Battle of Sardarabad

Overview

The Battle of Sardarabad was a battle of the Caucasus campaign of World War I that took place near Sardarabad, Armenia, from 21 to 29 May 1918, between the regular Armenian military units and militia on one side and the Ottoman army that had invaded Eastern Armenia on the other. As Sardarabad is approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of the capital of Yerevan, the battle not only halted the Ottoman advance into the rest of Armenia, but also prevented the complete destruction of the Armenian nation. The battle paved the way for the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia and the Treaty of Batum: recognition of Armenia by the Ottoman Empire.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Sardarabad, fought from 21 to 29 May 1918, halted an Ottoman advance that had penetrated to within approximately 40 kilometres of Yerevan during the Caucasus campaign of World War I. Armenian regular units and militia, numbering around 9,000, inflicted an estimated 5,500 casualties on an Ottoman force of 1,500–3,000, stopping the invasion of Eastern Armenia. Because Yerevan lay so close to the fighting, a different outcome would have eliminated the remaining Armenian population and military capacity in the region. The battle instead preserved the conditions under which Armenian political leadership could assert sovereignty, directly enabling the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia and the subsequent Treaty of Batum, through which the Ottoman Empire extended recognition to the new Armenian state.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (11)