The Armenian volunteer units ( hy, Հայ կամավորական ջոկատներ ''Hay kamavorakan jokatner'') were units composed of
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
within the
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Composed of several groups at
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
strength, its ranks were primarily made up of
Armenians from the Russian Empire, . The Russian-Armenian volunteer units took part in military activities in the
Middle Eastern theater of World War I
The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I saw action between 29 October 1914 and 30 October 1918. The combatants were, on one side, the Ottoman Empire (including the majority of Kurdish tribes, a relative majority of Arabs, and Caucasian ''Ta ...
.
Background
In August 1914, following Germany's declaration of war against Russia, Count
Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov
Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov (russian: Илларио́н Ива́нович Воронцов-Дашков; 27 May 1837 – 15 January 1916) was a notable representative of the Vorontsov family. He served as Minister of Imperial Pro ...
, the Russian
Caucasus Viceroy approached Armenian leaders in the Russian city of
Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
to broach the idea of a formation of a separate fighting corps inside the Russian Army, made up of the Russian Empire's Armenian subjects. Armenians were already being enrolled in the regular Russian army and sent to the Eastern front, but Vorontsov-Dashkov offered to furnish weapons and supplies to outfit four detachments that were envisioned to take part in fighting against the Ottoman Empire (the Ottomans would not enter the war until October that year). His offer was received warmly, and within a few weeks, Armenian volunteers throughout the Caucasus began to enlist. Responsibility for its formation was given to a special committee created by the
Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians The Armenian National Congress (or Congress of Eastern ArmeniansTer-Minassian p.30) was a political congress established to provide representation for Armenians of the Russian Empire.Adalian p.76 It first met at the Artistic Theatre in Tbilisi on . ...
, which coordinated its activities from
Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
,
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
and
Alexandrapol
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
.
Establishment
The establishment of Armenian volunteer units in the Russian army dates back to the summer of 1914.
Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov
Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov (russian: Илларио́н Ива́нович Воронцов-Дашков; 27 May 1837 – 15 January 1916) was a notable representative of the Vorontsov family. He served as Minister of Imperial Pro ...
consulted with the Mayor of Tbilisi
Alexander Khatisian
Alexander Khatisian (; 17 February 1874 – 10 March 1945) was an Armenian politician, doctor and journalist.
Khatisian was born in Tiflis in the Tiflis Governorate of the Russian Empire (Tbilisi, Georgia) to a prominent Armenian family of noble ...
, the primate of Tbilisi, Bishop Mesrop Ter-Movsisian, and the prominent civic leader Dr.
Hakob Zavriev
Hakob Zavriev ( hy, Հակոբ Զավրիև), also known as Yakov Zavriev, was an Armenian politician.
Zavriev was a graduate of the St. Petersburg Army Medical Academy. He later joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. The viceroy of the C ...
about the creation of Armenian volunteer detachments.
[Hovannisian "The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times " p 280] These units would be employed on the Caucasus front in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
The Armenian volunteer units, mostly from the Caucasus region, were impatient to take arms "to liberate their homeland".
In several towns occupied by the Russian forces, Armenian students were ready to join the Russian Empire's Armenian volunteer army. Besides the regular soldiers of the
Russian Caucasus Army, nearly 20,000 Armenian irregular units expressed their readiness to take up arms against the Ottoman Empire. The size of these units increased during the war and
Boghos Nubar
Boghos Nubar ( hyw, Պօղոս Նուպար), also known as Boghos Nubar Pasha () (2 August 1851 – 25 June 1930), was a chairman of the Armenian National Delegation, and the founder, alongside ten other Armenian national movement leaders, of th ...
gave the summary of these units in a public letter to the
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
as 150,000 Armenians in the Russian Empire's volunteer units and around 40,000
Armenian irregular units
''Fedayi'' (Western Armenian, Western hy, Ֆէտայի ''Fedayi''; Eastern Armenian, Eastern hy, Ֆիդայի ''Fidayi''), also known as the Armenian irregular units or Armenian militia, were Armenians, Armenian civilians who voluntarily left ...
.
File:Pervaya Armyanskaya Drujina 1 battalion 1914.png, 1st. Armenian battalion
File:Pervaya Armyanskaya Drujina 2 battalion 1914.png, 2nd Armenian battalion
File:Pervaya Armyanskaya Drujina 3 battalion 1914.png, 3rd Armenian battalion
Image:Pervaya Armyanskaya Drujina 4 battalion 1914.png, 4th Armenian battalion
Order of Battle, 1914
The acting commander
Andranik Ozanian
Andranik Ozanian, commonly known as General Andranik or simply Andranik;. Also spelled Antranik or Antranig 25 February 186531 August 1927), was an Armenians, Armenian military commander and statesman, the best known ''Armenian fedayi, fedayi ...
under Viceroyalty of the Caucasus
Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov
Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov (russian: Илларио́н Ива́нович Воронцов-Дашков; 27 May 1837 – 15 January 1916) was a notable representative of the Vorontsov family. He served as Minister of Imperial Pro ...
.
* Armenian volunteer corps
** 1st battalion (
Andranik Ozanian
Andranik Ozanian, commonly known as General Andranik or simply Andranik;. Also spelled Antranik or Antranig 25 February 186531 August 1927), was an Armenians, Armenian military commander and statesman, the best known ''Armenian fedayi, fedayi ...
)
** 2nd battalion (
Drastamat Kanayan
Drastamat Kanayan (; 31 May 1884 8 March 1956), better known as Dro (Դրօ), was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He briefly served as Defence Minister of the First Republic ...
and
Armen Garo
Garegin or Karekin Pastermadjian ( classical hy, Գարեգին Փաստրմաճեան), better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Armen Garo or Armen Karo (Արմէն Գարօ; 9 February 1872 – 23 March 1923) was an Armenian activist and po ...
)
** 3rd battalion (
Hamazasp Srvandztyan ''
nom de guerre
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
'' Hamazasp)
** 4th battalion (
Arshak Gafavian
Arshak Gavafian, better known by his '' nom de guerre'' Keri (1858 – 15 May 1916), was an Armenian fedayee military commander and member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.Antranig Chalabian, General Andranik and the Armenian Revoluti ...
''
nom de guerre
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
'' Keri)
** Regiment Ararat (
Sargis Mehrabyan
Sargis Mehrabyan ( hy, Սարգիս Մեհրաբյան), also known as Commander Vartan, Vartan of Khanasor and Vartan Mehrpanian, was an Armenian fedayee military commander and member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.Tasnapetean, Hrach. ...
''
nom de guerre
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
'' Vartan)
Andranik's detachment was assigned to the
Persian Campaign Persian expedition or Persian campaign may refer to:
* Persian campaign (Alexander the Great) (334–333 BC)
*Julian's Persian expedition (363)
* Persian expedition of Stepan Razin (1699)
* Persian campaign of Peter the Great (1722–1723)
* Pers ...
along General
Tovmas Nazarbekian
Tovmas Nazarbekian (Armenian: Թովմաս Նազարբէկեան; 4 April 1855 – 19 February 1931), also known as Foma Nazarbekov (russian: Фома Назарбеков), was an Armenian general in the Russian Caucasus Army and later promoted ...
's forces. The second, third and fourth units were assigned to the
Caucasus Campaign
The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dicta ...
.
Drastamat Kanayan
Drastamat Kanayan (; 31 May 1884 8 March 1956), better known as Dro (Դրօ), was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He briefly served as Defence Minister of the First Republic ...
and
Armen Garo
Garegin or Karekin Pastermadjian ( classical hy, Գարեգին Փաստրմաճեան), better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Armen Garo or Armen Karo (Արմէն Գարօ; 9 February 1872 – 23 March 1923) was an Armenian activist and po ...
directed the 2nd battalion over the offensives around
Lake Van
Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
(
Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...
). The 3rd and 4th battalions commanded by Hamazasp and Keri were assigned to the positions along the
Kars Oblast
The Kars Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was the city of Kars, presently in Turkey. The ''oblast'' bordered the Ottoman Empire to the west, the Batum Oblast ...
.
