Skip to content
The War AtlasThe · War · Atlas

BATTLE // January 1, 1920

Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan

Source · Wikipedia

Significance

The Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan in April 1920 was a decisive campaign by Soviet Russia's 11th Army to eliminate one of the independent successor states that had emerged from the collapse of the Russian Empire. The operation coincided with an internal insurrection organized by local Azerbaijani Bolsheviks in Baku, combining external military pressure with internal subversion. The result was the dissolution of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the establishment of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, extending Soviet control over the South Caucasus and its strategically significant oil resources. The campaign formed part of the broader Soviet effort during the Russian Civil War to reincorporate former imperial territories under Bolshevik governance.

Forces & casualties

Troop strength

  • République socialiste fédérative soviétique de Russie30,000
    medium
  • République démocratique d'Azerbaïdjan30,000
    medium

Both sides were near-evenly matched in numbers

Commanders (11)

Compare with sibling battle

6 options

Pick a battle to compare side-by-side

Related

6 sibling battles · 4 factions

Last verified June 2026
Cite this page →Suggest a correction →