Azerbaijani Military Tradition

1. Before being conquered by Russia

If to ask what type of culture was and remains the main development of mankind, then, undoubtedly, they should recognize the culture of war. History of Azerbaijan, since ancient times supersaturated by numerous wars, is the most vivid confirmation of the expressed thought. The last two centuries before the Russian Khanate, developing in relative independence from Iran, waged many wars between each other, a way out to establish hegemony and establish a single state. At the beginning of the 20th century. Russia actively continued its attempts to conquer the South Caucasus. In the spring of 1803, Russian troops occupied the Jaro-Belokans, and at the end of the year they began the attack on Ganja, which was seized on the night of January 2 to 3, 1804. In the battle on the walls of the fortress were killed the ruler of Ganja Javad- Khan and his son. We would like to note with regret that about 700 soldiers of other khanates who are hostile to Javad Khan participated in an attack on the. The further fate of all Azerbaijani khanates to the north of the river Araks, step by step under the rule of Russia (1805 - 1828 years) is well-known. The imposed state of emergency was so cruel that the 30-40s there were unceasing uprisings throughout the occupied territory.

2. The Tsarist Russia

In tsarist Russia, the Muslim population did not carry military service, paying the established tax, which later played a negative role in inter-ethnic clashes. However, many representatives of the Muslim nobility served in the officer corps. For impeccable military service, the Order of St. Georgians were awarded 19 Azerbaijanis, three Muslims, awarded the Order of St. George third degree, two were Azerbaijanis - Lieutenant-General S. Mehmandarov and Adjutant-General G. Nakhichevan.

In 1902-1903 years the composition of officer looked like this (in%):

Let's pay attention that with an insignificant population, the Armenian officers outnumbered the military population of numerous Muslim peoples of Russia.

3. ADP

At the end of 1917 in Tbilisi the Transcaucasian commissariat began the formation of national corps for the battle on the Caucasian front. The Muslim corps, consisting of two infantry divisions, was commanded by the Tsar's Lieutenant-General A. Shikhlinsky, 65% of the officers were Russian, there were practically no privates, and there was a shortage of weapons and ammunition. On June 4, 1918 in Batumi was signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Turkey and ADR, and according to the Article 4 the Ottoman government undertook the obligation " to provide military assistance in case of need"; in return, the ADR undertook to remove from the country's territory all officers and officials of states at war with the Ottoman Empire, which primarily concerned Russian officers. As a result, the Separate Azerbaijani Corps lost most of the officers, and in July 1918 it was disbanded by the Turkish command, and became a part of the Caucasian Islamic Army of Nuri-pasha. The army included 7,000 Azerbaijani and other Caucasian units, and 5,000 Ottoman regular troops. The Armed Forces of the ADR at the end of May 1918 consisted of two cavalry regiments of incomplete composition, two rifle companies (600 bayonets), some from former Turkish prisoners of war, and 250 officers. In service there were six mountain 76-mm guns and one four-field battery.

After the departure of the Turks on November 1, a War Ministry was established, headed by the chairman of the government F. Khoysky and his deputy artillery General S. Mehmandarov, who became on December 25 a military minister (deputy lieutenant-general A. Shikhlinsky). Military construction throughout the country, including the formation of an air squad (September 14 - the birthday of the Air Force of Azerbaijan) was launched under their leadership. The Red Army invaded Azerbaijan at a time when most of the Azerbaijani army fought against Armenians in Karabakh. Sad statistics: out of 30,000 soldiers, 20,000 were killed fighting against the occupation, 15 of the 21 army generals were executed.

4. Soviet Period

On April 28, 1920, the Revolutionary Committee formed the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs of Azerbaijan. On December 2, 1922, the People's Commissariat was transformed into a military commissariat, as an integral part of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the TUFSR.

After the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, were created: 87 battalions, 1123 self-defense units, and 15 divisions were created in the Azerbaijan SSR. With a population of 3.4 million people (1941) from the Azeri SSR 681.000 were drafted to the front (including 10000 women), of which 300.000 were killed. Soon after the end of the war, all national military formations were abolished and merged into a single Soviet army.

Azerbaijani Republic

Even before independence, Azerbaijan an ethnic conflict began in Azerbaijan, and resulted in numerous refugees, displaced persons and, in the future, occupation of a significant territory. On the verge of a civil war, Azerbaijan covered with anarchy and without a trained army, was not able to confront well-trained and armed terrorist groups operating with the support and direct assistance of Russia.

