Part 9

From the testimonies of the "living legend" of Armenians "great" Andranik (Ozanyan)

This passage refers to the materials of General Gerasimov's military field commission. These materials contain the testimony of General Andranik Ozanian, who was removed from his position for departing Arzrum in shame. The testimonies reveal a pattern of moral decay and deterioration among the Armenian units, and an inadequate and groundless effort by General Andranik Ozanyan to rationalize his inactivity and cowardice.

Shortly after my arrival in Arzrum, a group of Armenian soldiers approached me with a plea to allow them to return home. I assured them that they would be permitted to depart in 10 days when reinforcements led by General Nazarbegov and General Ordyshev would arrive in Arzrum. After 2 hours, 8 individuals returned with the same request, to which I responded similarly. Subsequently, soldiers from the 4th regiment began to retreat from their positions towards the town. I had to resort to extreme measures to prevent the aforementioned actions (I struck one of the soldiers with the flat side of my unsheathed sword). Furthermore, the officers of the 1st Armenian Regiment also began to abandon their positions without authorisation, while soldiers showed poor conduct near the village of Ilidja. Subsequently, I approached them to convince them against leaving their designated areas, but upon my arrival, they fired multiple shots into the air with the added threat of two soldiers pointing a rifle in my direction...

Colonel Bejanbeg was instructed to take overall charge of the troops of the 1st Regiment and occupy positions between Ilidja, Teke, and Daras, but the order was not executed. On 26th February, the Turks launched an attack, causing widespread panic. The soldiers broke through the barbed wire, entered the city, and even fled from it on 27th February.

Before I arrived in Arzrum, approximately 4,000 soldiers had already left the city, and this trend continued thereafter. On 2nd March, I walked along the Kars highway where our battery was located. It was observed that the battery wasn't firing. Throughout this period, soldiers were continuously patrolling the highway. Colonel Bezhanbeg passed by on the same route. I proceeded to Khasan-Kala and encountered approximately 8,000 individuals on the way, including officers such as Colonel Dolukhanov, Captain Dzhamgotzov with his battery, and Captain Dzhamboladov".

These are the key points of the testimony given by the Armenian "living legend" and "George Washington" to Major-General Gerasimov's investigative commission following his dismissal from Arzrum.

The testimony provides insight into the spiritual, moral, and ethical condition of the Armenian garrison. Based on this information, conclusions can be drawn about the leadership qualities and combat capabilities of General Andranik Ozanyan.

At this time, when the Turkish offensive on Arzrum was about to commence, Armenian combat units were deployed not in the Western Front and near Arzrum, but rather in Yerevan province. In this location, they carried out another massacre, depriving peaceful Azerbaijani civilians, including elderly individuals, women, and children, of their belongings and property. General Drastamat Kanayan-Dro was in charge of these "combat units." Here is a report documenting one of the incidents:

"One leader of the Armenian Dashnaks, A. Amiryan, stated that in the Yerevan region alone, the Dashnaks destroyed 200 Azerbaijani villages.”

On 22nd February 1918, Dashnak troops besieged Ulukhanlo, an Azerbaijani village, and commenced artillery fire. Furthermore, there were inter-ethnic clashes resulting in bloodshed, which occurred in Surmali, Kamarlu and other locations. In Davalu district, the Dashnak detachments, under the leadership of Kuro Tarkhanyan and Colonel Ter-Sarkhisyan, carried out unspeakable atrocities and brutalities against the indigenous Azerbaijani people. It becomes apparent that there is a prevalent perception of decay and deterioration among Armenian "great commanders of combat units" and personnel ... However, additional information exists.

General Andranik Ozanyan testifies that there were 7 trains reserved for women and refugee children in Hasan-Kale, Kapri-Kai and Khorasan. Regrettably, approximately 4,000 soldiers, including officers, disembarked them and absconded.

The same event occurred during the Armenian-Georgian war, in which the Armenians initiated the conflict against the Georgians, in expectation of receiving aid from their "great allies" - the British and tsarist generals.

Shirokorad

And then another Russian author, Alexander Borisovich Shirokorad, published a monograph entitled "War and Peace of Transcaucasia behind the page of three thousand years". Despite the grandiose title, the work caught our attention and piqued our interest.
The first chapter begins with a discussion of the rise and fall of Armenian states.

For clarity's sake, I will divide this brief account of Transcaucasia's history into those of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan within the borders of their respective Soviet republics. Historians, both in the Soviet era and today, have propagated the notion that these states were existent before the birth of Christ.

