Armenia marks Sardarapat Battle Victory Day
Armenia annually marks Sardarapat Battle Victory Day on May 26.
The Battle of Sardarapat (also spelled Sardarabad), which took place on 21-28 May 1918, is one of the most important events in the history of Armenia.
The Battle of Sardarapat was a Caucasus Campaign of World War I that involved Armenia and the Ottoman Empire. The Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in January 1918 and issued a decree that called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Caucasus Front. The Ottoman Empire used this situation to advance to Armenia. Thousands of the Armenians fled the country after the Armenian Genocide in 1915, that is why the territory was left without an army capable to protect it.
The Battle of Sardarapat was won by the Armenians, but they paid thousands of lives for the victory. At the same time, the victory in the battle stopped the advance of the Ottoman Empire to Armenia and prevented a new genocide.
The victory in the Battle of Sardarapat created conditions for proclamation of the Republic of Armenia on May 28, 1918.