Battle of Kars (1920)

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Battle of Kars
Part of the Turkish-Armenian War
Armenian civilians fleeing Kars after its capture by Kazım Karabekir's forces.
Date October 30, 1920 Location Kars, Kars Province, Republic of Armenia (present-day Turkey) Result Turkish victory Turkish capture of Kars leading to expulsion of Armenian civilians from Kars
Belligerents
Armenia	Ankara Government
Commanders and leaders
Daniel Bek-Pirumian (POW) Christophor Araratov (POW) Colonel Shaghubadian (POW) Alexander Vekilian (POW) Colonel Babajanov (POW) Vahan Ter-Arakelian (POW) Hovhannes Mazmanian †	Kâzım Karabekir Rüştü Pasha Osman Nuri Koptagel Halit Karsıalan
Strength
8,000–10,000 men[citation needed]	18,700 men[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
150+ killed soldiers[citation needed] 3,000+ captured[1]	59 killed 47 wounded[citation needed]

The Battle of Kars^[a] was the largest battle of the Turkish–Armenian War, which took place on October 30, 1920. It was fought between forces loyal to the Grand National Assembly under the command of Kâzım Karabekir and the army of the First Republic of Armenia. Karabekir's army captured the fortified city of Kars after launching a massive assault, taking minor casualties and capturing around 3,000 Armenian soldiers, as well as several high-ranking Armenian military officers and civilian officials. The swift capture of Kars opened the path for Turkish forces to advance towards Armenia's largest city at the time, Alexandropol, and effectively decided the outcome of the Turkish–Armenian War in the Kemalists' favor.

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