The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Ukraine steals European gas

European gas supplies at risk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmPJ9aR9ADg

Ukraine has started siphoning off Russian gas bound for European customers, according to Russia's energy giant Gazprom. This follows the cutoff of gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1, after the two countries’ gas companies failed to agree on a price for 2009. Gazprom deputy CEO Aleksandr Medvedev is in Prague to inform the EU about the on-going gas conflict with Ukraine, blaming Ukraine for the reduction in supplies. “It's not Russia, but Ukraine which is blackmailing both Russia and Europe. It seems that Ukraine's authorities don't care about their country, but are simply playing political games. The Ukrainian President and Prime Minister are using the gas crisis for their own political aims,” said Medvedev on Saturday. “We want the EU to have full information on the issue so that it has a realistic understanding of who is to blame for the crisis.” Gazprom's board is also holding an emergency meeting in Moscow where they are discussing Ukraine's siphoning of gas. “Ukraine has cynically announced it's siphoning off gas from the export pipe. Dispatchers in the Balkans say the region is already suffering from Ukarine's actions. Gazprom believes the Balkan states need to use the Energy Charter signed by Ukraine to protect themselves. This charter says no contract disputes should affect supplies provided by a transit country,” stated Gazprom’s Deputy CEO Aleksandr Medvedev. Earlier on Friday the company’s spokesman Sergey Kuriyanov said that Ukraine is avoiding negotiations with Gazprom. He noted that Ukraine’s Naftogaz has promised to pay $US 1.5 billion by January 11. “But there will still be an outstanding debt of $US 614 million. Therefore, we plan to increase the transit level of gas through Belarus,” Kupriyanov said.

Ukraine, however, has denied it is siphoning off gas from transit pipes. Also, according to Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko, Russia has asked the EU parliament to hold a special meeting to discuss the issue of Russian gas transits via Ukraine. “Gazprom representatives are ready to head to Brussels, and all European countries, to fully inform them about the dispute between Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz,” he said. Earlier Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov said that independent auditors are being blocked from checking whether gas supplies to Europe are being hindered. "We don't have an effective gas delivery contract with Naftogaz now. Naftogaz is currently obstructing the operators of RosUkrEnergo and is not letting them extract the gas from underground facilities which they have," said Kupriyanov. There is still no contract signed between the two countries and debts must be paid in full before another can be signed. The Russian energy company has also calculated over $US 600 million in penalties Ukraine owes. Gazprom’s overall supply reduction amounted to 90 million cubic metres a day, which is roughly Ukraine’s consumption.

Prices don’t meet

Both Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko have appealed to Russia not to cut gas supplies to the country and to continue talks. They've also named the price their country is prepared to pay for the gas: $US 201 per 1,000 cubic metres. Gazprom, though, wanted a higher price - $US 250 per 1,000 cubic metres – which is almost half the market price. Ukraine turned down this offer. A statement by Gazprom followed that it would now sell gas to Ukraine at the market price of $US 418. “Ukraine didn't accept the preferable gas price we offered - which was $US 250 per 1,000 cubic metres," said Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller. "So starting from January 2009, Gazprom will deliver gas to Ukraine at a market European price." As Europe depends on Russia for about a quarter of its gas supplies, and the fact that 80% of their supplies pass through Ukrainian pipelines, it is watching the ongoing conflict closely. After Russia had announced a new gas price for Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko said it would be "logical" that transit costs should go up too. The Ukrainian leader said that talks with Russia are to be resumed shortly with the final agreement to be reached by the time of the Orthodox Christmas, January 7. A Ukrainian delegation has set off on a tour of Europe, which aims at informing the European Union about the gas situation and to provide guarantees that the gas will be transported across Ukraine as normal. Also, Ukraine's president Yushchenko has sent letters to the leaders of eight countries and to the European Commission to explain his reasons of the gas dispute. Earlier Ukraine had threatened to confiscate Russian gas passing through the country, refusing to guarantee supplies to Europe as Russia promises to stop gas supplies to Ukraine due to debts. Gazprom called Ukraine’s reaction ‘blackmail’.

No choice

As Gazprom has vowed to maintain supplies to Europe in full, its gas will be entering Ukraine for the foreseeable future, at least until the Nord or South Stream is opened. One major pipeline – bringing gas to Ukraine – passes through the town of Kursk, while a larger one – taking gas to Europe – operates in Voronezh (see picture). Meanwhile, German gas company E.ON Ruhrgas has taken precautions in case supplies of Russian gas are hampered. Its press secretary Helmut Roloff said that the company has agreed on additional gas supplies from Norway in case of emergency. Nevertheless, on Friday, they received all the gas they had ordered.

Source: http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/35530

Russia looks to re-route EU gas



Ukraine steals European gas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBPRuVw6_zE

Russian gas giant Gazprom says it can no longer depend on Ukraine as a transit route to the EU and is looking to develop alternatives. In a BBC interview, the deputy chairman of Gazprom, Alexander Medvedev, said he hoped EU countries would back the move. Gazprom cut off Ukraine's gas supply on Thursday in a row over payment. The firm has since accused Ukraine of stealing gas, however Ukraine's state energy firm said Russia was not sending enough gas to ensure the EU supplies. Ukraine's state gas company, Naftogaz, denied illegally siphoning Russian gas, saying it was ensuring the export supply. Ukraine has insisted it will not interfere with gas transported from Russia to other states via its pipelines, as it has enough gas in its reserves to look after its own needs for some time. Hungary and Poland said pressure on their pipelines had dropped. Naftogaz said earlier it was diverting some gas to maintain pressure in the pipeline network.

