Turkish persecutions; half a million were cruelly exterminated after
Turkey allied herself with Germany in 1914. The Russians advanced
steadily, inflicting serious defeats upon the Turkish forces. In
February they took possession of Erz´erum, a strongly fortified city of
Armenia. The capture of this point was of importance because it was a
step in the plan for coöperation with the British armies which were
pushing their way north from the region of the Persian Gulf. It had the
further important result of interrupting Turkish plans for an invasion
of Egypt by way of the Isthmus of Suez, as Turkey was compelled to
concentrate her power for the defense of her own territory.

In April, Treb´izond, the most important city on the Turkish shore of
the Black Sea, surrendered to the invading Russian army. The Russians,
supported by fleets along the coast, had made the defense of the city
impossible. The fall of Trebizond was a very serious blow to the power
of Turkey in Asia Minor.

THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA.--Part of the Allied plan in the east was
for the junction of Russian armies operating from the region of the
Caucasus with British troops from the land around the Persian Gulf.
While the Russians, as we have seen, were making a noteworthy success of
their part of this program, the British had not been so fortunate. Their
plan was to take possession of Mesopotamia, the valley of the
Tigris-Euphrates, and occupy its capital, the famous city of Bagdad.
General Townshend with an insufficient force had begun his march up the
Tigris River the year before and in March, 1915, had occupied the
stronghold of Kut-el-Ama´ra, about 100 miles below Bagdad. Here later he
was besieged by a Turkish army. A Russian army on the way from Erzerum
and an English relief force from the south failed to reach the place in
time, and April 29, 1916, General Townshend was forced by starvation to