Armenian–Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)

The Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918–1920) was a conflict that took place in the South Caucasus in regions with a mixed Armenian-Azerbaijani population, broadly encompassing what are now modern-day Azerbaijan and Armenia. It began during the final months of World War I and ended with the establishment of Soviet rule.

Armenian–Azerbaijani war
Part of the Caucasus campaign of World War I, the southern front of the Russian Civil War and the Turkish–Armenian War
Date30 March 1918 – 28 November 1920
(2 years, 7 months, 4 weeks and 1 day)
Location
The South Caucasus
Result

Inconclusive; Soviet invasion of Armenia and Azerbaijan and subsequent victory

  • Sovietization of Armenia and Azerbaijan
Territorial
changes
  • Disputes over Karabakh and Nakhchivan settled in favor of Soviet Azerbaijan
  • Most of Zangezur gained by Soviet Armenia
Belligerents
  • Republic of Aras (1918–1919)

  • Turkish revolutionaries
Commanders and leaders

Muzaffer Kılıç
Strength
60,000 (6,000 mobilized guards)
36,000
50,000
10,000
70,000
13,000

The conflict took place against the backdrop of the Russian Civil War and the partition of the Ottoman Empire. Mutual territorial claims, made by the newly formed Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Republic of Armenia, led to their respective support for Azerbaijani and Armenian militias in the disputed territories. Armenia fought against Azerbaijani militias in the Erivan Governorate of the former Russian Empire, while Azerbaijan fought Armenian claims to the Karabakh region. The war was characterized by outbreaks of massacres and ethnic cleansing (such as the March Days, the September Days, the Shusha massacre, and more broadly, the Massacres of Azerbaijanis in Armenia), which changed the demographics of the region.

Hostilities broadly came to an end when the Soviet's 11th Army invaded and occupied both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

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