Azerbaijan in World War II

The mechanized German army aimed to secure a large supply of oil. Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, provided an overwhelming share of Soviet oil production. In an agreement of February 1940 following the August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Germany and the Soviet Union committed to exchange German machinery, manufactures, and technology for Soviet resources. The Soviet Union thus supplied over 900,000 tons of oil to Germany.^[1] This trade arrangement, known to the Allies, fueled Allied propaganda portraying the Soviet Union as a German ally.^[2]

Operation Pike was a plan developed by the United Kingdom and France to bomb Baku in a surprise long-range raid from airbases in Iraq and Syria in order to hinder this oil delivery to Germany. Despite being at peace with the Soviet Union, the Allies performed reconnaissance flights to prepare. As later shown by the limited effects of strategic bombing during the war, the plan's potential impact was greatly overestimated, while it risked negative diplomatic and other results for the Allies. The fall of France in June 1940 cancelled the plan; Germany captured plan documents from France and revealed them to the Soviet Union, increasing its distrust of the Allies.^[3]

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By the time of the German invasion, Baku and the North Caucasus were the main sources of oil for the whole of the USSR.^[4] The Soviet Union also relied heavily on the Caucasus region for its grain, following the fall of Ukraine. The region also possessed large reserves of strategic raw materials such as tungsten and molybdenum ore. Loss of the Caucasus would have proved devastating for the USSR: not only would they lose a substantial amount of oil production, which fueled the Red Army, they would also lose a valuable source of precious metals and the increasingly vital crop of grain. These reasons all contributed to why Hitler had intentions of taking the Caucasus in series of campaigns.^[5] German armies given orders to take Azerbaijani oil were identified with the letter "A".

German armies in the Caucasus area were ordered to surround and destroy the Southern Front, the area around the Don River, and to seize the city of Rostov-on-Don. Following the capture of Rostov-on-Don, the North Caucasus would theoretically be open to German invasion. The Germans intended to pass around the Greater Caucasus with an army from the South, capturing key cities such as Novorossiysk and Tuapse, and, with another group from the East, to capture the oil rich regions of Grozny and Baku simultaneously. The Germans also wanted to overcome the Dividing Ridge in the central part of the Caucasus Mountains in order to allow an entrance into Soviet Georgia using a bypass maneuver.

In 1942 on the Eastern Front, the German army approached the South Caucasus. Hitler was eager to capture Azerbaijan, seeking oil to strengthen the German army and weaken the Soviet Union – whose economy relied heavily on oil and fossil fuels.^[6] Operation Edelweiss was planned to commence on September 26, 1942.^[7] To protect the Azerbaijani oil fields, Joseph Stalin organized the North Caucasian Front along the German route of advance in the southern Caucasus. In late 1942, the reorganized Front consistently proved a tough obstacle for the Axis forces. The Axis divisions, consisting of German and Romanian troops, suffered heavy losses before they could reach the foothills on the Terek River and the Caucasus Mountains. Throughout the 1942 campaign, German and Soviet troops launched small, indecisive offensives against each other. Eventually, the Axis was forced to divert divisions from the Caucasus front to aid the Germans in the Battle of Stalingrad. This allowed for a Soviet offensive that drove the remaining Axis forces out of the Caucasus region, effectively defeating the Axis Caucasus campaign.^[8] The "A" group of armies lost about 100,000 troops in the operation.^[9] Soviet losses to the Caucasus Front in 1942 totaled about 140,000 irrecoverable losses and 170,000 sick and wounded.^[10]

From August 25 to September 17, 1941, Great Britain and the Soviet Union carried out a joint invasion of Iran. This invasion was intended to secure and defend the Allied supply lines through the area^[11] along with overthrowing the king of Persia, Rezā Shāh, who was suspected of sympathizing with the Axis.^[12] Rezā Shāh refused to deploy British and Soviet troops at their request, violating the agreement between the Soviets and Iranians in 1921. According to the agreement, the USSR had a right to deploy its troops in Iranian territory in the case of threats to its southern borders.

The Soviet forces invaded Iran from Azerbaijan in the west and the Turkmen in the east. They occupied the northern Iranian provinces of Azerbaijan and Golestan. The British invaded through their middle eastern colony of Iraq and south asian colony India and occupied the western provinces of Kermanshah, Ilam, and Khuzestan. After failed negotiations between allied forces and king Rezā Shāh, the Red Army marched into Tehran on September 17. Following the surrender of Tehran, Persia capitulated, and the British and Soviets agreed to occupy the country until the end of the war. The allied forces also deposed the Shah and put his younger son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, on the throne.^[13] The final Soviet troops were removed from Iran in 1946.^[14]

The Trans-Iranian Lend-Lease route was the pathway used to get American and British supplies from the Persian Gulf through Persia and into the Soviet Union via Azerbaijan. The previous route of entering supplies to the Soviet Union; the North Atlantic Sea Lane, closed in July 1942 following the debacle of Convoy PQ 17. The alternative new route was in the east; into Vladivostok. Although Russia and Japan weren't foes, transporting large cargo into Russia from the United States proved to impractical, so the southern route through Iran was chosen.^[15] The Lend-Lease between the allies and Iran was implemented by Ally sympathizer Mohammad Reza Pahlavi following the overthrow of his father's regime in the Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran. The successful transport of Allied supplies through Iran and the Caucasus into the Soviet Union was instrumental in the defense of Russia against the Germans.

