Battle of Erzincan
1916 battle of World War I
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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 Caucasus campaign | |||||||||
Surrender of Turkish soldiers | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Russian Empire |
 Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Nikolai Yudenich |
Hasan Izzet Pasha Topal Osman Wehib Pasha | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
Russian Caucasus Army Greek Caucasus Division | Third Army | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 12,000[1] | 34,000, of them 17,000 captured[2] | ||||||||
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.[3] Vehip's attack failed and General Yudenich counterattacked on July 2.[3] 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.[3] As a result, the Third Army was rendered ineffective for the rest of the year and Erzincan was captured by the Russians.[4]