The Battle of Sardarabad: Armenia's Last Stand for Independence

In May 1918, as the Ottoman army advanced on Yerevan, a ragtag Armenian force—mostly farmers and refugees—stood their ground at Sardarabad. Against overwhelming odds, they halted the Turkish offensive and secured a brief window of independence for the First Republic of Armenia. This episode follows the desperate weeks leading to the battle, the key commanders like Movses Silikyan and Daniel Bek-Pirumyan, and the political chaos as the Transcaucasian Federation collapsed. We explore how Armenian fedayeen fighters who had survived the genocide of 1915 fought with a ferocity born of necessity, and how the victory at Sardarabad, though later overshadowed by Sovietization, remains a national touchstone. We also touch on the concurrent battles of Karakilisa and Bash Abaran, which together formed a defensive triangle that saved the Armenian heartland. No prior knowledge of the battle is assumed—just the context from earlier episodes on the Armenian Genocide and the collapse of the Ottoman and Russian empires. #Sardarabad #ArmenianIndependence #MovsesSilikyan #DanielBekPirumyan #fedayeen #FirstRepublicOfArmenia #OttomanEmpire #WorldWarI #TranscaucasianFederation #BrestLitovsk #Karakilisa #BashAbaran #ArmenianGenocide #Yerevan #1918 #History #FexingoHistory #Caucasus Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo