Armenia's First Republic: 1918-1920 and the Fight for Independence

In May 1918, as the Ottoman Empire advanced into the Caucasus, a small Armenian force faced impossible odds at Sardarabad. Against expectations, they held the line—and declared the first independent Armenian state in centuries. This episode follows the brief, turbulent life of the First Republic of Armenia: its founding battles at Sardarabad, Bash Abaran, and Gharakilisa; the political maneuvering of the Armenian National Council and the Dashnaktsutyun leadership under Aram Manukian and Hovhannes Kachaznuni; the struggle to build a functioning state from the wreckage of the Russian Empire; the catastrophic refugee crisis of 1919; and the eventual collapse under Soviet and Turkish pressure in 1920. We explore the republic's military campaigns against the Ottoman and Azerbaijani forces, its fraught diplomacy with the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference, and the disputed Treaty of Alexandropol that sealed its fate. The episode closes with the Sovietization of Armenia and the question: was Sardarabad a miracle or a tragedy? #Sardarabad #FirstRepublic #AramManukian #HovhannesKachaznuni #Dashnaktsutyun #ArmenianNationalCouncil #BashAbaran #Gharakilisa #TreatyofAlexandropol #ParisPeaceConference #Sovietization #Armenia1918 #Caucasus #OttomanEmpire #ArmenianGenocide #FexingoHistory #History #ArmenianHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo