T HE C AUCASUS F RONT

WWI

DURING

AnessayongeopoliticalrivalryintheCaucasusin
theearly20 th century

ParvinDarabadi

URL = http://www.fravahr.org/spip.php?article549

0400549

hisarticlelooksatthegeopoliticalprocessesastheybeganintheCaucasianregion
in the early 20th century. It points out the main geostrategic goals pursued by
Russia (White and Red), Britain, Germany, and Turkey. It focuses particular
attention on explaining the reasons, conditions, and factors defining the geopolitical
antagonism over the Caucasus during and after World War I. The authors conclusions
mayalsohelptounderstandthedeepseatedreasonsforthecurrentgeopoliticalsituation
intheregion.

T HE C AUCASUS

IN THE

W ORLD W AR

ParvinDarabadi20062014

Thebeginningofthe20thcenturysawthetransformationoftheCaucasianregionintoa
majorgeostrategiccentrewhichhadgreatinfluenceonthemarchofWorldWarIandthe
militarypoliticaldevelopmentsintheMiddleEast.Itwasnocoincidencethatclassicof
German geopolitics Karl Haushofer placed the Caucasus on the world map of
battlefieldsonthebordersofcontinents. 1

During World War I, the Caucasus played a significant role in the designs of the
__________________________________
K.HAUSHOFER,GranitsyvikhgeograficheskomipoliticheskomznacheniiinOgeopolitike.
Rabotyraznykhlet,MyslPublishers,Moscow,2001,p.127.
1.

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conflictingmilitarypoliticalgroupstheEntenteandtheTripleAlliance.Inresponseto
RussiasaspirationtohoistthebannerofOrthodoxyoverConstantinople,theOttoman
Empire aspired to seize the Caucasus and Crimea, hoping to unite all the Muslim
peoples,includingtheVolgaandKamavalleyswiththeirTurkicpopulation,underits
leadership. 2 In the meantime, Germany was reckoning on the Caucasus and its natural
resources. A book entitled The Caucasus in the World War published in Weimar in 1916
said that our [the German] politicians should think about establishing a Christian
Georgia after Russias defeat to form a South Caucasian buffer state bordering on the
neutralCaucasianMuslimstatenearthebordersofRussiaandTurkey.Insodoing,the
Germans were hopeful that Turkey, with Germanys assistance, would be able to
forciblytaketheCaucasusoutofRussiasclaws. 3 Asawhole,theCaucasusplayedan
essential role in the Germandesigned strategically important railway, Baghdad
HamadanTehran,whichwastooperateasabranchoftheBaghdadrailway. 4
Nevertheless,theCaucasianfrontplayedaminorroleinWorldWarI,forthefateof
thecombatoperationswasdecidedontheWesternandEasternEuropeanfronts.
As for the events in the Caucasian theatre of war, Turkeys attempt to seize the
initiative at the initial stage of the war failed. In late 1914early 1915, the Russian
Caucasian army was successful in the Sarykamysh military operation. What is more, at
the end of January 1915, the Russian troops seized Tabriz, previously occupied by the
Turks, and forced the Turks out of Southern Azerbaijan. The same year, the Russian
expeditionary corps disembarked in Anzali, took Hamadan and Qom, and approached
Ispahan.Notethatalittleearlier,BritishtroopslandedinthesouthofIran.
In the spring of 1916, the Russian troops assumed the offensive all along the
Caucasian front, occupied Erzurum and later Trapezund. In the summer of the same
year,theCaucasianfrontadvancedalmost250kmintoTurkishterritory. 5

O CTOBER R EVOLUTION

ParvinDarabadi20062014

Meanwhile,thegrandiosesociopoliticalcataclysmsinRussiarightaftertheFebruary
Revolutionof1917andsubsequentOctoberBolshevistcoupandcivilwarintheformer
gigantic Empire paved the way for powerful centrifugal forces which resulted in the
separation of the countrys outlying districts, including the Transcaucasus. As for the
politicallineoftheWhiteGuardleaders,whoputforwardtheideaofrestoringaunited
and indivisible Russia, this idea coincided with the policy of the leaders of the
Bolshevistrevolution,loyaltotheslogansofworldrevolution.NotethattheBolshevist
leaderstriedatallcoststokeeptheTranscaucasusintheRussiangeopoliticalspace.
__________________________________
2.

IstoriaPervoymirovoyvoiny,Vol.1,Moscow,1975,p.385.

QuotedfromIstoriaAzerbaidzhana,in3volumes,Vol.2,IzdvoANAzerbaidzhanskoiSSR,Baku,
1960,p.742.
3.

4.

Cf.Ibid.,p.741.

5.

Cf.IstorianarodovSevernogoKavkaza.XYIIIvek1917g.,NaukaPublishers,Moscow,1988,p.540.

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Under the conditions of the continuing war, the geopolitical struggle between the
Entente and the Triple Alliance, and the appearance of a new militarypolitical factor
hostile to both groups, i.e. Soviet Russia, the struggle for the control of the entire
CaucasianCaspian region became top priority in the Middle East. Baku, the largest
industrial centre of the Caucasus with 80% of all Russias and 15% of the world oil
reserves on the eve of the war, served as the key for attaining this geostrategic goal. 6
Seizure of this largest industrialfinancial centre of the Caucasus and the Caspian port
wouldopenupgoodprospectsforestablishingcompletecontrolovertheentireCaspian
Sea.Besides,thereweredozensofoilrefineriesandotherlargeindustrialenterprisesin
Baku.Therailways,highways,andmaritimeroutesthatconnectedallthemainregionsof
theTranscaucasuswiththeNorthernCaucasus,aswellastheBakuBatum[nowBatumi]
oil pipeline built in 1907, the seizure of which could seriously threaten the economy of
theCaucasus,wereanotherimportantmilitarystrategicobjective.
Baku is a beautiful woman, and any foreign adventurer dreams of abducting her
fromherpaternalhome,ishowPeoplesCommissarforForeignAffairsoftheRussian
Federation G.V. Chicherin figuratively characterized the international importance of
Bakuintheperiodunderreview. 7 Inturn,theWhiteGuardsconsideredBakutobethe
black pearl of the Caspian. Baku oil reigned over the hearts and minds of European
and Asian politicians wrote General A.I. Denikin in his Ocherki russkoy smuty (Essays
on the Russian Disturbance).In the spring(1918 P.D.), competition and chasingeach
other began between the British from Anzali, Nuri Pasha (Envers brother) via
Azerbaijan, and the Germans via Georgia to their final destination Baku. 8 The
weakening of the Russian position in the Transcaucasus after the withdrawal of the
RussianarmyunitsfromtheCaucasianfrontandparticularlyaftertheconclusionofthe
GermanSoviet Peace Treaty of BrestLitovsk (this obscene treaty, as Lenin put it)
steppedupseparatism,ethnicclashes,andsociopoliticalconflictsinthisregion.
Inturn,WinstonChurchillwasapprehensivethatfromnowon(i.e.afterconclusionofthe
said treaty P.D.), the German armies could benefit from the granaries of Ukraine and