Negotiations

In his first foreign interview since the gas was cut off to Ukraine, Gazprom's Alexander Medvedev dismissed the suggestion his company was deliberately picking a fight with Kiev. Instead he said Gazprom was ready to end the dispute immediately - but there was no-one to negotiate with. "We are ready to enter negotiations day and night, but they probably have other tasks than to solve this problem because they are not in Moscow," he said. Mr Medvedev said Gazprom has gone out of its way to ensure supplies of gas to Europe are maintained. He said the problem was not with Russia, but Ukraine, adding "that's why we believe it's necessary to develop, as soon as possible, alternative transit routes". The alternatives he talks of are two new pipelines Russia is planning to build that will by-pass Ukraine on their way to Western Europe. The Nord Stream gas pipeline would run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, and the South Stream link would pass under the Black Sea. The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow says this latest dispute is expected to give those Russian plans a significant boost. The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said it would call a crisis meeting of envoys in Brussels on Monday to discuss the row. Pipes across Ukraine carry about a fifth of the EU's gas needs. A similar row between Gazprom and Ukraine at the beginning of 2006 led to gas shortages in several EU countries.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7808937.stm

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

S-400 Gets Better

Russia continues to develop and test new versions of its most powerful anti-aircraft missile, the S-400 (also known as the SA-20, Growler or Triumf). Particular attention is being paid to electronic countermeasures that the Americans might have, or be developing. Eighteen months ago, Russia put its first S-400a into service when a S-400 battalion (eight launchers, each with four missiles, plus a control center and radar) officially became operational outside Moscow. A second battalion was deployed in the same area this year. Belarus is also getting the S-400 from Russia. This system is similar to the U.S. Patriot, and is expensive. Belarus is broke, but is a close ally of Russia, and will apparently get a good terms and a low price. This will also provide at least one export customer. Russia is unsure if they want to export S-400 right away, but they do want to deploy the S-400 system where it will do the most good, and pro-Russian Belarus is a good place to put the missiles. The S-400 missiles weigh 1.8 tons each and are 26 feet long and about 20 inches in diameter. The missiles have a range of some 400 kilometers, and can hit targets as high as 100,000 feet. The missile has a 320 pound warhead. The target acquisition radar has a range of 700 kilometers. The S-400 has over five times the range of the U.S. Patriot, weighs twice as much and claims the ability to detect stealthy aircraft. The S-400 also has an anti-missile capability, which is limited to shorter range (3,500 kilometers) ballistic missiles. That would mean a warhead coming in at about 5,000 meters a second (the longer the range of a ballistic missile, the higher its re-entry speed.) The S-400 system actually has two missiles, one of them being a smaller, shorter range (120 kilometers) one. The S-400 has no combat experience, but U.S. intelligence believes that the tests these systems have undergone indicate it is a capable air defense weapon. Just how capable won't be known until it actually gets used in combat. Russia plans to buy up to 200 launchers (each with four missiles) by 2015, and phase out the older S-300 and S-200 systems. This would mean deploying at least 18 battalions in the next six years, and perhaps more than twenty. The S-400 is sometimes described as an improved version of the S-300. Basically, it is. This is how Russia prefers to develop weapons, making incremental improvements on a basic design, and doing so for decades if the system continues to be successful.

Source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/hta.../20081231.aspx

Russia's S-400 air defense system may be world's best

Russia is testing a new missile for its formidable S-400 Triumf air defense system that, if it performs according to its claimed specifications, is the most formidable long-range anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense system in the world. Three-star Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, the commander of the Russian air force, announced testing plans for the new missile Tuesday, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. RIA Novosti described the S-400 Triumf -- NATO designation SA-21 Growler -- as being "designed to intercept and destroy airborne targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) -- twice the range of the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot and 2.5 times that of the S-300PMU-2." The report said the S-400 was projected to remain the backbone of Russia's theater air and missile defense systems at least until 2020, and possibly even until 2025. "The S-400 system is being successfully deployed with air defense units. At present, we are testing a new missile for this system," Zelin said, according to the report. RIA Novosti noted that in 2007, the Russian air force announced it had carried out effective live firing tests of the S-400 air defense complex at its Kapustin Yar firing range in south Russia's Astrakhan region. As previously reported in these columns, the Russian air force already has put into operational service a battalion of its first missile regiment armed with the S-400 to defend the Russian capital, Moscow, and its surrounding regions. The S-400 Triumf system is claimed to have the capability to intercept "stealth aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, with an effective range of up to 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) and a speed of up to 4.8 kilometers per second (10,800 mph)," RIA Novosti reported. The report said a regular S-400 battalion operates at least eight launchers with 32 missiles. The Russian government has approved funding for a state arms procurement program to produce 18 such battalions with a total arsenal of 576 missiles by 2015, it said.

