Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History / The 1918 Battle of Sardarabad: Armenia's Last Stand
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, we've covered a lot of ground in this series — the ancient kingdoms, the genocide, the diaspora. But there's one battle that really feels like the hinge point for modern Armenia, and we haven't given it its own episode yet: Sardarabad. Luna: Sardarabad — that's the battle in May 1918, right? The one where everything was on the line? Lucas: Exactly. May 21 to 28, 1918. The Ottoman army had broken through the Caucasus front after the Russian collapse, and they were marching on Yerevan. The Armenian population in the region had already been decimated by the genocide — there was no retreat. It was literally a do or die stand. Luna: And the Armenians won — against overwhelming odds. Lucas: They did. But the story is more complicated than just 'plucky underdogs win'. The Ottoman forces under Vehib Pasha had about 20,000 troops, well-equipped and battle-hardened. The Armenian force was maybe 5,000 regulars, plus another 10,000 or so fedayee fighters — partisans, really — and villagers with hunting rifles. Lucas: The commander on the Armenian side was General Movses Silikyan, a former Imperial Russian Army officer. He had a few artillery pieces, some machine guns, and a lot of desperation. And he had Aram Manukian, the civilian leader who had been organizing the defense of Yerevan. Luna: And this is where the fedayee from earlier episodes come in — like Aghbiur Serob and Andranik, though I think Andranik wasn't at Sardarabad. Lucas: Right. Andranik was operating in the east, around Zangezur. At Sardarabad, the fedayee units were local — from Sasun, Van, and the surrounding villages. They fought in their traditional khumb bands, which made coordination difficult but gave them incredible tenacity in close quarters. Lucas: The battle started on May 21. The Ottomans attacked along three axes: toward Sardarabad itself, toward Bash Abaran to the north, and toward Karakilisa to the east. Silikyan concentrated his forces at Sardarabad, recognizing it as the most direct route to Yerevan. Luna: And Sardarabad is where the Armenian victory came. Lucas: Yes, but it was very close. For two days, the Armenian line held, but they were taking heavy casualties. On May 23, Silikyan launched a counterattack that caught the Ottomans off guard. He committed his reserves — about 1,000 men — and they broke through the Ottoman center. The Ottoman flank collapsed. Lucas: By May 26, the Ottomans were in full retreat. The Armenians had won, but at a cost: over 1,000 dead, many more wounded. And even as they celebrated, they knew the victory was fragile. Luna: Fragile because of the political situation — the Transcaucasian Federation was falling apart, and the Bolsheviks had abandoned the Caucasus. Lucas: Exactly. On the very day the Armenians won at Sardarabad, the Transcaucasian Federation dissolved. Georgia declared independence on May 26, and Azerbaijan followed the next day. On May 28, the Armenian National Council in Tiflis declared the First Republic of Armenia. So Sardarabad directly enabled that declaration. Lucas: But here's the tragic part: the Ottoman government, under pressure from the Germans, forced Armenia to sign the Treaty of Batum on June 4. That treaty gave away huge chunks of territory — Kars, Ardahan, and parts of what is now eastern Turkey — in exchange for peace. So the military victory at Sardarabad was undercut by diplomatic defeat. Luna: That must have been devastating for the people who fought. They win the battle but lose the peace. Lucas: It was. And it created a lasting bitterness. Many Armenians felt that the Dashnak leaders who signed Batum had betrayed the sacrifice of Sardarabad. But from their perspective, they had no choice — the Ottoman army was still intact, and the Germans were threatening to cut off all aid. Lucas: The battle also had a huge symbolic impact. It's remembered as the moment the Armenian people rose up and said 'no more'. In Soviet times, the battle was downplayed because it was led by Dashnaks — who were the enemies of the Bolsheviks. But after independence in 1991, Sardarabad became a national holiday again. Luna: There's a monument there now, isn't there? A kind of memorial complex? Lucas: Yes — a large memorial with an eagle-shaped arch and a bell tower. It was built in the 1960s, actually, during a brief thaw in Soviet cultural policy. The inscription reads: 'Here the Armenian people saved their homeland from annihilation.' It's a powerful place. Lucas: If you look at the historiography, the battle has been interpreted in different ways. Soviet historians treated it as a national liberation struggle but avoided praising the Dashnak leadership. Armenian diaspora historians, like Richard Hovannisian, see it as the founding moment of the modern Armenian state. Ottoman