Battle of Çapakçur

Battle's of Çapakçur
	Part of Battle of Muş during Caucasus campaign of World War I
Date	2–7 August 1916
Location	Bingöl
Result	Ottoman victory
Territorial; changes	Muş and Bitlis back under Ottoman rule
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Mustafa Kemal Pasha Ali Fuat Pasha	Nikolai Yudenich
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Çapakçur Battles were battles fought in 1916 between the Imperial Russian forces and the Ottoman Army for the city of Çapakçur.^[1]^[2] The battle is part of the 2nd Army's offensive.

Events

The Ottoman army, which fought against the Russians on the Caucasus Front, suffered great casualties due to the harsh winter conditions and the fact that the Russian army was very strong, and the Russians took Bitlis and Muş and advanced towards the west. As the army was insufficient, militia forces were organized from the people of the region and the Russians were tried to be stopped. The militia forces formed from the tribes in Çapakçur, Genç, Solhan and Kiğı defended the region under extraordinary conditions. Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his comrades-in-arms, who were assigned to the region after the Gallipoli victory, succeeded in pushing the Russians back within today's Bingöl borders with the support of the militia forces. The Turks temporarily returned Muş and Bitlis, but it was soon retaken by the Russians.^[3] In addition to Mustafa Kemal Pasha, many commanders such as Ali Fuat Pasha, Cafer Tayyar Pasha, Ahmet İzzet Pasha, Mürsel Pasha and Faik Pasha fought against the Russians on the Çapakçur Front. In addition, the leaders of the militia forces and the prominent people of the region made extraordinary efforts to stop the Russians. The troops formed with the efforts of the dignitaries of the region also received great participation from the people. In particular, the efforts of Kahraman Sabri Efendi from Musrum in this war were highly appreciated and he was rewarded with many congratulatory telegrams and medals. Three martyrdom monuments were erected in Bingöl to carry the memories of the Çapakçur battles to future generations. After the war, the Mürsel Pasha Monument was erected in Çanakçı Village of Kiğı, the Azizan Monument in Azizan Village of Karlıova, and the Şeref Square Martyrdom Monument in Solhan where Atatürk led the battle.^[4]^[5]

Aftermath

On August 8, the Turks regained the Muş and Bitlis, the battle turned out to be a major success, but on August 23, the Russians returned the territories captured by the Turks and so severely drained the 2nd army that it could not advance until the end of the war.

References

^ Çapak, Halis (May 14, 2022). In the First World War: The Çapakçur-Oğnut Wars.
^ Öz Akçora, Kaya, Ergün, Mehmet (May 14, 2022). The Place and Importance of Bingöl and Bitlis in the First World War.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Олейников 2016, p. 177.
^ Kaya, Mehmet (September 2013). Public Investments in Bingöl during the Single Party Government Period. Bingöl Symposium Bingöl University Publications. pp. 331–338.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Yigitbaş, Mehmet Sadik (1965). Kiğı and Folkloru. Hüsnütabiat Matbaası. Istanbul.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)