The Trebizond Campaign, also known as the Battle of Trebizond, was a series of successful Russian naval and land operations that resulted in the capture of
Trabzon
Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...
. It was the logistical step after the
Erzerum Campaign. Operations began on February 5 and concluded when the Ottoman troops abandoned Trabzon on the night of April 15, 1916.
Lazistan Offensive
Timeline
* 1916 –
** 2nd half of January; Russians occupied the territory between the
coruh and the Russian frontier.
Makriali was taken.
** January 17–20; Russian destroyers crushed a large number of Turkish sailing crafts along Lazistan coast that were supplying Turkish army.
** February; ''
Turkistanski Regiments'' occupied
Hopa
Hopa ( Laz and , Hamshen ) is a city and district of Artvin Province in northeast Turkey. It is located on the eastern Turkish Black Sea coast about from the city of Artvin and 18 kilometres from the border with Georgia.
Geography
Hopa is on t ...
.
** February 5; Russian squadron heavily damaged Turkish trenches beyond the
Arhavi
Arhavi ( Laz: არქაბი/Arǩabi; Georgian: არქაბი/arkabi) is a town and district of Artvin Province located in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. The terrain is hilly and mountainous. Area of the city center is about , and the ...
river.
** February 6: Turks abandoned their lines, leaving 500 dead behind.
** February 15–16: The same sequence of events was repeated at
Vitze. Turks retrenched behind the Buyuk-dere river. Several Turkish battalions reinforced
Rize
Rize (Greek language, Greek: ρίζα, Laz language, Laz: რიზინი, Georgian language, Georgian: რიზე,
, Ottoman Turkish: ريزه)
is the capital city of Rize Province in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey.
Rize ...
from Trebizond. General
Lyakhov in conference with naval officers accepted proposal to land infantry (2 battalions with 2 mountain guns) in the rear of the Turkish position.
** March 4–5; ''
Rostislav'' and the gunboats ''Kubanetz'' and ''Donetz'' supported the amphibious landing at
Atina.
[Willmott, p. 305.] Turks on the Buyuk-dere position fled into the mountains.
** March 6–7; The landing operation was repeated at
Mapavri and met with only slight resistance.
** March 8; Russians occupied Rize and pushed their patrols forward to the River
Kalopotamos to the east of the small town of
Of. Here the advance of the Black Sea coast detachment was temporarily halted.
Effect on Armenians
Prior to World War I, the vibrant Armenian community of Trabzon numbered 30,000.
In 1915, during the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
, they were massacred and deported.
[ ]Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia
The ''Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( hy, Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան, ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) publishing house was established in 1967 as a department of the Institute of History of the Armeni ...
, ''Trapizon'', Vol. 12, Yerevan 1986. p. 87 After the Russian capture of Trabzon, some 500 surviving Armenians were able to return,
as well as Armenian monks of the
Kaymakli Monastery.
[The Byzantine Churches of Trebizond, Selina Ballance, Anatolian Studies, volume 10, page 169.]
.
References
{{Trabzon
Conflicts in 1916
Battles of the Caucasus Campaign
Battles of World War I involving the Ottoman Empire
Battles of World War I involving Russia
History of Trabzon
Trebizond vilayet
1916 in the Ottoman Empire
1916 in the Russian Empire
February 1916 events
March 1916 events
April 1916 events