Caucasus Campaign

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Caucasus Front
Part of Middle Eastern theatre (World War I) alternatively Caucasian Front (WWI)
The limit of the Russian advance into Anatolia
Date October 24, 1914 - October 30, 1918 Location Eastern Anatolia Result Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Treaty of Poti, Treaty of Batum Territorial changes Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus Jangal movement of Gilan	Russia United Kingdom Democratic Republic of Armenia Central Caspian Dictatorship Baku Commune	German Empire Democratic Republic of Georgia
Commanders
Enver Pasha Vehip Pasha Kerim Pasha Mustafa Kemal Kazım Karabekir Mirza Kuchak Khan	Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov Nikolai Yudenich Andranik Ozanian Drastamat Kanayan Garegin Njdeh Movses Silikyan Stepan Shahumyan Lionel Dunsterville	von Kressenstein
Strength
•3rd Army •2nd Army •Army of Islam •Jangal movement of Gilan	•Russian Caucasus Army •Detachment Armenian volunteer units •Dunsterforce •Armenian conscripts of the Central Caspian Dictatorship •Armenian conscripts of the Republic of Mountainous Armenia	*German Expeditionary force

The Caucasus Campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, later including Armenia, Central Caspian Dictatorship, and the UK as part of the Middle Eastern theatre or alternatively part of the Caucasian Front during World War I. The Caucasus Campaign extended from the Caucasus to the Eastern Anatolia reaching as far as Trabzon, Bitlis, Muş and Van. The land warfare was accompanied by the attacks by the Russian navy in the Black Sea Region of Ottoman Empire.

The Russian advance on the Caucasus front was halted by the Russian Revolution on February 23 1917, and the Russian Caucasus Army at the front line was replaced by the forces of the newly-established Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA), comprising the Armenian volunteer units and the Armenian irregular units. During 1918 the region also saw the establishment of the Central Caspian Dictatorship, the Republic of Mountainous Armenia and an Allied force named Dunsterforce composed of elite troops drawn from the Mesopotamian and Western Fronts.

The Caucasus Campaign terminated between the Ottoman Empire and Russia with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918 and between the Ottoman Empire and the DRA with the Treaty of Batum on June 4, 1918. However, the armed conflicts extended as Ottoman Empire continued to engage with Central Caspian Dictatorship, Republic of Mountainous Armenia and Dunsterforce of British Empire until the Armistice of Mudros on October 30 1918.

[edit] Background

The main objective of the Ottoman Empire was the recovery of its territories in Eastern Anatolia lost during the prior Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78. The strategic goals of the Caucasus Campaign for Ottoman Forces was to retake Artvin, Ardahan, Kars, and the port of Batum.^[1] A success in this region would mean a diversion of Russian forces to this front from the Polish and Galician fronts.^[2] A Caucasus Campaign would have a distracting effect on Russian forces. The plan found sympathy with German advisory. Germany supplied the missing resources and the Ottoman 3rd Army's manpower was used to achieve the desired distraction.^[3] War Minister Enver Pasha hoped a success would facilitate opening the route to Tbilisi and beyond with a revolt of Caucasian Muslims.^[2] The Ottoman — or rather German — strategic goal was to cut off Russian access to the hydrocarbon resources around the Caspian Sea.^[4]

Russia viewed the Caucasus Front as secondary to the Eastern Front. The Eastern Front had the most Russian manpower and resources. Russia had taken the fortress of Kars from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War in 1877 and feared a campaign into the Caucasus aimed at retaking Kars and the port of Batum. In March 1915, when the Russian foreign minister Sergey Sazonov in a meeting with British ambassador George Buchanan and French Ambassador Maurice Paléologue stated that a lasting postwar settlement demanded full Russian possession of the capital city of the Ottoman Empire, the straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, southern Thrace up to the Enos-Midia line as well as parts of the Black Sea coast of Anatolia between the Bosphorus, the Sakarya River and an undetermined point near the Bay of Izmit. The Russian Tsarist regime planned to replace the Muslim population of Northern Anatolia and Istanbul with more reliable Cossack settlers ^[5]

Armenian national liberation movement sought to establish First Republic of Armenia. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation achieved this goal with the establishment of the internationally recognized Democratic Republic of Armenia in May 1918. Also as early as 1915, the Administration for Western Armenia and later Republic of Mountainous Armenia were Armenian controlled entities, while Centrocaspian Dictatorship was established with Armenian participation. None of these entities were long lasting.

