Middle Eastern theatre of World War I began to push the Russians back. The Russians were successful along the southern shoulders of the offensive, where Armenian volunteers were effective and took Karaköse and Doğubeyazıt. By the end of November, the Russians held a salient into Ottoman territory along the Erzurum-Sarikamish axis. Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, the ruler of Kuwait, sent a force to Umm Qasr, Safwan, Bubiyan, and Basra to expel Ottoman forces from the area. In exchange the British government recognised Kuwait as an "independent government under British protection." There is no report on the exact size and nature of Mubarak’s attack, though Ottoman forces did retreat
Territorial evolution of the Ottoman Empire Prince of Bulgaria had been Governor-General since 1885). The Italo-Turkish or (also known in Italy as "guerra di Libia", "the Libyan war", and in Turkey as "Trablusgarp Savaşı") was fought between the Ottoman Empire and Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912. Italy seized the Ottoman provinces of and , together forming what became known as Libya. Following the First Balkan War, the Autonomous Principality of Samos, an Ottoman tributary state, was annexed to Greece in November 1912. Bulgaria was lost to the Ottomans after more than 500 years of continuous rule. See figure, right. Italy also gained