Source: http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry...91230740065/2/

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia to overhaul its most famous army divisions

The Russian Defense Ministry is moving to disband the Moscow Military District's 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motorized Rifle Division and 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division, and to convert them into four brigades. Both divisions now have 12,000 to 14,000 officers and men. The four brigades will have 50% more personnel, or between 18,000 and 20,000 officers and men. This makes up for 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers per brigade. Other army divisions will also be converted into brigades. Unfortunately, brigade level tables of organization, as well as the organization of their battalions, companies and platoons, are not yet known. Moreover, it is unclear whether the new brigades will have infantry-heavy or tank-heavy battalions with light infantry regiment status, as some analysts predict. No plans for dividing divisional artillery and air defense units, for subordinating the brigades to tactical commands and for facilitating their cooperation with military district commanders have been published to date. In this situation, it would be imprudent to make any conjectures. This raises the issue of the military reform's openness. However, minimal publicity is essential. This is particularly true of plans to overhaul the Tamanskaya and Kantemirovskaya divisions, which have a long and glorious history. The 2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Tamanskaya Order of the October Revolution, Order of the Red Banner and Order of Suvorov Division named after Kalinin was established in the summer of 1940 as the 127th Rifle Division in Kharkov, Ukraine.

When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the division fought enemy forces in the first few months of the Great Patriotic War, and was renamed as the 2nd Guards Rifle Division in September 1941 together with several other Red Army units. The division subsequently took part in many large-scale military operations, was renamed as the Tamanskaya Division for its heroic exploits during the Novorossiisk-Taman operation and finished the war on April 17, 1945 on the Samland Peninsula in East Prussia. After the war, the division was converted into a motorized rifle division and deployed in the Moscow Region's Naro-Fominsk District. Its elements always took part in military parades on Red Square, helped to overthrow Lavrenty Beria, former chief of the dreaded Soviet secret police, in the summer of 1953 and were also involved in the abortive August 1991 coup against the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the October 1993 clashes between President Boris Yeltsin's supporters and the Russian parliament.

The 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Order of Lenin and Order of the Red Banner Tank Division named after Yury Andropov, which is also deployed in the Naro-Fominsk District, has an equally distinguished history. Formerly called the 17th Tank Corps, it was established in the spring of 1942 and renamed as the 4th Guards Tank Corps in 1943 for its exploits during the battle of the Don River. The corps fought in many other strategic operations and finished the war on May 9, 1945 on the outskirts of Prague. The Soviet tank force was overhauled in the fall of 1945; and the corps was renamed as the 4th Guards Tank Division. Just like the Tamanskaya Division, the Kantemirovskaya Division participated in Red Square parades. On September 8, 1946, when the U.S.S.R. celebrated Tanker Day, the entire division marched through Red Square. In 1991 and 1993, the division's elements were also deployed in Moscow. Its officers and men fought in both Chechen campaigns, and took part in various peacekeeping operations. The Tamanskaya and Kantemirovskaya divisions have a proud place in the Russian army's history. Their glorious traditions are the pillar of any great nation's army. The high command of the Russian armed forces has said the newly established brigades would retain their honorary names and banners. Hopefully, their banners and other regalia will not end up in museum collections.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20081124/118483324.html

In other news:

Russian carrier-based aircraft to exercise in Greek airspace

Deck-based aviation of Russia's heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will hold exercises in the Greek airspace in January, the Greek National Defense General Staff said on Friday. "The exercises will take place on January 3-4 and on January 8-10 southeast of Rhodes Island and on January 11 south of Crete," the General Staff said. The exercises will be held in international waters but the aircraft will fly in the Athens airspace, the General Staff said. Russia announced in 2007 that its Navy had resumed and would build up a constant presence in different regions of the world's oceans.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090102/119334382.html

[ZORAVAR]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Dear Armenians,

I hope all of you had the most wonder New Year with your family and friends. I wish and pray for happiness to all Armenian people. I have faith in you most noble Armenian people, that you may raise again to great sucessus in new year. You have lived and survived for thousands of years agianest all odds and enemies. May god bless you Armenian,are allies, brothers, sisters and most of all friends in this upcoming Christmas and year.


My most warm regard Angessa,

Thank you Angessa and a Merry Chrimas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. С Новым Годом!

[ZORAVAR]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russian carrier-based aircraft to exercise in Greek airspace

Deck-based aviation of Russia's heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.....

A short video clip of the exercises:

http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=238973

[yerazhishda]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Is Putin A True Christian Leader?

THE ZIONIST CONTROLLED WESTERN MEDIA has been waging a savage campaign against Vladimir Putin for the last 8 years. Yet the Zionist controlled media had nothing but praise for Boris Yeltsin who misgoverned Russia and appointed xxxish oligarchs and their Harvard xxxish friends as his “economic advisors” who looted Russia under the cover of the so called “privatizing” of Russia’s industries.

Upon Putin’s ascendancy to the presidency of Russia, Time Magazine acknowledged that Putin was secretly baptized by his mother into the Russian Orthodox faith when he was born in 1952. But even Putin’s own admission to being baptized during Russia’s Soviet era was glossed over by Time Magazine.

Instead of applauding Putin for his open Christian confession, the xxxish owned Time Magazine, (the Bronfman family owns the Time-Warner conglomerate), smeared Putin as a “colorless, ordinary man with prying eyes and expressionless face, a KGB spy who built his career on being a nonentity.”