The British worked with Russian revolutionary troops to prevent Enver Pasha's goal of establishing an independent Transcaucasia. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was in the proposed path of Ottoman ambitions, which owned the exclusive rights to work petroleum deposits throughout the Persian Empire except in the provinces of Azerbaijan, Ghilan, Mazendaran, Asdrabad and Khorasan.^[4] In 1914, before the war, the British government had contracted with the company for the supply of oil-fuel for the navy.^[4]

[edit] Forces

The Ottomans had one army based in the region, the 3^rd Army. In 1916 they sent reinforcements and formed the 2^nd Army. The Ottoman generalship and organization were negligible compared to the Allies.^[3] At the beginning of the conflict, Ottoman combined forces estimate ranged from 100,000 to 190,000 men. Many were poorly equipped.

Before the war, Russia had Russian Caucasus Army with 100,000 men under the nominal command of the Governor General of the Caucasus Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov. The real commander was his chief of staff General Nikolai Yudenich. At the onset of the Caucasus Campaign, the Russians had to redeploy almost half of their forces to the Prussian front due to the defeats at the Battle of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes, leaving behind just 60,000 troops. The Russian Caucasus Army dissipated in 1917 as the regular Russian regiments deserted the frontline after the revolution.

In the summer of 1914, Armenian volunteer units were established under the Russian Armed forces. As the Russian Armenian conscripts were already send to the European Front, this force was uniquely established from Armenians that were not Russian Armenian or the ones thet were not obligated to serve. Initially they had 20,000 men, but throughout the conflicts it was reported that their number increased. They accompanied the Russian Caucasus Army as detachment units. At the turn of 1916, Nikolai Yudenich decided to either merge these units under the Russian Caucasus Army or dismantle them.

Armenian national liberation movement commanded the Armenian Fedayee (Armenian: Ֆէտայի) during these conflicts. These civilian forces generally organized around famous leaders, such as Murad of Sebastia (Armenian: Սեբաստացի Մուրատ). These were generally refereed as Armenian partisian guerrilla detachments. Boghos Nubar the president of the Armenian National Assembly declared to Paris Peace Conference, 1919 that they accompanied the main Armenian units. The line from Van to Erzincan was organized through these units.

In December 1917, The Dashnaks of Armenian national liberation movement through the Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians established a military force. The corps realigned themselves under the command of General Tovmas Nazarbekian. Drastamat Kanayan was assigned as a civilian commissioner. The frontline had three main divisions: Movses Silikyan, Adrianic and Mikhail Areshian. Another regular unit was under Colonel Korganian. The line from Van to Erzincan was organized through these units. It was mentioned that Adrianic had 150,000 men.^[6] After declaration of the Democratic Republic of Armenia Nazarbekian became the first Commander-in-chief of the whole Armenian state.

There were Kurdish militia in the region. They reportedly sided with both the Ottoman and Russian forces.

Lionel Dunsterville was appointed in 1917 to lead an Allied force of under 1,000 Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand elite troops, accompanied by armored cars.

Forces engaged at the Campaign

1914, Russian Caucasus Army at Sarikamish

1914, Staff of Armenian volunteer units

3rd Army with winter gear

Kurdish militia

[edit] Operations

[edit] Prelude

During July 1914, there were negotiations between the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and Armenians at the Armenian congress at Erzurum. The public conclusion of this congress was "Ostensibly conducted to peaceful advance Armenian demands by legitimate means".^[7] The CUP regarded the congress as the seedbed for establishing the decision of insurrection.^[8] Historian Erikson concluded that after this meeting the CUP was convinced on strong Armenian — Russian links with detailed plans aimed at the detachment of the region from the Ottoman Empire.^[8]

