The Battle of Kars was the largest battle of the Turkish–Armenian War which took place on October 30, 1920. It was fought between forces loyal to the Grand National Assembly under the command of Kâzım Karabekir and the army of the First Republic of Armenia. Karabekir's army captured the fortified city of Kars after launching a massive assault, taking minor casualties and capturing around 3,000 Armenian soldiers, as well as several high-ranking Armenian military officers and civilian officials. The swift capture of Kars opened the path for Turkish forces to advance towards Armenia's largest city at the time, Alexandropol, and effectively decided the outcome of the Turkish–Armenian War in the Kemalists' favor. Background The full-scale invasion of Armenia by General Kâzım Karabekir's army (the XV Corps) began on September 28, 1920. The next day, Karabekir's forces captured Sarıkamış without a fight after its Armenian garrison and civilian population retreated to Kars. Kağızman was also evacuated and fell soon after. Karabekir's army then moved towards Kars, but this assault was delayed by Armenian resistance, as well as Turkish concerns about a potential British or Russian intervention in response to the offensive. The Armenian leadership was caught by surprise by the Turkish advance and the sudden fall of Sarıkamış. On September 30, ministers Simon Vratsian and Artashes Babalian were sent to Kars with extraordinary powers to help prepare the defense of the city and the surrounding province. On October 7, Mustafa Kemal emphasized the importance of taking Kars in order to impose Turkey's demands on Armenia and gave Karabekir "freedom of action to make use of all favorable opportunities" to capture the city. Despite the initial losses, the Armenian government and military leadership was generally optimistic about the situation at the front in mid-October. The strength of Karabekir's army was underestimated by Armenian intelligence, while Armenian units had been replenished by volunteers, reaching a strength of nearly 10,000 on the Kars front, where half of the Armenian army was concentrated. However, Armenian morale suffered a significant blow after a failed counter-offensive on October 14 that allowed further Turkish advances. By October 20, the Turkish leadership had concluded that no outside powers would act to stop the capture of Kars and that the time to attack the city had come. Situation in Kars General Daniel Bek Pirumian commanded both Kars fortress (a formidable castle equipped with heavy cannons) and the Kars section of