But Putin’s “nonentity” status has gone by the wayside. Today, Vladimir Putin stands tall as a giant - not only on the world’s political and economic scene, but in the spiritual realm as well. In his own words during an Easter Service at Christ The Saviour Cathedral on April 27 2008, Putin assured the Russian people saying:

— “This holiday shows just how important national traditions and spiritual values are for our people. The state will continue to provide all possible support to the Church aimed at the enlightenment and moral education of Russian citizens.” — Here.

In May of 2007, the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia united with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, (ROCOR), which had been estranged from the Mother Church ever since the Bolshevik Revolution. (I, Brother Nathanael, attend a ROCOR church). The Russian hierarch, Metropolitan Kirill, head of External Church Relations, is convinced, as thousands of Orthodox Christians, (myself included), that Vladimir Putin is a deeply believing Christian man.

A SYMPHONY BETWEEN CHURCH & STATE

IN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN HISTORY & TRADITION a “symphony” between Church & State has been the ideal. This is something that the secular West cannot comprehend. In contrast with the West, Orthodox civilization developed its own model of Church & State relations. This model was called a ’symphony’ by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in his 6th Century Legal Code.

Putin, in beneficent Orthodox Tsar-like manner, often makes appearances with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II. In so doing, Putin affirms the Church’s political-religious tradition of a symphony between Church & State. On November 18 2007, Putin met with Alexy II and other hierarchs of the Church in St Alexander’s Chapel in the Kremlin. At this meeting Putin promised:

— “Orthodoxy has always played a special role in shaping our statehood, our culture, our morals. One should not completely draw a line between the culture and the Church. Of course, in our country the Church is separate from the State. But in the soul and the history of our people it’s all together. It always has been and always will be.” — Here & Here.

In another political/religious affirmation of Russia’s “symphony” between Church & State, Putin appeared with Alexy II at a Kremlin meeting in November of 2007. At this meeting, Putin was photographed with Alexy II who called for “tighter controls on the content of television and radio broadcasts” saying they were promoting “vicious behavior.”

In Russia, everyone understands the meaning of Putin’s photographs with others - the above photograph included. It translates into Putin’s agreement with those personages. And Putin surely is in “agreement” with Patriarch Alexy II in building a healthy society based on Church tradition - just as he has promised so many times.

PUTIN AS A CHRISTIAN STATESMAN

HARPING ON THE ISSUE OF “DEMOCRACY” in Putin’s Russia is a continual drone of the Zionist controlled West. Recently, presidential candidate John McCain joined in on the mantra calling for Russia’s exclusion from the G-8. Putin’s rebuff to McCain through a top ambassador was telling McCain to “forego your threats until after you’re elected.”

And in Christian statesmanship-like style, Putin recently warned the West to stop giving Russia blanket lectures on democracy:

— “Rather than talking about democracy in Russia let the West be specific about the issues that matter. If they are worried about nuclear programmes in Iran, let’s talk about Iran together. If they want us to resolve Kosovo, let’s talk Kosovo. We will gladly participate in any debate with our partners.” — Here.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is not one to throw his words to the wind. On May 9 2008 Putin pledged to transform Russia into a financial world leader, saying: “I will work to make Russia one of the main financial centres in the world.”

Thus if money is what makes the world go ’round, Putin’s pledge to make Russia a center of world finance could very likely give the Zionist international bankers some good healthy competition. And for us all — an alternative to the Zionist world wide agenda…

source: Real xxx News

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Let us proudly commemorate the 94th anniversary of a Russo-Armenian military campaign that inflicted upwards of 100,000 casualties upon Ottoman army regulars at Sarikamish in January of 1915. Imperial Russian forces supported by a significant number of battle hardened Armenian volunteers from the Caucasus preempted an Ottoman strike against the Russian Empire by driving west towards Erzerum from the Russian controlled city of Kars. It was late December 1914, the initial stages of the First World War. The two imperial armies met at Sarikamish on the outskirts of Kars. When it was over some four weeks later the entire Ottoman army lay decimated as tens of thousands of frozen Ottoman corpses lay strewn across the snow clad battlefield. According to some accounts, out of a force of about 100,000 Ottoman troops 80,000 perished with the rest being either wounded or taken prisoner. This total defeat suffered at the hands of the Russian Empire with Armenian support may have contributed to the already severe paranoia Turkish authorities had developed towards Armenians and may have actually encouraged their genocidal plans against the hapless Armenians living under Ottoman rule. Incidentally, this was essentially the same Russian-Armenian force that later went on to liberate the ancient Armenian city of Van from the clutches of Turkish and Kurdish tyrants. The Imperial Russian army of Czar Nicholas II was forced to abandon their positions in the Armenian Highlands, along with its Armenian inhabitants, when the Bolshevik revolution created serious unrest in the Russian mainland. I firmly believe that had it not been for the Jew inspired Western funded Bolshevik revolution in Russia the western reaches of the Armenian Republic today would have at the very least included Van and Erzerum.

How unpredictably pivotal history can be and how cruel it has been for us Armenians.

