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| Islamic Army of the Caucasus | |
|---|---|
 Ottoman artillerybombarding Baku | |
| Active | July 10, 1918[1] – October 27, 1918[2] |
| Country |  Ottoman Empire Azerbaijan |
| Type | Corps (although named as an army) |
| Size | 20,000 soldiers (Turks, Azerbaijanis, Dagestanis and Chechens) |
| Part of | Eastern Army Group |
| Garrison/HQ | Yelizavetpol,Baku |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| Ceremonial chief | Enver Pasha |
| Notable commanders | Nuri Pasha (Killigil) |
TheIslamic Army of the Caucasus (Azerbaijani:Qafqaz İslam Ordusu;Turkish:Kafkas İslâm Ordusu) (also translated asCaucasian Army of Islam in some sources) was a military unit of theOttoman Empire formed on July 10, 1918.[1] The OttomanMinister of War,Enver Pasha, ordered its establishment,[1] and it played a major role during theCaucasus Campaign ofWorld War I.
During 1917, due to theRussian Revolution and subsequentCivil War, the Russian army in theCaucasus ceased to exist. The Russian Provisional Government'sCaucasus Front formally ceased to exist in March 1918. Meanwhile, theCommittee of Union and Progress moved to win the friendship of the Bolsheviks by signing the Ottoman-Russian friendship treaty (January 1, 1918). On January 11, 1918, the special decreeOn Armenia was signed by Lenin and Stalin which armed and repatriated over 100,000 Armenians from the former Tsar's Army to be sent to the Caucasus for operations against Ottoman interests.[3] On January 20, 1918,Talaat Pasha entered an official protest against the Bolsheviks arming Armenian army legions and replied, "the Russian leopard has not changed its spots."[3] Bolsheviks and Armenians would take the place ofNikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich'sRussian Caucasus Army.[4]
The exclusion of German officers from the Caucasian Army of Islam was deliberate. By the end of 1917,Enver Pasha concluded that the Germans and the Turks did not have mutual goals after theRussian Empire had collapsed. This feeling was confirmed by the terms of the treaty ofTreaty of Brest-Litovsk which was very favorable to the Germans and overlooked the goals of the Ottomans. Enver looked for victory where Russia left in the Caucasus. When Enver discussed his plans for taking over southern Russia, the Germans told him to keep out[citation needed].
On 22 April 1918, theTranscaucasian Commissariat in Tiflis adopted a declaration of independence, proclaiming theTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. Delegates from the Republic and from the Ottoman Empire held theTrebizond Peace Conference to establish their borders.[a] During March 30 to April 2, 1918, thousands ofAzerbaijanis and other Muslims in the city ofBaku and adjacent areas of theBaku Governorate of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic were massacred byDashnaks with strong support from Bolshevik Soviets. The Azerbaijanis refer to this as a genocide (Azerbaijani:soyqırım). This event is known as theMarch Days or March Events. On April 5, 1918, both sides at the Trebizond Peace Conference agreed that a state of war exists.
By June 4, 1918, theOttoman 3rd Army had advanced to within 7 km ofYerevan and 10 km ofEchmiadzin following theBattle of Karakilisa which led to theTreaty of Batum but was subsequently repelled by the Armenians in theBattle of Sardarabad.[b] The Ottoman's 3rd Army had secured the Ottoman Empire's pre war borders.
