Baku expedition of 1917-1918 : a study of the Ottoman policy towards the Caucasus

Abstract

The Ottoman expedition to Baku has central importance in Caucasus between the Bolshevik Revolution and end of the WWI. Since the Ottoman expedition to Baku was the most concrete action towards domination of the area, it served as the main determinant in the formation of relations between the Great Powers and the Caucasian people fighting for their sovereignty in the period until October 1918. This thesis based on a multi-sided bibliography, attempts to study the Baku Operation of the CaucasusIslam Army commanded by Nuri Pasha in the course of the First World War in detail by analyzing both political and military processes and international dimensions, with a detailed picture of the whole process. By placing the Ottoman Operation at the centre, it aims to analyze the perception of both sides of the international struggle over Baku. iv Since the studies on the Committee of Union and Progress and Enver Pasha give special place to the issue of Pan-Turkism, this study argues that Ottoman Army’s Baku operation has a special place in Ottoman history as one of practical implementations of Pan-Turkist policies and it has an important role in the shaping of Azerbaijani National Movement in Transcaucasia. The thesis is divided into three parts. These are “The Ottoman State’s Caucasus Policy from the February Revolution to Batum Treaties”, “The General Situation in Transcaucasia before Baku Operation”, and “The CaucasusIslam Army’s Baku Operation”. In this context Germany, Soviet Russia and Britain’s strategies in the region will also be considered.