Armenian

***********************

The Battle of Sarikamish

Russian-Armenian trenches in the forests of Sarikamish

Russia viewed the Caucasus Front as secondary to the Eastern Front. Eastern Front had the Russian manpower and resources. Russia had taken the fortress of Kars from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War in 1877 and feared a campaign into the Caucasus, a Caucasus Campaign, aimed at retaking Kars and the port of Batum. The Ottoman generalship and organization were negligible compared to the Allies. A Caucasus Campaign would have a distracting effect on Russian forces. The plan found sympathy with German advisory that a success in this region would mean a diversion of Russian forces to this front from the Polish and Galician fronts. Germany supplied the missing resources and the Ottoman 3rd Army's manpower was used to achieve the desired distraction. Strategic goal of the Caucasus Campaign was set to retake Artvin, Ardahan, along Kars, and the port of Batum. For a longer term goal, Enver hoped a success would facilitate opening the route to Tbilisi and beyond with a revolt of Caucasian Muslims. The Turkish — or rather German — strategic goal was to cut off Russian access to the hydrocarbon resources around the Caspian Sea.

The long term goal made British vary. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was in the proposed path which had the exclusive rights to work petroleum deposits throughout the Persian Empire except in the provinces of Azerbaijan, Ghilan, Mazendaran, Asdrabad and Khorasan. In 1914, before the war, the British government had contracted with the company for the supply of oil-fuel for the navy. The headquarters of the 3rd Army was located in Erzurum under the command of Hasan İzzet Pasha. On October 30, 1914, the 3rd Army headquarters was informed by High Command in Istanbul about an exchange of fire during the pursuit of Goeben and Breslau in the Black Sea. High Command expected the Russian Army to cross the Ottoman border at any time. The Bergmann Offensive (November 2, 1914 - November 16, 1914) ended with the defeat of Russian troops under the command of Bergmann. The Russian success was along the southern shoulders of the offense where Armenian volunteers visible (effective) and taken Karaköse and Doğubeyazıt Hasan İzzet Pasha managed to stabilize the front by letting the Russians 25 kilometers inside the Ottoman Empire along the Erzurum-Sarikamish axis.

The war minister, Enver Pasha, devised an operation plan while he was at the Department of War in Istanbul. His strategy based on German principles copied from Napoleon. Enver's plan involved a single envelopment using three Corps. On the right flank, XI Corps would fix the Russians in place and conduct feint attacks. In the center, IX Corps would fight in the direction of Sarikamish Pass. Hafız Hakkı’s X Corps, which was to be on the left flank, would drive to Oltu, cross the Allahüekber Mountains, cut the Kars road and drive the Russians to the Aras Valley, where the Russian forces would be destroyed by all three Corps attacking in total harmony. Meanwhile a detachment unit under Stange Bey would conduct highly visible operations to distract and pin Russian units. The success depended on these troops arriving at their specified objectives at the correct moment. The Russians fulfilled the first part of this strategy with the Bergmann Offensive by Russian forces concentrating at Sarikamish and Köprüköy.

Photo said to be of the 4th battalion of the Armenian volunteers engaged at strategic Barduz Pass

Hasan İzzet Pasha was not in favor of an offensive action in the harsh winter conditions. He was planning to remain in defense. He wanted to pull the Russians to the Erzurum Fortress and launch a counter attack at the right time. Assistant Chief of Staff Colonel Hafız Hakkı Bey was sent to replace the commander of X Corps Ziya Pasha to energize the 3rd Army. After initial exchanges with Hafız Hakkı, on December 18, Hasan İzzet, whose release from the command was signed on December 14 by Enver, told to Enver: “We have to consider 8 or 9 days for a large scaled encircling manoeuvre. However, during this time the XI Corps, which will remain at the front, might be jeopardized. Even if we execute the manoeuvre with two corps, they will probably face difficulties against the enemy.” Enver Pasha wanted his plan executed through a winter offense. He decided to take in the charge. He left Istanbul with General Bronsart von Schellendorf and the head of the Operations Office Lieutenant Colonel Feldmann. They arrived in Erzurum on December 21. Senior Turkish commanders opposed the forced resignation of Hasan İzzet the Commander of the 3rd Army due to his rejection of the plan.

The total war zone was nearly 1,250-1,500 kilometers (776-932 miles) wide from Black sea to Lake Van, which made the military concentration difficult. The operation executed at a plateau averaging 1,500-2,000 meters (5,000-6,500 feet). The main difficulty about the region was the roads. The transportation infrastructure on the Ottoman side was far from adequate. Russia's main advantage was the railway up to Kars including a terminal at Sarikamish. The railway was 24 kilometers (15 miles) from the border. The only way for an army through the Caucasian heights was the high mountain passes in which were lied the cities Kars and Sarikamish. Beyond, the upper valleys of the Aras River and Euphrates extended westward. Everywhere else was the paths in tracks which were impenetrable to artillery. The forces were concentrated about 80 kilometers (50 miles) on each side of the border at the fortresses of Kars (Russian) and Erzurum (Ottoman).

The 3rd Army under the command of Enver Pasha was composed of the IX, X and XI Corps. 3rd Army's headquarters and the IX Corps were located in Erzurum. The X Corps was stationed in Sivas, whereas the XI Corps was in Elazığ (Mamuretülaziz). A detachment unit under the command of German Stange (lieutenant colonel) was established from the 3rd Infantry Division located at Erzurum Fortress to reinforce the offense and pin down the Russians. This detachment unit was originally stationed in Thrace; consisting of two battalions of the 8th Infantry Regiment and two artillery. The fighting power included 83,000 regular troops, reserves, and personnel of the Erzurum Fortress added to 118,000. The total manpower including transportation units, depot regiments, and military police was 150,000. There were 73 machine guns and 218 artillery pieces. Ottoman forces were inadequately prepared for the campaign. Two divisions of the IX Corps began a long trek with no winter clothing and only dry bread and olives for rations.

