Battle of Choloki (1918)

On 3 March 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed by Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and the Bulgaria, by which Russia withdrew from World War I. Under the terms of the treaty, Russia was to cede its Caucasus provinces, Batum oblast and Kars oblast to the Ottoman Empire. At that time, these territories were under the effective control the Transcaucasian Seim and Transcaucasia Commissariat. although it had not declared independence. The Ottoman Empire demanded the immediate evacuation of Georgians from these regions as well.[2] The Transcaucasia Seimas tried to negotiate with Ottomans through diplomatic means, sending a delegation to start the Trebizond Peace Conference on 12 March 1918. However the delegation established by Seim was regarded by the Ottoman Empire as representing, not a state, but instead the peoples of the region and the Ottomans refused to negotiate. Meanwhile the Ottoman army started military operations to occupy the disputed territories.[2]

On 9 March 1918, 6th and 3rd Ottoman armies under the command of Mehmed Vehib Pasha attacked the Caucasus. On 31 March 1918, the Ottomans captured Batumi.[3] The 4th Infantry Legion (Commander Tsereteli) stationed in the city fled to Ozurgeti, and the 2nd Infantry Legion (Commander Colonel Karalashvili) fled to Chakvi. The Chairman of the National Council of Georgia, Noe Jordania, instructed Giorgi Mazniashvili to immediately go to Natani Station and prevent the Ottomans from advancing to the Choloki River here. Mazniashvili took over as chief of staff on 1 April.

On 2 April, Mazniashvili sent an armored train to Chakvi to relieve the besieged 2nd infantry legion, which was cut off by the Ottomans and was awaiting capture. Ottoman infantry was fortified east of Kobuleti, along the railway, and a thousand of their cavalry were stationed at Chakvi station. Armored personnel arrived at Chakvi station at 9 o'clock in the morning and destroyed the Ottomans entrenched at the station with machine gun fire. Karalashvili's legion took advantage of this and retreated with few casualties. This legion, which consisted of 500 soldiers, was demoralized and Mazniashvli sent it to Lanchkhuti, in reserve, which was to be filled with volunteers gathered by Isidore Ramishvili. Mazniashvili divided the 4th infantry legion into four thousand units and distributed them in Likhauri, Shekarni, Vashnar and Ozurgeti. At the Supsa station there was a horse battery under the command of Poruchiki Karaev. Mazniashvili had 4 machine guns, 6 buglers, an armored train with 90 soldiers and 400 National Guardsmen at his disposal.

The front line started from the port of Kotupili and continued to the village of Shekarni. It was bordered by the Black Sea on the right, and the Adjara-Guria mountains on the left. Along the entire length, from the sea to Ozurgeti, the banks of the Choloki and Natane rivers were almost impassable for the army. Only locals who knew the paths could go there. This section had only two exits: railway bridges over Natani and Choloki and Sharagza through Likhauri to Ozurgeti. Mazniashvili started filling the army with local volunteers. Isidore Ramishvili helped him in this. In the countryside, almost everyone had a gun, and a few rifles were needed for distribution.

On 3 April, an armored train derailed south of Choloki. The road was spoiled by the righteous. During the attack on the track, the Georgian side opened fire, to which the advanced detachment of Georgian scouts responded with fire, killing two of the enemy and holding several guns.[4] On April 4, the Ottomans captured Kobuleti.[5] including one officer and wounded several others. The Ottomans then retreated.[6]

Noe Jordania, Irakli Tsereteli, Vlasa Mgeladze and others came to encourage the fighters in Natan and spoke words. On 5 April, at eight o'clock in the evening, the Georgian side received intelligence that a relatively small part of the Ottoman Gallipoli 2nd Division was moving towards Ozurgeti with Sharagzi and a larger part, 7,000 soldiers, along the railway towards Natane. The Ottomans laid a barricade on the bridge of the Ochkhamuri river, which confirmed that they were going to launch the main attack from the side of the Natans. By throwing the track, they hoped to leave the Georgian armored train inoperable. Mazniashvili built a railway from Choloki bridge into the forest in one day.[7] In the evening of April 6, the Ottomans opened artillery fire.

On 8 April, the Ottoman army passed Ochkhamuri, but did not go through the valley and took refuge in the forest between Ochkhamuri and Cholok. Mazniashvili ordered the armored train to retreat. The armored personnel carrier was supposed to be in the rearguard, but then he shared the plan of Vladimir Goguadze, the head of the armored personnel carrier: To break into the enemy's positions and conduct a battle. The battle began at five o'clock in the morning on 7 April. An armored train broke into the ranks of the enemy. But the Georgian side did not open fire either from the train or from the trenches, because it had received such an order. Only the artillery, which was handed over to Kargaretli, opened fire on the opponent.

Whether the Ottomans approached the train or not, they opened fire. The Georgians opened fire from the train as well as from trenches and trenches. The Ottoman soldiers found in the open field were killed in large numbers. After six hours of the battle, an Ottoman dragster hit the armored car and threw the first car of the train off the tracks, and another attack was made on the armored car by a new thousand from the west. Goguadze had run out of hope and pressed the button with which the armored personnel carrier was supposed to explode, the enemy would only be left with iron fragments, but the wire leading from the remote control to the mine was broken and the mine did not come into action. In the meantime, Akaki Urushadze, who was sent to ask for additional help, came to Mazniashvili and a 400-man detachment of the Gori Guard joined the battle. The Ottomans finally broke and began to retreat. The Georgians came out of the trenches and reached the fleeing enemy to the bridge of Ochkhamuri before 4 o'clock in the day.

The Ottoman army retreated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi). In the battle, 3 people were killed and 25 wounded on the Georgian side. On the side of the Ottomans, according to Mazniashvili's estimate, up to 500 people were killed, and according to other Georgian military leaders, up to 1000 people were killed.[8] According to Dr. Vakhtang Gambashidze, the Ottomans were transporting 600 wounded soldiers to Batumi.[9] According to "Georgia" newspaper, 80 were killed on the Ottoman side, 2 soldiers were captured. Georgians captured 20 rifles.[10]

The success achieved at the Choloki bridge was overshadowed by other units of the Georgian army. A small army of Ottomans (one brigade with artillery) marched towards Ozurgeti, a thousand people camped in Likhauri did not resist, left their positions and retreated towards the city. This caused a panic, the army and state institutions left Ozurgeti and began to retreat towards Chokhatauri. The whole city was thrown into Chokhatauri and the Ottomans freely occupied the abandoned city. In addition to Ozurgeti, the Ottomans took Chanieti, Likhauri, Makvaneti, Tsilimta, part of Melekeduri, and advanced in the direction of Vashnar. They attacked Shekari from Gakiruli, but they could not enter Shekari due to the resistance of the population. Mazniashvili managed to place the reserve army in Lanchkhuti at the Nasakiral pass and block the Chokhatauri road. On 11 April, Mazniashvila tried to attack Ozurgeti and the Battle of Vashnari took place, but in the end the military actions were stopped by German diplomatic intervention and a temporary truce. The Ottomans left Ozurgeti according to the terms of the truce on 7 June.