1920 Ganja revolt

The 1920 Ganja revolt (Azerbaijani: Gəncə üsyanı) was a popular uprising against the Soviet occupation that took place in Ganja on 26 to 31 May 1920. The goal of the uprising was to liberate Azerbaijan from the Soviet army and put an end to the arbitrariness of the communists. This was the largest rebellion against Soviet rule in Azerbaijan in the 20th century, and caused the most losses. The organisers and leading force of the uprising were officers of the army of the former Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.^[3]

1920 Ganja revolt
Date 26–31 May 1920 Location Ganja, Azerbaijan Result Rebellion was suppressed
Belligerents
1st Azerbaijani infantry division Gachags	XI Army
Commanders and leaders
Mahammad Mirza Qajar †^[1] Javad bey Shikhlinski Teymur bey Novruzov Jahangir bey Kazimbeyli^[2]	Mikhail Levandovsky Mikhail Velikanov Pyotr Kuryshko Alexander Shirmakher
Strength
10,000–12,000	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	800–8,500

The 1st Infantry Division of the Azerbaijan Army, the units of the 3rd Ganja Regiment in the city, the training team of the 3rd Sheki Cavalry Regiment, an artillery battery, and the personnel of the commandant's unit subordinated to the divisional headquarters were mainly involved in the organisation of the uprising. Qachaq Gambar, Sari Alakbar, Qachaq Gasim Kolakhani, Qachaq Mikayil and others also participated in the Ganja uprising with their armed men. The armies of the surrounding villages joined the rebellion army. Their number was more than 10 thousand people^[4][5].On the eve of the uprising, units of the 20th infantry division of the 11th Red Army took up positions in and around the city. The 178th and 180th infantry regiments of the division were in the Armenian neighbourhood of the city, and the communications battalion and commandant unit of the 3rd brigade were in the Azerbaijani part of the city. The 40 th Cavalry Brigade was stationed around the village of Zurnabad. On 25 May, the II regiment of the Taman Cavalry Brigade was also brought to Ganja.^[6]

During the uprising that started on the night of 25–26 May, the rebels quickly took control of the important facilities of the city, the Red Army units in the Azerbaijani part. The military warehouse, the city prison, the railway station, the building of the emergency commissariat was also captured. On 28 May, the leaders of the Ganja uprising and the city community gathered at the district court building to celebrate the second anniversary of the declaration of Azerbaijan's independence.^[7][8]

On 29 May, the Bolshevik attack on the rebels ended in failure. The Bolshevik forces were unable to fulfill their task in the attack carried out from several directions. On the contrary, the counterattacks by the rebels put the Bolshevik forces in a difficult position. Later, the XI Red Army command brought additional forces to Ganja. Before the start of the next battles on 30 May, the 11th Red Army had 5 infantry regiments, 6 cavalry regiments, 7 separate units and detachments, 57 cannons and 2 armoured vehicles in Ganja. Most of these forces were deployed to the north of the city, and from there the main attack began on 31 May. Rebels who could not leave the city, as well as civilians, were surrounded and shot en masse. After the suppression of the rebellion, 12 generals, 27 colonels and lieutenant colonels, 46 captains, staff captains, 12 generals, 27 colonels and lieutenant colonels, 46 captains, staff captains of the Azerbaijani army, along with prominent figures such as Major-General Muhammad Mirza Qajar, Qachaq Gambar, lawyer Ismayil Khan Ziyadkhanov, writer Firidun Bey Kocherli, engineer Abuzar Bey Rzayev and teacher Mirza Abbas Abbaszadeh, lieutenants and second lieutenants, 146 ensigns and sub-ensigns, and 267 other military personnel were shot by the Bolsheviks.^[7][9][10]

The situation before the uprising

April Invasion

 

The arrival of the armoured train of the XI Red Army in Baku on 28 April 1920. In the photo, Mikhail Yefremov, Anastas Mikoyan, Gazanfar Musabayov, Simon Ter-Petrosyan and others are depicted on the III International train^[11][12]

