Battle of Ushno

Battle of Ushno (1918)
Part of Persian campaign (World War I)
Date 16 April, 1918 Location Oshnavieh, Sublime State of Iran Result Assyrian victory
Belligerents
Assyrian volunteers	Ottoman Empire 2nd Division Persian Cossacks Kurdish tribesmen
Commanders and leaders
Agha Petros	Ali Ihsan Pasha Nihat Pasha
Strength
Unknown	2,000 troops and heavy cannons
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy [1] 325 POW 24 officers 5 machine guns and 2 field guns seized

The Battle of Ushno (16 April 1918) was a military engagement near present-day Oshnavieh, in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran, fought between the Assyrian volunteers led by Agha Petros and the Second Army of the Ottoman Empire, which was reinforced by local Persian and Kurdish troops. ^{[2] [3] [4]} This battle is a part of the broader Ottoman invasion of Iranian Azerbaijan, with the goal of subduing the Assyrian Christian authority over the region.

Background

It was on 16 April 1918 that the Assyrian force of Agha Petros advanced towards Ushno and Sauj Bulak. ^{[3] [5] [6]} As they confronted the Turks, they faced a superior force numbering about 2,000, accompanied by Persian Cossacks and Kurds, armed with heavy cannons. ^{[3] [7] [8]}

Prior to this, the Assyrian force had fought against Persian Cossack troops in Urmia and Dilman, after the Iranian government had sent them to disarm the Assyrians. The Persian Cossacks initially failed, and the Assyrians continued to carry their arms and to maintain their military organization. ^[9]

Battle

Not much is said about this battle, but the Assyrian forces of Agha Petros had advanced to Ushno, and then had to go through the mountainous terrain which challenged them. ^[3] Despite this, the Assyrians went down on the Turkish force and destroyed it, creating a seemingly striking victory. ^[10] The Turkish force then panicked and retreated as a result. ^[5]

Aftermath

The Assyrians had defeated the Turks, forcing them to withdraw from Ushno and Sauj Bulak. ^[5] It was then that the Assyrians captured approximately 325 prisoners of war, largely Kurds, and carried them away. ^{[2] [11]} 24 of them were officers. ^[11] According to the Assyrians, the prisoners were treated well and were eventually released within a few days, this treatment was quite surprising due to the fact that the Turks had terrorised Assyrian villages. ^[2]

The Assyrians later marched on Suldouze where no Persian village was attacked or looted. ^[3]

See also

• Agha Petros
• Battle of Suldouze

References

1. Wigram, William Ainger (1920). Our Smallest Ally: A Brief Account of the Assyrian Nation in the Great War. p. 45.
2. Austin, H. H. (1920). The Baqubah Refugee Camp: An Account of Work on Behalf of the Persecuted Assyrian Christians. Faith Press. p. 27.
3. Allen, E.T (1918). OUTLINE OF EVENTS IN THE DISTRICT OF URUMIA AND THE SYRIAN CONNECTION THEREWITH, - SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR (PDF). p. 6.
4. Wigram, William Ainger (1920). Our Smallest Ally: A Brief Account of the Assyrian Nation in the Great War. p. 45.
5. Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2013-07-19). The Great Famine & Genocide in Iran: 1917-1919. University Press of America. p. 30. ISBN   978-0-7618-6168-3.
6. "THE BAQUBAH REFUGEE CAMP". www.aina.org. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
7. Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2003). Persia in World War I and Its Conquest by Great Britain. University Press of America. p. 210. ISBN   978-0-7618-2678-1.
8. Wigram, William Ainger (1920). Our Smallest Ally: A Brief Account of the Assyrian Nation in the Great War. p. 45.
9. Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2003). Persia in World War I and Its Conquest by Great Britain. University Press of America. p. 210. ISBN   978-0-7618-2678-1.
10. Donabed, Sargon (2015-02-01). Reforging a Forgotten History: Iraq and the Assyrians in the Twentieth Century. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN   978-0-7486-8605-6.
11. Wigram, William Ainger (1920). Our Smallest Ally: A Brief Account of the Assyrian Nation in the Great War. p. 45.