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681,000 soldiers were conscripted to the front lines from the Azerbaijan SSR.^[16] Out of the 681,000 troops, about 300,000 Azerbaijani troops were killed in action. 15,000 medical workers were deployed on the Eastern Front, along with 3,750 operators of motorized vehicles. Azerbaijani women also participated in the fight against the Axis, some notable women include partisan Aliya Rustambeyova, sniper Ziba Ganiyeva,^[17] aviation navigator Zuleykha Seyidmammadova, anti-aircraft gunner Almaz Ibrahimova, and captain Shovkat Salimova.^[18]

Azerbaijani troops played a large role in the Defense of Brest Fortress, the Siege of Leningrad, the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and the Battle of Berlin. These troops were stationed in the Crimean peninsula of the Ukraine, as well as Eastern Europe and the Baltics.

Azerbaijan played a major role in the Battle of the Caucasus with Azerbaijani civilians providing resistance to the German advance.

The following military units were created in the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR:

• 87 battalions
• 1123 self-defense squads

The following divisions were created in the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR:^[19]

• 77th Rifle Division in 1942, from a Mountain Rifle Division which traced its history back to 1920
• 223rd Rifle Division
• 396th Rifle Division
• 402nd Rifle Division
• 416th Rifle Division

Military units and formations in which significant numbers of Azerbaijani citizens served:^[20]

• 76th Mountain Rifle Division named after K.E.Voroshilov (later the 51st Guards Rifle Division of Taganrog)
• 77th 'Simferopolskaya Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division Sergo Ordzhonikidze' Mountain Rifle Division
• 223rd 'Belgrade Red Banner Azerbaijan' Rifle Division
• 227th Rifle Division
• 396th Rifle Division
• 402nd Rifle Division
• 416th Taganrog, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division Rifle Division

A total of 128 residents of Azerbaijan were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for military valor and feats shown during World War II, of which 42 were ethnic Azerbaijani; 14 of the titles were awarded posthumously. Lieutenant Israfil Mammadov was the first Azerbaijani awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.^[21] Major-General Hazi Aslanov received the title twice.^[22]

Name	Country/Republic	Commander
Azerbaijani Partisan Detachment	France	Huseynrza Mammadov
Azerbaijani Partisan Detachment – "Ruska Cheta"[23][24]	Italy	Javad Hakimli
The 8th Azerbaijani Partisan Detachment – "Krasniy Partizan"[25]	Crimean ASSR	Mammad Aliyev
Raiding Party of "Pravda" Partisan Detachment	Byelorussian SSR	Mammad Aliyev

Guerilla	Country/Republic
Nuru Abdullayev	France
Hasan Aliyev	France
Mazaim Aliyev	Italy
Mammad Samad oglu Baghirov	Poland
Vali Valiyev[26]	France
Mikayil Huseynov[26]	France
Mehdi Huseynzade	Yugoslavia Italy
Khanchoban Jafarov[27]	Italy
Pasha Jafarkhanli[citation needed]	France
Ahmadiyya Jabrayilov	France
Feyzulla Gurbanov[26]	France
Huseynrza Mammadov	France
Gurban Mammadov	France
Mirzakhan Mammadov	France
Mammad Mammadov[28]	Netherlands
Mirzali Mammadli	France
Nurush Mehdiyev	France
Jalil Rafiyev	Italy
Ali Taghiyev[29]	Yugoslavia Italy
Javad Hakimli	Yugoslavia Italy
Mirza Shahverdiyev	Italy
Mashi Eylazov	Poland

The Caspian Flotilla was instrumental for cargo-turnover until World War II. Approximately one third of all cargo transported throughout the seas of the USSR was delivered along the Caspian Sea through the Flotilla.^[30] Among various reasons for this was the close proximity of oil deposits, petroleum refineries, and cotton storehouses. Transportation of wood and bread to the Caucasus and Middle Asia, which were delivered through the Caspian Sea via the Volga and the Urals, also influenced the high level of cargo-turnover. Oil and oil products, which were mainly transported from Baku to Astrakhan for further transportation to other regions of the USSR through the Volga River were the main goods determining significance of the Caspian Sea. The territory of Azerbaijan, mainly Baku-Baladjary point, located on the junction of railway and marine roads, was the important link on the railway road of the South Caucasus.

Baku oil was transported to all regions of the USSR, and Baku's port was distinguished for a high intensity of cargo handling and passing capabilities. Transportation of oil to the Volga River was the main use of the port.^[30]

The Baku Air Defense Army was established by resolution of the State Defense Committee on April 5, 1942. Its administration was created on the basis of reformed administration of the 3rd Air Defense Corps. Initially, it was part of the Transcaucasian Air Defense Zone. In April 1944 it became part of the Transcaucasian Air Defense Front. Between May and October, 1942, during the period of sorties by German reconnaissance aircraft over the army's area of responsibility, the army included the following units:

• The 8th Anti-Aircraft Corps of anti-aircraft defense (6 destructive aircraft regiments);
• 7 regiments of antiaircraft artillery;
• 1 regiment of antiaircraft machineguns;
• 1 searchlight regiment;
• A regiment of aerostatic obstacle;
• A regiment of troops of air observation, warning and connection (VNOS);
• Other units.

The army's commanders were P.M.Beskrovnov, general-major of artillery (April 1942 – February 1945) and N.V.Markov, general-lieutenant of artillery (February, 1945 – till the end of the war).