After gaining independence, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted the Law on the Armed Forces on October 9, 1991, according to which the National Army was to be formed within three months. In the summer of 1992, landing forces were created, and the division of the Caspian flotilla was completed. The change of power, the dissolution of self-defense units, internal conflict caused occupation of the areas around Nagorno-Karabakh. The signing of the truce allowed the construction of a new army.

Since 2002, Azerbaijan has increased the volume of arms imports by 164%, among more than 100 countries of the world, and ranked the 38th terms of the volume of purchased weapons.

In 2007-2011 55% of the weapons sold to Azerbaijan were of Russian origin. "In 2016-2017, Azerbaijan ranked 27th in terms of arms imports: in two years the country purchased arms worth $ 551 million, mainly from Israel and Russia.

In 2017, Azerbaijan imported from Israel four units of OPV-62 warships, 40 Orbiter UAVs (including those produced in the country), 215 anti-tank missiles Spike-NLOS.

Moscow supplied 36 units of heavy flame-throwing systems (TOS-1), 40 armored personnel carriers BTR-82A, 800 anti-tank systems "Chrysanthemum" to Baku.

In Slovakia, Azerbaijan purchased 18 units of 152-mm self-propelled gun-howitzer "Dana". Another 10 units of the 122-mm RM-70 rocket launcher were purchased in the Czech Republic.

Azerbaijan-NATO

In January 1992, Azerbaijan concluded an agreement on military cooperation with Turkey. On May 4, 1994, Azerbaijan signed a document on Azerbaijan's joining the Partnership for Peace Program. In mid-1997, Azerbaijan joined the document of the NATO Planning and Analysis Process (PAP) and in the same year, at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the diplomatic representation of Azerbaijan was opened. In 2004, Azerbaijan joined the NATO Operational Action Concept, and in 2005 the first IPAP was developed. In March 2008, the second, updated IPAP document was concluded.

The armed forces of Azerbaijan are being reformed according to NATO standards. Azerbaijan provides support for NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and until 2008 in Kosovo. There are military academies, higher schools, military educational institutions and lyceums in the country. Thanks to the help of Turkish specialists and Western instructors, thousands of Azerbaijani officers have been trained, some of whom have experience of fighting with Turkish special forces against Kurdish militants in the southeast of Turkey. Air Force experts train Azerbaijani pilots in the training center for fighter pilots.

Military equipment includes: 220 main tanks (T-72, T-90S). In addition, T-80 tanks were purchased between 2005 and 2010. 100 T-55 tanks were written off or transferred to the reserve. More than 600 military vehicles: approximately 190 infantry fighting vehicles, 150 armored personnel carriers, 330 MTLBs, 120 armored vehicles "Matador" and "Marauder", joint production with South Africa, Turkish, Israeli, US, Russian technology, 420 artillery systems. They are 300 guns and 120 ACS, mainly produced in the USSR: SAU "Nona", "Vienna", "Gvozdika", "Msta-S", "Acasia"; artillery systems D-20, Hyacinth, M-46, Rapira, D-44. Systems of discharge fire: about 60 MLRS, 12 of them are "Smerch", 6 TOS-1A, 100 mortars. The air force has about 106 aircraft, 35 helicopters, unmanned equipment. The Navy consists of a patrol ship, a missile boat, patrol and amphibious ships. The Land Forces, with all the structures in mind, have about 85,000 troops (according to the assessment of the Advanced Study Group). In addition to the basic composition of the Armed Forces, 2,500 members of the National Guard also belong to the land forces.

Other military structures include the Internal Troops (12,000 personnel) and the land units of the State Border Service (5,000 personnel). Azerbaijan has concluded a number of contracts to increase the combat capability and equipment of its armed forces with the help of Turkey. Over the past 15 years, Azerbaijan has prepared its armed forces for all kinds of challenges. The land forces include 23 motorized rifle brigades, an artillery brigade, a MLRS brigade and an anti-tank regiment. These troops have estimated 40 missile air defense systems 9K35 Strela-10, 2K11 Krug and 9K33 Osa (2007). The army of Azerbaijan is divided into five army corps: The First Yevlakh Army Corps (concentrated in Ganja). The second Pirekeshkul army corps (deployed near Nagorno-Karabakh). The Third Shamkir Army Corps (in the same place). The Fourth Baku Army Corps (covers the Absheron peninsula). Fifth Nakhichevan Army Corps (deployed in Nakhichevan). The sixth special army corps (Nakhichevan) was created in 2014 on the basis of the fifth. Air forces Air forces of Azerbaijan also include air defense forces. In general, they have 8,000 personnel. There are four main air bases in the country.

