TNT History Mini-Series: Islamic Army of the Caucasus in Dagestan (1918)/Part IX

//Ed. Note: The Battle for Petrovsk erupts, ironically just
as the Mondros Armistice is signed on 30 October 1918, 
subjecting the Ottoman Empire to dismemberment. The 
gains made in Azerbaijan and Dagestan by the IAC are
essentially voided by the armistice.//

Battle map of the Petrovsk assault. Caspian Sea is
at right, dotted line along the coast in the railway.


                       The Attack and Seizure of Petrovsk

The 15th Division, which reached a point opposite Petrovsk, occupied

 the lines below on 28 October in order to attack the city.

Cavalry company: assigned to surveil the flat land between the coast
and the railway.

Ye107: positioned at Şamahal Hill and east of it.  As the regiment 

advanced, there was an artillerby dual that continued in various stages

until noon.

Ye38: one battalion and three teams occupied a position overlooking 

Çerkes Valley in the north and, along with other elements, remained in

reserve west of this position.

Ye56: moved to the south of Tehyik Solgan Hill in order to be a 

reserve for the Division. The cavalry regiment , together with the left 

column, advanced to 3 kilometers east of Atlı Boyun.

A local detachment of 600 infantrymen and 300 cavalry commanded 

by Colonel Kemal Bey of the North Caucasus Army:

Occupied a line as far as Ostriya Hill (altitude 2241), north of the 

Petrovsk-Demirhan Şura road and on the left flank of the cavalry 

regiment. The Division fortified the line described above and made 

the requisite reconnaissance of the front from where the attack was to

 be conducted.

These preparations began on 28 October and were finished on the 

evening of 4 November.  During this period the Tarki and Şamahal 

stations were occupied by our forces and a number of minor raid and

attacks by the enemy were rebuffed.

As the result of reconnaissance efforts, it was decided to change the 

main line of attack from Ağaç Agil to the enemy’s hills  1579-2564 

in the direction of Tarki Mountain.

The plain from 1579 hill to the sea had been reinforced with barbed wire

and otherwise fortified with 15 cannons so an attack here was quite 

difficult. The enemy’s armored trains and 2 warships provided stiff 

resistance to our attack.

                                    The Petrovsk bazar.

Based on this situation, the existing forces were deployed as follows:

The 15th Division was assigned to the area two kilometers south of the

 Petrovsk-Demirhan Şura road from the Caspian Sea, which runs south 

of Petrovsk, and a group under the command of Colonel Akif Bey was 

positioned up from the left flank.

Akif Bey’s group was comprised of the 15th Division’s cavalry regiment,

and Kemal Bey’s  detachment  consisted of local forces made up of 1,000

infantrymen, 300 cavalry, together with Colonel Şükrü Bey’s detachment.

Both groups were under Army command and were to attack after 

midnight on 4/5 November in the manner outlined below:

The 15th Division was to occupy the enemy position on the Çerkes Ozen

 front with a small force and support the right flank of the main attack.  

The bulk of forces  were to attack Tarki Mountain, while the majority of

 Akif Bey’s infantry were to attack the north slope of Tarki Mountain 

from south of the Demirhan Şura road, with a battery company and a

 machine gun company.  The left flank column, made up of the 

remaining  forces was to attack the Kafkasda station - ?Terenakutan? 

line.

Tarki Mountain, relative to Makhachkale (Petrovsk).

Both groups were to seize the aformentioned lines before 5 o’clock on 5

November and in accordance with this order, the 15th Division made the

following dispositions:

Nuri Bey’s detachment made up of Ye107 T2, T46, K107 machine gun

company  and the rapid-fire Krupp mountain team would go to the west 

of 1579 hill;

56th Regiment, comprised of T1, T2, K56 machine gun company, Ye107

T1 and a rapid-fire Krupp mountain team, would attack the east side of 

2564 hill and the Çerkes Ozen detachment consisting of two companies 

from Ye107 T3, 250 militia infantry, 50 horseriders, one field gun and two

mountain cannnon, would occupy the enemy facing them and then 

support the attack of the Division’s main force.

38th Regiment would remain at 2006 Tehyik Solgan, in the vicinity of the

Division’s observation locale at midnight on 4/5 November, in order to 

be in reserve for the Division.

                                                Petrovsk

The Pitched Battle for Petrovsk

4 November 1918 was a very rainy day.  In particular, the newly opened

roads were almost impossible to walk on.  The fierce, cold wind that 

began in the evening froze the bodies that were wet from the all-day rain.

Eight hours later, it took four hours of forced marching to traverse the 

3-4 kilometers from Kaytar Kotan, where the Division HQS was, to the 

observation location.  Because of fog and darkness, the required 

reconnaissance saw nothing until dawn and no news came about the 

troops’ operation.  Ye38, the ‘kudretli’ battery and the Krupp mountain 

team, which the Division needed, were only able to reach the observation

 location a bit before dawn on 5 November and they were sent to a spot 

in the vicinity of the artillery observation position.   Because of the same

difficult marching conditions, the raid that was supposed to occur before

5 o’clock was not made on time.  By  6 o’clock the 56th Regiment had

only been able to reach a point 400 meters south of the ordered line.  

The 56th Regiment drew closer and at 0620 hours a fierce infantry battle

began.  After that both sides began firing their heavy guns and the air 

turned gray.

The southern slopes of Tarki Mountain, which was attacked, were
incredibly steep and rocky.  Passing through this smokey air, the
infantrymen came to a pass that was suitable for transit.  Under the
 enemy fire being rained down upon them, our infantrymen climbed
the mountain as if racing against one another, with almost superhuman
 strength.  The enemy defending this pass fired  their machine guns and
 threw bombs as if they had gone mad.  The battle around the pass was
 quite violent and the attacking Ye56 T2 had to stop at the closest point
 for a period.  The 1st Battalion, advancing on the left of tht 56th
Regiment,  seized the summit of Tarki Mountain, altitude 2562, at 0730
 hours by means of great self-sacrifice.  The 1st Battalion then turned
its machine guns on the pass, which had not yet been taken, from the
side and rained fire on it effectively.  Out artillery fire was concentrated
on the pass, as well.  Ye56, which was reinforced by Ye38 T3, finally
seized the pass by means of selective attacks at 11 o’clock and scattered
the bewildered enemy.  The seizure of the pass yielded booty in the form
 of three enemy machine guns, a cannonball and abundant ammunition.
A Russian officer was taken prisoner and said that there had been
1,500 enemy infantrymen defending Tarki Mountain.

Thanks to the 56th Regiment’s flank support and our artillery’s
destructive fire, Nuri Bey’s regiment  seized the 1579 altitude hill and
 its eastern side with an attack at 1230 hours and subsequently occupied
 the entire line.  The Division had performed its duty completely.

                At noon the Çerkes Ozen detachment attacked but was
unable to advance because of the enemy’s superiority. 

//End Part IX//