Battle of Erzincan

The Battle of Erzincan (Russian: Эрзинджанское сражение, Turkish: Erzincan Muharebesi) was a Russian victory over the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

Battle of Erzincan Эрзинджанское сражение
Part of World War I
Date 2–25 July 1916 Location Erzincan, Erzurum Vilayet, Ottoman Empire Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Nikolai Yudenich Sebastatsi Murad	Vehip Pasha
Strength
Russian Caucasus Army Armenian Volunteers	Third Army
Casualties and losses
Unknown	34,000, of them 17,000 captured[1]

In February 1916, Nikolai Yudenich had taken the cities of Erzurum and Trabzon. Trabzon had provided the Russians with a port to receive reinforcements in the Caucasus. Enver Pasha ordered the Third Army, now under Vehip Pasha, to retake Trabzon.[2] Vehip's attack failed and General Yudenich counterattacked on July 2.[2] The Russian attack hit the Turkish communications center of Erzincan forcing Vehip's troops to retreat as well as losing 34,000 men, half taken as POWs.[2] As a result, the Third Army was rendered ineffective for the rest of the year.[3]

Notes

1. Boyd, Douglas. Other First World War: The Blood-Soaked Eastern Front. ISBN 0750957867.
2. A Global Chronology of Conflict, Volume Four, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 1625.
3. David Eggenberger, An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 b.c. to the Present, (Courier Dover Publications, 1985), 137.

References

• Spencer C. Tucker(Editor), A Global Chronology of Conflict, Volume Four, ABC-CLIO, 2010.
• Erzurum-Erzincan