President Ilham Aliyev also spoke about the role of the late President Heydar Aliyev in the history of the army building of Azerbaijan at the opening of the Heydar Aliyev School-Gymnasium educational complex in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
"I would like to bring to your attention that the army building works founded by Heydar Aliyev allow us to successfully defend our territories today. In the 1970s, by his decision, the military school named after General Jamshid Nakhchivanski was founded in Baku," Aliyev stressed.
Fakt Yoxla analyzed this claim of the President.
The period of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The first steps to create the first national military structures in Azerbaijan were taken at the beginning of the 20th century. The organization of national troops in Azerbaijan was formalized by the Transcaucasian Commissariat in November 1917.
On December 17, a resolution was adopted on the establishment of the Muslim (Azerbaijan) Corps. According to the resolution, Lieutenant-General Aliagha Shikhlinski was appointed the Commander of the Corps and was entrusted with the task of building the national army.
It was planned to open a National Military School in Baku for the purpose of training officers in the Muslim Corps. Although the school, which was opened in 1918, started operating in Ganja, the teaching process was postponed as a result of the March events. Its activity was resumed after the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) declared its independence.
The screenshot has been taken from the book "History of the Azerbaijani Army" by M. Suleymanov
On May 28, 1918, the first provisional government cabinet of ADR, which declared its independence in Tbilisi, was appointed on the same day. In the government led by Fatali Khan Khoyski, the structure of the Ministry of War was also created. Khosrov Pasha Sultanov was appointed the first Minister of Üar. During the meeting of the government, it was decided to take the first steps in the field of defense and army building in ADR.
On June 4, 1918, an agreement was signed between the ADR and the Ottoman governments in Batum. This agreement opened a new direction for ADR's military relations. According to the agreement, the Ottomans were supposed to provide military assistance to Azerbaijan.
As a result of the dismissal of the first government cabinet, the Ministry of War was abolished. By the decision of the government, the army building in Azerbaijan was entrusted to the commander of the Caucasian Islamic Army, Nuru Pasha. In the government structure, the position of chief commissioner for military affairs was established and Ismayil Khan Ziyadkhanov was approved for this position.
On June 15, 1918, the government moved to Ganja. After that, Fatali Khan Khoyski, who headed the second government cabinet, took new steps in the direction of increasing the country's defense power. On June 26, by the decision of the ADR government, the Muslim Corps was renamed as the Azerbaijani Special Corps, and its staff was partially changed. Alagha Shikhlinski still continued his duties as the commander of the corps. It should be noted that eighty years later, President Heydar Aliyev declared the day of the establishment of the Azerbaijani Special Corps as the Day of Armed Forces of Azerbaijan.
The structure of the Azerbaijani Special Corps - 1918. The screenshot has been taken from the book "History of the Azerbaijani Army" by M. Suleymanov.
The ADR government also implemented other measures in the field of army building:
The National Military School started operating again in Ganja at the beginning of June.
The age limit for conscripts has been lowered to 19.
5 thousand rubles were allocated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for organizing the mobilization process.
Yelizavetpol Conscription Department was renamed the Azerbaijan Conscription Department, and the organization of conscription throughout the country was concentrated in this department.
On November 1, 1918, a new stage in the army building began with the restoration of the structure of the Ministry of War. Fatali Khan Khoyski was appointed the Minister of War, and General Samad Bey Mehmandarov was appointed his deputy. This stage of the army-building process was entrusted to Samad Bey Mehmandarov. At that time, the following measures were implemented:
In order to manage the process of army building, the organization of the central military administration bodies began.
The apparatus of the Ministry of War was created.
The General Headquarters of the Army was established.
On November 22, 1918, the Ministry of War was transferred to Ganja.
On December 25, 1918, Samad Bey Mehmandarov was appointed the Minister of War, and on December 29, Alagha Shikhlinski was appointed his deputy. Although ADR government cabinets changed several times until the fall of the Republic, they remained in office until the end. During this period, the following measures were implemented in the field of army building:
ADR made important decisions to regulate the organization of military service on a legal basis. In the Russian Empire, new norms were prepared on the basis of the legislative norms that existed until 1917. This included military statutes, combat instructions, documents regulating all areas of military service, mobilization, instructions for conducting military court cases, etc.
The Azerbaijani language was accepted as the state language in the army. All processes in the army were conducted in the Azerbaijani language. Language courses were organized for those who did not know the language, and officers who did not perform the necessary measures were expelled from the army.
The national uniform of military personnel was prepared. The special commission, assisted in connection with these cases, was headed by Alagha Shikhlinski.
During this period, progress was made in the process of training officers for the army. So, the activity of the national military school, which started operating in Ganja, was reorganized and its status was increased. Apart from that, schools of conscripts, military railwaymen, and military paramedics were opened to train national military personnel, and regiments were formed in different regions.
At the beginning of July 1919, the governing bodies of the Ministry of War were transferred to Baku again. After the English left Azerbaijan in August, the Navy Force was created, and after a while, the Air Force was created.
By the end of 1919, the Ministry of War of the ADR planned to increase the number of personnel of the Azerbaijani army to 20 thousand people and the number of horses in the army to 5 thousand, and in 1920, it planned to increase the number of the army to 40 thousand people and the number of horses to 10 thousand.
However, in 1920, as a result of the fall of the ADR, the process of building a national army was left unfinished. On that eve, there were 2 infantry divisions, each consisting of three infantry regiments, 2 special infantry divisions, a cavalry division consisting of 3 regiments, an artillery brigade, and other units and divisions in the Azerbaijan Army.
The Soviet Union and the second independence period
During the period when Azerbaijan was a part of the Soviet Union, a military high school named after Jamshid Nakhchivanski was established based on the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan dated April 29, 1971. On that date, Heydar Aliyev was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan.
On the eve of regaining Azerbaijan's independence and after that, conditions were created for the re-formation of the national army. On August 30, 1991, a decision was made to establish the national self-defense forces in order to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. This decision was signed by Elmira Gafarova, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan.
By the decree signed by President Ayaz Mutallibov on September 5, 1991, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan was organized, and Valeh Eyyub oglu Barshadli was appointed the Minister of Defense. It should be noted that the Defense Council was established by the decree signed on September 29, 1991. Both of these decrees were signed by Ayaz Mutallibov.
On October 9, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Republic adopted the Law on the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is the legal basis for building the army, and the Azerbaijan Armed Forces (AAF) was established. This law was signed by the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet, Elmira Gafarova.
On December 9, 1991, the National Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted the Law on the State Border of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This law was signed by Tamerlan Garayev, who was the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Azerbaijan on that date.
On December 16, the State Border Protection Committee (SBPC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan was established by the decree signed by Mutallibov. October 9 was declared the Day of Armed Forces by the decree signed by Abulfaz Elchibey, who held the post of President after Mutallibov, in 1992.
President Heydar Aliyev canceled this decree and declared the date of June 26, when the Azerbaijani Special Corps was created during the period of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, as the Day of Armed Forces.
Thus, the foundation of army building works in Azerbaijan was laid on the eve of the founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and during its existence. Heydar Aliyev started to play a role in the army building almost 50 years later. In 1991-1992, the activities of the structures of the Armed Forces, which were founded during the period of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, were restored. The period of power of Heydar Aliyev coincides with after 1993.