Siberia, from the oil of the Caspian littoral, and from all the resources of the huge
country. 9

ParvinDarabadi20062014

Undersuchfavourableconditions,conflictingGermanyandTurkey,ontheonehand,
and England, on the other, applied supreme efforts to establish themselves in the
Transcaucasus with their own farsighted geopolitical ambitions. Note that even
Germany and Turkey, members of one and the same bloc, differed in opinion; even
worse,theirrelationswerecharacterizedbysignsofhiddenrivalry,which,inturn,gave
theBritishahugeadvantage.
__________________________________
6.Cf.IE.A.TOKARJEVSKIY,IzistoriiinostrannoyinterventsiiigrazhdanskoyvoinyvAzerbaidzhane,Izdvo
ANAzerbaidzhanskoiSSR,Baku,1957,p.33;Azerbaycantarihi(TheHistoryofAzerbaijan),in7
volumes,Vol.5,ElmPublishers,Baku,2001,p.32.
7.

ZaryaVostoka,Tbilisi,3March,1925.

8.

A.I.DENIKIN,Ocherkirusskoysmuty,MyslPublishers,Moscow,1991,p.139.

9.

QuotedfromW.CHURCHILL,Mirovoykrizis,Moscow,Leningrad,1932,p.50.

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The plans of the Turkish command to occupy Vladikavkaz and Baku and thus gain
access to the western Caspian littoral would, in many respects, have contributed to
realizationofthePanTurkicideaunificationofallMuslimpeoplesoftheCaucasusand
TurkistanandcreationofaGreatTuranundertheaegisoftheTurkishSultan.
ThislineofTurkishforeignpolicyworriedTurkeysGermanallies,whotriedtouse
theTurkishtroopsintheirmilitaryoperationsagainsttheBritishinNorthPersia,asthe
GermanGeneralStaffplanned.InNorthPersia,theTurkscouldpossessanadvantage
over the British, General Ludendorff noted. However, Enver and the Turkish
governmentweremoreconcernedabouttheirPanIslamistgoalsintheCaucasusrather
thanthewaragainstEngland. 10

B RITISH A MBITIONS
One of the traditional priority directions of British policy in theMiddle East,consistent
with its major geopolitical concept of Eurasia as a whole, was Englands aspiration to
seize control over the Transcaucasus and, particularly, Baku (Azerbaijan) and the
Caspian.
Thus, former British military representative to Russia, General Knox, pointed out in
hisbookWiththeRussianArmy:19141917thatthepoliticallineofEnglandthatusedto
thinkonascaleofcenturiesandcontinentswas,throughoutthe19thearly20thcenturies,
aimedatdeprivingRussiaofitsaccesstothehighseas.Thisisnotthefirsttimethatthe
CaspianandtheroutesleadingtoithaveattractedtheattentionoftheBritish,theLondon
Times recalled. 11 The future of Great Britain will not be decided in Europe, Lord
Curzon wrote, but on the continent where our first migrants arrived and where their
descendants returned as conquerors. Meanwhile, Turkistan, Afghanistan, the Caspian,
andPersiaarechessmeninaworldchampionshipmatch. 12
The socalled Eastern Committee chaired by Lord Curzon was set up in late March
1918tocoordinateEnglandsmilitarypoliticalactivityinthehugegeopoliticalspacethat
embracedtheNearandMiddleEast,aswellastheCaucasusandCentralAsia.Foreign
Minister Arthur Balfour, his deputy, Lord Cecil, Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister
Lord Harding, Chief of Imperial General Staff Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, Minister for
IndiaEdricMontague,andChiefofMilitaryIntelligenceMajorGeneralJohnMacDonne
werepermanentmembersoftheCommittee. 13 Itshouldberecalledthatthroughout1918

ParvinDarabadi20062014

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10.QuotedfromE.LUDENDORFF,Moivospominaniaovoine,19141918gg.,Vol.2,Moscow,1924,p.
187.
11.

Cf.Times,10September,1918.

12.QuotedfromIA.L.MIKHAILOV,Kvoprosuopodgotovkeangliiskoyinterventsiiv
Azerbaidzhanev1918godu,IzvestiaANAzerb.SSR,Seriaistorii,filosofiiiprava(Proceedingsof
theAzerbaijanAcademyofSciences.Historical,PhilosophicalandLawSeries),N2,1979,p.31.

Cf.S.V.LAVROV,PolitikaAngliinaKavkazeivSredneiAziiv19171921godakh,Voprosy
istorii,N5,1979,p.81(seealso:A.H.ULLMAN,AngloSovietRelations,19171921,Vol.I,Princeton,
1961,p.307).
13.

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1919therewasnounityofviewsontheCaucasusandIraninBritishgovernmentcircles.
OpposingCurzonsambitiousprojectsinthisregioninDecember1918,MinisterforIndia
Liberal Montague noted: As for the defence of India, I do not think it necessary to
considertheCaucasus.Tomythinking,thisregionisfullyoutsideourinterests. 14 This
wasattributabletothefactthatMontaguerepresentedtheBritishcircleswhich,interms
of the struggle for independence of the British colonies from Cairo to Calcutta,
considereditnecessarytopursueamoreflexiblepolicyintheEastandseekalliesamong
thelocalnationalmovements.
The idea of creating a compact belt of lands under British control by combining the
three Cs(Cape TownCairoCalcutta) withafourth C Canberragave birth toa
new motive in British policy in the Middle East, i.e. establishing its control over the
Caspian and Transcaucasus, especially oilrich Baku. The allies arrived at their victory
on waves of oil, Curzon inferred in late 1918. 15 It was no coincidence that during the
meeting of the Eastern Committee to discuss Transcaucasian policy, its chairman, Lord
Curzon, under the pretext of protecting India, put forward a plan of longterm
occupation of the key points and communication routes of the region. In doing so, he
stressedtheimportanceofBakuanditsenvironswithvastresources. 16 Balfourwasof
the same view, saying that Batum, Baku, and the railway and oil pipeline between
themcannotbemissed.HisdeputyCecilspokeplainly:EnglandshouldpossessBaku
because of its vast oil reserves. 17 It should be kept in mind that during World War I,
Englands share in Bakus oilfields made up 60% of all investments. 18 As viewed by
French senator Beranger, England was eager to create a gigantic oil region stretching
fromEgypttoBurma,fromtheCaucasustothePersianGulfincounterbalancetothe
American oil empire. 19 Of interest is the fact that the Americans also considered it the
alliestopprioritytasktoseizethemajoroilregionsoftheCaucasus.Forthistohappen,
TheNewYorkTimesstressed,itwasessentialtopreparelargeforcestobeusedinNorth
PersiaandtheCaucasus.Perhapsthiswasthemajordirectionoftheallies. 20
Onthewhole,Curzonsgeopoliticalplanprovidedforthecreationofachainofbuffer
states stretching from the northern borders of India to the Mediterranean to serve as a
shieldagainstattacksonIndiaandasaconnectinglinkbetweenGreatBritain,Australia,
andNewZealand. 21 TheCaucasianCaspianregion,whichoccupiedaparticularplacein
__________________________________
QuotedfromS.V.LAVROV,BorbavpoliticheskikhkrugakhVelikobritaniivokruganglo
sovetskikhperegovorov19201921godov,Voprosyistorii,N6,1977,p.74(seealso:A.H.ULLMAN,
op.cit.,Vol.II,PrincetonOxford,1968,p.79).
14.

