Battle of Baku

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Battle of Baku

Part of Caucasus Campaign in the Middle Eastern Theatre (World War I)

Date	26 August 1918 – 14 September 1918
Location	Baku, Azerbaijan
Result	Ottoman-Azerbaijani victory

Combatants

Ottoman Empire

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

British Empire

Central Caspian Dictatorship
White Russians

Commanders

Nuri Pasha

Lionel Dunsterville

Strength

12,000 Ottoman and Azerbaijani troops of the Army of Islam.

1,000 British and Commonwealth troops
7,000 Armenian conscripts of Central Caspian Dictatorship,
3,000 White Russians.

Caucasus Campaign
Sarikamis – Malazgirt – Van – Koprukoy – Erzurum – Erzincan – Bitlis – Kara Killisse – Sardarapat – Bash Abaran – Baku

The Battle of Baku was a battle of the Caucasus Campaign of World War I that took place in the vicinity of Baku, in 1918. The Ottoman-Azerbaijani forces of the Army of Islam led by Nuri Pasha won the battle against a coalition of British, Armenian and White Russian forces led by Lionel Dunsterville.

[edit] Polemics about the British Troops Memorial in Baku

In recent years a Memorial dedicated to the 53 British soldiers who died in the battle was erected in Baku. But, among a large part of Azeri public opinion, the British were the strongest sponsor of the Armenian rule in Baku and they were in the city for imperialistic reasons and for their own interests (to seize the oil wells). So, the British were fighting for a "wrong cause" and there was no reason to dedicate a Memorial to soldiers who helped the Armenian nationalists. Authorities replied that not looking to the fact that the British troops were on the wrong side, they need to be respected and to have a place where their grandsons can put flowers on. Observators suggested that this was just a mere political move to improve the friendship relation between Azerbaijan and United Kingdom. However, this move wasn't appreciated by many Azeris, also taking in account the fact that the memorial was vandalized several times.