Battle of Baku

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Battle of Baku
Part of Armenian-Azerbaijani War & Caucasus Campaign
Armenian defenders of Baku man a 4-inch howitzer.
Date 26 August 1918 – 14 September 1918[1] Location Baku, Azerbaijan Result Ottoman victory[1]
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Azerbaijani Irregulars Dagestani Irregulars	Baku Commune Russian SFSR British Empire Australia New Zealand United Kingdom Centrocaspian Dictatorship White Russians
Commanders
Nuri Pasha Mursal Pasha	Stepan Shahumian Lionel Dunsterville General Dokuchaev[2] Colonel Avetisov[1]
Strength
[1]Army of Islam 14,000 infantry 500 cavalry 40 guns[1]	6,000 regulars Dunsterforce 1,000 infantry 1 artillery battery 1 machine gun section 3 armored cars 2 planes[1] Baku Army 6,000 infantry 40 guns[1] Bicherakhov detachment 600[1]
Casualties and losses
Total: 2,000[1]	British Empire 200[1] Baku Army ?

v • d • e Caucasus Campaign Bergmann Offensive – Sarikamis – Persian Campaign– Van – Manzikert – Kara Killisse – Erzerum Campaign – Trebizond – Bitlis – Erzinjan – Sardarapat – Abaran – Karakilisa – Baku

The Battle of Baku (Azerbaijani: Bakı döyüşü^{[citation needed]} (Armenian: Բաքվի ինքնապաշտպանություն, Russian: Бакинское сражение), also referred to as the Defense of Baku ^[3][4]) in September 1918 was the final battle of the Caucasus Campaign, but just the beginning phase of Armenian-Azerbaijani War.

The Ottoman-Azerbaijani-Dagestani forces of the Army of Islam, led by Nuri Pasha, defeated a coalition of British, Armenian and White Russian forces led by Lionel Dunsterville.

Contents 1 Background 2 Formation of the Dunsterforce 2.1 March massacres 2.2 Situation continues to deteriorate 2.3 Soviet-Ottoman clashes outside Baku 2.4 Coup and arrival in Baku 3 Opposing forces 4 Abortive offensive by Baku Army 5 Main battle 5.1 First Turkish assault 5.2 Dunsterville’s dilemma 5.3 Lull in the fighting 5.4 Defeat and evacuation 6 Atrocities during the capture of the city 7 Aftermath 8 Gallery 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Background

Following the abdication of the Tsar in 1917 the Caucasus Front collapsed, and Russian troops evacuated Armenia. Batum and Van were captured by the Ottoman Empire. ^[1]

A number of Russian troops left through Anzali, but two parties remained.^[1] General Nikolai Baratov remained in Hamadan with a substantial force, who could not evacuate before winter, so he waited for spring. At Kermanshah, a Russian colonel of Ossetian origin named Lazar Bicherakhov remained with 10,000 faithful troops. Both men were supplanted by British liaison officers. ^[1]

As a result of this collapse, the roughly 800 miles between Mesopotamia and the Caucasus were open for an Ottoman force to pass through^[1]. The situation was especially dire in the Caucasus, where Enver Pasha had planned to place Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan under Turkish suzerainty as part of his Pan-Turanian plan^[1]. This would give the Central Powers numerous natural resources, including the oilfields of Baku. The control of the Caspian would open the way to further expansion in Central Asia, and possibly British India.^[1]

[edit] Formation of the Dunsterforce

Threatened by the possibility, the British sent a mission of officers and instructors to the region to counter the Turks^[1]. The belief behind the mission was that the three republics would fight the Turks to avoid massacre^[1]. It was hope that his would keep the Caucasus-Tabriz front intact and put a stop to Enver’s Pan-Turanian plans^[1].

The British mission was headed by Major-General Lionel Dunsterville, who arrived to take command of the mission force in Baghdad on January 18, 1918 - the first few members of the force were already assembling^[1].

He was to proceed from Mesopotamia through Persia to the port of Anzali, then board ship to Baku and onwards. Dunsterville set out from Baghdad on January 27, 1918, with four NCOs and batmen in 41 Ford vans and cars^[1].

