Feb 25 marks General Andranik Ozanian’s birth anniversary

PanARMENIAN.Net - February 28 marks the birth anniversary of legendary Armenian general Andranik Ozanian.

Andranik was an Armenian military commander,fedayee leader and a key figure of the Armenian national movement in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He joined the fedayee movement in late 1880s, first fighting against the Turks and Kurds in ranks of Hunchaks, later as a Dashnak. His revolutionary activities lasted until 1904, when he left the Ottoman Empire. In 1907 Andranik left the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. In 1912–1913, together with Garegin Nzhdeh, Andranik led the Armenian volunteer company of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps against the Ottomans during the First Balkan War.

During the First World War, Andranik stood at the head of the first Armenian volunteer battalions and later led them against the Ottoman army. After Armenia's declaration of independence in May 1918, Andranik fought in Nakhichevan, Karabakh and Zangezur against the Azerbaijaniand Turkish armies.

General Andranik left Armenia in 1919, because of strong disagreements with the Dashnak authorities. He spent his last years of life in Europe and the United States. He settled in Fresno, California in 1922 and died five years later in 1927, at the age of 62.