[edit] 1914

Battles of 1914

On November 1, the Bergmann Offensive started. The official Russian declaration of war, came on November 2nd. The Russians crossed the Russo-Turkish frontier first, and planned to capture Doğubeyazıt and Köprüköy^[3]. The established force for this goal was 25 infantry battalions, 37 cavalry units and 120 artillery guns. It had two wings. On the right wing, the Russian I Corps crossed the border and moved from Sarıkamış toward the direction of Köprüköy. By November 4, they reached Köprüköy. On the left wing, the Russian IV Corps moved from Yerevan to Pasinler Plains. The commander of 3rd Army, Hasan Izzet was not in favor of an offensive action in the harsh winter conditions. His plan to remain in defense to launch a counter attack at the right time was overridden by the War Minister Enver Pasha. On November 7, the 3rd Army commenced its offensive with the participation of the XI Corps and all cavalry units supported by Kurdish Tribal Regiment. The cavalry failed to execute the encircling and the Kurdish Tribal Regiment proved to be unreliable. After the withdrawal of the 18th and the 30th Divisions, Russians gained territory. Ottoman forces managed to maintain their positions at Köprüköy. By 12 November, the IX Corps, which was commanded by Ahmet Fevzi Pasha, reinforced the XI Corps on its left flank and with the support of the cavalry the 3rd Army began to push the Russians back. After the Azap Offensive between November 17 to 20, the 3rd Infantry Regiment managed to invade Köprüköy. The Russian success was along the southern shoulders of the offensive where Armenian volunteers were effective and took Karaköse and Doğubeyazıt.^[9] Doğubeyazıt was the northern neighbor of Van Province. By the end of November, the front had stabilized with the Russians clinging to a salient 25 kilometres into Turkish territory along the Erzurum-Sarıkamış axis. Ottoman casualties were high: 9000 killed, 3000 taken prisoner and 2800 deserters.

On December 22, the Battle of Sarikamish, 3rd Army received the order to advance towards Kars. In the face of the 3rd Army's advance Governor Vorontsov planned to pull the Russian Caucasus Army back to Kars. Yudenich ignored Vorontsov's wishes to withdraw. He stayed to defend Sarikamis. 3rd Army was in Ardahan on January 1. The German military mission disagree on launching an attack on this territory at this time ^[3], since the German Army could give better support during spring and summer. Enver Pasha assumed the personal command of the 3rd Army and ordered it into battle against the Russian troops. The result was a stunning defeat for the Ottoman 3rd Army. Only 10% of the 3rd army managed to retreat back to its starting position. Enver gave up command of the 3rd army. The Armenian detachment units credited no small measure of the success which attended by the Russian forces; they challenged the Ottoman operations during the critical times: "the delay enabled the Russian Caucasus Army to concentrate sufficient force around Sarikamish".^[10] Enver blamed this defeat on Armenians living in the region actively siding with the Russia after returned to Constantinople.^[11]

On December 25 1914, the Battle of Ardahan operation commanded by German Lt. Col. August Stange to capture the city Ardahan and cut the Russian support link to Sarikamish-Kars line was starred later Enver modified the original plan toward supporting the Battle of Sarikamish.^[12]. This unit removed from adjacent regions on January 18 1915. On 1 March 1915, the unit went back to its initial line. The unit managed to resist the Russians for more than two months in the region.

[edit] 1915

Battles of 1915, 1916

In February, General Yudenich was praised for the victory and promoted to command over all Russian troops in the Caucasus. On 12 February, commander of the 3rd Army Hafız Hakkı died of typhus and was replaced by Brigadier General Mahmut Kamil Paşa. Kamil’s took the task pf putting the army in order. The Ottoman military planner at the capital scared from the Russians advancing deeper into the mainland, after Battle of Sarikamish. The Allies (British and France) asked Russia to relieve the pressure on Western front. Russia asked the Allies to relieve pressure in the Caucasus by a naval attack. The operations in the Black Sea gave the chance to replenish Russian forces. Also operations at the Battle of Gallipoli which was aimed at capturing the Ottoman capital helped the Russian forces in this front.^[3]

In March 1915, the completely devastated 3rd army received new blood by the reinforcements from the 1st and 2nd Armies although these supplements were no stronger than a division. The Battle of Gallipoli was draining every Ottoman resource. During the March strategic situation was stable. Russians were keeping the Turkish towns of Eleşkirt, Ağrı and Doğubeyazıt in the south. There were small skirmishes and Ottomans simply did not have enough forces to secure the whole East Anatolian region.

