Caucasus CampaignEdit
The Caucasus Campaign refers to the military operations conducted across the South Caucasus during the First World War, fought mainly between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire from the outbreak of the war in 1914 through the upheavals of 1917–1918. The fighting unfolded in a rugged, mountainous frontier that now sits across the modern nations of Georgia (country), Armenia, and Azerbaijan, with adjacent actions along the eastern marches of eastern Anatolia. The campaign was driven by a mix of strategic aims: control of borderlands and supply routes, access to the Caspian littoral, and, crucially, access to oil resources around Baku that would shape wartime logistics and postwar bargaining. The theater also intersected with the upheavals that followed the Russian Revolution and the subsequent collapse of the imperial order, setting the stage for the emergence of new states in the South Caucasus.
The Caucasus Campaign was marked by harsh mountain warfare, fluid front lines, and the competing imperatives of two empires under stress. Its outcome helped reconfigure borders, population movements, and energy politics in the region, and it left a lasting imprint on the memory of the peoples of the South Caucasus. It also became a focal point for later nationalist projects and for the interventionist maneuvers of foreign powers seeking to influence events in the aftermath of imperial collapse.
Background
Geography and strategic stakes. The South Caucasus sits at a crossroads between the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the great mountain barrier of the Greater Caucasus. Controlling passes and rail links in this zone was essential for projecting military power, securing supply routes, and protecting regional centers such as the port city of Trabzon on the Black Sea and the inland cities around Erzurum and Kars. The region’s diverse populations—representing a mix of long-established communities and new national movements—also made the campaigns complex in human terms, influencing loyalties, resistance, and cooperation on both sides of the front.
Belligerents and objectives. On the one hand, the Ottoman Empire aimed to defend its eastern frontier, deny Russian influence in the region, and seize opportunities to secure key economic assets, particularly oil and transport routes in the Transcaucasus. On the other hand, the Russian Empire sought to defend its southern border, protect allied populations in the Transcaucasus, and prevent Turkish advances that could threaten military and economic access to the Caspian basin. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the balance of power shifted decisively, and the front’s dynamics changed as the Bolshevik government sought peace with the Central Powers, while local and foreign actors pursued their own agendas in a rapidly changing regional order. See also the broader context of World War I and the regional implications for Georgia (country), Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
Key military figures and operations. The campaign featured a series of large and small actions across mountain fronts, river valleys, and long supply lines. One of the early and notable engagements was the Battle of Sarikamish in late 1914–early 1915, a high-cost operation for the Ottoman army that halted a winter offensive against Russian forces in the high passes and contributed to a strategic recalibration on both sides. Later offensives and counteroffensives around Erzurum and along the Kars–-Ardahan corridor demonstrated the mobility and the logistical strain of wartime mountain warfare. The campaign also encompassed operations aimed at securing the Caspian littoral and, eventually, the oil-rich area around Baku as the war dragged on and fronts shifted with the broader collapse of imperial authority in 1917–1918.
Major theaters and campaigns
Erzurum and the eastern front. The Erzurum region was a principal axis of operations, with both sides contesting the mountain passes that controlled overland access into eastern Anatolia and the heart of the Transcaucasus. The fighting around Erzurum involved large-scale offensives, heavy winter conditions, and significant logistical challenges, underscoring the difficulty of sustained operations in high terrain. See Erzurum for more on the city’s strategic role and the campaigns that bore its name.
Sarikamish and the early war phase. The Battle of Sarikamish — fought in the winter snows between late 1914 and early 1915 — stands as one of the most dramatic episodes of the front, illustrating the perils of supply and terrain in addition to the numbers involved in this theater. The defeat had lasting repercussions for Ottoman planning and morale and influenced subsequent operations in the Caucasus. See Battle of Sarikamish for the historical record of this engagement.
Western and coastal actions along the Black Sea and Caspian littorals. In the early stages of the war, Ottoman efforts to extend influence toward the Black Sea coast and into eastern Anatolia intersected with Russian defenses along the coastal and intermontane corridors. The port city of Batumi and nearby coastlines saw activity tied to the wider contest for control of supply routes and regional dominance.
The Caspian frontier and oil-region considerations. As the war progressed, the security of the Caspian region and its petroleum resources drew increasing attention. The area around Baku became a strategic objective, linking land campaigns to energy logistics and the broader effort to secure vital resources for the belligerents. See Baku and the history of oil in the Caucasus for more context.
Collapse of imperial controls and the postwar rearrangements. By 1917–1918, the Russian imperial government faced internal breakdown, while Ottoman military pressures and Allied interventions in the region contributed to a confluence of events that would help produce new state formations in the South Caucasus. The armistice and subsequent peace arrangements ushered in a period of transition, with the emergence of the independent republics in the region before later Soviet consolidation.
Aftermath and legacy
The Caucasus Campaign helped redefine the borders and political map of the South Caucasus in the aftermath of World War I. The dissolution of long-standing empires opened space for new national identities and state structures in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, each drawing on a mix of local governance, external sponsorship, and border negotiations. At the same time, the region’s energy resources, transport links, and strategic geography ensured that the Caucasus would remain a focal point of regional and great-power interest in the interwar period and beyond. The war also left a controversial and sometimes contested memory, especially regarding civilian populations and ethnic relations during the upheavals that accompanied the military campaigns.
Controversies and historiography
Historians have debated several aspects of the Caucasus Campaign. Questions persist about casualty figures, the full extent of Turkish and Russian strategic objectives, and the degree to which war-related violence affected civilian communities, including Armenian, Georgian, and other populations in the region. The interpretation of these episodes varies among sources, with some emphasizing the military strategies and logistics, while others focus on humanitarian consequences and national memory. The role of oil interests around Baku as a driver of wartime decisions is another area of discussion, particularly regarding how economic considerations shaped military priorities and postwar diplomacy. The events surrounding the collapse of imperial authority in 1917–1918 and the subsequent emergence of South Caucasus republics are also central to debates about how best to understand the region’s path toward independence and later Soviet governance.
See also the broader debates around how the war in the Caucasus intersected with the wider struggle for national self-determination and the postwar order in the South Caucasus, including questions about the Armenian, Georgian, and Azerbaijani experiences during and after World War I.