 The coastal region between the city and the Russian frontier was the site of key battles between the Ottoman and Russian armies during the Trebizond Campaign, part of the Caucasus Campaign of World War I.A bombardment of the city in 1915 by the Russian navy cost the lives of 1300 citizens.In July 1915, most of the adult male Armenians of the city were marched off south in five convoys, towards the mines of Gümüşhane, never to be seen again.