Battle of Sardarabad
| Battle of Sardarabad | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Caucasus campaign | |||||||||
The memorial dedicated to the Armenian victory at the battle of Sardarabad near Araks, Armavir, Armenia | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Tovmas Nazarbekian (Commander of the Armenian Army Corps) Movses Silikyan (Commander of the Yerevan Detachment) Daniel Bek-Pirumyan Poghos Bek-Pirumyan Christophor Araratov Aram Manukian |
Wehib Pasha Kazim Pasha (Commander of the I Caucasian Corps) Rüştü Bey (Commander of the 9th Caucasian Division) Zihni Bey (Commander of the Zihni Bey Detachment) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 9,000 |
30,000–33,000 Including Kurdish cavalry 1,500–3,000 40 cannons | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | 5,500 dead alone from 22 to 26 May | ||||||||
The Battle of Sardarabad (Armenian: Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ, romanized: Sardarapati chakatamart; Turkish: Serdarabad Muharebesi) 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.
In the words of Christopher J. Walker, had the Armenians lost this battle, "it is perfectly possible that the word Armenia would have henceforth denoted only an antique geographical term".