Battle of Ardahan
Encyclopedia
Battle of Ardahan between 25 December 1914 to 18 January 1915 was the Ottoman military operation commanded by German Lt. Col. Stange to capture the city Ardahan and cut the Russian support link to Sarikamish-Kars line in supporting the Battle of Sarikamish..
. It was a secondary to the Eastern front
. Russia had taken the fortress of Kars
from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War in 1877 and feared a campaign into the Caucasus, a Caucasus Campaign
, aimed at retaking Kars and the port of Batum. The Ottoman generalship and organization were negligible compared to the Allies. Caucasus Campaign planned to be a distracting effect on Russian forces. Enver hoped a success would facilitate opening the route to Tbilisi
and beyond, with a revolt of Caucasian Muslims another strategic goal was to cut Russian access
to its hydrocarbon resources
around the Caspian Sea
. This long term goal made Britain vary. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company
was in the proposed path.
On 30 October 1914, the 3rd Army headquarters was informed by High Command in Istanbul about an exchange of fire during the pursuit of Goeben and Breslau
in the Black Sea
. High Command expected the Russian Army to cross the Ottoman border at any time. The Bergmann Offensive
(2 November 1914 – 16 November 1914) ended with the defeat of Russian troops under the command of Bergmann. The Russian success was along the southern shoulders of the offense where Armenian volunteers visible (effective) and taken Karaköse and Doğubeyazıt
. Hasan İzzet Pasha managed to stabilize the front by letting the Russians 25 kilometers inside the Ottoman Empire along the Erzurum-Sarikamish
axis.
The left wing which made up of two divisions of the I Army Corps. It was brought at the outset of the war from Constantinople and landed at Kopa and other ports on the Black Sea south of Batum, and supplemented by many irregulars in the district of the Choruk (northeast of Erzerum), where its concentration was effected.
It had been the original intention that this army should strike at Batum when it was in sufficient force by additions from oversea, but as the result of Russian resistance on land, and especially of various actions between the Ottoman and Russian Fleets, which ended in the latter gaining the control of the Black Sea, the idea was rendered impracticable and was abandoned.
Enver Pasha developed his plans for Battle of Sarikamish. The Stange Bey unit and its supports were fitted to his plan as a secondary force. They were to cut the support for Russian forces at Sarikamish-Kars. The Stange Bey Detachment conduct highly visible operations to distract and pin Russian units. In his plan Stange Bey operated in the Chorok region and seized the road.
On 27 December 1914, after a desperate Russian resistance lasting seventeen days, took Ardahan, and threatened an immediate descent on Kars, which if it succeeded would cut off the retreat of the Russians west of it, that is, at Sarikamish, from Kars.
The Russian Viceroy and his military advisers had grasped the situation. The Stange Bay made that Russians informed very dearly for every foot of their advance. The Russian diversion to Stange Bay unit meant to be a support element to operations to capture Sarikamish and Kars. Russians needed to be strongly reinforced. At this moment, In December 1914, General Myshlaevsky ordered withdrawal from major Russian units at the Persian Campaign
at the height of the Battle of Sarikamish. Persia was denuded of Russian soldiers, and large bodies of troops were hurried forward to the front by rail from Kars, Erivan, and Julfa—almost, but not quite, too late. They would have been altogether too late if the 1st Army Corps had been able to make its contemplated descent on Kars, and the first concern of the Viceroy had been to send supports to the gallant regiment which alone had so long withstood the attack of the two divisions of this Corps before and at Ardahan.
Yet larger reinforcements were dispatched to Sarikamish, and they arrived to find that though the place had been reft from Russian hands the battle was being waged with no less determined persistence and tenacity by their compatriots. Neither at Ardahan nor at Sarikamish were the Russians, even in the closing stages.
