Erzurum offensive

The Russians had 130,000 infantry and 35,000 cavalry. They also had 160,000 troops in reserve, 150 supply trucks and 20 planes of the Siberian Air Squadron.[2] According to other sources, the attacking group (the Russian Caucasian army) included about 120 thousand people and 338 guns.[1]

The Ottoman forces had 78,000 troops in the region.[2]

Russian soldiers in front of captured Ottoman guns.

The Russians had a slight edge in numbers but could not rely on numbers alone. For that reason, the Russian plan was to break through a weak part of the line.[3]

On January 10, the initial offensive was directed at the XI Corps. The first engagement was at the Azkani village and its mountain crest of Kara Urgan.

On January 17, at Battle of Koprukoy The forces at Köprüköy, the main town on the road to Erzurum, were forced to leave. By 18 January, the Russian forces approached Hasankale, a town on the road to Erzurum and the new location of the Third Army headquarters. on January 23 Kargabazar Dag Hinis.

On January 29, Mahmut Kamil Paşa returned from Istanbul. He could feel that the Russians would not only attack Erzurum but also renew the offensive southern flank around Lake Van. Hınıs, to the south, was taken on February 7 to prevent reinforcements from Muş from coming in.[3] Mahmut Kamil tried to strengthen the defensive lines. That drew most of the Ottoman reserves and diverted their attention away from the decisive attack farther north.

On February 11 and 12th, the Deveboynu Ridge, an important artillery platform, was the scene of heavy fighting. North of the Deveboynu Ridge, the Russian columns approached over the Kargapazar Ridge, which the Ottomans had considered impassable. The X Corps guarded that sector of the line, and its commander had positioned his divisions so that they could not support one another.[3] Mahmut Kamil had five divisions in the Deve-Boyun ridge area but was slow to react to events north of that position.

The fortress was under Russian threat, both from north and east. With the victories, the Russian Army had cleared the approaches to Erzurum. The Russians were now planning to take Erzurum, a heavily-fortified stronghold. Erzurum was considered as the second best-defended town in the Ottoman Empire. The fortress was defended by 235 pieces of artillery. Its fortifications covered the city on a 180° arc in two rings. There were eleven forts and batteries covering the central area.[3] The flanks were guarded by a group of two forts on each flank. The Ottoman Third Army lacked the soldiers to adequately man the perimeter.[3]

On February 11, the Russians began to shell the fortified formations around Erzurum. Fierce fighting erupted. Ottoman battalions of 350 men had to defend against Russian battalions of 1,000 men. There were few reinforcements for the beleaguered Ottomans. In three days, the Russians had managed to reach the heights overlooking the Erzurum plain. It was now obvious to the Third Army's leaders that the town had been lost. The Ottoman units began to retreat from the fortified zones at the front and to evacuate the town of Erzurum.

On February 12, Fort Kara-gobek was taken. On the 13th, the Russians continued their attacks.

On February 14, Fort Tafet was taken, and the Russians had now penetrated through both rings of the cities's defenses.

By February 15, the remaining forts surrounding Erzurum were evacuated.

Early in the morning of the 16th, Russian Cossacks were among the first to enter the city.[2] Ottoman units had successfully withdrawn and avoided encirclement, but casualties were already high, and 327 pieces of artillery had been lost to the Russians. Support units of the Third Army and around 250 wounded at the town's hospital were taken prisoner.

Although aerial reconnaissance revealed the Ottomans retreat, the Russian pursuit was not effective as it could have been.[3] Meanwhile, remnants of the X and XI Corps established another defensive line, 8 km east of Erzurum.