September 15, 1918, is one of the most important days in the history of Azerbaijan. On that day, the Caucasian Islamic Army and Azerbaijani national military units entered Baku and liberated the city from the control of Bolshevik-Dashnak forces. However, the path to Baku's liberation did not begin in the streets of the capital, but months earlier in another region of Azerbaijan - Goychay.
Modern.az reminds that in the summer of 1918, one of the biggest issues facing the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the liberation of Baku. At that time, the forces of the Baku Soviet were advancing towards Ganja, seriously endangering the existence of the young Republic.
One of the main threats facing the Caucasian Islamic Army and Azerbaijani military units was to prevent the westward movement of these forces. The battles around Goychay, which lasted from June 27 to July 1, became a turning point in this regard. Turkish-Azerbaijani military forces fought heavy battles against Bolshevik-Dashnak formations, and as a result, their advance was stopped. The Ministry of Defense's report also states that after the victory in Goychay, the Caucasian Islamic Army began its liberation march towards Baku.
Thus, Goychay was not just a local battlefield. The outcome here became one of the main turning points of the military path leading to the liberation of Baku.
After Goychay, the direction changed towards Baku. In the following weeks, battles were fought for Shamakhi and other strategic points. The Caucasian Islamic Army and Azerbaijani national forces were approaching the capital step by step. The final and most difficult stage of this march took place in Baku itself.
On the night of September 14-15, the Caucasian Islamic Army launched a decisive attack on Baku. On September 15, the city was liberated. Nuru Pasha, in a telegram sent to the Azerbaijani government in Ganja on that day, announced that Baku was taken by the troops at the beginning of 9 o'clock.
There is a direct military connection between the battles of Goychay, remembered as one of the starting points of this military march that lasted for about two and a half months, and the victory of September 15: the victory achieved by the Caucasian Islamic Army and Azerbaijani forces in Goychay removed one of the main obstacles to the offensive in the direction of Baku.
For this reason, September 15 can be evaluated not only as the day Baku was liberated, but also as the culmination of the great military march for Azerbaijan's independence.
Every stop on this road from Goychay to Baku is a separate page in the history of Azerbaijan in 1918. The turning point that began in Goychay, the battles that continued in Shamakhi and other directions, and finally, the liberation of Baku on September 15 - all these were complementary stages of a military-political process.
In this regard, September 15, 1918, went down in history not only as the liberation of Baku, but also as the day when the young Azerbaijan Democratic Republic reunited with its capital and strengthened its statehood. On September 17, the government moved from Ganja to Baku.
