Russians enter Turkey

The British chronology of the war records under 4 November 1914 that Russian troops crossed the Turkish border in Armenia and occupied Azap. In fact they had crossed the border a few days earlier, on the night of 1–2 November, immediately after Russia declared war on Turkey. 4 November was the day on which the Russians reached the objective of the first stage of operations: the heights around the village of Azap, on the road from Sarikamish to Erzurum.

The advance to the border was made by the Sarikamish detachment, built around General Georgy Bergmann’s I Caucasian Army Corps. The main body moved along the valley of the Aras towards Köprüköy, a brigade on the right wing headed north, and the Cossacks south, into the Eleşkirt valley. Further south still, the Erivan detachment, supported by Armenian volunteers, marched on Doğubayazıt at the foot of Ararat.

The Russian plan was modest. The best corps of the Caucasus Army were fighting the Germans and Austrians, and the forces left in the Caucasus were intended mainly for defence. The advance into Turkish territory was meant to seize favourable positions on the far side of the border, forestall the movements of the Ottoman Third Army and check the raids of irregular Kurdish cavalry.

The first days brought easy successes. The weak Turkish covering units fell back almost without a fight, and by 4 November the Russians were about 25 kilometres inside Turkey. Bergmann concluded that the enemy was weak and, instead of halting on the line he had won, decided to push on towards Köprüköy and Erzurum. It was a decision that within a few days would cost him dearly.