“On May 23, 1918 the Armenian troops defeated superior Turkish forces advancing toward Yerevan. This victory on the threshold of Echmiadzin saved the heart of Armenia from conquest.” — Jacques Kayaloff (1973)

April 24 is Genocide Remembrance Day (Եղեռնի զոհերի հիշատակի օր) and while Turkey will once again choose to look the other way I figured I’d take the advice my mother always gave when it came to dealing with dimwitted bullies — “small-minded people hate to look foolish and stupid in front of their betters” — and so I will retell the story in which Enver Pasha’s Young Turks were defeated by the plucky Armenian Army of 1918.

This is, of course, the Battle of Sardarabad (Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ) and it is amazing.