The Battle of Manzikert or Battle of Malazgirt (russian: Битва при Манцикерте ''Bytva pri Mantsikerte'' ;
Turkish: ''Malazgirt Muharebesi''
Fahri Belen Fahri is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic name Fakhri, (Arabic: فَخْري ''fakh·riy'', ''fakh·rī'', ''fakh·ry'') in the possessive form meaning "honorary, titulary", both used as a name or surname.
It may refer to:
Given name
* Fahri ...
, ''XX. Yüzyılda Osmanlı Devleti'', Remzi Kitabevi, 1975
p. 257.
) was a battle of the
Caucasus Campaign
The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dicta ...
of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, which took place over the period July 10–26, 1915. Even though losses were heavy on both sides, the Russians retreated north and the Turks retook Malazgirt then they further advanced towards Karakilise where they were defeated on 5–8 August at the
Battle of Kara Killisse.
Background
At the beginning of May the Russians captured
Tutak and on 17 May the town of Malazgirt was captured.
Operations
On July 10, 1915, Russian General Oganovski launched an offensive to capture the hills just west of
Malazgirt
Malazgirt or Malâzgird ( ku, Melezgir; hy, Մանազկերտ, Manazkert; grc-x-medieval, Ματζιέρτη, Matziértē), historically known as Manzikert ( grc-x-medieval, Μαντζικέρτ, links=no), is a town in Muş Province in eastern ...
. He believed that the
Turkish forces in the area were weak. However, the Turkish forces contained several divisions numbering upwards of 40,000 men. On July 16, the
Ottoman Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire.
Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
counter-attacked under
Abdul Kerim Pasha
Abdul Kerim Pasha ( Turkish: ''Abdülkerim Paşa''; born 1872 and died January 16, 1923Hülya Toker, Nurcan Fidan, ''Birinci Dünya Savaşı'na katılan Alay ve Daha Üst Kademedeki Komutanların Biyografileri'', Genelkurmay Basım Evi, 2009, , ...
. They outnumbered the Russians by a factor of 3-1. Oganovski was forced to retreat back to Malazgirt, and in the process the Turks captured his baggage train. On July 20, the Turks retook Malazgirt and on 27 July also took
Muş
Muş (; hy, Մուշ; ku, Mûş) is a city and the provincial capital of Muş Province in Turkey. Its population is mostly Kurds.
Etymology
Various explanations of the origin of Muş's name exist. Its name is sometimes associated with the Arm ...
from the Russians.
Due to the poor quality of the Russian communications,
Yudenich, who was the Russian commander of the Caucasus front, did not learn that the Russian army was in retreat until July 22.
Aftermath
The Russian army in Malazgirt was outnumbered 3-1 by the Ottoman army. Realizing that if the Ottomans attacked, his army would be destroyed, Yudenich ordered a retreat. The Russians retreated from Malazgirt, and the entire Van region as well. This left the city of Van open to an Ottoman attack, and the Ottomans captured the city on August 22. However, Malazgirt was re-captured by the Russians after the Ottomans were defeated at the
Battle of Kara Killisse. Yudenich quickly regrouped his forces, fired Oganovski, and launched a counter-offensive. Russian casualties were reported to be about 10,000. Malazgirt was recaptured but Yudenich did not have a force large enough to exploit the situation further.
Effects on morale
The morale of the Turkish leadership was lifted by the victory at Malazgirt
and Abdulkerim Pasha was encouraged by his success to follow the Russians. However, in the following battle of Karakilise in August the Turks were defeated and this in turn raised Russian morale.
References
Further reading
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manzikert, Battle of
Conflicts in 1915
Battles of World War I involving the Ottoman Empire
Battles of World War I involving Russia
Battles of the Caucasus Campaign
History of Muş Province
1915 in the Ottoman Empire
Bitlis vilayet
July 1915 events