Day Six (27 December 1914)

Sketch: 27 December 1914

The bad luck experienced by the 10th Corps and passiveness of the 11th Corps put the 9th Corps into a difficult situation. The 10th Corps was still in Beyköy and therefore the 9th Corps was waiting for their arrival. This loss of time was to the Turks’ disadvantage. The Russians realized this, as was revealed in a letter from Col. Termen to his colleague Col. Lastockin, “… we should be waiting quietly in Sarikamish. Let Turks sit on the mountain tops without rations and with supply difficulties being exposed to hunger and cold. They will disappear in a couple of days.”

Sketch: 27 December 1914

The number of soldiers in the 10th Corps dropped from 30,000 to 12,000 by the time they entered Beyköy.

The 11th Corps continued to allow the Russians to withdraw freely from the front although it was supposed to tie down the Russian Forces at the front by attacking it. The course of the war depended on this. Hüseyin Ağayurt and Çamurlu Mountains were occupied by the Russians and this was a setback in terms of the Turks’ security.