On 21 and 23 April 1920, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Caucasian Front, under the leadership of S.G.Ordzhonikidze, ordered the XI Red Army to cross the border of Azerbaijan on 27 April and occupy the entire territory. On 26 April, the XI Red Army headquarters moved to Derbend to lead the offensive. The attack of the XI Army began at 12 o'clock on the night of 26–27 April.^[13] 70,000 XI Red Army, the "III International" in front, 3 more armoured trains and 300 infantrymen, crossed the bridge over the Samur River.^[14] Among the leaders of this troop were Anastas Mikoyan and Gazanfar Musabeyov.^[15]

On the same day, the ACP Ganja District Committee formed the Revolutionary Committee of Gubernia after hearing about the events in Baku. In the evening of the next day, Governor Khudadat Bey Rafibeyli signed the act on the transfer of power to the Revolutionary Committee in the entire Ganja Governorate.^[16] Ganja Revolutionary Committee consisted of chairman Ibrahim Aliyev,^[17][18] deputy Farhad Aliyev, Vakilov, Sultanov and Eminbeyov.^[17]

During the change of government in Ganja governorate, armoured trains start moving from Baku to Ganja. As they approached the city, they engaged in a major battle with bands of Musavatists who tried to block their path.^[19][20]

Military and political situation

On 10 May, the Bolshevik uprising began and was suppressed by the Armenian government. Suppression was also helped by England and the Dashnaks were offered weapons worth 1 million pounds sterling, which they accepted on 19 May.^[21] Although the uprising was suppressed, an armed struggle against the government broke out in a number of regions of Armenia. On 18 May, the government of Soviet Azerbaijan even sent 17 wagons of food and 5 million rubles to the rebelling Shamshadin region.^[21] Nevertheless, after long battles, the Armenian insurgents, numbering 1600 people, crossed the Azerbaijani border. In Soviet Azerbaijan, the Armenian Red Insurgent Regiment (1 st Kazakh Insurgent Regiment)^[21][22] was formed from them.

The May uprising of the Bolsheviks in Armenia coincided with the period when the 32 nd Rifle Division of the XI Red Army crossed the border of the Kazakh province with Armenia.^[21] Armenian detachments withdrew from Karabakh under the pressure of the Red Army. Armenian units were also retreating from Karabakh under the pressure of the Red Army. On 18 May, the commander of the 32 nd infantry division, Steiger, received an order from the XI Red Army that "all parts of the division should be concentrated around Shusha by May 25 and strong detachments should be sent in the direction of Nakhchivan - Julfa - Ordubad." The goal here was to capture those territories. According to the order, on 20 May, the first brigade of the XX division was sent from Ganja to Shusha along the Yelenendorf-Chaykend-Tartar-Khankendi route. At the same time, the division's second brigade and headquarters remained in Ganja. On 20 May, rebels and people's militia units, with the help of Azerbaijan SSR, captured Caravanserai, which was the border region of Armenia with Azerbaijan. The next day, Red Army units also entered here. However, the Ganja and Zagatala uprisings, as well as the conflicts in Zangezur and Karabakh, diverted the forces of the XI Red Army from some targets.^[23]

Status of the Parties

Former Azerbaijani army

At the time of the uprising, the 1 st Azerbaijani infantry division of the ADR had not yet been re-formed in the Soviet way. This division, with a total number of 1800 people, consisted of the III Ganja Rifle Regiment, the training detachment of the III Sheki Cavalry Regiment, an artillery battery and the commandant team of the divisional headquarters. The leadership of the division was not changed either. For example, Major General Amir Kazim Mirza was the head of supply of the Govanli-Qajar division and was also the commandant of the city until 20 May.^[24][25][26]

XI Red Army

The 178th and 180th infantry regiments of the 20th division were stationed in the south-eastern part of Ganja where Armenians lived, and the personnel of the commandant unit of the Taman Cavalry Brigade and the communication battalion were located in the northwestern part of Ganja, i.e. where the Turks (Azerbaijanis) lived. The III brigade commanded by Alexander Schirmacher consisted of 2,000 personnel, 30 machine guns and one light artillery division.^[24]

