- Georgian–Armenian War 1918
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Georgian-Armenian War 1918
partof=Aftermath ofWorld War I
caption=
date=December 7 -December 31 1918
place=Eastern Armenia /Eastern Georgia
casus=
territory=
result=Mutual administration at district of Lori.
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1=Drastamat Kanayan
commander2=Giorgi Mazniashvili
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=
casualties2=
notes=|Georgian-Armenian War was a border war fought in
1918 between theDemocratic Republic of Georgia and theDemocratic Republic of Armenia over the parts of then disputed provinces of Lori, Javakheti, andBorchalo district, which had been historically bicultural Armenian-Georgian territories, but were largely populated byArmenians in the 19th century.By the end of
World War I some of these territories were occupied by the Ottomans. When they abandoned the region, both Georgians and Armenians claimed control. The dispute degenerated into armed clashes onDecember 7 , 1918. The hostilities continued with varying success untilDecember 31 when the British brokered ceasefire was signed, leaving the disputed part ofBorchalo district under the joint Georgian-Armenian administration which lasted until the establishment of the Soviet rule in Armenia in1920 .Background
During the final stages of
World War I , the Armenians and Georgians had been defending against the advance of theOttoman Empire . In June 1918, in order to forestall an Ottoman advance onTiflis , the Georgian troops had occupied (temporarily allegedly) theLori Province which at the time had a 75% Armenian majority. After theArmistice of Mudros and the withdrawal of the Ottomans, the Georgian forces remained. GeorgianMenshevik parlementarianIrakli Tsereteli offered that the Armenians would be safer from the Turks as Georgian citizens. The Georgians offered a quadripartite conference including Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and theMountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus in order to resolve the issue which the Armenians rejected. In December 1918, the Georgians were confronting a rebellion chiefly in the village of Uzunlar in the Lori region. Within days, hostilities commenced between the two republics.Armenian the Survival of a Nation, Christopher Walker pg 267-268]Active Stage
On December 5, 1918 the Armenians sent troops to take over the
Borchalo andAkhalkalaki districts. The first military clashes occurred on December 9. Three days later, the Armenians scored a victory in the village ofSanahin in the Lori district and took over the village. Their advance in theTiflis direction was eventually halted and Georgians mounted a counteroffensive, winning a battle atShulaveri on December 29. [ [http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/Georgia/Lang_9a.htm INDEPENDENT GEORGIA (1918-1921] ,David Marshall Lang ] The hostilities ended at the village ofSadakhlo on the night of December 31, when the parties agreed to a British-brokered ceasefire. [http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/Armenia/disp.htm ARMENIA/KARABAKH: 1918 - 1920, Andrew Anderson] ]Aftermath
Both parties signed a peace agreement in January 1919 brokered by the British. The Armenian government officially dropped their claims over
Ardahan and Akhalkalaki districts, while Georgia agreed to the mutual governance over Lori canton of Borchalo district. The agreement left both parties dissatisfied and there was mutual distrust going forward and severe transportation problems between the two republics. The war also proved costly for both countries politically. Both countries had suffered together under Ottoman rule yet had turned on each other during independence from the Ottomans while the rest of the world was healing its wounds fromWorld War I .ee also
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Democratic Republic of Armenia
*Democratic Republic of Georgia References
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