However, the term Georgia, for instance, originates from "Gurjistan," Persian for "country of wolves." The Persian naming of the principalities of Kartli, Mingrelia, Svaneti and others is notable. The first state to officially bear the name "Georgia" was the Menshevik republic, established with the assistance of German troops in 1918. No principality or kingdom had previously been named as such.

Before 1917, the term "Azerbaijan" referred to a region in Northern Persia and those who are now called Azerbaijanis were known as Tatars during the Russian Empire's rule. There was only one known Armenian kingdom before Christ. Therefore, my account of events in Transcaucasia will begin there.

The matter at hand is of utmost importance.

According to Mr Shirokorad, there was only one state in Transcaucasia prior to the Birth of Christ - the Armenian Kingdom. The term "Georgia" did not exist until 1918. Further passages and conclusions presented in the "work" are not discussed here.

In summary, this piece by Alexander Borisovich, a supporter of Armenia, is written with excessive emotion and is filled with mediocre cynicism, arrogance, and an anti-Georgian ideology.

We investigated the background of Alexander Borisovich, who is a current military specialist and publicist from Russia. He has written numerous popular science books relating to artillery and military equipment, and his technical publications have been recognised as authoritative within the field of artillery armament (Shirokorad is considered to be one of the leading experts on domestic artillery). However, Russian authors A. Lobanov and O. Ascheulov have criticised him in their works.

However, it transpires that Russia is not entirely devoid of objectivity. In fact, there exist academics, scientists and researchers in Russia who carry out their scientific work with an acceptable degree of impartiality. Colonel Anatoly Artemyev, a military pilot of the first class and senior researcher of the military-historical group of the Main Command of the Russian Navy, offers some insight into Alexander Borisovich in his critical article entitled "Gavrils" versus torpedo-bearers, or what happens when dilettante cynics write about war.

"After reviewing Mr Shirokorad's book, I had numerous comments indicating the author's incompetence on several issues and his cynical attitude towards people. The media reports regularly about the vandalism of burial sites and monuments, and there are intellectual experts of various backgrounds who are willing to distort the past for personal gain. "Gavril" has made the desecration of bones a favourite tradition.

Alexander Borisovich Shirokorad describes the events on the Caucasus front during the winter-spring period of 1918 in his book.

According to him, the Turkish forces captured Erzinjan on 30th January, Bayburt on 4th February, Mehekhatun on 8th February, and Arzrum on 2nd February 29. By March, they had taken over all the Turkish territories that Russians had occupied during the First World War.

The chairman of the Transcaucasian government, A. Chhenkeli, then instructed General Nazarbegov to retreat. On 15th April, the Turks occupied Batumi without resistance, and on 25th of April, they also captured Kars. Despite the fact that the Armenian army could hold the formidable fortress of Kars for several months, the Armenians left due to the criminal order of Chhenkeli. The Turks were left with approximately 600 Russian cannons, tens of thousands of rifles, dozens of vehicles, as well as ammunition and uniform warehouses. In Kars, the Turks carried out widespread looting of civilians and massacred Armenians. However, on 24th  May 1918, the Armenian army successfully defeated the Turks near Sardarabad, thus retaining their capital, Yerevan. “It is widely acknowledged that General Andranik Sasuni played a pivotal role in this victory’.

In regards to the Kars Armenian retreat, the author presents outrageous distortions of historical events. It is revealed that the Armenian troops withdrew and relinquished control of the well-defended city of Kars by direction of their commander, General Nazarbegov, who had been ordered to do so by Mr Akaki Chhenkel. Thus, it becomes apparent that the Georgians hold some responsibility.

Regarding the information highlighted in the second emphasis, it is known that Andranik Ozanian (also referred to as Andranik Sasuni by Mr. Shirokorad) did not participate in the Battle of Sardarabad despite his supposed decisive role. Instead, General Andranik Ozanian deserted his command of the Armenian detachment three weeks prior to the Sardarabad battles (21-28 May 1918) following the shameful retreat from Arzrum and sought refuge on the Sevan heights.

It is worth mentioning that Shirokorad claims that Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan achieved their statehood on the 8th, 9th , and 10th  of June 1918, respectively. However, it is important to note that Shirokorad tends to interpret and falsify historical facts to fit his views.

Therefore, it is not advisable to discuss his monograph in this regard. "The individual known as the "Father of modern Russian artillery" and the self-proclaimed "historian" Alexander Borisovich would benefit from seeking a new field of activity where his sharp thoughts can be put to use in written form."

