TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Battle · 1914
The operational plan of the Ottoman state on entering the First World War rested on attacking Russia in the Caucasus and Britain at the Suez Canal to ease the burden of its allies. According to the TDV article on the First World War, after the declaration of war most of the Third Army met the Russians advancing towards Sarıkamış and Erzurum, and in the battle of Köprüköy on 6–9 November 1914 the Russian forces were defeated and fell back towards the border. The deputy commander-in-chief and Minister of War Enver Pasha came to the front and took command of the army. Launched before preparations were complete, the Sarıkamış offensive lasted from 22 December 1914 to early January 1915; the Turkish forces lost 60,000 of their 112,000 men. Most of the soldiers froze to death.
| Date | 22 December 1914 – January 1915 |
|---|---|
| Location | Sarıkamış, Kars |
| Result | The offensive ended in a heavy defeat; 60,000 of 112,000 men were lost |
| Belligerents | Ottoman Empire | Russian Empire |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Enver Pasha |
Took place during the reign of Mehmed V (1909–1918). Mehmed V
Open the reign of Mehmed V on the mapBy the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 1,532,000 km² in 1914; at the start of Mehmed V's reign they measured 2,996,000 km², at its end 742,000 km².
During Mehmed V (1909–1918) the atlas records 3 regions gained and 16 regions lost.
Regions gained: Kars–Ardahan–Artvin (1918), Batumi (Adjara) (1918), Akhaltsikhe (Childir) (1918).
Regions lost: Tripolitania (1912), Benghazi–Barca (1912), Fezzan (1912), Macedonia (Skopje–Bitola) (1912), Thessaloniki–Chalkidiki–Mount Athos (1912), Kosovo (1912), Southern and Central Albania (Vlorë–Berat–Elbasan) (1912), Aegean Islands (Lesbos–Lemnos–Samos) (1912), and 8 more.
The first Ottoman sultan whose powers were limited by the constitution; real power lay with the Committee of Union and Progress. In nine years the African and Balkan territories were lost and the empire entered the First World War.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “BİRİNCİ DÜNYA SAVAŞI” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Battle of Sarikamish (1914): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/battle-of-sarikamish/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections