Battle of Abaran

Battle of Bash Abaran
ԲաշԱբարանի ճակատամարտ
Date May 21–29[1][2], 1918
Location Bash Abaran, Armenia
Result Armenian victory[3]
Belligerents
 Ottoman Empire Armenian National Council
Commanders and leaders
Drastamat Kanayan
Strength
3rd Regiment of the 11th Caucasian Division[1]

The Battle of Bash Abaran (Armenian: Բաշ Աբարանի ճակատամարտ Bash Abarani chakatamart, Turkish: Baş-Abaran Muharebesi) was a battle of Caucasus Campaign of World War I that took place in the vicinity of Bash Abaran, in 1918. The Armenian victories at Bash Abaran, Sardarapat and Karakilisa, halted the Ottoman invasion of Eastern Armenia and were instrumental in allowing the formation of the short-lived Democratic Republic of Armenia.[4][5]

The Ottoman forces attacked on 21 May, driving towards Yerevan. They were opposed by Armenian forces under the command of Drastamat Kanayan. One prong of the three-pronged Ottoman attack, consisting of the 3rd Regiment of the 11th Caucasian Division, moved down from Hamamlu. They met an Armenian force of about 1000 riflemen under the command of Movses Silikyan at the defile of Bash Abaran, about a three-hour march from Yerevan. After three days of fierce fighting the Armenians launched a counter-attack against the Ottomans on 25 May.[1]. The Ottoman forces then retreated north back to Hamamlu on 29 May.[1].

References

  1. ^ a b c d Yalçın Murgul, "Baku Expedition of 1917–1918: A Study of the Ottoman Policy towards the Caucasus", Master’s Thesis, 2007, Department of History Bilkent University, p. 55.
  2. ^ William Edward David Allen, Paul Muratoff, Caucasian Battlefields: A History of the Wars on the Turco-Caucasian Border 1828–1921, Cambridge University Press, 2011, ISBN 9781108013352, p. 476.
  3. ^ Caucasus Chronicles: Nation-Building and Diplomacy in Armenia, 1993–1994 – Page 47 2002 – 180 pages
  4. ^ Hohanissian, Richard G. (1997) The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. New York. St. Martin's Press, 299
  5. ^ Walker, Christopher (1980). ARMENIA: The Survival of a Nation. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 254. ISBN 0709902107.