ParvinDarabadi20062014

15.

QuotedfromA.A.FURSENKO,Neftianyetrestyimirovaiapolitika,Moscow,Leningrad,1965,p.433.

16.QuotedfromN.K.BUZYNINA,K.B.VINOGRADOV,LordCurzon,Novaiainoveishaiaistoria,N5,
1973,p.119.
17.

Ibid.

18.

Cf.R.G.SUNY,TheBakuCommune,19171918,Princeton,1972,p.5.

19.

QuotedfromN.K.BUZYNINA,K.B.VINOGRADOV,op.cit.,p.119.

20.

Cf.TheNewYorkTimes,14July,1918.

21.

Cf.IA.L.MIKHAILOV,op.cit.,p.32.

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Britainsmilitarystrategicplansintheperiodunderreview,formedthepivot.According
toTheTimes,theCaspianwasacentrecrossedbymajortraderoutes,andBritainsrecent
interestinthisinlandseadidnotmeanthatithadnotknownanythingabouttheregions
commercial and political significance before. As the paper put it, Britain had long been
awareofit,sincetheCaspianwasoneofBritainsoldestinterests. 22 InJune1918,British
Secretary of State for War A. Milner informed the command of the British troops in
Mesopotamia that His Majestys government attaches great importance to seizing
permanent control over the Caspian. 23 For this reason, the mission of the military
expeditionsofGeneralsL.DunstervilleandW.MallesonwastooccupythelargeCaspian
ports of Anzali, Baku, and Krasnovodsk (now Turkmenbashi) and seize the entire
Caspianfleet. 24
First,thiswouldmakeitpossibletosubstantiallyweakenthepositionofirreconcilable
rivals Germany and Turkey in the Near and Middle East, and prevent a possible
TurkishGermanattempttooutflankWestIranandfurtherinvadeIndiaviatheCaspian
RegionandKhorasan.Second,thiswouldhelptoneutralizetherevolutionaryBolshevist
threat from Soviet Russia to its eastern colonial possessions. Third, control over the
Caspian would enable the British to secure the littoral flanks of their troops in the
TranscaucasusandTurkistanandmakedirectcontactwiththeWhitearmiesofGeneral
A.DenikinintheNorthernCaucasusandofAdmiralA.KolchakintheUrals,unitethem
at the mouth of the Volga, and thus cut off the south of Russia from its central Red
provinces.
TheaforesaidblendedwithBritainsmajorgeopoliticalgoalsintheEasttoestablish
itselfintheNearandMiddleEast,separatetheCaucasusandTurkistanfromRussia,and
seize the oilsources of Iran, Mesopotamia,andAzerbaijan. Thispolicy was justified by
the traditional allegation about the need to protect the approaches to British India
against the attacks of GermanTurkish troops via the TransCaspian, as well as
liquidation of Bolshevism to the east of the Black Sea, a meeting of the Cabinet of
Ministers said on 13 November, 1918. 25 In accordance with a secret BritishFrench
conventionof23December,1917(Paris),underwhichRussiawasdividedintozonesof
action, Great Britain seized control over the Don, the Caucasus, and Turkistan, i.e. a
greaterpartoftheCaspianregion. 26 Insodoing,theBritishCabinetattachedparticular
importance to Baku and the Caspian as having great military, political, and economic
importance. 27 In December 1917, the Cabinet decided to send intervention troops to
Baku and the Transcaucasus. Under the instructions of 24 December, 1917, the military
expeditionformedbytheBritishinBaghdadandcomposedofthecomparativelysmall,

ParvinDarabadi20062014

__________________________________
22.

Cf.Times,29September,1918.

23.

QuotedfromS.V.LAVROV,PolitikaAngliinaKavkazeivSredneyAziiv19171921gg.,p.83.

24.

Cf.L.I.MIROSHNIKOV,AngliiskaiaekspansiavIrane,19141920gg.,Moscow,1961,pp.114115.

S.V.LAVROV,BorbavpoliticheskikhkrugakhVelikobritaniivokruganglosovetskikhperegovorov1920
1921gg.,p.60.
25.

26.Cf.GrazhdanskaiavoinaivoennaiainterventsiavSSSR,SovetskaiaEncyclopediaPublishers,
Moscow,1983,p.38.
27.

Cf.F.D.VOLKOV,TainyUaithollaiDauningStrit,Moscow,1980,p.50.

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butcracktroopsofGeneralDunsterville,shouldhavemadeitswaytowardtheBaghdad
Bakudestination.Meanwhile,GeneralMallesonsdetachmentwastogotoMashadand
furtherontotheEastCaspian.

