October 13, 1921 – The Treaty of Kars is signed, delineating the border between Turkey and the Soviet Union

In the aftermath of the Eastern Front of the TurkishWar of Independence, the Ankara government and the Soviet Union made peace andfixed the Turkish-Soviet border under two treaties: the Treaty of Moscow (March 16, 1921) and the Treaty of Kars (October 13, 1921); the treaties also endedthe war in the eastern sector.

(Taken from Turkish War of Independence – Wars of the 20th Century – Vol. 3)

War Turkish nationalistsfought in three fronts: in the east against Armenia,in the south against France and the French Armenian Legion, and in the west against Greece,which was backed by Britain.

Eastern FrontAlso known as the Turkish-Armenian War, the eastern front carried over from hostilities in theCaucasus Sector of World War I.  Russianforces had gained control of the Caucasus and northeast Turkey, but withdrew from theregion in 1917 following the outbreak of the Russian Revolution.  Later that year, the Ottomans and the Sovietgovernment signed an armistice.

After the Russians withdrew,the South Caucasus jurisdictions of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan formed the short-lived TranscaucasianDemocratic Federative Republic in February 1918.  Then after the federation’s dissolution inMay 1918, the three members declared separate independences.  Armenia,which in the context of World War I supported the Allied Powers, went to waragainst the Ottoman Empire.  The nascent Armenian state was dealt a numberof defeats from a powerful Ottoman offensive, but survived the war.

At the end of World War I,United States PresidentWoodrow Wilson, in line with his “Fourteen Points” Manifesto regarding the peoples’ right ofself-determination, proposed a new, much enlarged Armenian state, subject tocertain conditions.  This so-called“Wilsonian Armenia” subsequently wasincluded in the Treaty of Sevres.  Whileethnic Armenians welcomed the proposal as genuinely reflecting historical andgeographical Armenian territory, the Turkish “government” in Ankara opposed it on the same grounds thatthe proposed change would encroach on the Turkish people’s traditional andancestral homeland.

War Following border skirmishes in June 1920, Armeniantroops seized Oltu, a coal-rich town in Georgia.  Turkish forces associated with Kemal’sgovernment had a strong presence in eastern Turkey.  By contrast, Armenia’s prospects for victorywas dependent on Allied support which, however, proved to be limited in supplyand weak-hearted, which ultimately decided the outcome in this sector of thewar.

Turkish forces began their offensive on September13, easily overrunning the towns of Oltu and Peniak.  On September 28, the border town of Sarikamis was taken as well, forcing Armenian forces toretreat to Kars, a fortified city in western Armenia. On October 24, 1920, Turkish forcesentered Armenia and attackedKars, which wastaken after one week of fighting.

The Turks then rapidly advanced to Alexandropol, 280kilometers away, which also was captured, on November 6.  Yerevan,the Armenian capital, now came under direct threat.  On November 18, 1920, the Armenian governmentacquiesced to a Turkish ultimatum, and a ceasefire came into effect.  On December 2, 1920, the Armenian and Ankara governments signed the Treaty of Alexandropol, whereby Armeniaceased its claim to “Wilsonian Armenia” as stipulated in the Treaty ofSevres.  The Alexandropol treaty alsoforced Armenia to cede Kars and surrounding regions; in total, some 50% ofArmenian territory was lost, i.e. Armenia retained only one-half ofits pre-war borders.

The Armenian state was dealt a death blow when theSoviet Union, on the pretext of a border dispute, invaded from Azerbaijan.  On December 4, 1920, Yerevan fell to the Russians, and those partsnot yet under Turkish occupation came under Soviet control.  Armenian communists then formed a newgovernment, bringing the country under indirect Soviet politicalauthority.  The Soviet invasion of Armenia was part of the Moscowgovernment’s strategy to bring the Caucasus under the Soviet Union, a plan thatwas achieved when Georgiaalso was invaded by the Russians the following year.

The Eastern front in the Turkish War of Independence

In the aftermath, the Ankaragovernment and the Soviet Union made peace andfixed the Turkish-Soviet border under two treaties: the Treaty of Moscow (March 16, 1921) and the Treaty of Kars (October 13, 1921); the treaties also endedthe war in the eastern sector.