Hardly any information regarding the battle of Ardahan can be obtained beyond statements that after the place was bombarded, the Russians drove the Stange Bey Detachment group out. Russian accounts state "by repeated charges utterly routed the enemy, who was crushed into fragments". Under the Russian Pressure the Kurdish Tribe volunteers separated from the Stange Bey Unit. These broken remnants fled in confusion back to Ardanuch, but, hotly pursued, were not allowed to rest there long, as it was reoccupied by the victors
on 18 January 1915, some survivors from the Battle made good their escape into their own territory. The others sought refuge in the fastnesses of the Chorok ranges, where the Ad jars gave them shelter. This was the original unit established in Istanbul. Stenge Bey reestablished this unit.
On 1 March 1915 The “Stange Bey Detachment” without volunteer support went back to its initial line, the “Stange Bey Detachment” managed to resist the Russians for more than two months in the region.
Background
The operation was part of what Russia viewed the Caucasus frontCaucasus Campaign
The Caucasus Campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, later including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Central Caspian Dictatorship and the UK as part of the Middle Eastern theatre or alternatively named as part of the Caucasus Campaign during World War I...
. It was a secondary to the Eastern front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
. Russia had taken the fortress of Kars
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War in 1877 and feared a campaign into the Caucasus, a Caucasus Campaign
Caucasus Campaign
The Caucasus Campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, later including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Central Caspian Dictatorship and the UK as part of the Middle Eastern theatre or alternatively named as part of the Caucasus Campaign during World War I...
, aimed at retaking Kars and the port of Batum. The Ottoman generalship and organization were negligible compared to the Allies. Caucasus Campaign planned to be a distracting effect on Russian forces. Enver hoped a success would facilitate opening the route to Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
and beyond, with a revolt of Caucasian Muslims another strategic goal was to cut Russian access
Baku-Batumi pipeline
The Baku–Batumi pipeline is the name given to several pipelines and pipeline projects to transport kerosene and crude oil from the Caspian region to the Georgian Batumi oil terminal at the Black Sea...
to its hydrocarbon resources
Oil Industry in Azerbaijan
The petroleum industry in Azerbaijan produces about of oil per day and 1 bcma of gas. Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry, its history is linked to the fortunes of petroleum. It is poised to become an important oil and gas producer once again.- Early history:There is evidence...
around the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
. This long term goal made Britain vary. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company
Anglo-Persian Oil Company
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was founded in 1908 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Iran. It was the first company to extract petroleum from the Middle East...
was in the proposed path.
On 30 October 1914, the 3rd Army headquarters was informed by High Command in Istanbul about an exchange of fire during the pursuit of Goeben and Breslau
Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau
The pursuit of Goeben and Breslau was a naval action that occurred in the Mediterranean Sea at the outbreak of the First World War when elements of the British Mediterranean Fleet attempted to intercept the German Mittelmeerdivision comprising the battlecruiser and the light cruiser...
in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. High Command expected the Russian Army to cross the Ottoman border at any time. The Bergmann Offensive
Bergmann Offensive
The Bergmann Offensive was the first engagement of the Caucasus Campaign. General Georgy Berhmann, who was the commander of the I Caucasian Army Corps took the initiative against the Ottoman Empire....
(2 November 1914 – 16 November 1914) ended with the defeat of Russian troops under the command of Bergmann. The Russian success was along the southern shoulders of the offense where Armenian volunteers visible (effective) and taken Karaköse and Doğubeyazıt
Dogubeyazit
Doğubeyazıt is a city and district of Ağrı Province of Turkey, and is Turkey's most eastern district, the border crossing to Iran. Elevation 1625 m. Area 2.383 km². Population 115.354 of which 69.447 live in the town of Doğubeyazıt, the remainder in the surrounding countryside...
. Hasan İzzet Pasha managed to stabilize the front by letting the Russians 25 kilometers inside the Ottoman Empire along the Erzurum-Sarikamish
Sarıkamış
Sarıkamış is a town and a district of Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 17,860 as of 2010.The town sits in a valley and is surrounded by mountains, many of which are covered with pine forests. It has very long winters, with average of 7–8 ft of...
axis.