However, the country on their road was overrun by the anti-British Jangalis under Mirza Kuchak Khan, a force about 5,000 strong. On February 17, he arrived at Anzali. Here he was denied passage to Baku by local Bolsheviks, who cited the change in the political situation. ^[1]

[edit] March massacres

Main article: March Days

Meanwhile the arrest of General Talyshinski, the commander of the Azerbaijani division, and some of its officers all of whom arrived in Baku on March 9, increased the anti-Soviet feelings among the city's Azeri population. On 30 March, based on the unfounded report that the Muslim crew of the ship Evelina was armed and ready to revolt against the Soviet, the Soviet disarmed the crew who tried to resist ^[5] This led to three days of inter-ethnic warfare referred to as the March Days, which resulted in the massacre of up to 12,000 Azerbaijanis by the Bolsheviks and armed Armenian units in the city of Baku and other locations in the Baku Governorate.^[6][7][8]

[edit] Situation continues to deteriorate

The situation continued to deteriorate, and in June Turco-German forces occupied Batum, Tbilisi, Kars, Alexandropol. By May, a military mission under Nuri Pasha, brother of Enver Pasha, settled in Tabriz to organize the Army of Islam to fight not only Armenians but also the Bolsheviks^[1]. ⅓ of the newly-formed army consisted of Turkish soldiers, the rest being Azerbaijani forces and volunteers from Dagestan.^[9] . Nuri Pasha's army occupied large parts of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic without much opposition, influencing the fragile structure of the newly-formed state. Ottoman interference led some elements of Azerbaijani society to oppose Turks.^[9]

By June, Moscow had sent a Bolshevik commissar named Stepan Shahumian with some troops to take charge in Baku^[1]. However many of the troops Shahumian requested from Moscow for the protection of Baku did not arrive because they were held up on the orders of Stalin in Tsaristyn. Also on Stalin's order, the grain collected in Northern Caucasus to feed the starving people in Baku was directed to Tsaristyn. Shahumian protested to Lenin and to the Military Committee about Stalin's beahviour and he often stated: "Stalin will not help us". Lack of troops and food would be decisive in the fate of the Baku Soviet. ^[10]

[edit] Soviet-Ottoman clashes outside Baku

On June 5, 1918 the Ottoman Army launched an assault on Baku that was successfully repulsed by the Baku Soviet Army, though it was evident the Army of Islam had many more men than Soviet forces. On 10 June the Baku Army launched an offensive but was defeated by Turkish troops and retreated to Baku, while the latters started to prepare another attack.

At this point, earlier in June, Bicherakhov was in the vicinity of Qazvin, trying to go north^[1]. After defeating some Janglis, he proceeded to check the situation in Baku^[1]. Returning on June 22, he planned to save the situation by blocking the Army of Islam at Alyaty Pristan'^[1]. However, he arrived too late, and instead went farther north to Derbent, planning to attack the invading Army of Islam from the north. At Baku he left only a small Cossack contingent^[1].

Beside the Russians, the Janglis also harassed elements of the Dunsterforce going to Anzali on their way to Baku. Once defeated, the Janglis dispersed. On reaching Anzali in late July, Dunsterville also arrested the local Bolsheviks who had sided with the Janglis^[1].

[edit] Coup and arrival in Baku

On July 26, a coup d'état overthrew the Bolsheviks in Baku^[1]. The new body, the Central Caspian Dictatorship, wanted to arrest Stepan Shahumian, but he and his 1,200 Red Army troops seized the local arsenal and 13 ships, and began heading to Astrakhan. The Caspian fleet, loyal the new government, turned them back^[1].

By July 30, the advance parties of the Army of Islam had reached the heights above Baku^[1]. Therefore Dunsterville, immediately started sending contingents of his troops to Baku. On August 16, British troops were in Baku^[1].

[edit] Opposing forces

Inside Baku the local commander was the former Tsarist General Dokuchaev^[11], with his Armenian Chief of Staff, Colonel Avetisov^[1]. Under their command were about 6,000 Centrocaspian Dictatorship troops of the Baku Army^[1] or Baku Battalions^[1]. The vast majority of the troops in this force were Armenians, though there were some Russians among them. Their artillery comprised some 40 field guns. The British troops in battle under Dunsterville numbered roughly 1,000. They were supported by a field artillery battery, machine gun section, three armoured cars, and also two airplanes. Opposing them were roughly 14,000 Ottoman troops with 500 cavalrymen and 40 pieces of artillery^[1].

[edit] Abortive offensive by Baku Army

On August 17 Duchachaiev started an offensive at Diga^[1]. He planned for 600 Armenians under Colonel Stepanov to attack to the north of Baku^[1]. He would further be reinforced by some Warwicks and North Staffords, eventually taking Novkhani. By doing this, they planned to close the gap to the sea, and control a strongly defensible line from one end of the Apsheron Peninsula to the other. The attack failed without artillery support, as the “Inspector of Artillery” had not been given warning^[1].

