . Two divisions of the Stange regiment had been sent by sea from Constantinople to Trabzon . On early December 22 , Hafız Hakkı ordered his troops to move forward . They engaged in a brief skirmish against a Russian brigade commanded by General Istomin near Kaleboğazı , west of Oltu . The skirmishes at Kaleboğazı ended the next day with the Ottomans capturing four artillery guns , four machine guns , and 1 , 000 Russian troops . On December 23 , Istomin abandoned his position and moved towards Ardahan . Hafız Hakkı sent two divisions to pursue Istomin . At the extreme left wing , the Stange Regiment , which had landed at Trabzon , was to move up the Çoruh valley towards Ardahan and through a pass at altitude . On December 23 , the 92nd Regiment of the 31st Division , believing the unit in front of them to be Russians , opened fire on the flank of the 32nd Division . The ensuing four hour fight in the fog killed 2 , 000 Turkish soldiers . On December 24 , Hafız Hakkı was well beyond Oltu after having marched in just over three days . However , they were not at the Kars - Sarıkamış line as planned . On December 25 , Ottoman troops had been marching for 14 hours under heavy snow . The soldiers were exhausted and hungry ; the fear of frostbite and Russian machine guns was slowly being replaced by absolute indifference . In the early hours of December 26 , at the 18th hour of the march , the 91st Regiment of X Corps came under enemy fire . The Russians left the scene after nearly two hours of fighting . The regiment resumed its march , and soon a snow storm began . Under these conditions the 91st Regiment managed to reach Kosor from Penek ( a distance of just 8 km ) in 21 hours . Other units reached their destinations at a similar rate . While Enver was ordering a night attack , elements of the X Corps were spending the night in the villages of Kosor , Arsenik , and Patsik , which were 40 , 35 and 30 kilometers from Sarıkamış respectively . The Allahüekber Mountains were still to be crossed . Thousands of Turkish soldiers died of hypothermia in the snow . The X Corps suffered a delay of 24 hours in the Barduz Pass , and 4th battalion of the Armenian volunteers lost 600 troops in a battle there . When commander Malyshevsky arrived at army headquarters in the Russian front lines , he gave the order for a general retreat . The process of withdrawing was to start on December 25 and 26 . The Russians evacuated Sarıkamış , leaving two cavalry squadrons and 1 , 000 railwaymen to defend it . Not all Russian commanders were in a state of panic . The Russian army headquarters maintained a solid grip on the situation , with the effective command and control never lost . General Yudenich , taking command of the II Turkestan Corps , decided to put up resistance . On December 28 , the Russians held by the XI Corps at Horasan . The IX Corps were at Sarıkamış . The X Corps were threatening to pierce the Russian front along the Kars railway to the east . The Stange regiment was descending upon Ardahan 60 miles to the northeast . Enver ' s operational plan was looking successful on paper . However , the Ottoman forces were worn out , half starved , and short of guns and ammunition . They had no hope of reaching their objective on time . Enver thought that the Russians were retreating to Kars . It was actually an encircling movement . Assault at Sarıkamış , December 29 . On December 29 , the assault took place . The IX and XI Corps , totaling 12 , 000 men , began to attack Sarıkamış . During bayonet fighting , only 300 men succeeded in breaking into the city . They were driven off , losing 6 , 000 troops . Enver received information that Russians were preparing to encircle his forces with a force of five regiments . On December 31 , the IX Corps was bogged down in the woods outside Sarıkamış and had been reduced to some 2 , 500 men and 14 artillery guns and machine guns . On the same night news arrived to headquarters from Bardız : The 32nd Division had abandoned its positions to the Russians . This meant that the Barduz and Kızılkilise roads were now in Russian hands . The Ottoman forces were inside a semicircle . Enver refused to lose momentum , and ordered his units to continue with the plan . On January 1 , the commander of the XI Corps pressed a frontal attack on Sarıkamış that lasted for the next four days ; after that the fighting began to lose momentum . Snow hindered advancing forces which were supposed to bring relief . The IX Corps melted away on the way to Sarıkamış . One of the divisions lost 40 % of its strength in a snowstorm . The X Corps never came to the rescue . 90 % of X Corps was left on the slopes of the Allahüekber Mountains . The XI Corps was fighting in the Aras region . A regiment entered Çerkezköy , only to be taken prisoner . While the Stange regiment entered Ardahan on schedule , the troops were exhausted . The Russians were poised to encircle the remaining forces . Entrapped in a semicircle , January 2 – 3 . On January 2 , Russian artillery fire caused severe casualties . Enver received two reports ; one was from the chief of staff of the IX Corps , Lieutenant Colonel Şerif , and the other from Colonel Hafız Hakkı . Both reports said that they were too weak to launch another attack . Enver responded to the units : " The offensive is to go on at full strength . " Later Enver focused on securing routes for the retreat instead of insisting on new attacks to take Sarıkamış . He combined the two corps and renamed it the " Left Wing Army . " He promoted Colonel Hafız Hakkı to Brigadier General and gave him command of the Left wing Army . On January 3 , I Corps were driven out to the Choruk Valley , in which direction the remnants of the X Corps were also retreating . Hafız Hakkı was hoping for reinforcements . He did not order his units to retreat as he believed it could be still possible to take Sarıkamış . Meanwhile , around 40 km south , the XI Corps led by Galip was renewing attacks on Russian lines in an attempt to relieve the pressure on the IX and X Corps positioned in front of Sarıkamış . The Russians were advancing and the circle was getting narrower . On January 4 , Hafız Hakkı toured the front line . He told İhsan that the battle was over unless some of the troops on the Allahüekber Mountains were still alive . Retreat , January 4 – 15 . On January 6 , the 3rd Army headquarters found itself under fire . The Russians captured the entire 28th Division . The 17th and 29th Divisions were taken prisoner . Eight senior officers including İhsan surrendered to the Russians . Among the captives , 108 officers and 80 soldiers transferred to Sarıkamış . Hafız Hakkı managed to safely reach the headquarters of X Corps . He was told that IX Corps had fallen into the hands of Russians and ordered a total retreat . On January 7 , the remaining forces began their march towards Erzurum . On January 11 , after four days of travel , Enver and the German officers reached Erzurum . They had stipulated in their original plan that the same route could be taken by the advancing 3rd Army in two days . The transports dispatched from Constantinople which attempted to land troops and provisions at Trabzon were sunk by a Russian Black Sea squadron and warships . The escorts " SMS Goeben " and " TCG Hamidieh " were chased back to the Bosporus . On January 17 , the remnants of the Ottoman forces in the woods outside Sarıkamış were collected , which signaled the end of fighting on this front . The Russian right wing cleared the Choruk Valley . Enver ' s project ended in failure after three weeks of struggle amid high mountains and deep snowdrifts . For a time , at least , Russia was secure from attack in the Caucasus . Hafız Hakkı expected that the Russians would use this success to capture the Erzurum Fortress . The 3rd Army immediately tried to take measures , but this proved to be nearly impossible as all the local reserves were depleted . On February 12 , Hafız Hakkı died of typhus at the age of 36 . Otto Liman von Sanders , who had been asked before , rejected the position again . Mahmut Kamil took the command of the Army . War minister Enver never commanded troops in battle again . Casualties . The Ottoman 3rd Army started with 118 , 000 fighting men . It was reduced to 42 , 000 effective soldiers in January 1915 . There are conflicting figures for Ottoman casualties . Sources do not agree on what sould be included in the final sum . The Turkish official history states 32 , 000 KIA , 15 , 000 died of sickness , 7 , 000 prisoners , 10 , 000 wounded , for some 50 , 000 total casualties . The casualties of the conflict escalated beyond the end of the active warfare period as the most immediate problem confronting the 3rd Army became the typhus epidemic . TAF presents a figure of 60 , 000 casualties throughout the period of the operation . Russians took 7 , 000 POWs including 200 officers . These prisoners were kept under confinement for the next three years in the small town of Varnavino east of Moscow on the Vetluga River . After the final days of the Czarist empire , these soldiers had a chance to return to the ailing Ottoman Empire . Russian losses were 16 , 000 killed in action and 12 , 000 died of sickness , mostly due to frostbite . TAF sources report around 30 , 000 fatalities without giving details on the breakdown of this number . Assessment . Operation . Enver was the strategist of the operation . Hassan Izzet was the tactician who implemented the plan and remedied the shortcomings . The failure was blamed on Enver . Beyond his faulty estimate on how the enveloped Russians would react , his failure was on not keeping adequate operational reserves . He did not have enough field services to alleviate the hardships faced by the soldiers ; he analyzed operational necessities theoretically rather than contextually . Carrying out a military plan in winter was not the major failure of the operation . A valid question is whether or not the plan could have been executed better . It would be hard to exceed the performance of the Turkish soldiers . The IX and X Corps marched with maximum effectiveness given the conditions . The majority of the units managed to move to the correct positions . In respect to the inflicted Russian casualties , they should be credited . The communication and cooperation between the Ottoman units failed ; forces functioned as separate units rather than in mutually supporting engagements as originally planned . There was not a sufficient operational reserve established for the size of engagement . The conditions for the Ottoman forces could have been better , if Enver paused the operations on December 24 , and had not moved beyond the Oltu line with the artillery pieces . The decision to take the heavy artillery rather than short range smaller caliber guns beyond the Oltu line was a failure , as the forces faced detachment units with better mobility . The plan had a faulty estimate of the size of the Russian forces . The commanders of the X and IX Corps were replaced with men of little or no experience at the operational level . The chief of staff of IX Corps Köprülülü Şerif Bey said , " . . troops fought on the top of tall mountains under snowstorm against the artillery of an enemy of centuries and they were completely annihilated , but not a single Turkish soldier has ever turned his back to his nation . . . In Sarikamish , there was no panic . ” Light infantry . 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 " . Armenians . The relationship between the Armenians and the Ottoman Empire had already started to deteriorate after numerous massacres in eastern Anatolia during the 1890s . During July 1914 there were negotiations between the Committee of Union and Progress ( CUP ) and Armenian intelligentsia at the Armenian congress at Erzurum . The public conclusion of this congress was " ostensibly conducted to peaceful advance Armenian demands by legitimate means " . The CUP regarded the congress as the seedbed for establishing insurrection . Historian Erikson concluded that after this meeting the CUP was convinced to pursue strong Armenian — Russian links with detailed plans to detach the region from the Ottoman Empire . Martin Gilbert in " The First World War " states that in search of allies against the Turks , Nicholas II of Russia visited the " Caucasus front " on December 30 , and told the head of the Armenian Church that " a most brilliant future awaits the Armenians " . The head of the Armenian Church along with the president of the Armenian National Council of Tiflis Alexander Khatisyan received the Tsar , who said : As a result of the Tsar ' s speech , the Ottoman Empire saw their Armenian minority as a potential source of fifth column activity , treachery , and disloyalty , and did nothing to dampen anti - Armenian feeling among its populace . The Ottoman government claimed that it had a legitimate reason as a sovereign state to protect itself from an actual or projected Armenian uprising in favor of Russia or a Western Allied invasion of Ottoman territory . On his return to Constantinople , Enver blamed his failure on the actions of the region ' s local Armenians . Repressive measures taken against the empire ' s Armenian population were an early stage of the Armenian Genocide .