After a while we heard that the Turkish forces entered the city. We
thus learned that we were not fighting against the kurds only but
against the orderly Turkish troops.
Almost all of the courageous Armenian infantry(!) had deserted the
battlefield hastily under the cover of the night, and set out towards
Kars. They were running away as if they were being chased by a
storm. Even a storm could not have cleansed Erzurum from the
Armenians as they purged the city off their existence by themselves.
The reality of finding hardly any dead or wounded Armenians in the
defense lines and in the city itself denoted to their understanding of
upright defense and how they resisted for a long time. Moreover, the
fact that the Russian officers were the only prisoners of war, could
not have testified any worse for the immense courage and dignity of
the Armenians.
Upon learning the entrance of the Turkish forces into the city, I went
out, together with my aide-de-camps, to meet and inform them about
our presence in the town. We then learned that a teary was signed
between Turkiye and Russia.
During the following days, on my way to the headquarters and on my
way back home, lots of Turkish citizens in the streets were trying to
embrace me, kiss my hands, and do whatever they could to show
their gratitude.
Being aware of the fact that – if it was not for the Russian officers in
Erzurum – the Turkish forces might not have been able to find any
living Turkish person in the city, they were showing he same due
respect towards the other Russian officers as well.
Now I am most grateful to God for not letting me leave the city with
the Armenians – about whom the ancient Roman historian Petroni
declared “The Armenians are certainly human, but at home they go
all on fours;” and again about whom the Russian poet Lermontov
justly said “Thou art a slave, thou art a coward, and thou art an
Armenian!” – after witnessing what they did in Erzurum before their
leave, and learning the number of the unarmed elderly people,
women, and children whom they massacred.
Lt.Col. Tverdohlebov
April 16/29, 1918
Erzurum
