Draft:Battle of Urmia (April 1918)

Battle of Urmia (April 1918)
	Part of Persian campaign (World War I)
Date	April 8, 1918 – April 23, 1918 (15 days)
Location	Urmia, Iranian Azerbaijan, Qajar Iran
Result	Assyrian Victory
Belligerents
Assyrian volunteers Armenian fedayi; ;	Ottoman empire Kurdish Tribesmen; Karapapakh horsemen; ;
Commanders and leaders
Agha Petros; Malik Khoshaba; Malik Ismail II	Ali Ihsan Pasha; Sheikh Abdul-Kader
Strength
Unknown	500+ (at one point)
Casualties and losses
45 Killed; 52 wounded	200 killed; 500 prisoners, 20 officers and 4 medics captured

The Battle of Urmia (April 1918) refers to a major series of clashes and engagements that took place in April of 1918 within the city of Urmia and the surrounding areas, in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. It was fought between the Assyrian volunteers and Armenians of Agha Petros, against Ottoman forces under Ali Ihsan Pasha with the support from Kurdish tribesmen of Sheikh Abdul-Kader and Karapapakh horsemen.

Background

Ottoman forces under the command of Ali Ihsan Pasha had previously led a successful offensive against the city of Van in March of 1918. The Ottoman occupation of the city led to approximately 20,000 Armenian refugees to escape to Western Iranian Azerbaijan, which was under the military control of Assyrians at the time. These Armenians would later join the Assyrian armies of Agha Petros in an attempt to the defend the region against invading Muslim forces. The Ottoman Turks had demanded Agha Petros to surrender multiple times, and despite eventually accepting this request, it was only a part of his broader scheme to attack the Ottoman forces off-guard.

During the whole month of April, Turkish troops had attempted to capture the town of Urmia, but gradually failed. The town of Urmia was itself surrounded by enemy forces, Turkish troops attempted to push in from the south and west. Assyrian forces have held the region since February of 1918, when they first captured the whole town of Urmia from the Muslim forces who rose up in attempt to overthrow the Assyrian authority. The Assyrian forces managed to defeat the Muslims, and they eventually surrendered with white flags and begged the Assyrian patriarch, Mar Benyamin Shimun, for mercy and forgiveness.

Battle

The Ottoman forces who were determined to crush the Assyrian forces, mobilized large forces under Ali Ihsan Pasha, supported by Kurdish fighters under Sheikh Abdul-Kader and the Karapapakhs horsemen from Suldouze. Their initial goal was to surround Urmia and eliminate the Assyrian military threat that had humiliated Turkish detachments earlier that same year.

On April 8, 1918, the Ottoman forces launched a major offensive. While the main Turkish army advanced from the north and northwest, several regiments with artillery moved to encircle Urmia from the south and southwest, forming what was described as an “avalaunche” of strength. Kurdish tribal forces who previously fled from the Assyrians, decided to join in on the Turkish advance.

Agha Petros together with Malik Khoshaba and Malik Ismail II decided to coordinate a defensive stand and counterattack against the Turks, despite being heavily outnumbered and lacking the weaponry to do so. On April 13, just five days after the Ottoman offensive began, the Assyrians launched a counterattack and successfully crushed the southern wing of Turks. This victory prevented the possible encirclement from the south.

Despite the victory on April 13, the larger battle around Urmia continued to escalate. Turkish troops pushed in from the south and west, while the Lake of Urmia restricted movement from the east. The Turks also launched attacks against the Dunsterville Line, which was defended by both Assyrian battalions and Armenian units. By the end of April, the Assyrians found themselves increasingly isolated, surrounded by superior Turkish forces.

The Turkish advance only continued, as on April 23, the Turks gathered on two sides upon the Assyrians and Armenians of Urmia. One on the side of Tergawar, and the second from the Barandouz river. The Assyrians under the command of Agha Mirza, the brother of Agha Petros, together with a few Russian officers, were holding a line directly in front of these Turkish forces. Another group of Assyrians were stationed in front of the enemy on the side of Tergawar and Margavar. They were ready for any order from Palkonik Kozmin.

In that time, Ali Ihsan Pasha had reached them with a very large Turkish forces across from Agha Mirza’s fighters. Ali Ihsan Pasha asked one of his officers to meet with Agha Petros as a messenger, in order to deliver a message from Mar Emmanuel the Chaldean. Upon arriving, Agha Petros opened the letter, and it said: “To our beloved sons, blessed heads of the Assyrian tribes, accept our greetings and blessings, our advice is we recommend you to surrender to Ali Ihsan Pasha.” And the letter goes on about promised safety.

Agha Petros had pretended to accept the request of surrender as a part of his scheme to catch the Ottomans off-guard. The Turks were very happy, and the messenger carried raisins, bread, and cattle as a sign of surrender the next day. The goal with the scheme was to get enough time to organize their forces and have a chance to face the superior Turkish force of Ihsan Pasha.

Agha Petros immediately gathered his forces and organized them in the position of the Ottoman Turks. The Assyrians were divided into 3 different branches, led by Malik’s and generals such as Malik Khoshaba, Raphael Khan, and general Agha Petros.

The battle had started early in the morning of 28 April, the battle began all at once from all sides of the enemy, moving forward with a lot of power. The inhabitants would fall victim to the ongoing conflict, and the Turks were unable to stop the Assyrian advance due to all the cannon fire. They picked up their rifles in a hurry and fled on the way to Haidarabad towards Suldouze.