The Battle of Binagadi ( az, Binəqədi döyüşü; tr, Binegedi savaşı) was a battle in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

that took place between 26 and 31 August 1918 between the Ottoman–Azerbaijani coalition forces led by

Nuri Pasha Nuri Killigil, also known as Nuri Pasha (1889–1949) was an Ottoman general in the Ottoman Army (1861–1922), Ottoman Army. He was the half-brother of Ottoman Minister of War, Enver Pasha. Military career Libya Infantry Machine-Gun Ca ...

and the British–Armenian–White Russian forces led by

Lionel Dunsterville Major General Lionel Charles Dunsterville, (9 November 1865 – 18 March 1946) was a British Army officer, who led Dunsterforce across present-day Iraq and Iran towards the Caucasus and Baku during the First World War. Early life Lionel Charle ...

and saw briefly Soviet Russia re-enter the war. The battle was fought as an important part of the

Battle of Baku The Battle of Baku ( az, Bakı döyüşü, tr, Bakü Muharebesi, russian: Битва за Баку) was a battle in World War I that took place between August–September 1918 between the Ottoman–Azerbaijani coalition forces led by Nuri Pas ...

Background

In 1917, the Russian Caucasus Front collapsed following the abdication of the Tsar. On 9 March 1917, the

Special Transcaucasian Committee The Special Transcaucasian Committee ( Russian: Особый Закавказский Комитет ''Osobyi Zakavkazskii Komitet'' (OZaKom, Ozakom or OZAKOM)) was established on March 9, 1917, with Member of the State Duma V. A. Kharlamov as C ...

was established to fill the administrative gap in areas occupied in the course of the war on the Caucasian front by the Russian Provisional Government in the Transcaucasia. In November 1917, the first government of the independent Transcaucasia was created in Tbilisi and named the Transcaucasian Commissariat following the Bolshevik seizure of power in St. Petersburg. On 5 December 1917, this new "Transcaucasian Committee" gave endorsement to the Armistice of Erzincan which was signed by the Russians with the command of the Ottoman Third Army.Robert M. Slusser and Jan F. Triska (1959), ''A Calendar of Soviet Treaties, 1917–1957'' (Stanford University Press), p. 2. Russian soldiers mainly left the front and returned to their homes. A number of Russian troops left for the Persian Campaign, contrary to the rules of the Armistice. On 10 February 1918, the Sejm gathered and made the decision to establish independence. On 24 February 1918, the Sejm proclaimed the Transcaucasia as independent under the

Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR; (), (). 22 April – 28 May 1918) was a short-lived state in the Caucasus that included most of the territory of the present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as pa ...

. On 3 March 1918, the Grand Vizier

Talat Pasha Mehmed Talaat (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha,; tr, Talat Paşa, links=no was an Ottoman politician and convicted war criminal of the late Ottoman Empire who served as its leader from 1913 t ...

signed the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...

with the Russian SFSR. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk stipulated that the border be pulled back to prewar levels and that the cities of Batum, Kars, and Ardahan be transferred to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Between 14 March – April 1918, the Trabzon peace conference was held between the Ottoman Empire and the delegation of the Sejm. On 9 March 1918, the arrest of General Talyshinski, the commander of the Azerbaijani division, and some of its officers all of whom arrived in Baku increased the anti-Soviet feelings among the city's Azerbaijani population. On 30 March, based on the unfounded report that the Azerbaijani (Muslim) crew of the ship ''Evelina'' was armed and ready to revolt against the Soviet, the Soviet disarmed the crew who tried to resist. The three days of inter-ethnic warfare referred to as the

March Days The March Days or March Events () was a period of inter-ethnic strife and clashes which led to the death of about 12,000 Azerbaijani: "The results of the March events were immediate and total for the Musavat. Several hundreds of its members wer ...

, 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. The March events, beyond the violent three-day period, touched off a series of massacres all over Azerbaijan. In May 1918, Azerbaijan declared its independence. At that time, the main goal of the state was to liberate Baku. The Ottoman Empire helped him in this. In June 1918, military operations began for Baku.

Battle

Battle of Binagadi was important part of

. The main purpose of the battle was to capture the hills 311 and 364 near the village of Binagadi. In the battle that began on August 26, the 13th Infantry Regiment captured Hill 364. Hill 311 could not be captured. On August 27,

Centrocaspian Dictatorship The Centro-Caspian Dictatorship, also known as the Central-Caspian Dictatorship (russian: Диктатура Центрокаспия, ''Diktatura Tsentrokaspiya'') (Azerbaijani: Sentrokaspi Diktaturası), was a short-lived anti-Soviet administr ...

tried to recapture Hill 364, but failed. After a while, the hill 311 was captured by Azerbaijanis. In addition to Binagadi village, Digah and Mohammadi villages were also taken over by Azerbaijanis.

Aftermath

After the battle, General

declared that "no force on earth can take Baku from the Turks." Thus, in the north of Baku, the

was pushed back to the heights of Bilajari, and important positions were taken for the organization of a decisive attack for the liberation of Baku.Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyəti Ensiklopediyası 2 cilddə. I cild. Bakıː Lider nəşriyyatı, 2004, s.255-256

References

Footnotes

Works cited