The Year 1916
On 17 January, in the Black Sea, Russian torpedo boats sank numerous Turkish sailing ships off the Anatolian coast.
On the Caucasian Front, Russian forces captured Koprukoi. The Turkish 3rd Army was forced to retreat towards Erzerum, suffering 25,000 casualties, and narrowly avoiding encirclement. Russian warships at Batum were reinforced with two gunboats and two torpedo boats, which carried out coastal bombardment of retreating Turks. These naval operations lasted until 16 February when Erzerum fell to the Russians.
On 17-20 January, in the Black Sea, Russian warships, including the battleship Rostislav, shelled Turkish troops along the coast near the mouth of the Archave River. During their patrols they sank over 200 Turkish vessels, severely threatening supplies for the Turkish 3rd Army.
On 18 January, on the Caucasian Front, Russian troops seized Hasan-Kale.
The German Kaiser, accompanied by von Falkenhayn and von Mackensen, arrived at Nish in Serbia. He was greeted by Bulgarian King Ferdinand, who was given the rank of Field Marshall in the German and Austro-Hungarian armies.
On 19 January, on the Southwest Front, the Russian 9th Army and Austro-Hungarian 7th Army were engaged in renewed fighting northeast of Czernowitz.
French military attaches in Russia reported that provision of rifles for the Russian army had materially improved; with 1.2 million rifles at the front, 155,700 had been landed at Arkhangelsk, another 530,000 had been landed at Aleksandrovsk. Another 113,000 were ready to come from Britain. The Russians were expecting a further 850,000 by the end of April.
In North Russia, transport through the White Sea was being helped by ice-breakers. A vast system of reindeer drawn sledges was organized in the Aleksandrovsk region to bring the shipments to railheads.
On 20 January, on the Caucasian Front, the Russians had advanced to within 32 km of the Turkish fortress at Erzerum. In North Persia, the Russians took Sultanabad.
On 21 January, on the Western Front, there were sporadic Russian attacks in eastern Poland.
On 22 January, In the Black Sea, Russian torpedo boats sank forty Turkish sailing vessels off the Anatolian coast.
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