15/9/1918 Massacres in Baku as the city falls to the Turks

Turkish forces are advancing in the Caucasus, hoping to recover territories lost to Russia in previous wars. They are also seeking to assist their ethnic kinfolk in Azerbaijan, where fighting is taking place between Azeri nationalists on the one hand and a motley alliance of socialists, Armenians and a British intervention force on the other.

A Turkish attempt to capture Baku in August was repulsed with the aid of a British formation led by Lionel Dunsterville, but now the reinforced Turks have another go. Under the command of Nuri Pasha, brother of war minister Enver Pasha, the Turks rout the defenders and storm the city.

Disorder in Baku in March saw atrocities committed against Azeris living in the city. Now it is the turn of the city’s Christian population, with Armenians in particular being subjected to massacres by the victors. In some respect the slaughter is revenge…