, commander of the Armenian forces.
Units involved on both sides Turkish side Forming part of the 36th Turkish Division moving towards
Alexandropol-
Yerevan were the 106th, 107th and 108th
Infantry Regiments, one rifle battalion, two
artillery divisions. The Turkish army was further supported by a separate cavalry regiment and another one of 1,500
Kurdish fighters. The Turkish forces were a total of 7,500–10,000 soldiers and officers, including the Kurds. The
Turks had 40 cannons at their disposal. Five infantry batteries under Colonel
Christophor Araratyan's command were included in the Yerevan detachment, which also involved several squads composed of
Western Armenian intellectuals, a
Yezidi cavalry battalion (under the command of
Usub Bek and
Jangir Agha), as well as a great number of militia troops. The Armenian forces were composed of a total of 9,000–10,000 soldiers and officers, and amounted to 6,000–6,500 after some part of them were dispatched to the
Bash-Aparan Front. The Armenians had 28 cannons at their disposal but only 16–20 were used in the course of combat operations.
Manoeuvres prior to the battle On the eve of the occupation of Alexandropol, one of the tasks of the Armenian troops was the defense of railways and roads connecting
Alexandropol to
Yerevan and
Tiflis. Following the fall of Alexandropol, those groups had to retire to
Hamalu-
Karakilisa and the
Ararat Plain due to progressing Ottoman forces. On 19 May, the 26th Turkish Division took the
Gharaghula (Getap) train depot near the
Akhuryan River and started to advance towards Yerevan. Some subdivisions from the 2nd Special Brigade composed of the infantry regiments of Khnus and Karakilisa, as well as a part of the 1st Special Brigade (the Infantry regiment of Erzincan and other units) gradually withdrew from
Ani and
Aragats railway stations on the left bank of Akhuryan River towards Sardarapat from 16 to 19 May. During the retreat, even before clashing with the main Ottoman forces, they would come under fire from the vanguard Kurdish cavalry of the 36th Division. The retreat of those subdivisions via the Alexandropol-Yerevan route played an essential role for the Yerevan detachment in terms of buying time and regrouping forces. On 16–17 May, some of the squads of the Yerevan detachment based in
Sardarapat were urgently sent to
Araks and
Karaburun stations to resist the Ottoman advancing towards the Ararat Plain, while some others were sent to Yerevan to get ready for the battle and receive enhancement by volunteers and armaments. Under these circumstances, by the order of Armenian Corps commander
Tovmas Nazarbekian and Chief of Staff of the Corps Evgeny Vyshinsky, the Armenian forces were regrouped and rearranged in order to stop Ottoman attacks in separate areas, particularly in Alexandropol-Sardarapat and Karakilisa. According to an instruction received from the General Staff on 19 May, Major-General
Movses Silikyan decided to concentrate the troops he had at his disposal in Etchmiadzin and avert the Turks' attack on Yerevan through a counter-attack. On 20 May, the Armenian vanguard was forced to abandon Araks and Karaburun stations, retire from the foothills of
Mastara,
Talin and
Ashnak, basing themselves in Sardarapat. In the evening of 20 May, the retreating troops of the 1st Special Brigade – the Erzinjan Regiment and half a battalion from the Khnus Regiment (under the command of Karapet Hassan-Pashaian) – moved deeper from Sardarapat to the village of
Khznauz. As a result of the Turkish invasion in Alexandropol-Yerevan direction, the groups defending
Surmali were in danger of being cut off from the main forces of the Yerevan detachment and surrounded by the Ottomans. On 18 May, Ottoman forces attacked the Armenian unit in Koghb, which, by Silikyan's order, withdrew towards the Karakala bridge. On 19 May, the military units of the 4th Turkish Corps invaded Surmali from
Bayazet, seeking to cross the
Araks River and reach the rear of the Yerevan detachment. After showing some resistance in mountain passes and high grounds near Igdir, the Armenian units (1st and 2nd Regiments of Van) had to retreat to
Igdir on 20 May, where they received an order from Yerevan to cross to the left bank of Araks across the bridge of
Margara, burning down the aforementioned bridges afterwards. After capturing Surmali, the Ottoman forces were thus cut off from the Sardarapat theater. The Armenian volunteers arranged the defense of the bridges, thwarting any attempt by the Turks to cross the river and attack the Armenians from the rear. By the order of Silikyan, some of the 3rd Special Brigade subdivisions (4th regiment of Van, under the command of Colonel Tigran Baghdasaryan) were stationed in those areas to defend the rear from the south and prevent the Ottomans from crossing the river.