C ONTROL

OF THE

C ASPIAN S EA

In the summer of 1918, the British occupied the northern Iranian port of Anzali in an
attempttodisembarktheirtroopsincaseofasuccessfulantiBolshevistoverturninBaku
arrangedbytheblocofSocialistRevolutionaries,MensheviksandDashnaks.
General Dunstervilles memoirs clearly defined Bakus geopolitical importance:
SeizureofBakuwouldresultincuttingoffaccesstotheoilreservesandclosingthedoors
toCentralAsia(italicsmineP.D.). 28
It would be appropriate to recall that the government of Soviet Russia attached
paramountimportancetoBaku.DuringameetingintheKremlinwithColonelR.Robins,
headoftheAmericanRedCrossMissioninRussia,Leninstressed:Whatistheeconomic
importance of Baku for the Russian Soviet Republic? It is oil, light, and energy. 29 The
lossofoilrichBakuwouldinevitablyleadtothecollapseoftheentireSovieteconomy,to
say nothing of the geopolitical losses for the entire CaucasianCaspian region. By
renderingallround,includingmilitary,aidtotheBakuCouncilofPeoplesCommissars,
which declared the Baku province an integral part of the R.S.F.S.R., the Bolshevist
government tried to turn Baku into a springboard for further spreading its influence to
the entire Transcaucasus. By placing special emphasis on the region, the Soviet
governmenttookdrasticmeasurestostrengthenthedefensivecapabilityofstrategically
importantAstrakhanandthecombatreadinessofitsnavyintheCaspian.

ParvinDarabadi20062014

In the spring of 1918, the militarypolitical situation in the Transcaucasus became

increasinglyaggravated.WithdrawaloftheRussianarmyunitsfromtheCaucasianfront
andoccupationofErzurumbythe36thTurkishdivisionon12March,1918,enabledthe
TurkisharmytopenetratedeepintotheTranscaucasus.On14April,theTurksoccupied
Batum,thenKars,Ardahan,andAlexandropol.
On 14 May, 1918, the National Council of Georgia appealed to Germany and asked
this countrys leaders to draw their troops (which had occupied part of Ukraine, the
Crimea, and Rostov) closer to the Northern Caucasus, approach the Georgian borders
and thus protect Georgia from external threats. On 25 May, 3,000 German soldiers
arrived in Poti, and on 30 May, a German diplomatic mission arrived in Tbilisi. Soon
after, all of Georgias railways and water transport, including the Chiaturi manganese
mines,fellunderGermancontrol. 30
__________________________________
GENERALMAJORDENSTERVILLE.BritanskiyimperializmvBakuiPersii.19141917,SovetskiyKavkaz
Publishers,Tbilisi,1925,p.122.
28.

29.

Pravda,21April,1989.

Cf.A.B.KADISHEV,InterventsiaigrazhdanskaiavoinavZakavkaze,VoenizdatPublishers,Moscow,
1960,pp.6568.
30.

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German-Turkish rivalry
Bringing troops into Georgia, as witnessed by General Ludendorff, provided Germany
with the opportunity, regardless of Turkey, to possess Caucasian raw materials and
havesomecontroloveroperationoftherailwaythatpassedthroughTbilisi.Thisrailway
wasofparticularimportanceforthewarinNorthPersia,soitsoperationunderGerman
control would be more effective than with Turkish assistance. Finally, we should try to
secureourpositionwiththehelpofGeorgiantroopstobeusedagainstEngland. 31
The situation was rather peculiar, especially since Germany was jealous of Turkeys
planstooccupyBaku.ThepointisthatseizureofBakuwasapartofthestrategicplanof
the German military command. It was exhaustion of their fuel supplies that compelled
the Germans to commission the BatumTbilisiBaku railway as soon as possible
However,themainissuewastoattackBaku. 32
ThepointisthatinlateMay1918,theGermansplannedtomovetheirforces,afterthe
occupation of Baku, to the north Iranian port of Anzali controlled by the British, with
subsequentinvasionofIraqandaccesstothePersianGulfintheregionofBasratothus
destroyBritainspositionsintheMiddleEast. 33 However,thelackofnecessaryforcesin
the Caucasus and aggravation of the situation on the Western front prevented the
Germansfromaccomplishingtheirgoals.Theyhadnotimeto movetheirtroopstothe
Transcaucasus to attack Baku (two divisions and several regiments). Nuri occupied
Baku before we finished transporting our troops, said Ludendorff regretfully, in
addition, subsequent developments in Bulgaria made us transfer these units to
Rumania. 34

ParvinDarabadi20062014

After the declaration of the Georgian Republic on 26 May, 1918, and the Azerbaijan
andArmenianRepublicson28May,aqualitativelynewmilitarypoliticalsituationarose
intheTranscaucasus.ThemaineffortsofF.KhoyskiysgovernmentinAzerbaijanwere
directedtowardestablishingsovereigntyovertheentireterritoryofthecountryand,first
ofall,itscapitalBakuwhichwasseizedbytheBolshevistsintheperiodunderreview.
TheinterestsofAzerbaijanandTurkeycoincidedhere,whichwasreflectedintheTreaty
on Peace and Friendship of 4 June, 1918 concluded in Batum. Under this document,
Turkeycommitteditselftorenderingallroundaid,includingmilitary(underclauseIVof
the Treaty), to the newly formed Republic. This mission was carried out by the United
TurkishAzerbaijaniCaucasianIslamicArmy,formedinJune1918inGanjaandheaded
by LieutenantGeneral Nuri Pasha. After occupation of Baku, the Turkish command
planned to advance to the Northern Caucasus and further on to Turkistan via the
Caspian.
The Germans, as the Turks allies, suggested that they use their military units to
__________________________________
31.

E.LUDENDORFF,op.cit.,p.188.

32.

Ibid.

33.Cf.N.YCEER,BirincidnyasavandaOsmanlordusununAzerbaycanveDastanharekat,
Genelkurmaybasimevi,Ankara,1996,S.59.

QuotedfromG.V.PIPIA,GermanskiyimperializmvZakavkazev19101918gg.,NaukaPublishers,
Moscow,1978,p.130.
34.

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secure the rear of the Turkish units attacking Baku in JuneJuly 1918. If successful, the
GermansintendedtoestablishtheircontroloverthestrategicallyimportantBatumBaku
mainrailwayline.However,theTurksguessedwhattheirallywasplanningandrejected
thissuggestion,sayingthattheyhadenoughsoldiersattheirdisposaltooccupyBaku. 35
SotheGermanscouldonlyhopethattheCaucasianIslamicArmywouldbedefeated
ontheapproachestoBaku.CountFriedrichvonSchulenburg,ConsulGeneraltoTbilisi,
wroteinhisreporttoBerlinof4July,1918thatitappearshighlyunlikelythattheTurks
willsucceedinseizingBaku;itwouldbegoodiftheyweredefeatedthere. 36 Ifwecome
to an amicable agreement with the Bolshevists, the German diplomat maintained,
Bakus oil sources will be in our hands, safe and sound. If, against our wishes, the
Bolshevistshavetoleavethecity,theyaresuretoburnBaku,soneithertheTurks,nor
we will be able to benefit from the oil. 37 As further developments showed,
Schulenburgs apprehensions proved groundless, since the Baku Bolshevists did not
resorttoextrememeasures.
Meanwhile,thefailureonthefrontresultedinachangeinpowerinBaku.On31July,
1918,theBolshevistCouncilofPeoplesCommissarsheadedbyS.G.Shaumianresigned,
and the coalition government made up of rightist SocialRevolutionaries, Mensheviks,
andDashnaks,calledtheDictatorshipoftheCentralCaspianandPresidiumoftheProvisional
ExecutiveCommitteeoftheSovietofWorkersandSoldiersDeputies,cametopowerinthecity.
Asperaprioragreement,thisgovernmentinvitedtheBritishtodefendthecityagainst
theTurkisharmy.