Force
The name of the force in western sources passes as the "I Army Corps," Turkish sources name it as Stange Bey (or Stanke Bey) detachment. The detachment was given to the command of the German Major Stange and became known as “Stange Bey Detachment”. The size of the force is also is in dispute. Western sources claim it had from 30,000 to 35,000 combatants; the precise figure is uncertain, but it must have been fairly large.The left wing which made up of two divisions of the I Army Corps. It was brought at the outset of the war from Constantinople and landed at Kopa and other ports on the Black Sea south of Batum, and supplemented by many irregulars in the district of the Choruk (northeast of Erzerum), where its concentration was effected.
Prelude
The “Stange Bey Detachment” left Istanbul on the battleship Yavuz. The first stop was disembarked in Rize. The detachment was then reinforced with nearly two thousand Kurdish volunteers and materially assisted by the rebellious Adjars of the country.It had been the original intention that this army should strike at Batum when it was in sufficient force by additions from oversea, but as the result of Russian resistance on land, and especially of various actions between the Ottoman and Russian Fleets, which ended in the latter gaining the control of the Black Sea, the idea was rendered impracticable and was abandoned.
Enver Pasha developed his plans for Battle of Sarikamish. The Stange Bey unit and its supports were fitted to his plan as a secondary force. They were to cut the support for Russian forces at Sarikamish-Kars. The Stange Bey Detachment conduct highly visible operations to distract and pin Russian units. In his plan Stange Bey operated in the Chorok region and seized the road.
Battle
On 15 December 1914, Stange Bey occupied Ardanuch.On 27 December 1914, after a desperate Russian resistance lasting seventeen days, took Ardahan, and threatened an immediate descent on Kars, which if it succeeded would cut off the retreat of the Russians west of it, that is, at Sarikamish, from Kars.
The Russian Viceroy and his military advisers had grasped the situation. The Stange Bay made that Russians informed very dearly for every foot of their advance. The Russian diversion to Stange Bay unit meant to be a support element to operations to capture Sarikamish and Kars. Russians needed to be strongly reinforced. At this moment, In December 1914, General Myshlaevsky ordered withdrawal from major Russian units at the Persian Campaign
Persian Campaign
The Persian Campaign or Invasion of Persia was a series of engagements at northern Persian Azerbaijan and western Persia between the British Empire and the Russian Empire against the Ottoman Empire, beginning in December 1914 and ending with the Armistice of Mudros on October 30, 1918 as part of...
at the height of the Battle of Sarikamish. Persia was denuded of Russian soldiers, and large bodies of troops were hurried forward to the front by rail from Kars, Erivan, and Julfa—almost, but not quite, too late. They would have been altogether too late if the 1st Army Corps had been able to make its contemplated descent on Kars, and the first concern of the Viceroy had been to send supports to the gallant regiment which alone had so long withstood the attack of the two divisions of this Corps before and at Ardahan.
Yet larger reinforcements were dispatched to Sarikamish, and they arrived to find that though the place had been reft from Russian hands the battle was being waged with no less determined persistence and tenacity by their compatriots. Neither at Ardahan nor at Sarikamish were the Russians, even in the closing stages.
Hardly any information regarding the battle of Ardahan can be obtained beyond statements that after the place was bombarded, the Russians drove the Stange Bey Detachment group out. Russian accounts state "by repeated charges utterly routed the enemy, who was crushed into fragments". Under the Russian Pressure the Kurdish Tribe volunteers separated from the Stange Bey Unit. These broken remnants fled in confusion back to Ardanuch, but, hotly pursued, were not allowed to rest there long, as it was reoccupied by the victors
on 18 January 1915, some survivors from the Battle made good their escape into their own territory. The others sought refuge in the fastnesses of the Chorok ranges, where the Ad jars gave them shelter. This was the original unit established in Istanbul. Stenge Bey reestablished this unit.
On 1 March 1915 The “Stange Bey Detachment” without volunteer support went back to its initial line, the “Stange Bey Detachment” managed to resist the Russians for more than two months in the region.