In 1916 a Russian aircraft fought an air battle with enemy planes over the front. Its pilot, Farrukh agha Gayibov, was the first Azerbaijani military pilot, and he did not survive the battle. Yet the tsarist government did not conscript the Muslims of the Caucasus at all. So how did Azerbaijanis take part in this war, and what did the war bring to Baku, to the villages and to the national movement?
Azerbaijan in the plans of the warring powers
For Russia the First World War began on 1 August 1914, when Germany declared war on it. Russia stood with Britain and France in the Entente, while Germany and Austria-Hungary formed the opposing bloc. In November 1914 the Ottoman Empire entered the war on Germany’s side, the Caucasus front opened and Northern Azerbaijan became a frontline region.
Every power had its own aims in the region. Germany sought to seize Baku oil and to push Russia and Britain out of the Caucasus. The Ottoman Empire wanted to regain lost lands and to unite with the Turkic-Muslim peoples of the Caucasus. Britain feared that Baku oil and the routes to India might fall to the enemy. Russia wanted to keep the Caucasus and to take Eastern Anatolia and the Straits; Baku oil was vital for its fleet and railways.
Attitudes to the war and participation
The Muslims of the Caucasus were exempt from compulsory military service and paid a special tax instead: the tsarist government did not trust them, especially in a war against the Ottoman state. Attitudes to the war varied. The wealthy, officials and clergy declared loyalty to the empire and collected donations. Part of the intelligentsia, however, viewed a war against the Turkic-Muslim Ottoman state with unease. In 1915 M. A. Rasulzade began publishing the newspaper Achiq Soz («Open Word»); under censorship it defended the nation’s interests in careful language.
Even so, many Azerbaijanis went to the front as volunteers. The Caucasian Native Cavalry Division (the «Savage Division»), formed in 1914, included the Tatar (Azerbaijani) Cavalry Regiment, made up mainly of Azerbaijani volunteers. The division was commanded by the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich; it fought against Austro-Hungarian troops on the South-Western front, in the Carpathians and Galicia, and many of its riders received St George crosses.
Azerbaijani generals and officers
Azerbaijanis who had reached high rank in the Russian army played an important role in the war. Back in the Russo-Japanese War, in the defence of Port Arthur, Aliagha Shikhlinski had devised the «Shikhlinski triangle» method of fire control; in the army he was called «the god of artillery». In the First World War he took part in organising the artillery defence of the Russian capital, and in 1917 he commanded the 10th Army. The hero of Port Arthur, artillery general Samad bey Mehmandarov, commanded the 2nd Caucasian Army Corps and for his bravery received the St George sword decorated with diamonds.
Cavalry general Huseyn khan Nakhchivanski was the tsar’s only Muslim adjutant general and commanded the Guards Cavalry Corps in the war. Farrukh agha Gayibov became the first Azerbaijani military pilot and was killed in an air battle in 1916. Mehmandarov and Shikhlinski later built the army of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic: Mehmandarov became minister of war and Shikhlinski his deputy (see «Domestic policy of the ADR: state building, army, economy and culture»).
| Person | Who he was | In the war | Later |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aliagha Shikhlinski | artillery general, «Shikhlinski triangle» | artillery defence of the capital; 1917 — 10th Army | ADR deputy minister of war |
| Samad bey Mehmandarov | artillery general, hero of Port Arthur | 2nd Caucasian Army Corps; St George sword with diamonds | ADR minister of war |
| Huseyn khan Nakhchivanski | cavalry general, the tsar’s only Muslim adjutant general | Guards Cavalry Corps | — |
| Farrukh agha Gayibov | first Azerbaijani military pilot | killed in an air battle in 1916 | — |
| M. A. Rasulzade | leader of Musavat | the newspaper Achiq Soz (1915) | chairman of the National Council (1918) |
The war’s effect on the economy
Although the war raised the demand for fuel, Baku’s oil output fell: equipment, workers and transport were in short supply, and the railways were overloaded with military traffic. In the countryside horses, cattle and fodder were requisitioned for the army, and trade links with Iran and the inner Russian markets were disrupted. The money supply grew, prices rose fast, and Baku began to run short of bread and other food; queues became normal.
The hardships revived workers’ strikes. Society tried to help with its own forces: the Muslim charitable societies of Baku, their great patron Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev and other businessmen collected aid for the war-stricken population of the frontline regions, for refugees and for orphans. The drawn-out war deepened the empire’s crisis and prepared the ground for the February Revolution of 1917 (see «The 1917 revolutions and Northern Azerbaijan: Ozakom, the Commissariat, the Seim»).
- 1 August 1914
Germany declares war on Russia
- 1914
The Caucasian Native Cavalry Division is formed
Including the Tatar (Azerbaijani) Cavalry Regiment.
- November 1914
The Ottoman Empire enters the war; the Caucasus front
- December 1914
The Sarikamish operation
The Ottoman army suffers a heavy defeat.
