The Battle of Bitlis refers to a series of engagements in the summer of 1916 for the town of

Bitlis Bitlis ( hy, Բաղեշ '; ku, Bidlîs; ota, بتليس) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The city is located at an elevation of 1,545 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis R ...

and to a lesser extent nearby Moush, between Russian Imperial forces and their Ottoman counterparts. The town was the last stronghold of the Ottoman Empire preventing the Russians from entering Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The first military confrontation at Bitlis occurred in July 1915, when Russian troops launched an unsuccessful assault on the town's fortifications. The second confrontation began in February 1916 and ended with the capture of Bitlis by new Russian corps, which largely consisted of the 1st Battalion of the Armenian volunteer units under the command of

Andranik Ozanian Andranik Ozanian, commonly known as General Andranik or simply Andranik;. Also spelled Antranik or Antranig 25 February 186531 August 1927), was an Armenian military commander and statesman, the best known '' fedayi'' and a key figure of the ...

. The Allied withdrawal from Gallipoli gave opportunity for Turkish forces to redeploy to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

region. Russian commander Nikolai Yudenich intended to attack the Turks before they could organize their forces to launch an attack. After a series of clashes in Koprukoy,

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

, Moush, the Russian IV Caucasian Corps captured Bitlis on 2 March. The Ottoman troops of

Ahmed Izzet Pasha Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

were composed of veterans from the Gallipoli campaign. They were to outflank the Russians in Bitlis before the end of March, but communications were terrible, and troops had to march from Ankara for a month. The

Turkish Second Army The Second Army ( tr, 2. Ordu) of the Turkish Army has headquarters in Malatya. It protects Anatolia and it patrols the border with Syria, Iraq and Iran. Modern Turkish corps are referred to in TGS literature in Ottoman Turkish (1st) numerals. I ...

's (belated) offensive began on 2 August 1916 and successfully took back Bitlis (and

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 ...

) but lost other territories in the Euphrates region to the Russians. On 24 August, the Russian forces had recaptured both Mush and Bitlis. The Ottomans suffered 34,000 casualties, around half of which were POWs.

References

*''The Berlin-Baghdad Express: the Ottoman Empire and Germany's bid for world power'', Sean McMeekin, page 243 Conflicts in 1916 Battles of the Caucasus Campaign Battles of World War I involving the Ottoman Empire Battles of World War I involving Russia Bitlis vilayet 1916 in Armenia History of Bitlis 1916 in the Ottoman Empire 1916 in the Russian Empire {{Ottoman-battle-stub