Turkish army in Baku

ParvinDarabadi20062014

On 4 August, a British detachment arrived from Anzali and disembarked in Baku. By

midAugust, other military units of the socalled Dunstervilleforce, numbering slightly
over one thousand bayonets with 16 ordnance and several armoured cars, were
concentratedhere. 38
However,duetoinsufficientnumbers,theBritishtroopsfailedtoholdBaku.Onlythe
highbattletraininganddeterminationoftheBritishmilitaryunitsenabledthemtohold
ontothefrontlineforamonth.However,itwasevidentthattheBritishforceswerenot
large enough to protect the city. Thesupreme British military circles realized what was
goingon.AtelegramfromtheWarMinistryof6July,1918instructedDunsterville,ifthe
enemyoccupiedBaku,todestroyalltheoilpipelines,reservoirs,andrefineries,butnot
the oil wells. In so doing, the British were keeping in mind the longterm interests of
British oil companies. 39 Besides, the British also took into account the militarystrategic
factorthatTurkeywouldinevitablybedefeatedsoonintheworldwar,sotheydidnot
wanttoshedbloodfortheirlocalallies.
__________________________________
35.

Cf.G.V.PIPIA,opcit.,p.125.

36.

Ibid.,p.126.

37.

Ibid.

38.

Cf.[L.]DUNSTERVILLE,op.cit.,p.251.

39.

Cf.S.V.LAVROV,PolitikaAngliinaKavkazeivSredneyAziiv19171921gg.,p.82.

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In the meantime, the Turkish military command concentrated huge groups (5th and
15 incomplete divisions with 10,000 bayonets and 40 ordnances) on the approaches to
Baku. 40 After preliminary artillery preparation, the Turkish troops attacked Baku in the
earlymorningof14Septemberandwithinadayseizedthecityssuburbs.Intheevening,
the British evacuated from Baku and went to Anzali, and the Caucasian Islamic Army
entered Baku on 15 September. On 17 September, the Azerbaijan National Government
movedtoBakufromGanja.
th

Atthesametime,dramaticeventsofdiplomaticnaturebrokeoutaroundBaku.Asearly
as27August,1918,theSovietgovernmentsignedanadditionalagreementwithGermany
to the Treaty of BrestLitovsk, under which the Germans resolved, in exchange for one
quarteroftheoilandpetroleumproductsproducedinBaku,nottobackanythirdpower
intheCaucasusandnottoallowtheTurkstoentertheregion. 41 However,owingtothe
rapiddevelopmentsontheWorldWarIfronts,thetreatyremainedonpaper.Inturn,the
occupationofBakubytheTurkishtroopscausedsharpprotestintheSovietgovernment,
which sent a note to Turkey on 20 September, 1918 saying that Turkey had grossly
violated the Treaty of BrestLitovsk, which had essentially been denounced. 42 On 21
September, an identical note was sent to the German government, which accused the
latterofnoncompliancewiththeTreatyof27August,1918.NotethatArticle14ofthe
TreatysaidthattheGermanswouldtakemeasurestocompeltheTurksretreatbeyond
theKuraRiverline. 43
FollowingtheoccupationofBaku,theTurkishtroopsassumedtheoffensivealongthe
western littoral of the Caspian Sea, invaded Dagestan, and, in October 1918, occupied,
first, Derbent and, later, Port Petrovsk. In so doing, the Turkish troops dislodged a
Cossack detachment headed by L. Bicherakhov from Port Petrovsk, who fled to the
BritishinNorthTurkey. 44 However,TurkeyasaloserinWorldWarIhadtowithdraw
its troops from the Caucasus, including from Baku and Batum, to comply with the
provisions of the Armistice of Mudros concluded on 30 October, 1918 on board the
BritishcruiserAgamemnon.OfinterestisthefactthattheSovietgovernment,asfarback
as early October 1918, was aware of the existence of a secret agreement between the
Entente countries and Turkey on transfer of Baku to it. 45 On 16 November, 1918, the
AngloFrench squadron entered the Black Sea, and on 17 November, units of the 39th
infantrybrigadefromAnzali(1,000Britishand800Indiansoldiersandofficers)headed
by commander of the British troops in North Persia, MajorGeneral W.M. Thomson,
disembarked in Baku again. Before leaving for Baku, the British general voiced the
position of the allied powers, declaring that Baku with its oilfields will be occupied,
whiletherestofthecountrywillremainunderthecontroloftheAzerbaijangovernment
ParvinDarabadi20062014

__________________________________
Cf.IE.F.LUDSHUVEIT,TurtsiavgodyPervoymirovoyvoiny.19141918gg.,MoscowUniversity
Publishers,Moscow,1966,pp.254255;N.YCEER,op.cit.,pp.145155.
40.

41.

Cf.IE.A.TOKARJEVSKIY,op.cit.,p.152.

42.

Cf.DokumentyvneshneypolitikiSSSR,Vol.1,Moscow,1957,pp.491492.

43.

Ibid.,pp.492493.

44.

Cf.N.YCEER,op.cit.,pp.144145.

45.

V.I.LENIN,CompleteWorks,Vol.50,Moscow,p.372.

