Andranik participated in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, within the Bulgarian army, alongside general Garegin Njdeh as a commander of Armenian auxiliary troops of 1912-1913. After his arrest and jailed; he spent some time in Istanbul. During World War I, he participated in the Caucasus Campaign and was appointed as general of the Armenian volunteer units of the Russian army. He participated in 20 different offensives where he gained fame due to his courage and the tactics he came up with to defeat the opposing forces.