Van Resistance, Armenian troops holding a defense line against Turkish forces in the walled city of Van in May 1915

On April 20, the Van Resistance began. The Armenian defenders protecting 30,000 residents and 15,000 refugees with 1,500 able bodied riflemen who were supplied with 300 rifles and 1,000 pistols and antique weapons. The conflicted lasted until the General Yudenich came to rescue them. General Yudenich began an offensive (May 6) into Ottoman territory. One wing of this offensive headed towards Lake Van to relieve the Armenian residents of the Van Resistance. A brigade of Trans-Baikal Cossacks under General Trukhin, and some Armenian volunteers towards Van. ^[2] On May 21, General Yudenich arrived to the city, received the keys to the city and citadel and confirmed the Armenian provisional government in office, with Aram Manougian as governor. The Fedayee turned over the city of Van. With Van secure, fighting shifted farther west for the rest of the summer.^[2]

Resistance of Murad of Sebastia and his comrades occurred at Sivas during 1915. Later Mourat lead his volunteers at Battle of Erzinjan (1916) and died in at the Battle of Baku (1919)^[10]

On May 6, the Russians began to advance through the Tortum Valley towards Erzurum with the changes of weather conditions to milder. The Ottoman 29th and 30th Divisions managed to stop this assault. the X Corps counter-attacked the Russian forces. But the southern part of the Caucasian theatre of war, Turkish forces were not as successful as they have been in the north. On 17 May, Russian forces entered the town of Van and they continued to push back the Turkish units. Malazgirt had already fallen on 11 May. Supply lines were being cut, as the Armenian rebellions were causing additional difficulties behind Turkish lines. The region south of Lake Van was extremely vulnerable. The Turks had to defend a line of more than 600 kilometers with only 50,000 men and 130 pieces of artillery. They were clearly outnumbered by the Russians. The region was mountainous, thus difficult to defend.

On May 27, Tehcir Law, during the Russian offensive, the interior minister of Talat Pasha, ordered a forced deportation of all Armenians out of the region, and to the south with the Tehcir Law to the Syria and Mosul. Talat Pasha as early as April 24, order on April 24 (known by the Armenians as the Red Sunday), claimed that the Armenians in this region organized under the leadership of Russians and rebeled against his government, as they had shown in their securing of Van for Armenian nationalists. The Armenian's of the Van Resistance and others which were under the Russian occupation were spared from these deportations, since they had rebelled.

By June 13, Russian units were back to their starting line. On June 19, the Russians launched another offensive. This time northwest to Lake Van. The Russians, under Oganovski, launched an offense into the hills west of Malazgirt. The Russians underestimated the size of the Turkish arm, and were surprised by a large Turkish force at the counterattack. Russian forces began to march from Malazgirt towards Muş. However, they were not aware of the fact that the Turkish IX Corps, together with the 17th and 28th Divisions was moving to Muş as well. Although the conditions were extremely difficult, the Turks were executing a very efficient operation of reorganization. 1st and 5th Expeditionary Forces were positioned to the south of the Russian offensive force and a “Right Wing Group” was established under the command of Brigadier General Abdülkerim Paşa. This group was independent from the Third Army and Abdülkerim Paşa was directly reporting to Enver Paşa. The Turks were ready to face the Russian attacks.

On September 24, Grand Duke Nicholas was promoted to being charge of all Russian forces in the Caucasus. In reality, he was removed from being Supreme Commander of the Russian Caucasus Army which was the highest executive position [actual conduct of the war] for the Caucasus Campaign. His replacement was General Yudenich. This front was quiet from October till the end of the year. Yudenich used this period to reorganize. At the turn of the 1916, Russian forces reached a level of 200,000 men and 380 pieces of artillery. On the other side the situation was very different; the Ottoman High Command failed to make up the losses during this period. The war in Gallipoli was sucking all the resources and manpower. The IX, X and XI Corps could not be reinforced and in addition to that the 1st and 5th Expeditionary Forces were deployed to Mesopotamia. Enver Pasha, after not achieving his ambitions or recognizing the dire situation on other fronts, decided that the region was of secondary importance. As of January 1916, Ottoman forces were 126,000 men, only 50,539 being combat. There were 74,057 rifles, 77 machine guns and 180 pieces of artillery. Ottoman force in Caucasus Campaign was big on the paper, but not on the ground. The Ottomans assumed that the Russians would not bother to attack. This assumption turned out to be false.

