Armenian–Georgian war
Two-week Armenian-Georgian war in December 1918 over Lori and adjacent border districts after Ottoman withdrawal. British mediation created a neutral zone, illustrating how quickly the new South Caucasian republics turned from shared imperial collapse to territorial rivalry.
Account
Background
The new South Caucasian republics inherited imperial administrative borders that did not match settlement patterns. Lori had a substantial Armenian population but was claimed by both Armenia and Georgia. Ottoman withdrawal after the Armistice of Mudros left a power vacuum.
The war
In December 1918 Armenian and Georgian forces fought for roughly two weeks. Armenian forces advanced in Lori; Georgian forces defended access routes and state authority. Britain intervened as regional arbiter and imposed a ceasefire, creating a neutral zone in northern Lori.
Meaning
The war is often marginal in Armenian memory because the existential struggle with Turkey and Azerbaijan dominates 1918–20. But analytically it matters: it shows that national self-determination claims collided even among Christian neighbours with no genocide frame between them editorial.
The conflict also foreshadowed a wider pattern. External mediation could stop fighting, but it usually froze contradictions rather than resolving them. The South Caucasus entered independence as three states whose maps were already incompatible editorial.