Course of the battle Armenian counter-offensive On 21 May, the 108th Turkish
Infantry Regiment, including cavalry and infantry subdivisions, went on with their offensive from an area adjacent to
Araks railway station. The Sardarapat detachment, conducting defensive artillery operations, started to retreat and withdrew to the
Kurakanlu-
Kyorpalu-
Zeyva Hayi initial positions. The Turks came close to Kyorpalu (7 km west of
Etchmiadzin). Advancing along the railroad, on 21 May, the detachment of Zihni Bey overtook an Armenian unit composed of 600 infantry and 250 cavalry, and then took Sardarabad. (now in the territory of the city of
Armavir) that evening and the village of the same name 2 km south of the station, as well as the village of
Gechrlu. Keeping up with their attack, the Turkish forces took the Verin Kolibeklu settlement (now in the territory of the village of
Aknalich) and proceeded to
Ghamishlu train depot (now in the territory of the village of
Zartonk), 20 km far from
Yerevan. But Captain Khoren Igitkhanyan's artillery battery stationed in the village of
Artashar managed to pin the Ottomans to the spot. Deputy commander of the Yerevan detachment, commander of the forces of the Sardarapat Front Colonel
Daniel Bek-Pirumyan came to lead the crucial counter-attack of the Armenian forces. In the early hours of 22 May, the Armenian side launched an offensive along the entire front-line of the villages of
Kurakanlu-
Kyorpalu-
Zeyva Hayi-
Ghurdughuli. The attack was carried out by the 5th and 6th Regiments in the center, which managed to destroy the vanguard Turkish troops with support from artillery and machine guns near the Ghamishlu depot. In particular, military batteries under the command of Kh. Igitkhanyan, V. Sakkilari, Nikolay Klich and S. Atanesyan, positioned on the hills close to the battleground, as well as machine gun subdivisions of other military units, managed to suppress the Ottoman artillery fire and inflict casualties on their infantry and cavalry ranks, which enabled the Armenian infantry and militia to launch a counter-offensive in full force. Perekrestov's volunteer regiment, the squads of
Igdir, Zeytun and
Khnus, 1st Special
Cavalry Regiment struck the Ottomans from the sides and the rear. The Turkish forces attempted to resist, which at some points involved bayonet fighting, but were forced to flee after suffering major losses. On 23 May, no combat operations were carried along the main front of Sardarapat, with only one military unit from
Igdir clashing with the enemy near
Dzhafarabat. After winning the battle, the Igdir detachment joined the Sardarapat detachment under
Daniel Bek-Pirumyan's command, while the subdivisions of the 2nd Special Regiment of Zeytun were entrusted with the defense of the bridges on
Araks River. Repeated Turkish attempts to cross the river were met with fierce resistance by the 5th Armenian Regiment. On the other parts of the front, the two sides were chiefly engaged in exploration of enemy positions and arraying of troops for the battle. On 22 and 23 May, a group of clergy representatives led by Bishop Garegin Hovsepyan and Archbishop Zaven visited the front to encourage the soldiers. Ahead of the crucial battle of 22 May, Bishop Karekin met the soldiers of the 5th Regiment and addressed them.
First days of the battle After the battles of 22 May, Major-General
Movses Silikyan moved a part of detachments he had at his disposal – the 6th Regiment, the 2nd
Cavalry Regiment, the Partisan Cavalry Regiment and other units – to the
Bash-Aparan Front to block the advancement of the Turkish troops proceeding towards Yerevan.
Movses Silikyan ordered elements of the 5th Armenian Regiment under
Poghos Bek-Pirumyan, a reserve guerrilla unit, and a special cavalry regiment to check the advance of the Ottoman army. Till the end of the Battle of Sardarapat and the departure to Dilijan at the beginning of June, the 4th Regiment of Van overseeing
Ghamarlu protected the rear of the Yerevan detachment from
Sharur, as well as foiling the Turks' attempt to cross the
Araks River.