The local counteroffensive failed to push the Army of Islam back^[1]. The operation was not given artillery cover, as the “Inspector of Artillery” had not been warned. As a result of the failure, the remnants of the force retired to a line slightly north of Diga^[1].

[edit] Main battle

While Baku and its environs had been the site of clashes since June and into mid-August, the term Battle of Baku refers to the operations of August 26 - September 14.^[1][12]

[edit] First Turkish assault

On August 26, the Army of Islam launched its main attack against positions at Volchi Vorota^[1]. Despite a shortage of artillery, British and Baku troops held the positions against the Army of Islam. Following the main assault, the Turks also attacked Binagadi hill farther north, but also failed. After these attacks, reinforcements were sent to the Balajari station, from where they held the heights to the north^[1]. However, faced with increased artillery fire from Turks, they retired to the railway line. ^[1]

On August 28 and 29, the Turks shelled the city heavily, and attacked the Stafford Hill position. 500 Turks in close order charged up the hill, but were repulsed with the help of artillery. However, the under-strength British troops were forced to retire to positions farther south at Warwick Castle^[1].

Between August 29 and September 1 the Turks managed to capture the positions of Warwick Hill and Diga, several coalition units were overrun, and losses were heavy. By this point, allied troops were pushed back to a saucer-like position that made up the eights surrounding Baku^[1].

However, Ottoman losses were so heavy that Mursal Pasha was not immediately able to continue his offensive. This gave the Baku Army invaluable time to reorganize^[1].

[edit] Dunsterville’s dilemma

Faced with an ever worsening situation, Dunsterville organized a meeting with the Centrocaspian Dictators on September 1. He said that he was not willing to risk more British lives and hinted at his withdrawal. However, the dictators protested that they would fight to the bitter end, and the British should leave only when troops of the Baku Army did^[1].

Dunsterville decided to stay until the situation became hopeless, and Bicherakhov had captured Petrovsk, allowing him to send help to Baku. The reinforcement of 600 men from his force, including Cossacks raised hope^[1].

[edit] Lull in the fighting

Between September 1 and 13, the Turks did not attack. During this period, the Baku force prepared itself and sent out airplane patrols constantly^[1]. On September 12, an Arab officer from the Turkish 10th division deserted, giving information suggesting the main assault would take place on the 14th^[1].

[edit] Defeat and evacuation

On the night of the September 13/14 the Turks began their attacks. The Turks nearly overran the strategic Wolf's Gate (Azerbaijani: Qurd qapısı) west of Baku, from where the whole battlefield could be seen. However, a counterattack stopped them. The fighting continued for the rest of the day, and the situation eventually became hopeless. By the night of the 14th, the remnants of the Baku Army and Dunsterforce and evacuated the city for Anzali^[1].

[edit] Atrocities during the capture of the city

Main article: September Days

A terrible panic in Baku ensued when the Turks began to enter the city. Armenians crowded the harbour in a frantic effort to escape the fate that they knew always accompanied a Turkish victory^[13]. Regular Ottoman troops were not allowed to enter the city for two days, so that the local irregulars – bashibozuks – would conduct looting and pillaging^[13]. The violence with which they turned on the Armenians knew no bounds^[13].

[edit] Aftermath

The British losses in the battle totaled about 200 men and officers killed, missing or wounded. Mursal Pasha admitted Ottoman losses of around 2,000^[1]. The casualties among Baku's 80,000 person Armenian community were between 9,000 and 10,000, roughly equal to the number of Azeris massacred by Armenians and Bolsheviks during the March Days.^[9] Altogether up to 50,000 Armenians were killed or deported.^[14] It was the last major massacre of World War I.^[15]

No oil from Baku’s oilfields got beyond Tbilisi before the Turks and Germans signed the armistice^[1]. By November 16, Nuri and Mursal Pasha were ejected from Baku and a British general sailed into the city, headed by one of the ships that had evacuated on the night of September 14^[1].

[edit] Gallery

Armenian units drilling in Baku.

Shortly before the Turkish attack: Russian and Armenian soldiers near the front line.

Shortly before the Turkish attack: Training troops of the local Baku Army.

The victorious Army of Islam entering Baku

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Dunsterville, Lionel. "The Diaries of General Lionel Dunsterville, 1918". Great War Documentary Archive. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
• Judge, Cecil. "With General Dunsterville in Persia and Transcaucasus". Russia-Australia Historical Military Connections. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.