Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History / The Battle of Sarikamish: Armenians in the Russian Army
Transcript
- Lucas: So last time we explored the fedayi movement, those guerrilla fighters who took to the mountains in the late Ottoman Empire. But what happened when a full-scale world war broke out in 1914? That changed everything, and for Armenians, one of the first major flashpoints was a battle most people have never heard of: Sarikamish. Luna: Sarikamish. That's in the Caucasus, right? Lucas: Exactly. It's a town in modern-day Turkey, just west of the border with Armenia and Georgia, near the city of Kars. In December 1914, it was part of the Russian Empire. And it became the scene of a massive Ottoman offensive led by the war minister himself, Enver Pasha. Lucas: Now, Enver was young, ambitious, and convinced he could win a lightning victory against the Russians. He wanted to encircle and destroy the Russian Caucasus Army, then push on to reclaim territories lost in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. But he made a fatal miscalculation. Luna: He underestimated the terrain, didn't he? Lucas: Oh, hugely. He sent the Ottoman Third Army — about 95,000 men — through the Allahuekber Mountains in the dead of winter. No winter uniforms, no proper supplies. Thousands froze to death before they even reached the Russian lines. Those who survived stumbled into battle exhausted and half-starved. Lucas: On the Russian side, the army was much better prepared. And fighting alongside them were Armenian volunteer battalions — units of ethnic Armenians from the Russian Empire, many of them former fedayi. They knew the terrain, they were motivated, and they had scores to settle. Luna: These were the same kind of men we talked about in the fedayi episode, right? Like Andranik? Lucas: Yes, exactly. Andranik Ozanian actually commanded one of the Armenian volunteer units, but he wasn't at Sarikamish itself. Other leaders were: men like Khetcho — his real name was Arshak Gafavian — and Dro, or Drastamat Kanayan. These were legendary guerrillas who now wore Russian uniforms. Lucas: The battle itself lasted from late December 1914 into early January. The Ottoman offensive initially pushed forward, even briefly capturing the town of Sarikamish. But the Russian counterattack was devastating. By the end, the Ottoman Third Army had been almost completely destroyed. Estimates say they lost over 60,000 men — dead, wounded, or captured. The Russians lost maybe 16,000. Luna: And the Armenian volunteers were key to that Russian victory. Lucas: They were. Russian commanders praised their bravery and local knowledge. But here's the dark irony: the Ottoman government used Armenian collaboration with the Russians as a pretext for what came next. Enver Pasha blamed the defeat on Armenian 'treachery'. It became a key talking point for the Committee of Union and Progress, the Young Turk leadership, in justifying the deportations and massacres that would begin in April 1915. Luna: So helping the Russians actually put Armenians in more danger. Lucas: That's the tragic paradox. Many Armenians saw the war as a chance to liberate their historic homeland. They volunteered eagerly. But their very visible role in fighting against the Ottoman Empire gave the CUP exactly the excuse they needed to claim that all Armenians were a fifth column. The genocide didn't start because of Sarikamish — the CUP had been planning it for years — but the battle provided convenient cover. Lucas: There's also a human story here. One Russian officer wrote about an Armenian volunteer who, when asked why he fought so fiercely, pointed to the mountains and said, 'My grandfather is buried there, and my father was killed by the Hamidiye. I fight for them.' That sense of personal vengeance mixed with patriotism was widespread. Luna: It must have been incredibly emotional for these men. They were fighting literally on the doorstep of their ancestral lands. Lucas: Absolutely. Some of the volunteers came from villages just across the border. They knew every ridge and gully. And the Russian command used them as scouts and shock troops. At one point during the battle, an Armenian battalion held a crucial ridge against repeated Ottoman attacks, buying time for the Russian counterattack. Without them, the battle might have gone differently. Lucas: After the battle, the Russians advanced deep into Ottoman territory, capturing Erzurum in February 1916. Armenian volunteers helped there too. But by then, the genocide was already underway. The irony is bitter: while some Armenians were fighting for the Russian flag, their compatriots in the Ottoman Empire were being marched into the Syrian desert. Luna: Did any of the volunteers survive the war? Lucas: Some did. Khetcho and Dro both lived to see the end of the war. Dro actually became a commander in the First Republic of Armenia in 1918. But many others died — some in battle, some in the chaos that followed the Russian Revolution. It's a story of courage that's often overlooked, because it gets swallowed up by the larger tragedy. Lucas: So Sarikamish isn't just a battle; it's a turning point. It shattered the Ottoman Third Army, it boosted Russian morale, and it gave the Young Turks a propaganda weapon they'd use to justify genocide. And for the Armenians who fought there, it was a moment of both glory and heartbreak. Luna: It's one of those events that if it had gone differently, maybe history would have been different too. Lucas: Maybe. But what's certain is that the Battle of Sarikamish deserves to be remembered — not just as a military clash, but as a key moment in the story of Armenia's survival through empires and genocide.