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andrelatedtroops. 46
It is significant that in his first statements, W.M. Thomson plainly stressed that the
alliedtroopsareonRussianlandandarrivedintheCaucasustoensuretotalsecurity
on this Russian territory located between the Black and Caspian seas. 47 A final
decision, the British generals appeal said, will be adopted by a peace conference to
settle the problems of this territory. 48 As for the local government, it was pointed out
thatAzerbaijanwillnotbeexcludedfromthedebatesovertheprincipleofnationalself
determinationattheParisPeaceConference. 49

British Transcaucasian occupation

After British troops occupied other towns of the Transcaucasus Batum, Tbilisi, Ganja,
Nakhchivan,Shusha,etc.,theBritishpaidspecialattentiontobuildinguptheirmilitary
mightintheregion.NotethattheBritishnavywasconcentratedinBatum,whichwasthe
principalbaseoftheBritishtroopsintheCaucasusandtheportthroughwhichBakuoil
was transported to the West. In late 1918, Englands army in the Transcaucasus
numbered 20,000. It was no mere coincidence that on 14 February, 1919, Churchill sent
his first dispatch as Minister for War and Air to Chief of Imperial General Staff Henry
Wilson,whichdemandedthatChurchillbeinformedabouttheactualroleoftheBritish
ArmedForceskeepingcontrolovertheBakuBatumrailway,aswellasthatoftheBritish
NavyinchargeoftheCaspianseacoast. 50
On the whole, Churchill highly appreciated the militarystrategic importance of the
Transcaucasian occupation. The British troops disembarked in Batum and quickly
captured the Caucasian railway from the Black to the Caspian seas, in other words, to
Baku. They set up a navy, which gave them priority in the Caspian Sea. The British
troopspossessedtheworldslargeststrategiclines. 51
After taking control of the Caspian navy and 150 trade ships, the British began
urgentlycreatingtheirownnavyintheCaspian.AftertheoccupationofPortPetrovskon
13 January, 1919 on the island of Chechen (near the Dagestani seacoast), the British
establishedtheirnavalbasethere.Asearlyasthespringof1919,theBritishhad18large
battle units at their disposal in the Caspian Sea, including 5 auxiliary cruisers and 4
gunboats,accordingtoSovietintelligencedata. 52

ParvinDarabadi20062014

Thus,EnglandultimatelysucceededinsecuringitsnavalpresenceintheCaspianon
the third attempt (the first was in the 1730s1740s; and the second in the early 19th
__________________________________
46.

QuotedfromA.RAEVSKIY,Angliiskaiainterventsiaimusavatskoepravitelstvo,Baku,1927,p.33.

47.

Quotedfrom:Azerbaijan,19November,1918.

48.

Azerbaijan,24November,1918.

49.

QuotedfromA.RAEVSKIY,op.cit.,p.87.

50.

QuotedfromF.D.VOLKOV,op.cit.,p.87.

51.

QuotedfromW.CHURCHILL,op.cit.,p.105.

Cf.DirektivyGlavnogokomandovaniaKrasnoyArmii(19171920gg.),Sbornikdokumentov,
VoenizdatPublishers,Moscow,1969,p.156.
52.

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century).
The establishment of British control over the BakuKrasnovodskAnzali triangle
affordedtheBritisharealopportunitytotakecontrolovertheCaspianwaterareawith
all the ensuing militarystrategic advantages. This enabled the British to provide the
WhiteGuardarmiesofDenikinandKolchakwithweapons,ammunition,andpetroleum
products. Besides, the presence of the British army also served the useful purpose of
preventing combat operations between the Voluntary Army and the troops of the
Caucasian Republics, Commander of the British Army to the Transcaucasus General
J.M.Milnesaid. 53
The point is that in the end of 1918 appreciable changes occurred in Britains policy
with respect to the Transcaucasian republics. On 22 January, 1919, General Milne
declared that no interference in the domestic affairs of the Transcaucasian states will
takeplace. 54
SuchanessentialchangeinBritishpolicyintheregioncouldnothelpbutarousethe
suspicionofDenikinssupportersregardingthetrueintentionsoftheBritishwithrespect
toRussia,andnotwithoutreason.Forexample,BritishPrimeMinisterLloydGeorge,like
Lord Curzon, believed that an undivided Russia would pose a deadly threat to the
BritishEmpireandeventhewholeworld.DuringameetingoftheCabinetofMinisters
on25July,1919,heplainlydeclaredthathewasworriedthataunitedRussiawouldpose
adeadlythreattothemintheEast. 55 Besides,EnglandintendedtograntIransomeofthe
territoryattheexpenseofRussiaandTurkeywhenidentifyingthebordersofArmenia,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkistan. 56 Meanwhile, conclusion of the AngloPersian
Treaty of 9 August, 1919 increasingly consolidated Britains position in the South
Caspian.Inturn,DenikinchargedtheBritishwithwhippingupseparatismamongthe
ethnographic groups of the Transcaucasus, and as a result, a real force (the Voluntary
Army is meant P.D.) was the only way remaining to hoist the Russian flag in the
Transcaucasus. 57

ParvinDarabadi20062014

Meanwhile,theBritishbackedtheDashnakrulersofArmeniaineverypossibleway,
who established allied relations with Denikin and were ready to grant their countrys
territory, as well as military and economic potential, to the Entente. As a reward,
ArmeniareceivedtheKarsRegionandapartofErivanProvincefromEngland.Whatis
more,inthespringof1919,thealliesgaveeveryencouragementtoArmeniasaggressive
actionsagainstNakhchivanandZangezur.
AsviewedbyheadsoftheFrenchGeneralStaff,Englandwaspursuingtwogoalsin
theCaucasus:first,todriveRussiabacktotheNorthernCaucasusandthusencourage
GeorgiaandAzerbaijansindependencetrends;second,topreventthecreationofastate
__________________________________
53.

QuotedfromDialogue(Moscow),N.2,1993,p.73.

54.

QuotedfromAzerbaijan,25January,1919.

55.

Cf.S.V.LAVROV,PolitikaAngliinaKavkazeivSredneyAziiv19171921gg.,p.87.

56.

Ibid.,p.89.

57.

Azerbaycanarxivi,N12,1988,p.97.

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intheregionactingasanallyofrevivedRussiaandthusendangeringEnglandsrelations
withtheMuslimworld. 58
As a whole, the Entente sought to create a sort of safety belt of South Caucasian
states,whichwouldbethemajorelementofagiganticgeopoliticalarcencompassing
theBalticstatesBlackSeaCaucasusCaspianCentralAsia.
AsviewedbyheadoftheRussianNationalCouncilinBaku,ConstitutionalDemocrat
B. Baykov, Britains attitude toward Russia, particularly toward Denikin and the
VoluntaryArmy,lackedsincerity,andtheirpolicywithrespecttoBakuwasambivalent
[] The problem is that this political line was backed by the British military who had
experience of service in the colonies and, particularly, in India, where hatred of the
RussiansandbeliefintheRussianthreattoIndiaformedthebasisofGeneralThomsons
activity. 59 Note that the fierce RussianBritish confrontation in Central Asia in the
second half of the 19th century, which nearly ended in open warfare between the two
powers,wasvividlyengravedonourmemory.

T HE O IL

OF

B AKU

ParvinDarabadi20062014

Intheperiodunderreview,theoilfactoroccupiedanimportantplaceinBritishpolicyin
the CaucasianCaspian region, though Curzon believed that England was not attaching
the appropriate importance to the oil and oil pipeline (meaning the BakuBatum oil
pipeline).TheoilstrategywasanintegralpartoftheeffortstoestablishBritishhegemony
intheNearandMiddleEast,aswellasofthecompetitivestrugglewithFranceandthe
U.S.Intheperiodunderconsideration,thegeopoliticaloddswereinfavourofEngland.
Chairman of the BibiHeybat Oil Company Herbert Allen pointed out late in 1918 that
aftertheBritishtroopsappearedintheCaucasusfromBatumintheBlackSeatoBakuin
the Caspian Sea and from Vladikavkaz to Tbilisi the British government had an
excellentopportunitytoinfluencethesituationinvolvingoilproductioninGrozny,Baku,
andtheCaspianoilfields. 60
Meanwhile,inthesummerof1919,theBritishCabinetofMinistersadoptedadecision
on withdrawal of the British troops from the Transcaucasus. This was, first of all,
attributabletothechangingmilitarypoliticalsituationinRussiaduetotheachievements
ofDenikinsarmy,whichmadetheRedArmygoovertothestrategicdefence;second,to
the growth of the nationalliberation movements in the colonial countries of the East
Egypt, India, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Iran which, in turn, called for mobilization of
considerable militarymaterial resources; and third, to the fact that the British
governmenthadtotakeaccountofthemassmovementHandsoffSovietRussia!and
the populations and armys complete exhaustion after the war. Also, there was
__________________________________
58.

Svobodnaiamysl,N16,1991,p.37.

59.B.BAYKOV,VospominaniaorevoliutsiivZakavkaze(19171920gg.),inArkhivrusskoy
revoliutsii,Vol.9,Berlin,1922,p.164;S.V.LAVROV,BorbavpoliticheskikhkrugakhVelikobritanii
vokruganglosovetskikhperegovorov19201921gg.,p.74.
60.

Cf.FinancialNews,24December,1918.

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EnglandsfiascowarinAfghanistanin1919,whichresultedintheindependenceofthe
latter.
Atthesametime,EnglandwasnotgoingtoloseitspositionintheTranscaucasus.The
government decided to leave some British troops in Batum, which served as its basein
theBlackSea.BycontrollingtheoilpipelineterminalfromBaku,theBritishcouldcontrol
theexportofAzerbaijanioil.Alongwiththis,inMay1919EnglandsuggestedthatItaly
senditstroopstoreplacetheBritishones.Atfirst,Orlandosgovernmentgaveitsconsent
tosendItaliantroopstotheTranscaucasusandevenpreparedthe12tharmycorpsforthat
purpose, however, Nittis government, which replaced it, only sent a mission to clarify
thesituationintheregion. 61
As for the extremely complicated relations between Denikin and the Azerbaijan
Republic, the British command eased the tension by establishing a 5mile demarcation
line between the territory occupied by the White Guard troops and Azerbaijan and
Georgia.
Inmid1919,theU.S.alsobeganshowinganinterestintheTranscaucasus.Whereby,
duringtheirsummervisitstotheregion,thespecialmissionsheadedbyKingCraneand
GeneralHarbordbelievedthatonlyextendingtheU.S.mandatetoTurkeyandtheentire
Transcaucasus might justify all the money to be spent on dispatching large military
contingentstotheregion 62 (therewereplanstosend70,000Americansoldiersthere). 63
During talks with Prime Minister of Armenia in the summer of 1919, Colonel V.H.
GaskelplainlystatedthatfromnowontheU.S.anditstroopswouldberesponsiblefor
Transcaucasian affairs. 64 Late in September 1919, on the instructions of President
Woodrow Wilson, an American mission arrived in Baku. The mission was headed by
Chief of the U.S. General Staff in France General Harbord, who believed that a strong
handisrequiredtoruletheCaucasus. 65
OnNovember1st,1919,ameetingofthecouncilofdelegationheadstotheParisPeace
Conference adopted a decision on extending the powers of High Commissioner to
Armenia, American Gaskel, to Azerbaijan and Georgia. 66 The participants in the
conference put forward a project to create a U.S. GeneralGovernorship in Nakhchivan
headedbyColonelDaly. 67 AlthoughtheAmericansfailedtofullyattaintheirgoalsinthe
Transcaucasus (England and France were jealous of the Americans), they rendered
immense financial and military aid to Armenia. Note that in late 1920early 1921,
Armenia began active combat operations against Turkey in the Kars Region. However,

ParvinDarabadi20062014

__________________________________
61.

Cf.A.B.KADISHEV,op.cit.,p.217.

62.

Ibid.,p.176.

63.

Cf.IE.A.TOKARJEVSKIY,op.cit.,p.239.

64.

Cf.Zashchitazavoevaniysotsialisticheskikhrevoliutsiy,NaukaPublishers,Moscow,1986,p.188.

65.

QuotedfromAzerbaijan,23October,1919.

66.

Cf.B.STEIN,RusskiyvoprosnaParizhskoymirnoykonferentsii(19191920gg.),Moscow,1949,p.346.

67.

Cf.Azerbaijan,23October,1919.

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Armeniaexperiencedcompletepoliticalandmilitarycollapseatthistime.
Under the real threat of Bolshevist occupation of the entire space between the Black
and Caspian seas and Turkistan by the spring of 1920, Caucasian expert Lord Curzon
warnedhiscolleaguesintheCabinetofMinistersthatshouldcontrolovertheCaspianbe
lost,BritainwouldsoondiscoverthatthewholeofitsEasternEmpirehadtakenaturn
fortheworse. 68 AmeetingoftheBritishmilitaryelitewasheldon17February,1920in
Paris.ThemeetingwasattendedbyMinisterforWarandAirWinstonChurchill,Field
MarshalHenryWilson,FirstLordoftheAdmiraltyWalterLong,AdmiralDavidBeatty,
andmembersoftheTranscaucasianstatesdelegations,whodiscussedissuesrelatingto
thesestatesmilitarypotential,aswellastheorganizationofmilitarynavaldefenceofthe
AzerbaijanilittoraloftheCaspianandBatum. 69
Considering that the Red Armys access to the Transcaucasus threatened Britains
geopolitical interests in the Near and Middle East, Curzon offered to strengthen the
BritishgarrisoninBatum,sendadditionaltroops,includingaviation,totheCaucasusor
Persia, secure Bakus protection, and supply Georgia and Azerbaijan with weapons.
Curzon was backed by Walter Long and Admiral Beatty, who also sought to retain
British control over the oil of the Persian Gulf and Baku for the needs of the British
Navy. 70
TheEnglish,FrenchradioreportedinJanuary1920,arefeverishlycompletingtheir
preparations to dispatch tens of thousands of soldiers to the Caucasus. The British and
the Bolshevists are chasing each other to reach the BatumTbilisiBaku railway [] No
oneotherthantheBritishisshowingsuchvitalinterestinclosingaccesstotheCaucasus
[] The reward for the English is Baku, a major oil centre. 71 However, they failed to
accomplishtheirgoalinfullmeasure.TheyneededtroopstosuppressIreland,theyhad
to strengthen their position in Mesopotamia, India, and Egypt, and they had to render
militaryaidtoPoland,endangeredbytheRedArmy.TheEnglishweresuccessfulonlyin
deploying troops in the TehranHamadan region and in stationing garrisons in Anzali
andGilan.

