Ottoman Empire Fights for Survival - World War I

TL;DR

In spring-summer 1915, the Ottoman Empire held off simultaneous Russian, British, and Entente offensives across six fronts despite severe manpower and supply shortages.

Key Points

• 1.The Caucasus front nearly collapsed after Sarıkamış but the Ottomans counterattacked. With only 50,000 troops defending 600km, a 40,000-man Ottoman counterattack near Muş routed Russian forces at Malazgirt, capturing baggage trains, though a Russian flanking strike at Kara Kilise inflicted 10,000 casualties and 6,000 prisoners.
• 2.The Armenian population suffered catastrophically amid the fighting. Ottoman forces bombarded and stormed Muş from June–July 1915, massacring those who couldn't escape, while over 200,000 Armenian and Christian refugees fled east, further straining Russian logistics.
• 3.British-Indian forces captured Amara and Nasiriyya in Mesopotamia with relatively modest losses. General Townshend took Amara on June 4 with a flotilla forcing surrender of 1,000+ Ottomans; Nasiriyya fell July 24 after 2,000 Ottoman casualties and 950 captured, at a cost of 533 British-Indian casualties.
• 4.The Persian and Arabian campaigns saw tribal allegiances prove decisive. German spy Wilhelm Wassmuss incited Tangistani tribes to attack Bushehr, while in Arabia Ibn Saud suffered a six-month siege by Ajman tribesmen after internal dissent, sustaining 2,400 casualties and losing British credibility.
• 5.Three failed British assaults on Krithia at Gallipoli cost the Entente roughly 20,000 casualties per mile. The Third Battle of Krithia on June 4 alone produced 4,500 British, 2,000 French, and 9,000 Ottoman casualties for only 250–500 yards gained along a one-mile front.
• 6.The Ottoman defense of Anzac Cove inflicted massive losses on both sides. The May 19 Ottoman assault by 42,000 troops against 17,300 Anzacs resulted in approximately 13,000 Ottoman casualties including 3,000 killed, while Anzac losses were 628; a truce brokered by Mustafa Kemal and Colonel Herbert followed on May 24.
• 7.By summer 1915, stalemate dominated all Ottoman fronts despite the empire's near-critical strain. Fighting across Gallipoli, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Arabia left the Ottomans battered but unbroken, mirroring the attritional deadlock already entrenched on the Western Front.