CAPTURE OF ERZEROUM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16201, 11 April 1916, Page 6

CAPTURE OF ERZEROUM.

RUSSIANS' BOLD STRATEGY.

FORTS TAKEN WITH BAYONET

SIBERIANS' CYCLONIC SWEEP.

The brilliancy of the Russian strategy, which resulted in the capture of Erzeroum, is emphasised by the detailed accounts of the operations appearing in London news-

papers. , , The first fort taken was Kara Gubek. | Without a pause the Russians advanced upon the Tafta fort, four miles nearer] Erzeroum, and after bombarding stormed and captured it. Twenty guns, besides prisoners and stores, were taken hereThese two forts lie relatively far out, the next nearest, Choban Dede, being six miles to the south, on the Deve Boyun heights. The record of 48 hours may be ' summed up as 12 miles of territory on the map, with eight forts above the snowline/ covered by a cyclonic rush of incomparable Siberian troops, whose iron endurance. must have been terribly tried _by the; climatic conditions over mountain country, where as many miles stand on end as appear "lineally on the map. _ | The plan of campaign was something j as follows: —Dashing in pursuit of the ' fugitives of the broken Turkish centre' right up to the guns of Erzeroum forts, j the Russians at the outset threatened to j rush the impregnable Deve Boyun posi-! tions from the east along the best and shortest road from Koprikeui and Hassan- i kala. The Turks made a desperate attempt | to cßeck the Russian onset by a sally into | the- Pasin plain, bvj were driven back I behind the line of forts. This sally doubtless convinced the Turkish command-! ers that Russia's main forces were coming : along the best road, and along that road Russia pushed up undeif -'extraordinary, difficulties guns in number and calibre sufficient to keep the Deve Boyun line forts busy. Meantime great activity was dis-1 played by the entirely independent Russian column away to the south, in the region of Melazghert. This column pushed forward to Khnyss, cut off the Turkish forces from Erzeroum, and herded them towards Mush and Bitlis. Fugitives northwards towards Erzeroum from this region were pursued, and generally demonstrations were made calculated to give the impression that the Russians were bent on circumventing the line of forts by a flanking march from the south. At the same time extreme activity both on sea and land was displayed by the other Russian ' forces on tho Turks' extreme left on the 1 Black Sea coastline region. Then a special striking column mainly composed of Siberian troops, seized the Dumlu Dagh ridges. This column was lost sight of for some days, which were evidently employed in making the best way across country. The Decisive Blow. While this daring movement was in progress through blizzards and snowdrifts, with fifty to sixty degrees of frost, some troops appeared in Gurdja Bogaz Pass working towards Erzeroum from the northeast, and approaching by the two roads the outlying fort of Kara Gubek. A decisive blow appears to have been struck by the Siberian columns which took the Kara Gubek and Tafta forts in the rear. Both these forts face all ways, and their capture though executed in a quick time movement, necessitated hard fighting, 'ilie Siberians then swept southwards like a cyclone behind tho Deve Boyun forts, which all face eastwards, and within twenty-four hours were masters of all seven forts. Enemy's Preparations lor Plight.

A very considerable proportion of the garrison of Erzoroum succeeded in making good their escape before the entry of the Russians. The enemy's preparations for flight wore noted immediately after the fall of the first fort, and the final resistance was the work of nothing more than a strong rearguard. Possibly there was something in the rumours current immediately after the capture of the Keprikai positions that even then the Turks had begun the evacuation of the large stores of munitions and provisions which are understood to have been accumulated in tjheir great Armenian stronghold. It seenls probable that they got away the the greater part of their light artillery, though the heavy fortress guns must have been abandoned.

Another account of the operations, published by the London Daily Telegraph, states that a simultaneous attack ',va3 made both on the extreme ■ northern fort of Kara Gubek, barring the passage of the gorge of the Kara Soo Valley, and on the outer line of the Deve Boyun works. A bull's-eye shot burst in the magazine of Kara Gubek, exploding its contents, and the fort was stormed shortly afterwards. The first breach in the Deve Boyun rampart was effected on the same day. According to the Staff news, Kara Gubek was occupied on the evening cf one day, and Balangez, the first of the Deve Boyun works to fall, on the following morning. At any rate, it was evidently this latter fort that gave the signal for the crumbling away of the eastern bulwark of Erzeroum. Forts Overwhelmed.

The Russians then, by an impetuous night attack, overwhelmed .Fort Tafta, which was the second of the defences of the Kara Soo Valley, and in this way apparently opened up a clear road to Erzeroum from the north. It was in the fight for this work that more than 1400 prisoners were taken, and, indeed, the main attack seems to have been delivered on the left flank of the fortress, while the Turks, according to sound military critics were rather expecting it on the right. ' While the operations in the Kara' Soo Valley were in progress, the first line of Deve Boyun was under a raoid, incessant and well-aimed fire from the Russian heavy artillery. Especially fierce was the bombardment of Choban Dede, which still broke the continuity of the Russian line. This fort was so knocked^about that one of the Russian storming parties rushed at it with the bayonet. The remaining works of the front Deve Boyun line seem to have been placed in such a position by these successes of the attackers as to be able to offer but feeble further resistance, and the works of the second line were apparently for the most part at once blown up and abandoned by their earrisons, who had, no doubt, received orders in 'good time that they could only hope, at the utmost, to delay the fall of Erzeroum for a few hours. There seems to have been no fighting at all around the two southern ,ortsnn the Palan Teken Ridge, and it is believed that they were wen a wide berth by. the far-flung flanking movement.