Colonial and World War I · 1914 to 1915

Battle of Sarikamish

Enver Pasha sent the Third Army over snowbound mountains in midwinter. Most of it was lost, many men to cold and disease rather than fighting.

The site of the battle on the 1923 map. Shaded: Republic of Turkey, 1923, French mandate, British mandate or occupation, British protection or influence.

Key facts

When: 1914 to 1915
Where: Kars province, Turkey
Sides: Ottomans vs Russian Empire
Commanders: Enver Pasha vs the Russian Caucasus Army
Result: Russian victory
Type: Colonial and World War I
Chapter: 5. The Ottomans

The wider picture: The end of the caliphate

The Ottomans entered the First World War on Germany's side and lost. Britain and France divided the Arab lands under the Sykes-Picot agreement and the mandates that followed, and British troops entered Jerusalem in December 1917. In Anatolia, Mustafa Kemal won the war of independence and declared a republic in October 1923.

See the 1923 map Read chapter 5

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