Armenian 3rd battalion cavalry and troops commanded by Hamazasp Srvandztian rallying at Etchmiadzin in 1914.

The Russian Caucasus Army was a well-equipped 100,000 troops. The Russians redeployed almost half of the Caucasus Army to the Prussian front due to the defeats at the Battle of Tannenberg (August 23 - September 2, 1914) and the Masurian Lakes (September 9-14, 1914), leaving behind just 65,000 troops. To remedy these troop movements Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov consulted with the Mayor of Tbilisi Alexandre Khatsian, the primate of Tbilisi Bishop Mesrop, and the prominent civic leader Dr. Hakob Zavriev about the creation of Armenian volunteer detachments. The Russian Armenian reservists had already been drafted into the regular armed forces and sent to European theatre of World War I. The volunteer units would make up of Armenians who were not citizens of the empire or not obligated to serve. Originally, there were 4 volunteer battalions created. Along the Kars Oblast, the 3rd battalion commanded by Hamazasp (Srvandztian) and 4th battalion by Keri (Arshak Gavafian) operated on the front facing Erzurum between Sarikamish and Oltu. The Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Military District (Caucasian Army) was Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov. Effective command laid on Inf. General Aleksandr Zakharevich Myshlayevsky who was originally a military historian graduated from Imperial General Staff Academy. General Nikolai Yudenich was the Chief of Staff of General Myshlayevsky.

Hafız Hakki was at the left flank. His order was to move the IX and X Corps to Sarikamish and Kars. He contemplated a two step plan. A sudden initial attack ("major offensive") and second step with both Corps proceeding at full speed towards the Oltu. He expected the assault at İd to be concluded by the afternoon of December 22. Then the Corps would march 30 kilometers a day and arrive in the Kars-Sarikamish line by December 25. For the movement on the extreme left two divisions of the Stange regiment had been sent by sea from Constantinople to Trabzon. On early December 22, Hafız Hakkı ordered his troops to move forward. They engaged in a brief skirmish against a Russian brigade commanded by General Istomin, once these divisions reached to Oltu. The skirmishes at Oltu ended the next day after 4 artillery guns, 4 machine guns, and 1000 Russian troops were taken prisoner. On December 23, Istomin abandoned his position for the general direction of Ardahan. Hafız Hakkı sent 2 divisions to pursue Istomin. At the extreme left wing, the Stange Regiment, which had landed at Trabzon, was to move up the Çoruh valley towards Ardahan and across a pass of 2,4384 kilometers (8,000 feet) high.

On December 24, Hafız Hakkı was well beyond Oltu after having marched a hard 75 kilometers in just over three days. However, they were not at Kars-Sarikamish line as it was planned. On December 25, Ottoman troops had been marching for 14 hours under heavy snow. The soldiers were exhausted, fatigued, hungry; the fear of frostbite and Russian machine guns were slowly being replaced by absolute indifference. On December 26, at the 18th hour of this march, in the early hours of the morning, the 91st Regiment of X Corps came under enemy fire. The Russians left the scene after nearly two hours of fighting. The regiment hit the road again. Soon a snow storm began. Under these conditions the 91st Regiment managed to reach Kosor in 21 hours after leaving Penek, a distance of just 8 kilometers. Other units reached their destinations at a similar rate. While Enver was ordering a night attack, elements of the X Corps were spending the night in the villages of Kosor, Arsenik and Patsik, which were 40, 35 and 30 kilometers from Sarikamish respectively. The Allahüekber Mountains were in front of these units. It would take them at least 2 more days to reach Sarikamish.

Continued below.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Battle of Sarikamish

The X Corps suffered a delay of 24 hours in the Barduz Pass. This added an extra deviation from Enver's all-attack plan. In the Barduz Pass conflict 4th battalion of the Armenian volunteers lost 600 troops. The Stange regiment looked down to Ardahan. When the commander Malyshevsky arrived army headquarters in the Russian front line, he was almost in a complete panic. He gave the order for a general retreat. The process of withdrawing was to start on December 25 and 26. The Russians evacuated Sarikamish, leaving only 2 cavalry squadrons and 1,000 railwaymen to defend it. Not all Russian commanders were in a state of panic. The Russian army headquarters maintained a solid grip on the situation, the effective command and control never lost. General Yudenich, taking command of the II Turkestan Corps, decided to put up resistance. On December 28 the Russians held by the XI Corps at Khorasan. The IX Corps were at Sarikamish. The X Corps were threatening to pierce the Russian front along the Kars railway at east side. The Stange regiment was descending upon Ardahan at sixty miles north-east. The Enver's operational plan looked liked succeeded on the map. The ground situation was alarming. Ottoman forces were worn out, half starved, and short of guns and ammunition, for no transport on earth could cope with such a breakneck march. Enver Pasha thought that the Russians were retreating to Kars. In fact, it was actually an encircling movement.