Enver Pasha
İsmail Enver, better known as Enver Pasha ( ota, اسماعیل انور پاشا; tr, İsmail Enver Paşa; 22 November 1881 – 4 August 1922) was an Ottoman military officer, revolutionary, and convicted war criminal who formed one-third ...
's offensive had a great chance of success if all three wings of the
Third Army could reach their objectives on time. The Ottoman Tenth Army corps, during its march from Olti to Sarikamish, suffered a delay of 24 hours in the Barduz Pass due to the resistance of the "''4th battalion of the Armenian volunteers''". This delay enabled the Russian Caucasus Army to concentrate a sufficient force around Sarikamish, resulting in the destruction of the Ottoman Third Army in the
Battle of Sarikamish
The Battle of Sarikamish (''Sarighamishi chakatamart''), russian: Сражение при Сарыкамыше; tr, Sarıkamış Harekatı, lit=''Operation Sarıkamış'' was an engagement between the Russian and Ottoman empires during World W ...
.
Order of Battle, 1915
The acting commander
Andranik Ozanian
Andranik Ozanian, commonly known as General Andranik or simply Andranik;. Also spelled Antranik or Antranig 25 February 186531 August 1927), was an Armenians, Armenian military commander and statesman, the best known ''Armenian fedayi, fedayi ...
under Viceroyalty of the Caucasus
Nicholas Nikolaevich.
During the
siege of Van there were 20,000 Armenian volunteer units serving in the Russian army. The Russian army entered
Van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...
on 16 May 1915.
[ v. 2000: T. 30, pp. 101–102 "On the 6th of May the Armenian flag waved over the citadel of Van. The Vaspourakanis welcomed with great love the Russian soldiers and the Armenian volunteers under the leadership of General ]Andranik Ozanian
Andranik Ozanian, commonly known as General Andranik or simply Andranik;. Also spelled Antranik or Antranig 25 February 186531 August 1927), was an Armenians, Armenian military commander and statesman, the best known ''Armenian fedayi, fedayi ...
." Later on 15 October, under heavy fight around the region
Lake Van
Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
, these battalions had lost five hundred Armenian soldiers and there were more than twelve hundred wounded or missing.
[Like One Family: The Armenians of Syracuse by Arpena S. Mesrobian p,53]
Order of Battle, 1916
The volunteer detachment contingents, fighting under Armenian commanders, were observed in the Russian Caucasian Army as rifle battalions under Russian officers.
Around 1916, more than 1,000 Armenian reserve soldiers quit the Russian army in the
Eastern Front and joined the
Armenian irregular units
''Fedayi'' (Western Armenian, Western hy, Ֆէտայի ''Fedayi''; Eastern Armenian, Eastern hy, Ֆիդայի ''Fidayi''), also known as the Armenian irregular units or Armenian militia, were Armenians, Armenian civilians who voluntarily left ...
(Fedayee).
Order of Battle, 1917
The Russian Caucasus Front collapsed following the
abdication of the Tsar. In 1917, the
Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians The Armenian National Congress (or Congress of Eastern ArmeniansTer-Minassian p.30) was a political congress established to provide representation for Armenians of the Russian Empire.Adalian p.76 It first met at the Artistic Theatre in Tbilisi on . ...
asked the Armenian soldiers and officers scattered throughout Russian occupied regions to gradually be brought together.
The plan was to mobilize Armenians on the Caucasian front. With that purpose in view, an Armenian Military Committee was formed with General Bagradouni as its president.
These Armenian conscripts and volunteers from the Russian Army later established the core of the armed forces of the
First Republic of Armenia
The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...
.
See also
*
Armenian fedayi
''Fedayi'' (Western hy, Ֆէտայի ''Fedayi''; Eastern hy, Ֆիդայի ''Fidayi''), also known as the Armenian irregular units or Armenian militia, were Armenian civilians who voluntarily left their families to form self-defense units and ...
*
French Armenian Legion
The Armenian Legion (french: Légion arménienne) was a volunteer unit that was raised by the Allied Powers to serve in the Middle East Theatre during World War I. Trained and led by French army commanders, the Légion d'Orient (The Eastern Le ...
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenian Volunteer Units
Military of Armenia
Military units and formations of Armenia
*
Volunteer military units and formations