Battle of Sarikamish
| Battle of Sarikamish Сражение при Сарыкамыше-Srazhenie pri Sarykamyshe Sarıkamış Muharebesi Սարիկամիշի Ճակատամարտ | |||||||||
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| Part of the Caucasus campaign of the Middle Eastern theatre in World War I | |||||||||
Russian trenches in the forests of Sarikamish | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Ottoman Empire Supported by: German Empire | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Vorontsov-Dashkov Nikolai Yudenich General Bergmann Myshlayevsky |
Enver Pasha Hafiz Hakki Pasha Bronsart Pasha Feldmann Bey Yusuf Izzet Pasha Galip Pasha İhsan Bey Şerif Bey Ziya Bey Arif Bey | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| 3rd Army | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 78,000 |
Turkish estimate: 100,000 Russian estimate: 90,000 to 150,000 people and 244 guns in battle 190,000 people and 300 guns in total | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Russo-English sources: 20,000–22,000 killed and wounded 6,000+ frostbitten |
Turco-Russo-German sources: 30,000–48,000 killed, wounded, and captured 30,000 frostbitten Some Russian–French sources: 90,000 casualties (from all cases) including: 28,000 KIA and 18,000 POWs | ||||||||
The Battle of Sarikamish was an engagement between the Russian and Ottoman Empires during World War I. It took place from 22 December 1914, to 17 January 1915, as part of the Caucasus campaign.
The battle resulted in a decisive Russian victory. The Ottoman plan relied on highly mobile troops capable of reaching specific objectives at precise times, drawing on German and Napoleonic tactical principles. However, the Ottoman forces were inadequately equipped for the harsh winter conditions and suffered severe losses in the Allahuekber Mountains. It is estimated that approximately 25,000 Ottoman soldiers froze to death before the main engagement began.
Following the defeat, Ottoman Minister of War Enver Pasha, who had devised the strategy at Sarikamish, blamed the Armenians for the outcome. The battle subsequently became a prelude to the Armenian genocide.
Some sources regard the battle as one of the most significant of the campaign, noting that the Ottoman Third Army was so severely weakened that it was forced to suspend operations temporarily.