On December 29, the assault took place. The IX and XI Corps, totaling 12,000 men, began to attack Sarikamish. During bitter bayonet fighting, only 300 men succeeded in breaking into the city. At end of the day, they were driven off, losing 6,000 troops. Enver's positive mood replaced with disappointment when he received information that Russians were preparing to encircle his forces with a force of five regiments. This shock enabled Enver Pasha to see the truth. On December 31, the IX Corps was stuck in woods outside Sarikamish and down to some 2,500 men and 14 artillery guns and machine guns. On the same night bad news arrived from Bardız to Enver’s headquarters. The 32nd Division abandoned his positions to the Russians. This meant that Barduz and Kızılkilise roads were now in Russian hands. The Ottoman forces were inside a semicircle. Retreat through the open mouth of the circle would be the rational decision. Enver refused to lose momentum, and ordered his units to continue with the plan. On January 1, commander of the XI Corps pressed a frontal attack on Sarikamish lasting for the next 4 days; after that the heavy fighting began to lose momentum. Snow hindered advancing forces which were supposed to bring the relief. The IX Corps melted away on the way to Sarikamish. One of the divisions lost 40% of its strength in a snowstorm. The X Corps never come to the rescue. The 90% of X Corps was left on the slopes of Allahüekber Mountains. The XI Corps was fighting at the Aras region. A regiment entered Çerkezköy, only to be taken prisoner. According to schedule but exhausted, the Stange regiment entered Ardahan. The Russians were about to encircle the remaining forces.

On January 2, Russian artillery fire caused severe casualties. Enver Pasha received two reports; one was from the chief of staff of the IX Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Şerif, and the other from Colonel Hafız Hakkı. Both reports were saying that they did not have any capacity to launch another attack. They were simply too weak. Enver responded to the units “the offensive is to go on at full strength.” This was later used as a sign of his denial. Later, Enver slowly accepted the truth and focused on securing the routes for retreat instead of insisting on new attacks to take Sarikamish. He combined the two corps there, renamed it the “Left Wing Army.” He promoted the Colonel Hafız Hakkı to Brigadier General and gave the command of the Left wing Army. On January 3, I Corps were driven out again back to the Choruk Valley, in which direction the remnants of the X Corps were also retreating. Hafız Hakkı, who was just promoted to be a Pasha, was hoping for reinforcements. He did not order his units, Left Wing Army, to retreat. He believed it could be still possible to take Sarikamish. Meanwhile, around 40 kilometres south to Sarikamish, the XI Corps led by Galip Pasha was renewing attacks on Russian lines in an attempt to relieve the pressure on the IX and X Corps positioned in front of Sarikamish. However, the Russians were advancing now. The circle was getting narrower. On January 4, Hafız Hakkı Pasha toured the front line. He said to İhsan Pasha that it is over and he was hoping that some of the troops left on Allahüekber Mountains could be still alive.

On January 6, the 3rd Army headquarters found itself under fire. The Russians captured the entire 28th Division. The 17th and 29th Divisions were taken prisoner. 8 senior officers including İhsan Pasha surrendered to the Russians. Among the captives, 108 officers and 80 soldiers transferred to Sarikamish. Hafız Hakkı Pasha managed to save himself. He safely reached the headquarters of the X Corps. He found out that the IX Corps fell to the hands of Russians. He ordered a total retreat. On January 7, the remaining forces began their march towards Erzurum. On January 11, after four days of travel Enver Pasha and the German officers reached Erzurum. They stipulated in their original plan that the same route could be taken by the 3rd Army in two days. The transports dispatched from Constantinople which attempted to land troops and provisions at Trabzon were sunk by a Russian Black Sea squadron and the warships. The escorts SMS Goeben and TCG Hamidieh chased back to the Bosporus. On January 17, the remnants of Ottoman forces in woods outside Sarikamish were collected which signaled the end of final fighting in this front. On the other side, the Russian right wing cleared the Choruk Valley. Enver's project ended in failure after three weeks of heroic struggle amid high mountains and deep snowdrifts. For a time, at least, Russia was secure from attack in the Caucasus. Hafız Hakkı Pasha expected that the Russians use this success to capture the Erzurum Fortress. The 3rd Army immediately took reconstruction measures. This proved to be nearly impossible as all the local reserves depleted. On February 12, the young and energetic Hafız Hakkı Pasha died at the helm of the Army. Otto Liman von Sanders, who was asked before, rejected the position again. Mahmut Kamil Pasha took the command of the Army. The war minister Enver Pasha never commanded troops in any other battle again.

The Ottoman 3rd Army started with 118,000 fighting power. It was reduced to 42,000 effective in January 1915. There are conflicting figures on Ottoman Casualties. Sources do not agree on what the final sum should include. The Turkish official history states; 32,000 KIA, 15,000 died sickness, 7,000 prisoners, 10,000 wounded, some 50,000 casualty. The casualties of the conflict escalated beyond the end of active period as the most immediate problem confronting the 3rd Army became the typhus epidemic. The epidemic was so bad that the commander of the Army Hafız Hakkı Pasha died of typhus just a few weeks later in Erzurum. TAF presents a round-up 60,000 throughout all the period of operation. Russians had 7,000 POW's, which includes 200 officers. These POW's were kept under confinement for the next three three years in the small town of Varnavino, east of Moscow on the Vetluga River. After the final days of the Czarist empire, these soldiers had chance to return ailing Ottoman Empire. Russian losses were 16,000 KIA and 12,000 died sickness, mostly due to frostbite. TAF sources report a rounded 30,000 without giving details on the breakdown of this number.

