in the negotiations of Batumi (Alexander Khatisian, Hovhannes Kajaznuni) in a cable sent to Khachatur Karchikyan, the Armenian member in the Transcaucasian Commissariat, recommended "against showing resistance to Turks." Amid a widespread panic in the Aleksandropolsky Uyezd, the Ararat Plain and Yerevan following the attack of the Turkish troops, the Yerevan city council at a session on 18 May approved mayor Tadevos Tosyan's proposal to hand over the city to the Turks with no resistance, evacuate the population and lead them to the mountains. But the decision to surrender Yerevan yielded no practical results, as the Executive Body of the Armenian National Council of Tbilisi – the Special Committee – headed by Yerevan National Council chairman Aram Manukian sharply opposed such a development and overthrew the decision (supreme power in Yerevan and the province of Yerevan was given to the Special Committee). By the order of Aram Manukian and with the help of as many as 1500 residents, Yerevan's defenses, especially the area near Yerablur, were fortified. On 18 May, Aram Manukian accompanied by Yerevan's commandant Arshavir Shahkhatuni, visited Etchmiadzin to urge Catholicos George V to leave the town for security reasons. But he not only rejected the proposal, but also encouraged the military to resist the Ottoman advance. Later legend claimed that church bells pealed for six days calling on Armenians from all walks of life – peasants, poets, blacksmiths, and even the clergymen – to rally to form organized military units. Civilians, including children, aided in the effort as well, as "Carts drawn by oxen, water buffalo, and cows jammed the roads bringing food, provisions, ammunition, and volunteers from the vicinity" of Yerevan. In the days that followed, Manukian played a vital role in stabilizing the situation in Yerevan and the adjacent areas and tipping the scale in the Armenians' favor. In the morning of 19 May, he ordered the Commander of the 1st Division, Major-General Movses Silikyan' to stop the retreat of Armenian forces and avert the Turkish attack on Yerevan at any cost. To this end, Manukian promised to carry out organizational work in a short period of time, collect manpower and ammunition. In the subsequent days, recruitment was organized on Astafyan Street, in the English Park, in front of the Teachers' Seminary and elsewhere for volunteers to join the army at the start of the Battle. Battle Units involved on both sides Turkish side Forming