Battle of Artvin
| Battle of Artvin | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Turkish War of Independence | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Democratic Republic of Georgia |
 Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Giorgi Kvinitadze | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Artvin was a military confrontation between the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the Ottoman Empire in Artvin, present-day Turkey, on 20 April 1919, during the Turkish War of Independence. The battle resulted in a Georgian victory and the transfer of Artvin and Ardahan to Georgia.
Background
[edit]The first Battle of Artvin took place in 1918, when Turkish troops occupied Artvin, a town that had been under Georgian control since the end of World War I. The Turks also claimed the nearby town of Ardahan, which had been part of the Russian Empire before the war. The Georgians protested the Turkish invasion and appealed to the League of Nations for assistance. The League urged both sides to respect the status quo and negotiate a peaceful settlement.[1]
Meanwhile, the Georgian army, led by General Giorgi Kvinitadze, launched a counter-offensive to reclaim Artvin and Ardahan. Kvinitadze had previously occupied Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki, two towns in the former Russian province of Kars, on 20 April 1919.[2][3]
Battle
[edit]On 20 April 1920, Kvinitadze's division reached Artvin and engaged the Turkish forces in the town. The Georgians had the advantage of surprise and superior numbers, and quickly overran the Turkish positions. The Turks retreated from Artvin and headed towards Ardahan, where they hoped to regroup and resist the Georgian advance. However, the Georgians pursued them and captured Ardahan as well.[4][5]
Aftermath
[edit]The Second Battle of Artvin was a decisive victory for the Georgians, who secured their control over Artvin and Ardahan.[6] The Turks agreed to withdraw from the region and recognize the Georgian sovereignty over the former Russian territories. The Georgians also gained access to the Port of Batumi, which the Turks had previously declared neutral, on the condition that they ensured the economic interests of both countries.[1]
The battle was one of the few successes for the Georgian army, which soon faced the threat of the Red Army invasion from the north. The Soviet–Georgian War broke out in February 1921, and ended with the Soviet occupation of Georgia and the establishment of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.[7] Artvin and Ardahan were annexed by Turkey in the Treaty of Kars in October 1921, ending the Georgian presence in the region.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b OKAN, Aydın (1999). ASKERİ TARİH BELGELERİD DEGRISI (PDF) (in Turkish). Ankara, Turkey. pp. 3–4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Giorgi Kvinitadze". Giorgi Kvinitadze. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
- ^ "ტაო-კლარჯეთის მხარის ისტორია". taoklarjeti.com. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
- ^ Yü, Zemzem; cetü; rk (2020). "93 Harbi ve Sonrasında Artvin". Karadeniz Araştırmaları (in Turkish) (65): 73–95. ISSN 1304-6918.
- ^ Milli Mucadele doneminde artvin.
- ^ Patacı, Sami; Laflı, Ergün (1 June 2015). "Surveys in Ardahan on the Turkish-Georgian Borderline in 2013 and 2014". Anatolia Antiqua (XXIII). OpenEdition: 229–248. doi:10.4000/anatoliaantiqua.359. ISSN 1018-1946.
- ^ Hille, C. (1 January 2010). "Chapter Seven. Georgia Between 1918 And 1921". State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus. BRILL. pp. 71–125. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004179011.i-350.32. ISBN 978-90-474-4136-6.
- ^ Badem, Candan (1 August 2014). ""Forty Years of Black Days"? The Russian Administration of Kars, Ardahan and Batum". Russian-Ottoman Borderlands: The Eastern Question Reconsidered. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
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