Further fighting On 24 May, the Turkish side launched an offensive but was thrown back sustaining heavy losses from Armenian
artillery fire. The initial positions of both sides remained unchanged. In order to conceal defeats and major losses, the Turkish command staff made up a fake story about the sinking of Turkish echelon in the Akhuryan River and disseminated it through the press. By the order of Major-General
Movses Silikyan, a regrouping of the Armenian forces was carried out. As a result, the main Armenian strike forces – the companies of the 5th Rifle Regiment, as well as one
cavalry company from the 1st Special Cavalry Regiment, the Patrol Department of the Yerevan detachment – were stationed in the direction of
Sardarapat-
Araks railway station. In the left wing, the Partisan Infantry Regiment, the remaining subdivisions of the 1st Special Cavalry Regiment, four cannons from the 2nd Battery were dispatched to the villages of
Sardarapat and
Molla Bayazet. The detachment of
Igdir (1st and 2nd Regiments of
Van) based themselves in the village of
Kyarimarkh, while the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Zeytun), the Regiment of Karakilisa, as well as several volunteer groups were sent to the
Araks River. The right wing, meanwhile, was protected by forces designed for quick military manoeuvres, including the Regiment of
Erzincan in
Khznauz and half a company from the Squad of
Khnus, as well as the Battalion of
Maku in
Kosh and one company from the Regiment of Karakilisa. Later in the morning of that same day, the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment, by the arbitrary order of Stabs-kapitan Vardan Jaghinyan, launched an unsuccessful offensive on the Cimni Gir (440) high ground and was forced to retreat to its initial positions, suffering major losses, including Jaghinyan himself. No actions were taken on the other part of the front, with only Colonel A. Perekrestov's Partisan Machine Gun Regiment striking the Turkish troops near Araks station. At dawn of 27 May, the
Khznauz detachment initiated manoeuvres and successfully bypassed the left wing of the Turkish vanguard forces. At the same time, the detachment of Kosh to the right of that of Khznauz was unable to overcome the resistance of Turks near the village of
Nerkin Kalakut and had to stop, with Erzincan Regiment Commander K. Hassan-Pashaian sending two companies for help. At 9 a.m. on the same day, the Armenian artillery units in the main front of Sardarapat carried out powerful strikes on the rival's positions for half an hour, suppressing fire from artillery and machine gun subdivisions from the other part of the battleground. The central detachments then launched an offensive on the enemy positions, waiting for an attack from the rear for a decisive blow. To encourage his soldiers, Colonel
Daniel Bek-Pirumyan wore his military uniform inside out to reveal the red lining and led his army into battle. After bypassing the left wing of the Turkish troops at noon, the detachment of Khznauz turned sharply to the south, reaching the rear of the 440 and 449 hills. Following this brilliant tactical maneuver, the main forces of the central front of Sardarapat attacked and, with support from the
Erzincan Regiment, managed to capture the high grounds nearby at 2:00 pm.Our entrenched lines got up and with shouts of "hurrah" pursued them. A group of Turks was successfully surrounded, but the main part fled, running head over heels, because the detachment of Captain Hassan Pashaian with the Erzincan regiment, already operated in their rear. A few moments later the Turks started to flee abandoning everything including their munitions, supplies, their wounded and dead. The battle was won. Armenia was saved.
– Alexander Chneour During the decisive battles on 27 May, the Turks were completely defeated, forced to retire to
Karaburun Station-Mount Karaburun line in a panic. Exhausted after winning the battle, the Sardarapat detachment was ordered to stop and base themselves on the heights of
Mastara depot. During that day, a 100-member Kurdish unit was thrown back while attempting to cross the Araks River near Margara. On the night of 27–28 May, the Armenian forces moved forward and reached the Karaburun station-Mount Karmrasar line. Unable to resist the Armenian side's attacks after a brief engagement in
Karaburun-
Ashnak, the Turks began to withdraw towards the Aragats station-Kirmizlu-
Verin Agdzhakala on 28 May, where they were once again thrown back to the north. As a result of that day's fighting, the Armenian side seized Karaburun and Aragats stations, as well as
Nerkin Talin,
Verin Talin and
Mastara, while Armenian intelligence units reached Ani station and found out that there were no Turkish troops on their way to Ani and Aghin stations. The next day on 29 May, however, the Turkish forces were significantly reinforced, which enabled them to initiate a counter-offensive on Aragats station. Heavily pressed by the Turkish units and under threat of encirclement by them, the vanguard Armenian forces retreated and based themselves at the Karaburun station. In the right wing of the battleground, meanwhile, the Armenians fought heavy battles near the village of
Shirvandzhug. According to the commander of the Armenian artillery unit, Colonel
Christophor Araratyan, although the Yerevan detachment was in a favorable situation when the ceasefire was being signed, they were forced to stop the assault because Yerevan would have been open to an enemy attack from the northeast. According to some analyses, the cessation of attacks in the Battle of Sardarapat was also influenced by the fact that the Armenian military warehouses were almost empty, as well as by the danger of Turkish troops launching another counter-attack after receiving fresh supplies. Once the truce was established in
Batumi, clashes continued in some sections of the Sardarapat Front but no significant changes were made. Following the signing of the
Treaty of Batum on 14 June, all the Armenian units withdrew from their posts to the borderline prescribed by the agreement. In the Battle of Sardarapat, Turkish casualties amounted to 3,500, while the Armenian side's losses were far lesser, although no accurate data is available. ==Aftermath==