- 1915
The newspaper Achiq Soz begins to appear
- February 1916
Russian troops take Erzurum
- 1916
Farrukh agha Gayibov is killed in an air battle
- February 1917
February Revolution: the fall of the monarchy
- 1917
A. Shikhlinski commands the 10th Army
- 3 March 1918
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Kars, Ardahan and Batum pass to the Ottoman Empire.
- 30 October 1918
Armistice of Mudros
- 11 November 1918
Armistice of Compiègne: the end of the war
Interactive
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| The Ottoman Empire enters the war | the Caucasus front; Azerbaijan becomes a frontline region |
| Tsarism distrusts the Muslims | no conscription — only volunteers, the Tatar Cavalry Regiment |
| Shortage of equipment, workers and transport | falling oil output |
| Requisitions, broken trade links | a weaker countryside, food shortages, high prices |
| High prices and the food crisis | strikes, discontent; ground for the February Revolution |
| The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918) | Kars, Ardahan and Batum pass to the Ottomans |
| Feature | S. Mehmandarov | A. Shikhlinski |
|---|---|---|
| In common | artillery general, defender of Port Arthur | artillery general, defender of Port Arthur |
| In the First World War | commander of the 2nd Caucasian Army Corps | artillery defence of the capital; commander of the 10th Army (1917) |
| Distinctive | St George sword with diamonds | «Shikhlinski triangle», «god of artillery» |
| In the ADR | minister of war | deputy minister of war |
Brothers! The war has brought a great disaster to the border regions of the Caucasus. In the districts near the front thousands of Muslim families have lost their homes, and women and children suffer from cold and hunger.
In Baku itself bread has become dear, poor families wait for hours in queues, and there is less work in the oilfields. Our society is collecting money, clothes and food and opening a shelter for orphans. Everyone must help as much as he can: if we do not help today, tomorrow we will lose these children, who are the future of our nation.
Source tasks
Problem
1. Which war and which front is the text about? Support your answer with clues from the text.
2. Explain two causes (one military-political, one economic) of dearer bread and less work in Baku.
3. Give two results not stated in the text.
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Solution
2. Military-political: the railways were overloaded with military traffic, requisitions were made for the army, and the war with the Ottomans cut trade routes. Economic: shortages of equipment and workers cut oil output, the money supply grew and prices rose. Marks: two causes — 1; one — ½.
3. For example: a) high prices strengthened workers’ strikes; b) the discontent prepared the ground for the February Revolution of 1917; c) charity work strengthened national public organisation and gave experience for the national councils of 1917. Marks: two well-founded results — 1; one — ½; repeating the text — 0.
1. Euler–Venn diagram: two generals
Problem
Circle I — Samad bey Mehmandarov, circle II — Aliagha Shikhlinski. Which statements belong in the overlap of the two circles?
1. defender of Port Arthur
2. awarded the St George sword with diamonds
3. author of the «triangle» method of fire
4. one of the builders of the ADR army
5. artillery general
A) 2, 3 B) 1, 4, 5 C) 1, 2 D) 3, 4 E) 2, 4, 5
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Solution
2) Find what is only Shikhlinski’s: 3 → D is out.
3) What fits both remains: 1, 4, 5 (both fought at Port Arthur, both were artillery generals, minister and deputy in the ADR).
Answer: B (1, 4, 5).
2. «Not related»
Problem
Which is NOT characteristic of Northern Azerbaijan during the First World War?
A) falling oil output
B) mass conscription of Azerbaijanis into the army
C) requisition of horses for the army
D) bread shortages in Baku
E) the Tatar Cavalry Regiment fighting at the front
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Solution
2) E is volunteers taking part — characteristic.
3) B: the Muslims of the Caucasus were exempt from compulsory service; this is the trap.
Answer: B.
3. Chronology
Problem
Find the order:
1. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
2. the Sarikamish operation
3. Achiq Soz begins to appear
4. Armistice of Mudros
A) 2, 3, 1, 4 B) 3, 2, 1, 4 C) 2, 1, 3, 4 D) 2, 3, 4, 1 E) 3, 2, 4, 1
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Solution
2) Sarikamish comes first → B and E are out.
3) Brest (March) is before Mudros (October) → D is out; 1915 is before 1918 → C is out.
Answer: A (2, 3, 1, 4).
Remember
- The Ottoman Empire entered the war in November 1914 and the Caucasus front opened; Baku oil was a target for Germany, Britain and Russia.
- The Muslims of the Caucasus were not conscripted; volunteers fought in the Tatar Cavalry Regiment of the «Savage Division» on the South-Western front.
- Shikhlinski — «god of artillery», artillery defence of the capital; Mehmandarov — St George sword with diamonds; Nakhchivanski — the tsar’s only Muslim adjutant general; Gayibov — the first military pilot.
- The war cut oil output and caused high prices and food shortages; charitable societies helped the refugees.
- The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (3 March 1918) gave Kars, Ardahan and Batum to the Ottomans; the Armistice of Mudros (30 October 1918) ended the war for them.