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 Երզնկայի ճակատամարտ Erzincan Savaşı | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War I | |||||||||
Surrender of Turkish soldiers | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Russian Empire | Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Nikolai Yudenich |
Wehib Pasha Topal Osman | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Russian Caucasus Army Greek Caucasus Division | Third Army | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 12,000 | 34,000, of them 17,000 captured | ||||||||
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. Vehip's attack failed and General Yudenich counterattacked on July 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. As a result, the Third Army was rendered ineffective for the rest of the year and Erzincan was captured by the Russians.