Expert: heroic battles of 1918 saved Armenians from annihilation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Retreat from Sardarapat, Bash Aparan and Karakilisa would imply a whole nation’s defeat, Armenian political expert said.

As Sergey Shakaryantstold a press conference on the First Republic Day, Armenians were on the verge of annihilation, noting the heroic battles as the sole salvation of the nation.

“Nothing can be compared with the victory over the enemy who aims to destroy your nation,” the expert said.

The Battle of Sardarapad that took place from May 21–29, 1918. Sardarapad was only 40 kilometers west of the city of Yerevan and the battle is seen as not only stopping the Ottoman advance into the rest of Armenia but also preventing the complete destruction of the Armenian nation.

The Democratic Republic of Armenia, also known as the First Republic of Armenia, was proclaimed on May 28, 1918, after the dissolution of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. Its army continued to fight on the Allied side south of the Caucasus until the Ottoman Empire surrendered in October 1918. The independent republic endured from May 1918 to December 1920.