T HE T URNAROUND

OF THE

S ITUATION

ParvinDarabadi20062014

Meanwhile, militarypolitical events continued to develop impetuously in the spring of

1920. The defeat of Denikins troops and the occupation of Stavropol, Piatigorsk,
Armavir, and Novorossiysk by the Red Army in March radically changed the military
strategicsituationintheregion.InitseffortstoseizecontroloveroilrichBakuseizure
of Baku was of paramount importance (V.I. Lenin) and the entire Transcaucasus,
__________________________________
68.

Cf.A.H.ULLMAN,op.cit.,Vol.II,p.331.

Cf.S.Z.YUSIFZADEH,PervaiaAzerbaidzhanskaiaRespublika:istoria,sobytia,faktyanglo
azerbaidzhanskikhotnosheniy,Baku,1998,p.184.
69.

70.Cf.S.V.LAVROV,BorbavpoliticheskikhkrugakhVelikobritaniivokruganglosovetskikhperegovorov
19201921gg.,p.67.
71.

Azerbaijan,25January,1919.

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SovietRussiawasunexpectedlybackedbyKemalistTurkey,which,inturn,neededthe
support of its northern neighbour to combat the Entente countries. The first official
appeal of the Ankara government to the R.S.F.S.R. government a letter by Mustafa
KemalAtatrktoV.I.Leninof26April,1920notedthatiftheSovietleadersplanto
launch military operations against Georgia or make Georgia diplomatically join the
alliance and banish the British from the territory of the Caucasus, the Turkish
governmentiscommittedtocombatimperialisticArmeniaandcompellingAzerbaijanto
jointheSovietstate. 72 ThesuccessfulBakuoperationcarriedouton2728Aprilbythe
11thRedArmyandtheVolgaCaspianNavyledtotheabolishmentoftheindependence
of the Azerbaijan Republic and to the establishment of Soviet control over the entire
western littoral of the Caspian as far as Astara. The socalled Anzali operation of the
VolgaCaspianNavyinMay1920provedtobethespectacularfinaletothestrugglefor
theCaspian.
As a result of the successful landing operation on 18 May, 1920 carried out by the
VolgaCaspianNavyandtheRedNavyofAzerbaijanintheAnzaliarea,unitsofthe36th
BritishinfantrydivisionhadtoretreattoRasht.Notethat23warshipsandtradeships,50
ordnances, as well as a great quantity of military equipment were returned to Soviet
Russia.On26May,SovietwarshipslefttheterritorialwatersofIran. 73 InearlyJuly1920,
theBritishleftBatum.
Thus, the highly dramatic militarypolitical struggle for the Transcaucasus and the
CaspianendedinfavourofSovietRussia.
Echoes of the battles in the south of the Caucasus and the Caspian were heard in
London causing a scare in governmental circles out of fear for the British colonial
possessions in Asia. The military prestige of the British Empire in the Middle East was
greatly damaged with farreaching geopolitical consequences. British prestige is at
stake,theLondonTimeswrote,seizureofthePersianportofAnzaliisadeadlydanger
capable of igniting the highly inflammable material scattered across the Middle East,
fromAnatoliatothenortheasternbordersofIndia. 74

ParvinDarabadi20062014

Although Lloyd Georges government took the path of establishing trade and
economic relations with Soviet Russia (nevertheless with simultaneous support of
VrangelandPoland),Westminstersimperialambitions,Whitehallsbellicoseaspirations
andLondonCitysdesirepromptedBritishcirclestopreparefornewmilitaryadventures
intheCaucasus.
In the fall of 1920, the Western powers hoped to set Kemalist Turkey against Soviet
Russia.InNovember1920,theBritishDailyHeraldwrotethataplantocreateanewfront
against Russia in the Caucasus was in full swing. Western capitalists did not want to
abandon their hopes for Bakus oil riches. All antiRussian newspapers were full of
__________________________________
QuotedfromP.G.DARABADI,VoennyeproblemypoliticheskoyistoriiAzerbaidzhananachalaXXveka,
ElmPublishers,Baku,1991,p.153.
72.

Cf.GrazhdanskaiavoinaivoennaiainterventsiavSSSR,p.670;N.A.ALIEV,Voennomorskaiaistoria
Azerbaidzhana,ElmPublishers,Baku,2002,pp.153155.

73.

74.

QuotedfromIzvestiaVTsIK,16June,1920.

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reportsonthedangerousalliancebetweenSovietRussiaandtheTurksheadedbyKemal.
Thiswasbeingdonetoconcealthetrueintentionsofthereactionaries.Arealdanger,the
paper went on, came from the secret alliance between Kemal and the Entente against
Russia. 75

ParvinDarabadi20062014

FailingtoattainitsmajorgeopoliticalaimintheMiddleEastmilitaryconsolidation
in the CaucasianCaspian region England resorted in the early 1920s to complex
diplomatic manoeuvres to weaken the position of Soviet Russia in the region. Flirting
with the new Kemalist leaders of Turkey, Lloyd Georges government, during the
February1921LondontalkswithheadoftheTurkishdelegationBekirSamibey,declared
thatEnglandwaspreparedtotransfertheTranscaucasus,includingtheBakuoilfields,to
the protectorate of Turkey. 76 However, in the period under consideration, British
diplomacy experienced serious failures, while Soviet Russia succeeded in entering
treaties with Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan in FebruaryMarch 1921, which secured its
leading geopolitical status in the CaucasianCaspian region. Of paramount geostrategic
importance was also Sovietization of the entire Transcaucasus and Turkistan by the
springof1921,followingwhichtherewasamilitarypoliticallulluntilthebeginningof
WorldWarII.

__________________________________
75.

Cf.DailyHerald,13November,1920.

76.

Cf.IstoriavneshneypolitikiSSSR,Vol.1,Moscow,1976,pp.145146.

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