The operation was part of what the Russian Empire viewed the Caucasus front. It was a secondary to the Eastern front. Russia had taken the fortress of Kars from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War in 1877 and feared a campaign into the Caucasus, a Caucasus Campaign, aimed at retaking Kars and the port of Batum. The Ottoman generalship and organization were negligible compared to the Allies. Caucasus Campaign planned to be a distracting effect on Russian forces. Enver hoped a success would facilitate opening the route to Tbilisi and beyond, with a revolt of Caucasian Muslims another strategic goal was to cut Russian access to its hydrocarbon resources around the Caspian Sea. This long term goal made Britain vary. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was in the proposed path.