[edit] 1916

Mustafa Kemal at Bitlis

In early January, Yudenich secretly left its winter quarters and marched towards the major Ottoman fort at Erzurum. The winter is not normally a time for military activity in this part of the world. The bitter cold and terrible roads contributed greatly to the annihilation of Enver Pasha's 3rd Army in the previous year. The Russian General Yudenich viewed this as an opportunity to take the Ottomans by surprise. The Russians achieved total surprise and destroyed an Ottoman division that was in winter quarters at Battle of Koprukoy (January 10 - 18).

On February 16th, Mahmut Kamil forced to order the 3rd Army to retreat from the city, as Yudenich had an advantage in numbers against the Ottomans. The difference was not big enough to be decisive, so Yudenich's plan was to attack the center of the Ottoman defenses, with the key attack falling in a weakly held sector. While diversionary attacks held the attention of Mahmut Kamil near Deve-Boyun ridge, Russian forces broke through at Forts Kara-gobek and Tafet.^[13] The result was that both rings of the cities' defenses had been penetrated.

In April, the Caucasus army moved in two directions from Erzurum, part went north and captured the ancient port city of Trabzon. Other branch moved to Mush-Bitlis direction. These units pushed the 2^nd Army deep into Anatolia and captured Battle of Mush and Battle of Bitlis (March 2-August 24), driving the Ottoman army before it. Bitlis was the last defense point for the Ottoman Army to prevent the Russians from moving into central Anatolia and Mesopotamia.

During July, General Yudenich then countered the Ottoman attack with an offensive of his own towards Erzican with the Battle of Erzincan (2 - 25 July). On July 2, Erzican was captured; the Ottoman offensive against Trabzon was halted as they tried to stabilize their front lines.

In August, Mustafa Kemal recaptured Mush and Bitlis. Earlier in the year, after these towns fell into Russian hands, the Ottoman War Ministry asked Mustafa Kemal to organize the defense in the region. The region was controlled by the 2nd Army. When Mustafa Kemal was assigned to his post, the enemy forces were in constant advance. Fighting around the east side of Lake Van continued throughout the summer but was inconclusive. In the earlier periods of the campaign, Mustafa Kemal’s XVI Corps managed to take Bitlis and Muş. Ahmet İzzet Paşa decided to attack one week after the conclusion of the Russian offensive. A military force, in three corps-sized groups, III, IV and XVI Corps, was gathered and sent marching along the coast. The Second Army advanced on 2 August. While Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich was in the north and pushing the Ottoman 3^rd Army, the Ottoman 2^nd Army was in the south facing the insurgency and the second branch of Russian army under General Tovmas Nazarbekian and the detachment Armenian volunteer units controlled by Andranik Toros Ozanian. However this initial success did not bring victory. The 2nd Army suffered from severe supply and logistics problems. However the Russians drove Kemal's troops out of these towns at the end of the fall.

By late September, the Ottoman attack was finished. The cost for 2nd Army was 30,000 killed and wounded. The Russians were strengthening their lines and two weeks after the launch of the offensive they were strong enough to respond with counteroffensives. The Russians held up the Turkish advance. The Russian Navy still dominated the Black Sea at this point.

The rest of the year 1916 was spent by the Turks with organizational and operational changes in the Caucasian front. Fortunately for the Turkish commanders, the Russians were quiet during this period. The winter of 1916-17 was extremely harsh, which made fighting nearly impossible.

[edit] 1917

The military situation did not change during the spring of 1917. The Russian plans for a renewed attack never substantiated. Meanwhile Russia was in political and social turmoil. It was also influencing the army ranks. The chaos caused by the Russian Revolution put a stop to all Russian military operations. The Russian forces began to conduct withdrawals. Neither the Russian soldiers nor the Russian people wanted to continue the war. The Russian army slowly disintegrated until there was no effective Russian military force by the end of 1917 in the region. Ottoman forces could not take advantage of this situation as their units were not in good shape. Enver moved five divisions out of the region because of the pressure from the British in Palestine and Mesopotamia.

