Harşit Defence in World War I

In World War 1 , Ottoman Empire battled against the Russian in Caucasian (Eastern) front. In this front in which Ottoman Empire aimed at eliminating the historical desire of the Russian,recapturing the places lost in 1877-1878 Ottoman Russian wars known as the '93 war and uniting with Turkish World, the last line of defence happened in Harşit valley. The Russian reached Harşit Stream in July 1916. However, Harşit defence played an important role in their failure in the region they occupied until the beginning of 1918. The troops under the command of the 3rd Army served against the Russian in Harşit defence. The Russian could not move on as they wished through challenging Black Sea area.This was both because of their inner turmoil and because of the fact that Turkish Army determined Harşit as the last line of defence.The Turkish troops there defended Harşit Valley till the last moment with the line of defence they settled.Thus, they did not let the Russian move to the West side of Harşit Stream. The mountains, hills and highlands along the valley are full of fortress and position areas and they still witness to the history.In this sense, Harşit is a part of homeland the soil of which is blood-soaked. As a result, The Russian lost their operational capability there, could not reach to the West and their goals and political desires disappeared in Harşit streams.