Democide in Akhaltsikhe-Akhalkalaki Nzhdeh (1918)

It is not widely known or remembered that in 1918, Armenians carried out a democide of the Muslim population, including Georgians, in the Akhaltsikhe-Akhalkalaki region. Nzhdeh's punitive units played a leading role. There is ample documentary evidence, including the following excerpt: 

"While in Gokio, the executioner Hecho the Soulless worked, Andranik, Nikola, and Nzhdeh's disciples were sent to other villages."

In Kudalia, men were segregated and 12 of the most aware were chosen. They were then made to stand on top of one another, tied with a rope, and shot in front of their families in the village. They were then made to stand on top of one another, tied with a rope, and shot in front of their families in the village. They were then made to stand on top of one another, tied with a rope, and shot in front of their families in the village. The victims suffered immense agony at the hands of these barbarians. Farawan Lake was glutted with the lifeless bodies of the inhabitants of Sagamo. No one was exempt from the brutality. Additionally, two girls were subjected to rape before the vast audience. Shavkat-bek Falavandishvili, a kind, unassuming man with an open-door policy, suffered a tragic fate. His only son was murdered in front of his mother. Additionally, two elderly men, Khak-Khoja and Kamal-bek Palavandishvili, who were devoted solely to their mosque and home, were brutally abducted and killed. There were 230 arrests made in Muslim villages, and five brothers with four grandsons attending the gymnasium were among those taken into custody.

Who could have envisaged the slaughter of numerous people, endured like cattle? The 436th issue of "Narodnoe Delo" newspaper reports that three restrained men were executed in front of a crowd in this horrific incident. If the victims remained standing, they were brutally killed with bricks, knives and axes. The 436th issue of "Narodnoe Delo" newspaper reports that three restrained men were executed in front of a crowd in this horrific incident. The 436th issue of "Narodnoe Delo" newspaper reports that three restrained men were executed in front of a crowd in this horrific incident. Tragically, even Armenian children, led by Khairo Hayvazyan's son-in-law, were involved.

In issue 220 of "Georgia" newspaper, the atrocities committed by the Dashnaks' "fighting detachments" were reported.

"It was recounted that "the disaster began, followed by the uprising of entire Muslim villages and continuous bloodshed." In this same period, the situation in Akhaltsikhe remained difficult, as the Dashnakite "zinvoras" would capture Muslim children and women daily and take them to Akhaltsikhe, sparking negotiations and commerce.

Dashnak Zoryan, a former Akhaltsikhe head and current member of the Georgian parliament, likely has memories of these events. He also recollects incidents where armed zinvoras threw grenades at Muslim children and women confined in the Akhaltsikhe prison. Had the guards present in Akhaltsikhe not seen this, innocent people could have similarly shed blood as in Akhalkalaki.

Near Akhalkalaki lies the Georgian village of Hospia, which is known for its significant population of Georgian Muslims. Unfortunately, in the past, the village was captured by the Dashnakels in Akhalkalaki, and a horrific atrocity took place when they departed the town. They took all Gospian Muslims out of the village and decapitated them in the streets of Akhalkalaki, resulting in one of the most gruesome acts of violence I have ever seen. They took all Gospian Muslims out of the village and decapitated them in the streets of Akhalkalaki, resulting in one of the most gruesome acts of violence I have ever seen…

These individuals are the ones responsible for burying their comrades in the cemetery of Bakuriani forests. Their actions caused tears, lamentations, and immense suffering on the cold mountainous terrain. General Draskhamat Kanayan-Dro, Nzhdeh's commanding officer and spiritual ally, callously justified the actions of his units in Transcaucasia as a "strategic necessity to clear the rear."

Our evaluation of the actions taken by the Armenian military and combat units towards the Muslim population in Transcaucasia may be biased and overly severe. However, it is important to acknowledge documented accounts of Armenians committing acts of genocide against the peaceful population of Georgia during the Armenian-Georgian war. Such facts are recorded in historical memory and cannot be overlooked.

Cruel, inhumane, and merciless reprisals were inflicted by Armenian combat units upon Georgian prisoners of war, as well as those wounded or killed in battle. Archival documents reveal extensive testimony of torture, shooting of Georgian prisoners, and mutilation and abuse of corpses.  One might ask: what motivated the inhabitants of the "first Christian country" to act in such a way? Where did their "Christian spirit and virtue" go? Otherwise, how else can one describe the derision and profoundly cruel handling of the cadavers of those slain in combat?

From the book "Armenian-Georgian War" by Archil Chachkhiani

To be continued...