The 20 th Cavalry Brigade, located in the village of Zurnabad, 20 km southwest of Ganja, had 450 personnel, one cavalry battery and 8 machine guns. The division's artillery headquarters and a two-gun battery were located in the German colony Yelenendorf, located 5-6 km south of Ganja. On 25 May, the II regiment of the Taman Cavalry Brigade was also sent to Ganja.^[24]

See also

• Svaneti uprising of 1921 in Georgia.
• February Uprising 1921, in Armenia

References

1. Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyəti Ensiklopediyası (PDF). Vol. II. Baku: Lider nəşriyyat. 2004. p. 97-98.
2. Nasiman Yagublu (2004). Azərbaycan legionerləri (PDF). Baku: Çıraq nəşriyyatı. p. 317.
3. Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyəti Ensiklopediyası (PDF). Vol. I. Baku: Lider nəşriyyat. 2004. p. 425.
4. Mais Amrahov (2009). XX əsrdə Azərbaycanda milli-azadlıq hərəkatı (PDF). Baku: ADPU-nun nəşriyyatı. p. 154.
5. Rana Bayramova (2007). Azərbaycan rəhbərliyində ixtilaflar və daxili siyasi çəkişmələr: 1920-1925-ci illər (PDF). Baku: Elm nəşriyyatı. p. 19. ISBN 5-8066-1691-6.
6. Arnold Kadyshev (1960). Интервенция и гражданская война в Закавказье. Moscow: Воениздат. p. 294.
7. Mehman Suleymanov (1998). Azərbaycan Ordusu: 1918–1920 (PDF). Baku: Hərbi Nəşriyyat. p. 455.
8. Firdovsiyya Ahmadova (2018). (PDF). Baku: İrs jurnalı. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2019.
9. Fazail İbishov. Azərbaycan kəndində sosial-iqtisadi proseslər (1920-1930-cu illər). Baku. p. harv.
10. Elshan Mirishli (9–12 August 2016). "Bir daha Gəncə üsyanı haqqında" (in Azerbaijani). anl.az. from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
11. Dargah Gudratov (1973). Azərbaycanın qardaş sovet respublikaları ilə iqtisadi və mədəni əməkdaşlığı. Baku: Elm. p. 50.
12. Катибли М. (1964). Чингиз Ильдрым (биографический очерк). Baku: Azernashr. p. 60.
13. Nasiman Yagublu. Azərbaycan milli azadlıq hərəkatı ensiklopediyası. Baku: Ganun. ISBN 9789952365214.
14. Mais Amrahov (2009). XX əsrdə Azərbaycanda milli-azadlıq hərəkatı (PDF). Baku: ADPU-nun nəşriyyatı. p. 154.
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16. История Азербайджанав 3 т-х. Baku: Elm. 1963. p. 231.
17. Борьба за победу Советской власти в Азербайджане 1918–1920. Документы и материалы. Baku: Elm nəşriyyatı. 1967. p. 466.
18. (in Russian). knowbysight.info. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
19. Токаржевский, Евгений Алексеевич (1957). Из истории иностранной интервенции и гражданской войны в Азербайджане. Baku: Elm. p. 271.
20. Гусейнов, И. (1952). Труды Института истории партии при ЦК ВКП(б) Азербайджана. Baku. p. 52-53.
21. Arnold Kadyshev (1960). Интервенция и гражданская война в Закавказье. Moscow: Воениздат. p. 288.
22. Токаржевский, Евгений Алексеевич (1957). Из истории иностранной интервенции и гражданской войны в Азербайджане. Baku: Elm. p. 277.
23. Arnold Kadyshev (1960). Интервенция и гражданская война в Закавказье. Moscow: Воениздат. p. 289.
24. Кадишев, Арнольд (1960). Интервенция и гражданская война в Закавказье (in Russian). Moscow: Воениздат. p. 294.
25. Gasim Hajiyev, Anvar Chingizoghlu (2011). Qarabağlı hərbiçilər: çar və AXC ordusunun zabitləri (PDF). Baku: Təknur nəşriyyatı. p. 261.
26. Pərvin Darabadi (2013). Военно-политическая история Азербайджана (1917–1920 годы) (PDF) (in Russian). Baku: Şərq-Qərb nəşriyyatı. p. 269. ISBN 9952-432-44-5.