On March 9 1917, Special Transcaucasian Committee was established with Member of the State Duma V. A. Kharlamov as the Chairman to replace the Imperial Viceroy Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856–1929) by the Russian Provisional Government as the highest organ of civil administrative body in the Transcaucasia. The new government reassigned General Yudenich to a position in Central Asia. General Yudenich retired from the army following the assignment.

During the Summer, the Western Armenian Administration sponsored a conference to consider emergency measures and adopted plans to form a twenty-thousand-man militia under Andranik to be ready in December, 1917. The 1^st brigade of Andranik's division was composed of the Erzinjan and Erzurum regiments. The 2^nd brigade was composed of the Khnus and Alashkert regiments. The 3^rd brigade was of the Van and mounted Zeytoun regiments. Civilian commissioner Dr. Hakob Zavriev promoted Adrianik to Major General.

In November 1917, the first government of the independent Transcaucasia was created in Tbilisi as the "Transcaucasian Commissariat (Transcaucasian Sejm)" replaced "Transcaucasian Committee" following the Bolshevik seizure of power in St. Petersburg. It was headed by a Georgian Menshevik Nikolay Chkheidze. At the same time the Eastern Armenian leaders at the Erivan established an Armenian Army Corps. General Nazarbekov was selected as the Commanding Officer. Erivan assigned 1^th Division under General Christophor Araratov into 1^st Erzurum and Erzinjan regiment, 2^nd Khnus Regiment, 3^rd Yerevan Regiment, and 4^th Erzinjan and Yerevan Regiments. Erivan also assigned Colonel Movses Silikyan to 2nd Division with 5^th Van Regiment, 6^th Yerevan Regiment, 7^th and 8^th Alexandropol Regiments. The Chief of Staff of the Armenian Corps was General Vickinski. The divisions which comprised four regiments each, had also three regular and one depot regiment. Their total strength was 32,000 enlisted men. Besides these regular structures enabled man was also armed. A 40 to 50 thousand strong force formed from this armed civilian population. The infantry weapons were Russian rifles. A few auxiliary, quartermaster, medical, and garrison units completed the structure of the new armed force.

On December 5, 1917, the armistice of Erzincan (Erzincan Cease-fire Agreement) signed between the Russians and Ottomans in Erzincan that ended the armed conflicts between Russia and Ottoman Empire.^[14] Between December to February 7 the regiments of the Armenian Corps were immediately hustled off to the front. They created a spectacle en route, for, to the amazement of the homeward-bound Russian soldiers, they were moving toward, not away from, the forward lines.

[edit] 1918

Battles of 1918

In January 1, Ittihad (Unionist), moved to win the friendship of the Bolsheviks. Now that the Russian army was gone Russia's vast southern territories were effectively unguarded. By the end of January, Nazarbekian's divisions occupied the major posts from Yerevan to Van and Erzinjan. Vehib Pasha faced with the Armenian national of forces.

In February, Tovmas Nazarbekian was the commander on the Caucasus front and Andranik Toros Ozanian took the command of the forces within the Ottoman Empire. In the Caucasus Armenians was nothing more than a few thousand volunteers and some two hundred officers. The Third Army's offense began on 5 February. The Ottoman forces moved through east of the line between Tirebolu and Bitlis. The lost territories were recaptured from the Armenians. Kelkit was liberated on 7 February. Erzincan on 13 February. Bayburt on 19 February. Tercan on 22 February. The important Black Sea port of Trabzon was taken back on 25 February. The incoming sea-borne reinforcements began to debark at Trabzon. The Armenians fought to keep the city of Erzurum, but it was captured by the Turkish I Caucasian Corps on 12 March. Malazgirt, Hınıs, Oltu, Köprüköy and Tortum followed over the following two weeks.

