The Battle of Kars was a decisive Russian victory over the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). The battle for the city took place on November 17th, 1877, and resulted in the Russians capturing the city along with a large portion of the Ottoman forces defending the city. Although the actual battle for the city lasted a single night, fighting for the city began in the summer of that year. The idea of taking the city was considered impossible by some in Russian high command and many soldiers, who thought it would lead to needlessly high Russian casualties without any hopes of success due to the strength of the Ottoman position. Loris Melikov and others among the Russian command, however, devised a plan of attack that saw Russian forces conquer the city after a night of long and hard fighting. The Ottoman defeat at Kars had widespread consequences regionally, and the city was formally annexed at the Treaty of Berlin. Battles in the build up to the attack The start to the successful Russian attack of the city of Kars began in early October with fighting in the surrounding areas around Kars. Fighting in October 1877 began with the Russians advancing on the hills of Little Yahni on October 2, and Great Yahni on October 3rd. Although the Russians experienced success in regards to Great Yahni, the Ottoman forces garrisoning Little Yahni were putting up a fierce resistance, and by October 4, General Loris Melikov called off his attack of the hill. Despite their success on Great Yahni, the Russians had already suffered 5,000 casualties and their soldiers were exhausted after near constant fighting and marching for two to three days straight. At this point, the Ottoman army had amassed nearly 5,000 casualties. For a short period there was peace on the front, with the Turkish forces retreating to the fortified positions of Alaca-Dag on the 8th. By the 14th of October, fighting had resumed with the commence of a Russian flanking maneuver led by General Lazarev. He fielded as much as 11,000 men for the attack, including 2,500 sabres and 72 guns, in opposition to about 10,000 Ottoman men tasked with the defense of a frontline spanning nearly 15 miles long. The result of the battle was the rout of Ahmet Muhtar’s army on the 15th. The Ottoman general amassed 6,000 casualties in comparison to the 1,500 casualties