Background
After the defeat at the Battle of Sarikamish, the Ottomans tried to reorganize. The Armenian Genocide made supplying their forces a problem. Trade by Armenians, which had supplied the Ottoman Army, was disrupted. Dismissal of Armenian soldiers into labor battalions and their massacres further worsened the problem. However, throughout 1915, the northern sectors of this front remained quiet.
At the same time, the end of the Gallipoli Campaign would free up considerable Turkish soldiers. Nikolai Yudenich, commander of the Russian Caucasus Army, knew this and prepared to launch an offensive. He hoped to take the main fortress of Erzurum in the area followed by Trebizond. It was a difficult campaign as Erzurum was protected by a number of forts in the mountains.
Eight of these divisions were designated for the Caucasus Front. Yudenich believed he could launch an offensive before these divisions could be ready for battle.
Read more about this topic: Erzurum Offensive
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