Tensions between the Turks and Armenians had been at elevated levels for several decades before the First World War. In 1896 the Armenian riots and other terrorist activities reached a fever pitch. The city of Van was the center of a coordinated revolt in which several ‘Freedom’ groups managed to gain control of the city. The Armenians destroyed the Moslem part of town. Many of the rebel Armenian leaders, later became commanders of various volunteer units either in Armenia or in the Russian Army.

In 1914 and early 1915, before the Ottomans entered the war, Armenian volunteer groups raided from Russian territory against Turkish military targets. Once the Turks entered the war, some expected action on the front to increase. However, the Trans-Caucus Front was regarded as only a minor area for both the Russians and Turks. Therefore, only both sides to the area committed a minimum amount of resources.

So for most of the war, offensive campaigns were limited. Actions remained mainly in the form of raids and small level skirmishes.

The major Campaign in the Trans-Caucus region during World War One was the Assault on Van. In early 1915 Armenian volunteer groups began to disrupt Turkish operations. On May 8 1915 about 4,000 Armenian irregulars began a coordinated assault on Turkish defenses of Van. By May 17 the Turkish positions had been overrun. A few days later the Armenians turned over control of Van to the advancing Russian Corps. This Russian force also included a number of Armenian formations. On July 22 the Turkish army launched a massive counter-attack that recaptured the city of Van. Both sides spent the rest of the war conducting standard trench warfare operations around Van and in the adjoining mountain range. A vast majority of the Russian replacements for the Trans-Caucus region would be Armenian volunteers.

At the end of the war, the strategic situation became overly complicated. The Brest-Litovsk treaty was concluded being favorable to the Turks.

Turmoil of the War That Would Not End Part Two: The Trans-Caucasus 1918-1921

Introduction
Trans-Caucasus Players
Notes on Military Forces and Uniforms
Summary of Events and Significant Battles
Event Chronology 1905-1921
The French–Armenian War-Time Connection