On March 3, the Grand vizier Talat Pasha signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Russian SFSR. It stipulated that Bolshevik Russia cede Batum, Kars, and Ardahan. These lands had been captured by Russia during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). The treaty also stipulated that Transcaucasia was to be declared independent. In addition to these provisions, a secret clause was inserted which obligated the Russians to demobilize Armenian national forces.^[15]

Between March 14 - April 1918 the Trabzon peace conference held among the Ottoman Empire and the delegation of the Transcaucasian Diet (Transcaucasian Sejm). Enver Pasha offered to surrender all ambitions in the Caucasus in return for recognition of the Ottoman reacquisition of the east Anatolian provinces at Brest-Litovsk at the end of the negotiations.^[16] On April 5, the head of the Transcaucasian delegation Akaki Chkhenkeli accepted the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as a basis for more negotiations and wired the governing bodies urging them to accept this position^[17]. The mood prevailing in Tiflis was very different. Tiflis acknowledge the existence of a state of war between themselves and the Ottoman Empire^[17].

On May 11, a new peace conference opened at Batum.^[16] At this conference Ottomans extending their demands to include Tiflis as well as Alexandropol and Echmiadzin which they wanted a railroad to be built to connect Kars and Julfa with Baku. The Armenian and Georgian members of the Republic’s delegation began to stall. Beginning on May 21, the Ottoman army moved ahead once again. The conflict led to the Battle of Sardarapat (May 21-29), the Battle of Kara Killisse (1918) (May 24-28), and the Battle of Bash Abaran (May 21-24). On June 4, the Democratic Republic of Armenia was forced to sign the Treaty of Batum. Although the Armenians managed to inflict a defeat on the Ottomans at the Battle of Sardarapat, the Ottoman army won the later battle and scattered the Armenian army. It four days after the fruitless German-mediated peace conference between the Ottoman and Transcaucasian governments was closed in Batumi on May 24 1918. On May 26 1918, Georgia withdrew from the federation and declared itself a separate republic with the encouraged by the German mission led by Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein and Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg. This was followed by Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The proclamation of the independence of Democratic Republic of Georgia followed with the treaty of Poti on May 28. On May 28 Democratic Republic of Armenia declared it's independence.

During 1918 General Andranik made it possible for the Armenian population of Van to escape from the Ottoman Army to Eastern Armenia. He and his troops fought between Mountainous Karabagh and Zangezur where the Republic of Mountainous Armenia was declared.

In June, the Republic of Armenia was forced to sign the Treaty of Batum. However under the leadership of Andranik Toros Ozanian Armenians in the mountainous Karabag region resisted the Ottoman 3th army throughout the summer and established the Republic of Mountainous Armenia^[18]. In August, they set up an independent government in Shushi, the administrative center of the region.

In June, The arrival of the German troops in Georgia coincided with the growing German-Ottoman rivalry for Caucasian influence and resources, notably the oilfields at Baku.^[19] Early in June 1918, the Ottoman army under Vehip Pasha renewed its offensive on the main road to Tiflis, and confronted a joint German-Georgian force. On June 10, the 3rd Army attacked and took many prisoners, leading to an official threat from Berlin to withdraw its troops and support from Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman government had to concede to German pressure and to halt, for the moment, a further advance into Georgia, reorientating its strategic direction towards Azerbaijan and Iran.^[20] The German mission left for Constanţa, taking with them a Georgian delegation composed of Chkhenkeli, Zurab Avalishvili, and Niko Nikoladze, who were entrusted by the Government of Georgia with negotiating a final treaty in Berlin. This negotiations rendered abortive by the military defeat of Germany in November 1918.

Armenian defenders during the Battle of Baku.

In July, Enver Pasha had bigger goals than just reconquest of land lost 40 years ago. He ordered the creation of a new force on March 1918. This force was named as the Army of Islam. In reality, it was not even a Corps size. This force, numbering between 14,000 and 25,000 strong, was composed entirely of Muslims, and most spoke Turkish. In July, he ordered the Army of Islam into Centrocaspian Dictatorship, with the goal of taking Baku on the Caspian Sea. This new offensive was strongly opposed by the Germans. Germany regarded all of southern Russia as theirs by right of conquest. Enver's Army of Islam marched to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. They got as far as Baku on the Caspian Sea. They threw the British out in September 1918 at the Battle of Baku.

