PART THIRTEEN: DESTROY THEM ALL
PART THIRTEEN: WE DESTROY THEM ALL
In OTL we have a situation where the Azeri president didn't want to create an independent military, rather he was happy with the status quo with Soviet troops doing the bulk of the military work in Azerbaijan. This proves to be a disaster for Azerbaijan in TTL, as we can see. Without an independent military in Azerbaijan, the Russians have little resistance when they move into Azerbaijan. We also see the first hints of what will happen in Georgia, where Russian and UDR troops encounter resistance and "regroup" in what is South Osettia and Abkhazia in OTL. We start to see the seeds of future conflicts planted. Some resources from OTL that I refer to here...
Leader of the Azerbaijani Popular Front, an independence supporting opposition group:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abulfaz_Elchibey
Great article about how the struggle between the president and the PF between 91-92 allowed the Armenians to do so well in the conflict
http://budapest.sumgait.info/khojaly/situation-azerbaijan.htm
Great article from Patrick Gorman on the state of the Azeri military in 1991:
http://www.zerbaijan.com/azeri/azarmy.htm
Nasnosnaya Air Base near Baku
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasosnaya_Air_Base
PART THIRTEEN: WE DESTROY THEM ALL
UDR Deploying Troops to Dagestan in preparation for planned “police action”
Time Magazine
By James Mapp – October 15, 1991
The Union of Democratic Republics sent a “temporary detachment” of troops into the southern region of Dagestan, which borders the UDR Republic of Azerbaijan, to combat terrorism and to “bring a wanted criminal to justice”, the Interior Ministry said.
“We are talking about a temporary deployment to prevent terrorism and to wipe out communist extremists who clearly are aiming to make Azerbaijan a safe haven for anti-democratic forces opposed to the federal government,” a spokesman for the Russian Interior Ministry said from the Dagestan capital city, Makhachkala.
About 100,000 troops are being moved from all over the country to form temporary police and military units aimed at “rooting out the last holdouts of the communist regime,” said Yuri Sudakov, the secretary of Dagestan’s state security council. The realignment of forces in preparation for the “police action” was ordered by UDR President Viktor Alksnis in association with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
The authorities were attempting to deploy 25,000 to 50,000 federal troops from Moscow, according to reports published in the Moscow press. A convoy of armored personnel carriers and military vehicles was seen moving toward southern Dagestan from October 1st to October 10th, the reports said. However, the report also indicated difficulty in mobilization with several units located in many of the other republics refusing the deployment. The report indicated that many of the non-Russian units in the Republic of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have declared allegiance to their respective Republics and appear to be mobilizing in preparation for an anticipated “invasion” from Russian forces. Islam Karimov, a communist who is still in control in Uzbekistan, declared independence on August 31, 1991. The move was widely criticized by the UDR and the USA. Karimov promised to “defend the Uzbek people from the fascist government that has taken over Moscow.”
The report also indicated that many Russian units are having trouble with the mobilization from angry locals. Russian troops en route to Dagestan appear to have been harassed by locals opposed to the military action. The Associated Press reported that Russian units were denied entry into Tbilisi, Georgia by protesters who blocked the road and threw rocks at the convoy. The Russian units fell back to the Georgian cities of Sokhumi in the North West and Tskhinvali in the North Central regions of the country where they appear to have fortified in preparation for a possible attempt by restive Georgians at expelling them from the Republic entirely. It is believed that at least 20,000 troops that were to be used in the “police action” are now bogged down in Georgia.
UDR troops mobilize in Moscow as they prepare to deploy to Azerbaijan. October 01, 1991 (AP)
Protesters in Tbilisi, Georgia prevent Federal Troops of the UDR from passing through the city en route to Azerbaijan (October 6, 1991) (AP)
Anti-Government protesters prevent Federal tanks from passing through Tbilisi, Georgia today, forcing the troops to withdraw to abandon plans to go to the Azerbajani border and instead withdraw to the city of Tskhinvali.
(October 8, 1991)
UDR and Russian troops storm into Azerbaijan before planned Declaration of Independence
BBC
October 17, 1991
(Moscow) UDR President Viktor Alksnis has ordered tanks and troops into the communist-controlled Republic of Azerbaijan today. Although over 100,000 troops had been planned for what the federal government is calling a “police action”, it appears that less than 20,000 were available for the intervention, with thousands bogged down in other republics and others rejecting the authority of the federal government. However, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan was scheduled to adopt a Declaration of Independence the following day, which appears to have prompted the Federal Government to act.
Hundreds of tanks and armored personnel carriers crossed the border from the Russian province of Dagestan at first light this morning. Large portions of the Soviet 4th Army stationed in Azerbaijan appeared to be torn with conflicted loyalties as the troops moved quickly to seize the Nasosnaya Air Base northwest of Baku. The move appears to coincide with a separate military action from the west, with Armenian troops storming into the breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh, where the bulk of the Azeri police and military forces are located.
