Erzurum offensive

Erzurum offensive
Part of the Caucasus campaign of the First World War

Le Petit Journal Feb. 27, 1916
Retreat of the Turks after the taking of Erzurum by the Russians
Date10 January 1916 – 16 February 1916
Location
Result Russian victory
Full results
  • Destruction of the Third Turkish Army
  • Russians gain support among Muslims in the Caucasus
Territorial
changes
Russians successfully break into Anatolia
Belligerents
Russian Empire Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Nikolai Yudenich Abdul Kerim Pasha
Units involved
Russian Caucasus Army Third Army
Strength
120,000
338 guns
80,000+
150 guns
Erzurum Castle:
265 guns
Casualties and losses
2,339 killed, 14,796 wounded 66,000
  •  • 13,000–20,000 POWs including 300 officers
315–450 cannons

The Erzurum offensive (Russian: Эрзурумское сражение, romanizedErzurumskoe 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. The Turkish forces, in winter quarters, suffered a series of unexpected reverses, which led to a Russian victory.