Battle of Erzurum (1916)

Erzurum Offensive
Russian troops holding captured standards at Erzurum
Date 10 January 1916 – 16 February 1916 Location Erzurum, Ottoman Empire Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Nikolai Yudenich	Abdul Kerim Pasha
Strength
Russian Caucasus Army 290,000 infantry 35,000 cavalry 150 trucks 20 planes	Third Army 134,000
Casualties and losses
21,000	35,000

The Erzurum Offensive (Russian: Эрзурумское сражение Erzurumskoe srazhenie ;Turkish: Erzurum Taarruzu) or Battle of Erzurum (Turkish: Erzurum Muharebesi) was a major winter offensive by the Imperial Russian Army on the Caucasus Campaign, during the First World War, that led to the capture of the strategic city of Erzurum. Ottoman forces, in winter quarters, suffered a series of unexpected reverses that led to a Russian victory.

After the defeat at the Battle of Sarikamish, the Ottomans tried to reorganize. The Armenian Genocide made supplying their forces a problem. Trade by Armenians, which had supplied the Ottoman Army, was disrupted. Dismissal of Armenian soldiers into labor battalions and their massacres further worsened the problem. However, throughout 1915, the northern sectors of this front remained quiet.

At the same time, the end of the Gallipoli Campaign would free up considerable Turkish soldiers. Nikolai Yudenich, commander of the Russian Caucasus Army, knew this and prepared to launch an offensive. He hoped to take the main fortress of Erzurum in the area followed by Trabzon. It was a difficult campaign as Erzurum was protected by a number of forts in the mountains.

Eight of these divisions were designated for the Caucasus Front. Yudenich believed he could launch an offensive before these divisions could be ready for battle.

The Russians had 130,000 infantry and 35,000 cavalry. Further, they had 160,000 troops in reserve, 150 supply trucks, and 20 planes of the Siberian Air Squadron.

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