Bergmann Offensive

The Bergmann Offensive (Turkish: Bergmann Taaruzu; in Turkish literature Köprüköy ve Azap Muharebeleri, "Battles of Köprüköy and Azap"; in Russian literature Кёприкейская операция—"Köprüköy operation") was the first engagement of the Caucasus campaign. The first battle after the Russians took Bayazıt during World War I. General Georgy Bergmann, commander of the 1st Caucasus Army Corps, took the initiative against the Ottoman Empire. When the war started, Russia had 25 battalions at Sarikamish, 8 battalions at Oltu, 5 battalions at Kağızman and 5 battalions at Kars. Russia also had 20 cavalry companies. On the other hand, the Ottomans had XI Corps' 2 divisions (18 Battalions) at Hasankale, IX Corps' 28th and 29th Divisions at Erzurum, IX Corps's 17th Division at İspir, XI Corps' 33rd Division at Tutak, 37th Division (6 battalions) at Muş, X Corps' 30th Division at Sivas, 32nd Division at Samsun and 31st Division at Amasya. X Corps didn't participate in the Bergmann Offensive due to its distance. 29th, 33rd and 37th Divisions joined the battle on 11 November and 17th Division on 17 November. The Ottomans initially had a 33% infantry numerical advantage (the Russian Caucasian Army consisted of 45,000 infantry and the Ottoman army had 60,000 infantry available) and Russia separated their army carelessly. The Ottomans however didn't use this advantage due to their precaution. Russia equalized numbers by starting to bring in the Turkistan Army Corps on 16 November. The Ottomans obtained a 50% infantry advantage by bringing X Corps (40,000 infantry) at the beginning of December. This numerical superiority encouraged the Ottomans to perform the Sarikamish Offensive. At the outbreak of war, the Russians decided to occupy the Eleşkirt valley as a defensive measure to prevent the incursion of Kurdish Hamidiye units. The Russians considered the Turkish forces to be too weak to mount any offensive...