At the airbase named after Haji Zeynalabdin, fighter-planes were stationed, Kurdamir airbase is a bomber air regiment, the Ganja base accommodated transport aviation, and Baku Kala was a helicopter unit. There are also four reserve airbases, including Deller, Nakhichevan, Sangachal and Sitalchay. Azerbaijani pilots are trained in the national military aviation school, and then improve their skills in operating units. Azerbaijan is sharing experience with Turkey, Ukraine, the United States, Russia and some NATO countries. The army of Azerbaijan has "Mig-29", "Su-24" and "Su-25", transporters of "Il-76" and "Mig". The main aircraft are "Mig-29", bought in 2006 from Ukrainian partners.

It is decided to buy from China "JF-17 Thunder". The helicopters of the Air Force of Azerbaijan are mainly concentrated in the Baku-Kala airbase. The helicopter regiment has 15 Mi-24, 13 Mi-8 and 7 Mi-2. In 2010, the Russian company Rostvertol announced that Azerbaijan had entered into an agreement for the purchase of 24 Mi-35M assault helicopters (Hind-E). Air Defense: The Azerbaijani army has at least 2 S-300 divisions, which makes the national air defense the strongest in the region. Azerbaijan also operates two batteries of S-200 complexes deployed near Baku and Mingechevir. In addition, about 100 C-75 Dvina and S-125 complexes are located in the static basing. Composition of the Navy: Flagship - frigate G-121 Qusar. Sentry light frigate project 159A, modernized in 2007. Patrol ships: P 212-219, UK-3, 722. Patrol boats: Р-222, Р-223, "Turk", Araz. The minesweepers: two ships of the Yakhont and Korund projects. Landing ships of the projects of SDK 770 (4 units) and MDK 106 (2 units). Ships of the Coast Guard: Project 205 (4 units), R-173, converted supply tugs and boats. There are plans to build a new fleet on its own. Special forces The Naval Intelligence of Azerbaijan operates on the basis of the 641th Marine Special Operations Center.

The subdivision 641 has at its disposal several ultra-small submarines (Triton-1M, Triton-2) and underwater individual armament for combat swimmers. The special unit consists of 3 reconnaissance groups, 2 groups for combat in mountain conditions and one group for submarine-sabotage activities. Fighters undergo a course of parachute jumping day and night, to the ground and to the water. The armed forces also include a special unit "Tigers".

April war in 2016

At night of April 2, the Armenian Armed Forces attacked the village of Tapgaragoyunlu, using tanks and infantry. The Azerbaijani army launched a counteroffensive, defeating the first line of defense of Armenians. As a result, some territories were liberated, strategic positions were taken: the important height of Leletepe, the height around the village of Talysh, was taken under control. In general, more than 2,000 hectares of the Fizuli, Jabrayil and Agdere regions were liberated.

On April 2, an agreement was reached to stop the fire, but the battles continued. It was reported that the rocket and artillery troops had been ordered to prepare for strikes against Khankendi and other occupied cities, unless the Armenian side stops bombing Azerbaijani settlements. According to the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, during the April fighting in Karabakh, 320 Armenian soldiers were killed, 500 were wounded, 30 tanks were destroyed, the roads under the control of Agdere-Madaghiz were controlled, operations were carried out to eliminate the danger of shelling of settlements along the contact line in Karabakh.

On May 24, 2018, AzerTAc reported that according to previously approved plans, the engineering and demining units of the Independent Combined-Arms Army in Nakhchivan after the winter period began work on improving the fortifications in the defense zone on the border with Armenia. Under this stingy information it was meant that the army of Azerbaijan occupied the heights, allowing to control the territory of Armenia: after advancing along the neutral zone, the troops occupied the height of Gyzylgaya in the Sharur region. As a result, the village Gunnut, which since 1992 was controlled by the Armenian army, was protected from the enemy shelling. The Azerbaijani army got the opportunity to control the Yerevan-Goris-Lachin road.

On June 26, Azerbaijan will mark by the military parade in Baku the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Armed Forces. In this regard, the Ministry of Defense invited journalists to military exercises, after which Defense Minister Z. Hasanov told them about the latest achievements of the Azerbaijani army and preparations for the upcoming parade. "The main goal of today's exercises is to show the combat readiness of the Azerbaijani army, which at any time can repel an enemy attack. Being ready for war is the main task of any army," Z. Hasanov said.

"Today, the Azerbaijani army is completely ready and capable of carrying out any combat order. Our army is equipped with the latest equipment, all military vehicles have been updated, tanks have been modernized. "

* The article uses wikipedia.org data.