What is the Sarıkamış Operation, Where and When Did It Take Place?

The First World War, which took place between 1914 and 1918, brought the end of the Ottoman Empire, and then our lands began to be actually occupied. Of course, we achieved important successes during the war, such as on the Çanakkale front, but Unfortunately, Operation Sarıkamış was not one of them. We lost tens of thousands of martyrs due to military tactical mistakes.

As in many fronts, the sole purpose of the Turkish army in the Sarıkamış Operation was to clear its own lands from invaders. Troops under the command of Enver Pasha They carried out this operation, the first days of which were very successful, to take back these lands captured by the Russians, but due to the cold weather and harsh conditions that we could not even imagine, the Sarıkamış Operation has turned into a heartbreaking event today.

The Russian occupation actually started much earlier:

In the last years of the Ottoman Empire, the Russians were a real nuisance and we had to fight countless times. With the War of 93 in 1878 Russians captured the surroundings of Kars, Ardahan and Sarıkamış. When World War I started and mobilization was declared in August 1914, we set our sights on the Russians, who were already fighting against our German allies in Eastern Europe.

Russians and the Armenian gangs they supported were systematically killing Turks and Muslims. The lands they occupied were disrupting the integrity of Anatolia. Turkish and Muslim soldiers in the Caucasus were also prevented from participating in the war by the Russian forces in these lands. In other words, the fate of the war actually depended on clearing the Russians from these lands.

Preparations for Operation Sarıkamış were attacked by the Russians:

Enver Pasha gave the order, 3rd Army Commander Hasan İzzet Pasha sent a message to Istanbul and reported the winter needs. Bahr-i Ahmer, Bezm-i Alem and Mithat Pasha ferries He set out loaded with winter clothes, provisions, weapons and ammunition. However, all three of the ferries were sunk as a result of the Russian attack.

Even though the 3rd Army, consisting of the 9th, 10th and 11th Corps, did not receive this support, it was not in a bad situation. Firstly Our number of soldiers was much higher than the Russians, While the number of Russians was close to 65 thousand, our number was close to 100 thousand, excluding the gendarmerie. Moreover, Turkish gangsters were also fighting a guerrilla war. It was 600 kilometers away from the nearest railway line. This situation would make things difficult because urgent supplies would always be delayed.

But the biggest problem was either forgotten or ignored. Most of the soldiers in the region came from Arabia and the Southeastern region, and of course their clothing was accordingly. The temperature of the region could even reach -40 degrees and our Mehmetçiks were wearing only summer uniforms.

The Turkish attack had to be fast and effective:

On November 2, 1914, the Russians attacked from the direction of Köprüköyü, but this attack was stopped by strong resistance. On 12 December, Enver Pasha came to Erzurum and took over the command. He immediately prepared an operation plan. Three corps would come at the Russians from different directions and they would be destroyed in a short time since they were already low in number.

The main purpose of the Sarıkamış Operation was to not give the enemy the opportunity to rest or escape. Because It was much easier for the Russians to get help. If they got a chance to rest, they would receive help immediately and our greatest weapon, our superiority in numbers, would be lost. For this reason, every detail of the operation was carefully calculated.

Operation Sarıkamış started with misfortune from the first day:

The Sarıkamış Operation started on 22 December 1914. It was the 10th Corps that made the first mistake. According to the plan, the troops should have arrived in the Bardız region after passing through Erzurum’s Oltu district. However, the troops passing Oltu moved towards Ardahan, not Bardız. The expansion of the line gave the Russians a chance to rest, escape and receive help.

The 10th Corps would come to Bardız and unite with the 9th Corps under the command of Enver Pasha, creating a devastating force. Because of their delay 9th Corps troops were left alone in Bardız. However, according to the information Enver Pasha received from Russian prisoners, Sarıkamış was in a position to be captured even without support.

It was impossible to pass through the Allahu Akbar Mountains:

The Sarıkamış position was not as difficult as they expected and the Upper Sarıkamış region was easily entered. But this is where things got heated. Without the troops of the 10th Corps, the 9th Corps was making futile attacks. Moreover, the weather conditions were not suitable for survival, let alone for fighting. Many of our soldiers froze to death.

On the other hand, the 10th Corps units were trying to cross the Allahu Akbar Mountains and come to the Sarıkamış region. It is said that the weather was -39 degrees at that time. Unfortunately, a large portion of our soldiers froze to death in those mountains. The 10th Corps was able to reach Sarıkamış 4 days later than planned. The number of people who could overcome the mountain road was very few.

We had to retreat during the Sarıkamış Operation, in which we lost tens of thousands of martyrs:

Due to the delay of the 10th Corps, the Bardız region fell into the hands of the Russians and Enver Pasha decided to retreat and handed over the command to Hafız Hakkı Bey. The Sarıkamış Operation ended on January 6, 1914. During the movement, the Russians suffered more than 32 thousand casualties.

The Turkish army’s losses were much greater. From our army reaching 120 thousand people It is known that 60 thousand of our martyrs died by freezing to death. When we think about the diseases, losses, prisoners and what happened during the war, we unfortunately see that we lost 90 thousand martyrs. Unnamed heroes didn’t even have a tombstone.

Why did the Sarıkamış Operation fail?

According to war historians, the main reason why the Sarıkamış Operation failed was It was because everything was in too much of a rush. Winter clothes were not expected, supplies were not expected, weapons were not expected, ammunition was not expected, support was not expected, the 10th Corps was delayed and even that was not expected.

The operation plan created by Enver Pasha was truly perfect. The only way to clear the Russians from there was a successful siege. It would have been a successful operation if it had not been so rushed. However, it was impossible to travel in summer clothes in a cold that many of us would have difficulty even imagining.

The results of the Sarıkamış Operation affected world history:

As a result of the Sarıkamış Operation, the hand of the Russians became stronger and the forces they supported The way was cleared for Armenian gangs to commit massacres. Such attacks in Eastern Anatolia left our army between two fires. Most importantly, the British started the Battle of Gallipoli to reduce the threat to the Russians. We have previously explained in detail the importance of the Battle of Gallipoli for world history in our article here.

We lost tens of thousands of martyrs due to military tactical mistakes. Where and when did the Sarıkamış Operation take place? We answered frequently asked questions such as: One cannot help but think: What if the Sarıkamış Operation had been successful?

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