<– Part 24 – January 10, 1915  | Part 25 – January 17, 1915 |  Part 26 – January 24, 1915 –>

Tabriz was captured January 11 by the “Mosul Group” of the Ottoman army.

Russian soldiers gathering the frozen corpses of Turkish soldiers at Sarikamish

In Europe, fighting at Artois ended January 13, as the French assault was halted due to its lack of success.

Japan issued a series of demands to China January 15, which would grant Japan a much larger control of the Asian mainland. China is not expected to comply.

In the Caucasus, the battle of Sarikamish ended January 17. The Turkish General staff reached Erzurum, with orders to the defeated Third Army to follow later. Transports launched from Constantinople with supplies were sunk by the Russian Black Sea Squadron. The end of the three week battle was a complete defeat for the Ottoman Empire, who was unable to halt the Russian advance, and seems impossible to now, with all reserves in the region depleted. Of the 118,000 Ottoman soldiers who marched three weeks ago, only 42,000 remain

A 13-year-old Armenian boy, who fought for the Ottoman Empire at Sarikamish. Despite the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian population, many of them still fought for the Turks

combat-ready. Of the nearly 80,000 casualties, nearly half were killed, an additional one quarter were killed by sickness, 7,000 are prisoners, and 10,000 wounded. Russia suffered 16,000 killed and 12,000 sick, mostly from frostbite. The Turkish commander, Enver Pasha, has been removed from command.

At Ardahan, reports indicate that the Russians have crushed the Turkish defenders, and a full retreat seems to have begun. In the Champagne region of the Western front, minor German probing attacks have begun. Elsewhere on the front, the village of Cuinchy continues to change hands every few days.