May 26 in Armenia marks the memorable date — Victory Day in the Battle of Sardarapat.
The Battle of Sardarapat — was a battle during the First World War (1914-1918), which took place on May 21-28, 1918 between regular Armenian military units and militias, on the one hand, and the Turkish occupiers who invaded Eastern Armenia —, on the other. The battle took place near the Sardarapat railway station, near the city of Oktemberyan.
After the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, Russian troops left the regions of Western Armenia occupied during the First World War. Taking advantage of this, the ruling circles of Turkey intended not only to capture back Western Armenia, but also to occupy Eastern Armenia and the entire Transcaucasus.
Having violated the truce concluded in December 1917, Turkish troops went on the offensive and occupied the cities of Erznka, Erzurum, Sarikamysh, Kars, and on May 15 — Alexandropol (Gyumri). The corps operating on the Caucasian Front consisted of three incomplete divisions. The Armenians retreated under the onslaught of enemy forces that were many times superior.
Vehib Pasha's 100,000-strong Turkish army was opposed by an Armenian army of twenty,000, consisting of soldiers and officers armed with rifles and machine guns of the old Russian army. There were the same number of militias and auxiliary soldiers. The troops were commanded by Colonel Danielbek Pirumyan.
«Armenians, go! The fate of the Fatherland is being decided!» — this call of Pirumyan found a wide response among all segments of the population. Tens of thousands of workers, artisans, peasants, armed with pitchforks, pikes, and daggers, joined the militia. A women's battalion was also created to help the wounded, and the supply of water and food to the troops was established.
The Turks moved along the Araks Valley from west to east towards Yerevan. Pirumyan met their avant-garde units behind Etchmiadzin, with a series of successful blows he defeated them and drove them back.
The victory in the Battle of Sardarapat was of great importance for Armenia — the Armenian population of the northern part of the Ararat Valley avoided the Turkish genocide, a significant part of Eastern Armenia was saved from capture by the Turks, and conditions were created for the restoration of Armenian statehood. And on May 28, 1918, the Republic of Armenia was proclaimed.
In honor of the victory in the Battle of Sardarapat and the defeat of the Turkish army on May 26, 1918, a memorable date was established in Armenia, and on the 50th anniversary of the battle in May 1968, the Sardarapat architectural ensemble (near Yerevan) was opened, created according to the plan of the architect Israelyan.