Battle of Kars

For other Battle of Kars, see Battle of Kars (disambiguation).

Battle of Kars
Part of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Date 17 November 1877 Location Kars, Ottoman Empire Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Count Mikhail Loris-Melikoff, Lazarev Ivan Davidovich	Hussein Hami Pasha
Strength
28,000	24,000
Casualties and losses
2,270 total	7,000 killed and wounded, 17,805 captured

The Battle of Kars was a decisive Russian victory over the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).

In June, 1877 Russian forces attempted a siege of Kars but were driven off by an Ottoman army at the Battle of Kizil-Tepe. In November the Russian commander in the Caucasus, Grand Duke Michael, demanded the surrender of Kars but was refused. The Grand Duke sent a force under Mikhail Loris-Melikoff and Ivan Lazarev to take the city by storm. On November 17 Loris-Melikoff attacked and succeeded in capturing the eastern fortifications and cutting off the garrison under Hussein Hami Pasha. Hussein Pasha attempted to cut his way out, but he and only a few others succeeded, as much of the Ottoman army was taken prisoner. The Treaty of San Stephano officially gave Kars to Russia and it remained in Russian possession until the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk after World War I.

See also

• Battles of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
• Castle of Kars
• Kars, a history

Sources

• Compton's Home Library: Battles of the World CD-ROM