The Russian army says its mission is to restore constitutional order in Azerbaijan and to root out “terrorists” such as the wanted fugitive Vahid Hasinov, who is believed to be hiding in Baku. The Federal Government also indicated that the “police action” is necessary to break the Communist Party stranglehold on Azerbaijan. However, opposition leader Abulfaz Elchibey, of the Azerbaijani Popular Front, condemned what he called “an invasion”.
The predominantly Muslim republic of Azerbaijan was, under the previous communist regime, one of the closest allies of the central government. However, with the fall of the Communist Party two months ago Azerbaijan suddenly found its loyalties to the former ruling party a liability. Azerbaijani President Ayaz Mutallibov has been harshly criticized by supporters of the Popular Front for his opposition to creating an independent army, instead relying largely on Soviet troops. The move has backfired badly on the President now, with Russian troops in the north facing minimal opposition.
AZERI TROOPS ROUTED IN NORTH AND IN WEST
The bulk of the former Soviet 4th Army, which was based in Azerbaijan, appears to have been neutralized by the lightning attack. At least ten thousand troops stationed at the Nasosnaya Air Base surrendered to the federal troops. The former Soviet 4th Army, although primarily made up of Azeri conscripts, had an officer class that was almost exclusively Russian. Officers at Nasosnaya Air Base immediately “welcomed their reinforcements” into the base and turned it over to the federal troops without opposition. Azeri troops, overwhelmed and confused at the sudden developments, were disarmed and rounded up for what military commander Alexander Lebed called “a transfer to other bases outside the republic of Azerbaijan.”
In the west, the federal government took advantage of the pre-existing OMON detachments already in the country to crush the pockets of Azeri detachments in Stepanakert. With the aid of Armenian military units that flooded across the porous border between the two republics, the OMON forces easily routed their former allies with minimal resistance. Just three months ago the OMON detachments were used almost exclusively as support for the Azeri government in routing out Armenian separatist in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan and Chechnya- “Profiles on the Russian "War on Terror”
(Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies)
By John Miller
Routledge Press, (2007)
CHAPTER FOUR
Despite the numerous problems with mobilization, and the lack of troops available for the planned “police action,” UDR and Russian troops found their fortunes turn almost immediately on the 17th when they crossed into Azerbaijan. Although General Lebed was deeply troubled by the problems during mobilization, he also recognized that a planned declaration of independence could prove fatal for the war effort, particularly with the former Soviet 4th Army, which was almost exclusively made up of Azerbaijani troops. He also recognized that Azerbaijani president Ayaz Mutallibov could see the horrific mistake he made in not creating an independent military and over the last two months he was trying desperately to undo the damage.
“Once the OMON forces stopped targeting the Armenians, it woke up Mutallibov to how tenuous his grip on the country now was,” commented a close aid to the former Azerbaijani president, “overnight Armenian forces began routing the Azeri police forces with the Russians just standing there looking on. He knew that he had to create an independent army to oppose the Armenians.”
However, his focus remained on what he called “The Armenia threat” to the west and not the growing anti-Azeri rhetoric coming from Moscow, another mistake that would prove fatal.
“He still refused to believe the Russians would turn on him,” commented the aid, “he figured that even if they were no longer backing him up against the Armenians that they wouldn’t invade as long as he didn't provoke them. Otherwise he would have taken steps to nationalize the 4th Army.”
On October 17th Russian and UDR troops crossed the border from Dagestan, Russia in an attempt to seize the Nasosnaya Air Base in North East Azerbaijan. General Lebed considered the base critical for any military operation inside the country, and felt that it should be the first and only objective in the opening hours of the conflict. Although other generals felt confident of an easy victory against the 4th Army, General Lebed was worried that an organized 4th Army with a dedicated officer class loyal to Baku could prevent Russian troops from seizing it.
“Lebed saw the horrible, horrible geography involved in taking the base,” one Russian cabinet member said of the General’s plan, “he saw that the base was only 30 kilometers from Baku, and only a few kilometers from Sumqayit, the second largest city in Azerbaijan. If the Azerbaijanis chose to fight for it, it would be easy to reinforce. But he also saw that with the base so close to Baku and Sumqayit that the Federal government could win the entire war quickly if they were in control of it.”