During late spring 1918, Bolsheviks in Moscow sent oil from Baku over the Caspian Sea and up the lower Volga to Austrian-German forces in Ukraine in return for German financial support and German help to stop the Ottoman 3rd Army's advances through Armenian territory and into the Caucasus.[3][8] The 3rd Army's objective was to take and occupy the railroad and pipeline which ran from Batumi throughTiflis to Baku.[3] Later, the Bolsheviks through the May 28Treaty of Poti recognizedGeorgia's independence under German control and allowed Germany to have 25% of the oil from Baku.[3] The Bolsheviks wanted Germany to prevent the 3rd Ottoman Army from taking the railroad and pipeline.[3] Subsequently,Erich Ludendorff in the German High Command sentforces to Georgia underKress.[c][3]
After several skirmishes between the Ottoman 3rd Army and the German forces nearVorontsovka, the German High Command objected and informed its Ottoman ally that Germany would withdraw its troops and support from the Ottoman Empire.[3] Erich Ludendorff sentHans von Seeckt to Batumi to confer with Enver Pasha about the situation.[3] This led to Vehip Pasha being sacked from the head of the Ottoman 3rd Army.[3] The Ottoman Empire's objective shifted from taking the railroad and pipeline to taking and occupying Baku and its nearby oilfields.[3][8]
The purpose of the Caucasus Army of Islam was to mobilize Muslim supporters in Transcaspian and Caucasian regions.[1]Nuri Pasha came to Yelizavetpol (present day:Ganja) on May 25, 1918, and began to organize the Army of Islam. With this army, Nuri Pasha advanced through the Caucasus in order to secure the oil-rich region which was left by the withdrawing Russian army.[9]
With the march of an Ottoman supported army toBaku, theBolshevikSoviets fled toAstrakhan which left Baku to be defended bySRs,Dashnak Armenians, and, later, the British GeneralDunsterville's force of 1,000.[3]
Chief of the British Military Mission to the CaucasusMajor GeneralLionel Charles Dunsterville reachedBandar-e Anzali in mid-February and organized a small military force called "Dunsterforce" ofCossacks,Russians andAzeris. The British authority were concerned about an advance of either the Germans or the Ottoman forces to theBaku oil fields and began to send reinforcements to the "Dunsterforce" in June 1918.[12] Although most of the oil fields were owned by Azerbaijanis and less than 5 per cent by Armenians, most of the production/distribution rights in Baku were owned by foreign investors, primarily the British.[13]
The Islamic Army of the Caucasus began its march fromGanja towards Baku, the coastal city of theCaspian Sea. They began to attack Hill 905 on July 31 to the northwest ofBaku, but failed to get the hill and halted their attack on August 2. Major General L.C. Dunsterville coordinated future combined operations with the Russian Cossack forces commended by ColonelLazar Bicherakhov, and sent about 300 British soldiers to Baku and they arrived there on August 5. The Islamic Army of the Caucasus launched second attack to Hill 905 on August 5. This attack failed again and they lost 547 officers and soldiers.[12]
The last attack of the Islamic Army of the Caucasus on Baku began at 1:00 A.M. on September 14. TheOttoman 15th Division attacked from the north and the5th Caucasian Division attacked from the west. British Major General Dunsterville decided to withdraw about 11:00 A.M. because of the failure of the defense. "Dunsterforce" loaded its personnel and equipment and set sail for Bandar-e Anzali by 10:00 P.M. on September 14.[14]
The Army of Islam took Baku on September 15 and sent a telegraph announcing the capture of Baku toEnver Pasha on September 16.[14]
The Islamic Army of the Caucasus sent the 15th Division toNorth Caucasus after its reorganization. The 15th Division advanced northwards along the Caspian coast, encountered the local resistance in front ofDerbent and spotted advance on October 7. The division restarted attack on Derbent on October 20 and occupied the city on October 26. The division continued to advance northwards and arrived at the gate of Petrovsk (present day:Makhachkala) on October 28 and occupied the city on November 8.[14]
First,Enver Pasha's gambit of taking Baku's oilfields failed whenBritish forces advanced in Syria and also whenBulgaria capitulated to the Entente Powers in September 1918:Ottoman Turkey had few forces to defend either Syria orConstantinople. This allowedFranchet d'Espèrey'sAllied Army of the Orient along withMilne'sArmy atSalonika to occupy western Thrace within a short march to Constantinople leading to theArmistice of Mudros.[3] The British Fleet could sail theDardanelles.[3] The Turkish forces had to withdraw from Baku allowing the Bolsheviks to regain not only the control of the oil fields but also the money gained from oil sales.[3]
Second, the subsequent withdrawal of Austrian and German support fromSouthern Russia and the Caucasus along with theTurkish War of Independence placed the British and French at odds with their foreign policy toward both the Turks and the Russians. Because the British and French supported the Greeks and Armenians in their fight against the Turks, the Turks were kept from occupying the Baku oilfields during theRussian Civil War. This allowed the Bolsheviks to gain capital from the Baku oilfields which would be used in the destruction of the British and French supported anti-Bolshevik forces in the Russian Civil War.
Third, neitherpan-Turkism norpan-Turanianism would receive support through a large army from Turkey again.[3][8]
Finally, prior to the summer of 1918, Germany had unabashed support for aZionist state which would have allowed Germany to gain railroad and pipeline concessions between the Levant[d] and the oil rich Persian Gulf. This was all part of itsDrang nach Osten. Instead, Germany shifted its foreign policy support to Islamic forces in obtaining guarantees of oil supplies from Southern Russia and Persia via Batumi, Tiflis, and Baku, thus splitting its foreign policy goals from those of Turkey and removing German support forZionism.[3]
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