In October, Ottoman troops responded to General Andranik's defiance and pursued him between Mountainous Karabagh and Zangezur. A detachment of 5000 soldiers from the Third Army found Andranik at the Shishi^[18]. The conflict was fierce, but indecisive. The Armenian militia under Andranik's command decimated an Ottoman unit trying to advance to the Varanda River. The armed conflicts between these units continued until the Armistice of Mudros. After the Armistice, the Ottoman Empire began to withdraw its forces and Armenian forces under Andranik seized Nagro-Karabagh^[21]. The Armstice of Mudros brought General Andranik the chance to create a base for further expansion eastward and form a strategic corridor extending into Nakhichevan^[21].

On October 30, The Armistice of Mudros was signed and the Caucasus Campaign ended. By the end of the war, the Ottoman Empire, although it lost Persian Campaign, Sinai and Palestine Campaign and Mesopotamian Campaign, had re-captured all the territory which they lost to the Russians in Eastern Anatolia.

[edit] Aftermath

Place of Dunsterforce forces after Armstice

The Ottoman Empire lost the war to the Allies, but the borders in the Caucasus were not settled. Two years after the armistice, a peace treaty was signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and Ottoman Empire at Sèvres on August 10, 1920.

[edit] Territorial disputes

The Georgian-Armenian War 1918 soon followed. Armenia and Azerbaijan engaged in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918 - 1920). The "Turkish War of Independence" by the Turkish national movement headed by Mustafa Kemal which managed to retain much of this territory by Treaty of Alexandropol with Armenia.

[edit] Sovietization of Caucasus

The Soviet 11th Red Army enters Yerevan in 1920.

The 11th Red Army occupies Tiflis. 25 February 1921

On April 27 1920, the government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic received a notice that the Soviet army was about to cross the northern border and invade ADR. In the west, the Armenians still occupied large parts of ADR; in the east, the local Azeri communists were rebelling against the government; and to the north the Russian Red Army was steadily moving southward having defeated Denikin's White Russian forces. ADR officially surrendered to the Soviets, but many generals and local Azeri militias kept resisting the advance of the Soviet forces and it took a while for the Soviets to stabilize the newly proclaimed Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. On December 4 1920, the government of Democratic Republic of Armenian effectively surrendered. On December 5, the Armenian Revolutionary Committee (Revkom) made up of mostly Armenians from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic entered the city. On December 6, Felix Dzerzhinsky's dreaded secret police, Cheka entered Yerevan, thus effectively ending all existence of the DRA.^[22] The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed, under the leadership of Aleksandr Miasnikyan. On February 25 1921, the Soviet occupation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia happened.

On October 23 1921, the end of hostilities came with the Treaty of Kars. It was a successor treaty to the earlier Treaty of Moscow of March 1921.^[23] and was ratified in Yerevan on September 11, 1922.^[24] The Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Kars, which was a treaty between the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which had declared Turkey a republic in 1923, and representatives of Bolshevist Russia, Soviet Armenia, Soviet Azerbaijan and Soviet Georgia. All these states formed part of the Soviet Union after the December 1922 Union Treaty) in 1921.^[23][24]

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Caucasus Campaign

• Armenian Genocide
• Black Sea naval campaign of World War I

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] Bibliography

• Erickson, Edward J. (2001). Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313315169. 
• Hinterhoff, Eugene (1984). Persia: The Stepping Stone To India. Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War I, vol iv. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. ISBN 0-86307-181-3. 
• Pasdermadjian, Garegin; Aram Torossian (1918). Why Armenia Should be Free: Armenia's Role in the Present War. Hairenik Pub. Co.. p. 45. http://books.google.com/books?id=4XYMAAAAYAAJ. 

[edit] References

• Strachan, Hew (2003). The First World War, pp 109-112. Viking (Published by the Penguin Group) (1914 operations)
• Falls, Cyril (1960). The Great War pp 158-160. (covers 1915 fighting)
• Pollard, A. F. (1920). A Short History of the Great War (chapter 10). (covers 1916 fighting)
• Fromkin, David (1989). A Peace to End All Peace, pp. 351-355. Avon Books. (covers 1918 operations)
• Harutyunian, The 1918 Turkish aggression in Transcaucasus, Yerevan, 1985. (covers conquest of Armenia, 1918)
• Russian Campaign in Turkey

World War I portal

[edit] External links

• Caucasus pages of 'Turkey in WW1' web site

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