Enver was the strategist of the operation. Hassan Izzet was the tactician who implemented the plan and remedied the shortcomings. The failure was blamed on Enver. Beyond his faulty estimate on how the enveloped Russians would react, his failure was on not keeping operational reserves that matched the needs of the conditions. He did not have enough field service to factor the hardships faced by the soldiers, he analyzed the operational necessities theoretically rather than contextually. Carrying out a military plan in the winter was not the major failure of the operation. A valid question is if the plan could have executed better? It would be hard to exceed the performance of the Turkish soldiers. The IX and X Corps marched with the possible best effectiveness under the given conditions. The authority of the command over the units were undeniable which extended to the human limits. The majority of the units managed to move to the right positions. In many respects, the destruction of 30,000 Russian units should be credited. The communication and cooperation between the Ottoman units failed, forces functioned separate units rather than mutually supporting engagements as originally planned. There was not sufficient operational reserve established, for size of engagement. The conditions of the Ottoman forces could have been better, if Enver paused the operations on December 14, or did not moved beyond Oltu line with the artillery pieces. The decision to take heavy artillery rather than short range smaller caliber beyond the Oltu line was failure as the forces were faced detachment units with better mobility. The plan's had faulty estimate on the Russian forces. The commanders of the X and IX Corps were replaced with little or no experience at the operational level. The chief of staff of IX Corps Köprülülü Şerif Bey "..troops fought on the top of tall mountains under snowstorm against the artillery of an enemy of centuries and they were completely annihilated, but not a single Turkish soldier has ever turned his back to his nation... In Sarikamish, there was no panic.”

During the battle the light infantry was used by both sides. The detachment Armenian volunteer units on the Russian side, and the detachment I Corps unit under control of Stange Bey bey provided skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying of the enemy advance or preventing them escaping. The Ottoman detachment unit whence the Armenian volunteers operated and also those settlements left exposed by tactical withdrawals of the Russian forces and Armenian volunteer units. The Armenian detachment units are credited no small measure of the success which attended by the Russian forces, as they were natives of the region, adjusted to the climatic conditions, familiar with every road and mountain path, and had real incentive to fierce and resolute combat. The Armenian volunteers were small, mobile, and well adapted to the semi-guerrilla warfare. They did good work as scouts, though they took part in many severe engagements. Armenian detachment battalions challenged the Ottoman operations during the critical times: "the delay enabled the Russian Caucasus Army to concentrate sufficient force around Sarikamish".

Martin Gilbert in The First World War states that in search of allies against the Turks, the Tsar visited the "Caucasus front" on December 30, telling the head of the Armenian Church that "a most brilliant future awaits the Armenians". With these words, the fate of hundreds of thousands of Armenians was endangered, as Ottoman Empire saw in its own large Armenian minority a source of fifth column activity, treachery and disloyalty, and did nothing to dampen anti-Armenian feeling. The relationship between the Armenians and the Ottoman Empire had already started to deteriorate after numerous massacres in eastern Anatolia during the 1890s. The Ottoman government claimed[citation needed] that it had a legitimate defense by sovereign state—at the moment of its greatest danger—against an actual or projected Armenian uprising in favor of Russia and Western Allied invasion of Ottoman heartlands. On his return to Constantinople, Enver Pasha blamed his failure on the actions of the region's local Armenians, initiating the repressive measures against the empire's Armenian population that were an early stage of the Armenian Genocide.

Source: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Battle_of_Sarikamis

[jgk3]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

wow, that was a good read. Where can I read about more battles like this in the Caucasus or Anatolia regions?

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

wow, that was a good read. Where can I read about more battles like this in the Caucasus or Anatolia regions?

You can find such accounts in serious history books in Armenia and in Russia. Not much of this genre, theater of operation, has been translated into English. Sadly, it must be said that our shortsighted genocide obsessed idiots in the diaspora are afraid of publicizing this kind of historical information because they think it can hinder genocide recognition efforts. I personally believe that Armenians, especially diasporan Armenians, desperately need to hear such heroic stories about how we, together with our northern neighbors, were able to easily bring the Ottoman Empire to its knees in the opening stages of the First World War. Armenians need to learn about how Bolshevism annulled our successes and gave away our lands. Armenians need to learn that because of Russia's defeat Ottoman Armenians were subjugated to a near total genocide. I think our deep obsession with the Armenian Genocide has created a generation of insecure self-haters with victim mentalities in the diaspora. Insecure nations that beg at the feet of others can never accomplish anything in realpolitik. Our idiots still talk about justice and international law being with Armenians. Well, that's fine and good, but as long as you don't have the military and financial power to push your weight around you are worthless in the eyes on the international community. Anyway, I simply happened to come across the well known Sarikamish battle some time ago on the internet and I was waiting for an appropriate time to post it. For your information, two very significant books were recently translated into English. The two books in question are the biographies of general Andranik Ozanian and general Drastamad Kanayan by Andranik Chelebian. These are historically very significant scholarly works. A treasure trove of information. Moreover, they recount in detail many of the important military operations and battles in the region at the time.