Battle of Oltu

World War I was over and the Ottoman Empire had lost. The Russian Empire had come apart in the Russian Civil War with separate governments being formed in Georgia and Armenia. The district of Oltu, known then as Ardahan-Olty,[2] had been annexed by Russia in 1878 following the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). Georgia assumed de jure authority over it when they declared independence on May 26, 1918.

The conflict arose when the Democratic Republic of Georgia failed to maintain control over their westernmost province, the district of Oltu, and local Muslim warlords[3] assumed control in their stead. The local Turkish tribes had skirmished with Armenian border troops, and as a result the local Armenian commander initiated a punitive expedition into the Oltu district. On 16 June 1920 Armenian forces invaded the Oltu district and annexed it to the DRA. On August 10, 2020, the Treaty of Sèvres was signed, which envisioned transfer of the district to Armenian sovereignty as part of Wilsonian Armenia.

In August, the Armenian government attempted to occupy the Oltu district. In response, General Kâzım Karabekir led four Turkish battalions into the district on September 3 and drove the Armenians out. On September 20,[3] Karabekir then pushed into the erstwhile Kars Oblast claimed by Armenia and the Ankara Government alike, prompting the Armenian government to declare war on the Ankara Government four days later.[4] The Turkish–Armenian War then formally ensued.