Caucasus Front 1915

Eurasia - reserve

1914 Oct. 29 - Turkey joined Central Powers, declared war on Allies Nov. 1.

Nov. 2 - Russian Caucasus Corps invaded Armenia, took Bayazid, advanced 17 miles by Nov. 4.

Nov. 7 - Turks stopped Russians at Erzerum.

Nov. 11 - Sultan proclaimed jihad in Constantinople.

Nov. 15 - Turks defeat Russian battalion at copper mine south of Batumi, but Russian Turkestan Corps reinforced the Caucasus Corps, resumed offensive. Russians gave supplies to a volunteer Armenian division, raised from the 1 million Armenians living in Russia, that raided the region and killed 120,000 Turkish civilians. On Nov. 30, the Czar inspected the front and praised the Armenian Catholicos, saying "a brilliant future awaits the Armenians."

Dec. 1 - Russians took Sarai and Bashkal.

Dec. 14 - Enver Pasha arrived at Koprukoy to launch winter offensive that began Dec. 21 and drove back 64,000 Russians from Koprukoy, took Olta, and Enver Pasha entered Bardiz inside the Russian frontier by Dec. 25

Dec. 26 - Gen. Yudenich led Turkestan Corps and defeated Turks at Battle of Sarikamish. Turkish 3rd Army suffered 86% casualties.

Jan. 3, 1915 - Czar urged Allies to attack Turkey. British in 1915 launched offensives in Mesopotamia, Suez, Gallipoli.

Feb. - Armenians in the far west formed a militia force of 2500 at Sivas and captured Van on Apr. 20, proclaiming a provisional independent government. The Turks responded with a campaign of massacre against all Armenians in Turkey, assisted by Kurd tribesmen who also hated the Armenians.

Apr. 25 - On the same day that Britain invaded Gallipoli, Mehmed Talaat ordered the execution of 250 Armenian leaders in Constantinople, and began the massacre of 1m Armenians by the end of the year. Talaat was Minister of Interior, one of the 8 Young Turks that started the war, with Minister of War Enver Pasha, and Minister of Public Works Djemal Pasha.

July 10, 1915 - U. S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr., cabled Washington about the massacre, what he called "race murder" (word "genocide" not coined until 1944 book Axis Rule by Raphael Lemkin). Talaat boasted in public of his policy, claiming he was doing more than Abdul Hamid did 1895-96 when he killed 200,000 Armenians. Private churches raised funds to help the Armenians, Rockefeller Foundation gave $290,000, a new Committee on Armenian Atrocities was created, Morgenthau's friend Adolph Ochs ran stories in the New York Times, but nothing was done.

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