Participants in the Battle of Karakilisa, 1918

The photograph shows participants in the Battle of Karakilisa of 26–28 May 1918: four men. Two sit on either side of a table with a bouquet, and two stand behind them. Three wear caps with a cross badge, one a woollen papakha.

Encouraged by news of the first victory at Sardarapat, the Karakilisa front was formed on 25 May. The Armenian side had 7 thousand soldiers and officers, 20 machine guns and 12 cannons; the Turkish side had 10 thousand soldiers and officers and 70 cannons. G. Nzhdeh was the first to engage, with 40 horsemen. On 26 May Colonel A. Bey-Mamikonyan outflanked the Turkish right wing. Villagers from nearby and thousands of refugees also joined the fighting. On 28 May the Turks launched a massive attack and two days later took Karakilisa; the civilian population was massacred.

Having suffered heavy losses, the Turks did not continue their advance towards Dilijan and Kazakh. On 31 May 1918, meeting an Armenian delegation in Batumi, Vehib Pasha acknowledged that the Armenians had proved they could be the best soldiers in the world.