The move into Azerbaijan with only a handful of troops was one that concerned Lebed, who knew that technically the 4th Army outnumbered the Federal troops coming in. However, he took pains to carefully construct the action as a police action and try not to inflame nationalist sentiments. As Russian troops moved in, the focus appeared to remain almost exclusively on the “wanted terrorist and murderer” Vahid Hasinov. In the border town of Khudat, the first town that federal troops entered, Russian policemen pinned “wanted” posters across the town of Corporal Hasinov and asked confused people on the street if they “saw this man” as they handed out photos of Hasinov. When “satisfied” after a few cursory questions of the local police force that Hasinov was not hiding in Khudat, they thanked the people and asked anyone with information to contact the local authorities. Within thirty minutes of the invasion of Azerbaijan, Russian and federal troops were gone from Khudat with not a shot fired. The scene was repeated in Khachmaz, Kuba, and Gusar within an hour. In the town of Sheki, where protesters began to block the road and throw rocks at the invading troops, the military responded with stiff armed police tactics as opposed to treating the protest as insurgents in a military conflict. UDR police units fired tear gas and used high powered hoses to disperse the protesters before passing through the town en route to Nasosnaya Air Base.
UDR Troops in Kuba, Azerbaijan hand out a poster of Vahid Hasinov to a local farmer.
Armenian militias capture disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani president struggles to hold onto power.
Toronto Globe and Mail
Published: October 4, 1991
Armenian units of the UDR oversee the siege of Khojavend
(KHOJAVEND, UDR) – Armenian troops, supported by federal troops of the UDR, routed the last Azeri held stronghold in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh today in the town of Khojavend. Khojavend was the last stronghold of Azerbaijani resistance, but its capitulation looks unlikely to end what the federal government is calling a “police action”.
Armenian troops easily dispatched the badly demoralized Azeri police units, who put up token resistance before fleeing north east towards Barda. The Armenian military now controls over 80% of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, while a pro-Armenia militia headed by American born Monte Melkonian controls the rest. However, inspired by their success and their new alliance with the central government, Armenian soldiers are continuing their eastward march.
“We won’t stop until we reach the Kura River,” one Armenian soldier said as he walked through the streets of the deserted village of Khojavend, “and if the Azerbaijanis don’t support our right to live in freedom then we will keep going on until we get to Baku!”
Federal troops in the east have surrounded the cities of Baku and Sumqayit, although they have not entered either city. Using the captured Nasosnaya Air Base near Baku, Federal troops have also provided valuable air support to the Armenian forces, although the federal government claims it is not “taking sides.”
“We are just there as part of a police action,” UDR Prime Minister Yuri Luzhkov said in a press release yesterday, “And we condemn the Azerbaijani government’s despicable attempts to foster ethnic strife in an attempt to divert our policemen from rooting out terrorists and criminals.”
In Baku President Ayaz Mutallibov faced the most difficult challenge to his tenuous grip on power as rioters took to the streets of the capital protesting what they consider the President’s mismanagement of the war.
“Right now the Armenians are conquering half our country and the Russians have us boxed in here in Baku,” commented one protester who wished to remain unnamed, “and yet all he cares about is (Abulfaz) Elchibey becoming president! He is more concerned with power than the country!”
Supporters of the opposition Popular Front have already seized dozens of government buildings and called for the resignation of the President.
“He led us into this mess,” said Popular Front Leader Abulfaz Elchibey, “and yet he still refuses to take any steps to defend out country. We need to gather our troops, we need to fight. And we need to declare independence right now!”
President Mutallibov has ordered police units to crack down on protesters, enflaming tensions further.
“My Russia- An Autobiography by former Russian Prime Minister Gennady Burbulis”
Published by Interbook, © 1998
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Once we learned that Azerbaijani President Mutallibov had been deposed by the Popular Front, we all began to cheer and pat each other on the back. Could this be? Could we have won this war in just ten days with only twenty-three casualties? The Armenians were becoming greedy, and we all were worried that if this continued we would have to deal with what we all considered to be a serious problem. The Armenians were making no efforts to hide their xenophobia and their ethnic hatred of the Azeris. They were ethnically cleansing the areas in the occupied regions and were starting to enflame passions all over the UDR. The Uzbeks and Turkmen were in near revolt, they were appalled at the treatment of the Azeris at the hands of the Armenians, and they demanded the federal government intervene. We were also frightened that if the Armenians didn’t get control of themselves that it could prompt the international community to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan. But Zhirinovsky looked sad at the news that we "won". He needed the communists in control of Baku, otherwise what was his excuse for being there?
“Should we send out an emissary to Mr. Elchibey, the new Azerbaijani president?” I asked. “Perhaps see if he is willing to accept our terms.”
“Why should we do that?” Zhirinovsky hissed, “His first act was to declare independence. He second was to issue an ultimatum for the federal government to lift the siege of Baku. I hardly think that we reward treason with an olive branch.”
“Then what do you suggest,” I asked forcefully, “to send troops into Baku? It will electrify the opposition, and it could cost us many soldiers. Why throw away this victory?”
“We had two goals when we entered Azerbaijan,” Zhirinovsky said, “to capture Hasinov and to root out the communists. We have yet to accomplish either.”
“So what do we do about that,” I shot back, “send troops into a possible bloodbath in Baku?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Zhirinovsky replied coldly. “We maintain the siege, and we let the Armenians do what needs to be done. We destroy them all."