Battle of Dilman

The Battle of Dilman (April 15, 1915) was a battle during World War I fought at Dilman between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

Battle of Dilman
Part of the Persian Campaign of World War I
Date April 15, 1915 Location Dilman (modern Salmas, Iran) Result Decisive Russian victory[1][2]
Belligerents
Russian Empire Armenian volunteer units	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Tovmas Nazarbekian Andranik Ozanian[3]	Halil Kut
Strength
25,000 Russian Caucasus Army 1 battalion of Armenian volunteers	248 Officers 4,920 troops 6,000 irregular Kurdish cavalry[1]
Casualties and losses
11,250	1,500 killed[1]

Despite having the larger forces, the Turkish suffered 468 dead, 1,228 wounded, and 370 missing in the first day. Many injured Ottoman soldiers were abandoned on the field of battle.[1] More than half of the Ottoman troops were Kurdish, almost all of whom deserted.[4] By the end of the battle, the Ottomans had 3,500 of its soldiers killed.[1]

The result was a Russian-Armenian victory under Tovmas Nazarbekian and Andranik Ozanian.[5] Armenian and Assyrian volunteers had an important role in the victory.[1] Apart from the Armenian officers who served under Tovmas Nazarbekian's Russian Caucasus Army, the Armenians also deployed a volunteer battalion under the leadership of their commander Andranik and with the participation of Smbat Baroyan.

One month later, Halil Kut abandoned Persia with his army reduced to half of its original size. Halil blamed his defeat on the Christians and ordered the execution of all Armenians and Assyrians among his own soldiers. German military advisors reported the murder of several hundred unarmed Armenian and Assyrian soldiers and officers. The Armenian, Assyrian, and Persian civilians of Northern Persia were also massacred by Ottoman troops.[1]

See also

• Sarkis Jebejian

References

1. The Ottoman Treatment of the Assyrians, David Gaunt, A Question of Genocide, ed. Ronald Grigor Suny, Fatma Muge Gocek, Norman M. Naimark, (Oxford University Press, 2011), 255;"In size, Halil's was definitely the superior force, but his army was badly mauled in a decisive battle near Dilman that left thousands of casualties on the battlefield."
2. World War I and the End of the Ottomans, ed. Hans-Lukas Kieser, Kerem Oktem and Maurus Reinkowski, (I.B. Tauris, 2015),;"The Ottoman forces were decisively defeated in the battle of Dilman in mid April."
3. Bryce, James (2000). The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915–1916. p. 109.
4. Trapped between the map and reality. Geography and perceptions of Kurdistan. Maria T. O'Shea. Routledge 2004. ISBN 0-415-94766-9 p. 95
5. America and the Armenian Genocide of 1915, p. 95 by Jay Murray Winter