page_title: Hamazasp Srvandztyan
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Hamazasp Srvandztyan / World War I
caption_attribution_description: English: Armenian 3rd battalion cavalry and troops commanded by Hamazasp Srvandztian rallying at Etchmiadzin in 1914
context_page_description: Hamazasp Srvandztyan, commonly known as Hamazasp, was an Armenian fedayee military commander and member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
context_section_description: At the beginning of the First World War, Hamazasp participated in the Caucasus Campaign and was appointed Commander of the 3rd Armenian volunteer battalion. He took part in many battles, and also ensured the safe migration of the Armenian population from Basen and Alashkert. He was one of the volunteer liberators of the Siege of Van in May 1915. In June he fought in the Battle of Bitlis, and in October fought in Hizan. After the February Revolution in 1917, Hamazasp was appointed the military police commander of Alashkert, until Russian troops left the Caucasian front.
  At the end of April 1918, a group of Armenian soldiers under the command of Hamazasp was sent by Shaumian from Baku to the Kuba Uyezd. Here, the Hamazasp squad carried out a brutal massacre of the inhabitants of the city of Kuba, and also burned down 122 villages of the Kuba Uyezd. In one day, only in Kuba Hamazasp's soldiers killed 2,000 residents of the city and destroyed 150 houses in its center.
  In 1918, he fought for the Baku Commune, as a Commander of the Armenian brigade (3,000 soldiers and officers). He displayed his abilities as an experienced strategist and organizer, playing a decisive role in the operations of Ganja and Yevlakh and for 4 months fought against overwhelming Turkish forces of the Army of Islam. After the fall of the Baku Commune, he went to Persia.
caption: Armenian 3rd battalion cavalry and troops commanded by Hamazasp rallying at Etchmiadzin in 1914
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