sources, for their part, tend to downplay it as a minor setback. Luna: And what about the fedayee — how were they integrated into the regular army? Lucas: That's a great question. The fedayee were not easy to command. They were used to operating independently, with their own leaders and their own codes of honor. Silikyan had to negotiate constantly with the khumb commanders to keep them in line. There were moments when fedayee units refused orders because they didn't trust the regular officers. Lucas: One famous story is about a fedayee group from Sasun who arrived at Sardarabad after a forced march. They were exhausted, but they went straight into battle. Their commander, a man named Hovsep, reportedly told Silikyan: 'We didn't come to survive. We came to make sure Armenia survives.' That kind of spirit was crucial. Luna: It reminds me of the Musa Dagh resistance during the genocide — the same desperate courage. Lucas: Exactly. And there's a direct link: many of the fedayee at Sardarabad had been involved in the self-defense battles during the genocide, like at Van and Musa Dagh. They brought that experience with them. Lucas: Let me give a quick sense of the timeline. On May 22, the Ottoman 36th Division attacked Sardarabad village itself. The Armenian defenders, mostly fedayee and local militia, held them off for hours. Silikyan sent reinforcements from his reserves — two regiments of regular infantry — and they stabilized the line. Lucas: On May 23, Silikyan launched his counterattack. He massed his artillery — about 20 guns — and fired a concentrated barrage on the Ottoman positions. Then the infantry advanced, with fedayee units on the flanks. The Ottomans, who had expected an easy victory, were stunned by the ferocity. Luna: What about the other fronts — Bash Abaran and Karakilisa? Lucas: At Bash Abaran, the Armenians under Colonel Dro held the line against a smaller Ottoman force. That prevented the Ottomans from outflanking Sardarabad. Karakilisa was a separate battle, where General Movses Silikyan's namesake — actually, no, Karakilisa was commanded by another officer, but Silikyan had overall command. Lucas: The victory at Sardarabad gave the Armenian delegation in Tiflis the leverage they needed to declare independence. Without it, they would have had no territory to claim — the Ottomans would have taken everything. Luna: And that independence lasted only two years, but it set the template for the modern republic. Lucas: Exactly. The First Republic fell to the Bolsheviks in 1920, but its borders, its institutions, and its national identity were forged in those 1918 battles. Even today, the Armenian military uses 'Sardarabad' as a watchword. Lucas: So when you visit the Sardarabad memorial, you see these huge stone oxen horns — a symbol of ancient Armenian royalty — and a path leading to an eternal flame. It's deliberately designed to evoke both the ancient past and the modern nation. That's the story of Armenia in one monument: survival through empires and genocide. Luna: And it's a story that deserves to be remembered, especially now. Lucas: Absolutely. And speaking of remembering — before we go deeper, I want to mention something. This show is completely listener-funded. No ads, no sponsors. A small group of listeners chips in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's what makes episodes like this possible. So if you find value in these conversations, that's the way to keep them coming. Luna: Yeah, it's a low-key way to support something you care about. And it really does make a difference. Lucas: So — back to Sardarabad. One of the most striking details I came across is that after the battle, the Armenian forces captured a large amount of Ottoman equipment: rifles, machine guns, even some artillery. That equipment was then used to arm the new Armenian army. So the victory wasn't just symbolic — it was materially crucial. Lucas: The Ottoman retreat was also accompanied by atrocities against Armenian civilians in the occupied territories. The villagers who had survived the genocide were again targeted. This is one of those dark footnotes that doesn't get much attention. Luna: So the battle didn't end the suffering — it just gave the survivors a place to stand. Lucas: Exactly. And that place was Yerevan, which became the capital of the new republic. Before 1918, Yerevan was a provincial town. After Sardarabad, it became the heart of Armenian statehood. Lucas: There's also a musical legacy. The Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian wrote a piece called 'Sardarabad' — a march — that is still performed on independence day. It's stirring, a bit mournful but triumphant. Luna: I think I've heard it. It has that deep, duduk-like melody. Lucas: That's the one. So Sardarabad lives on in memory, in music, in monuments. And the lesson it teaches — that a people can resist even when all seems lost — remains relevant for Armenia today.