lly, on April 18, 1916, came the announcement that Trebizond
itself had been taken.

Trebizond is less important as a fortified place than as a port and
harbor and as a source of supply for the Turkish army. It is in no
sense a fortress like Erzerum, though the defenses of the town,
recently constructed, are not to be despised. As a vital artery of
communications, however, its value is apparent from the fact, first,
that it is the Turks' chief port in this region, and secondly, that
railway facilities, which are so inadequate throughout Asia Minor, are
nonexistent along the northern coast. Hence the Turks will have to
rely for the transport of troops and supplies upon railways which at
the nearest point are more than 300 miles from the front at Trebizond.

Trebizond is an ancient seaport of great commercial importance, due
chiefly to the fact that it controls the point where the principal
trade route from Persia and central Asia to Europe, over Armenia and
by way of Bayezid and Erzerum, descends to the sea. It has been the
dream of Russia for centuries to put her hands forever upon this
important "window on the Black Sea."

Trebizond's population is about 40,000, of whom 22,000 are Moslems and
18,000 Christians. The city first figured in history during the
Fourth Crusade, when Alexius Comnenus, with an army of Iberian
mercenaries, entered it and established himself as sovereign. In 1461
Trebizond was taken by Mohammed II, after it had for two centuries
been the capital of an empire, having defied all attacks, principally
by virtue of its isolated position, between a barrier of rugged
mountains of from 7,000 to 8,000 feet and the sea.

As far as capturing important ports of the Turkish left wing was
concerned, the victory of Trebizond was an empty one. For the Turks
evacuated the town apparently a day or two before the Russians
occupied it. The latter, therefore, had only the capture of "some
6-inch guns" to report. This quick evacuation, at any rate, was
fortunate for the town and its inhabitants, for it saved them from a
bombardment and the town did not suffer at all as a result of the
military operations.

The campaign resulting in the fall of Trebizond did really not begin
until after the fall of Erzerum on February 16, 1916. Up to that time
the Russian Caucasian army had apparently been satisfied to maintain
strong defensive positions along the Turkish border. But since the
occupation of Erzerum a definite pla