Ali Agha Ismail Agha oghlu Shikhlinski (); Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are in the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

with the start of year adjusted to 1 January. All other dates in this article are in

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

(see Adoption of the Gregorian calendar in Eastern Europe). – 18 August 1943) was an Azerbaijani

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

of the

Russian imperial army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, Deputy Minister of Defense and General of the Artillery of

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

and a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

military officer.

Life and military career

Early life

Ali Agha Shikhlinski was born on April 23, 1865, in the village of Kazakhly (now Ashaghy Salakhly), in Kazakh

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

of Elisavethpol Governate. He wrote that his father, Ismayil Agha, was a member of the Shikhlinski Dynasty, a noble family dating back to as early as 1537. Shikhlinski wrote at the "Officer's Notebook" (), a journal he has been working on since 1904, that his mother, Shah Yemen Khanum was the grandchild of

Molla Vali Vidadi Molla Vali Vidadi () (17 March 1709, Shamkir – 13 May 1809, near Gazakh) was an Azerbaijani poet. Little is known about Vidadi. He spent most of his life in his native town of Shamkir (then called Shamkhor) where he taught at a religious ...

, an 18th-century poet. Ali Agha Shikhlinsky also had two brothers.

Early Military Career

In August 1876 Shikhlinski entered

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

military school and graduated in 1883. He continued his education at

Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy Russia has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the Soviet Armed Forces. Russian institutions designated as an "aca ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

as a

Junker Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...

. He was a capable student, excelled as a cavalryman and as a gymnast. Upon graduation from the first grade school, on August 11, 1886, Ali Agha Shikhlinski was promoted to

podporuchik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, , , , , ) is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English ...

and was assigned to the 39th Artillery Brigade stationed in the city of Alexandropol (now

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

). In the course of military service he was promoted to

poruchik The rank of lieutenant in Eastern Europe, also called ''poruchnick'' in Slavic languages, is one used in Slavophone armed forces. Depending on the country, it is either the lowest or second lowest officer rank. Etymology The rank designatio ...

, then shtabs-kapitan and appointed as commander of the training team. In 1900, Captain Shikhlinski was transferred to

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykal'ye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal at the south side of the eastern Si ...

Artillery Battalion in

Eastern Siberia Eastern Siberia is a part of Siberia that incorporates the territory located between the Yenisei River in the west and the Pacific Ocean divides in the east. Its area is equal to 7.2 million sq. km.Galina Samoylova (Г. С. Самойлова)В� ...

. He was appointed to the Battery Chief of

Artillery Division in the detachment, as well as chairperson of the Artillery Committee, he repeatedly carried out the authorizations of battalion and division commanders. He took part in

China Relief Expedition The China Relief Expedition was an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to rescue United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted ...

of the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

Russo-Japanese War

During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

Shikhlinski was the commander of an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

. He distinguished himself during the

siege of Port Arthur The siege of Port Arthur (, ''Ryojun Kōisen''; , ''Oborona Port-Artura'', August 1, 1904 – January 2, 1905) was the longest and most violent land battle of the Russo-Japanese War. Port Arthur, the deep-water port and Russian naval base ...

when, despite being severely wounded in his leg, he personally aimed the guns which lost their gun crews and repulsed attacks of superior Japanese forces. For the services in battle on September 28, 1905, he was decorated with the

Order of Saint George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

4th degree. He was also awarded a Saint George Sword and conferred the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Officer's Artillery College

In January 1906, Shikhlinski was seconded to

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...

Officer's Artillery College, which he finished with honors in August of the same year and was appointed the instructor of the Artillery College. During his service as the instructor of the college Shikhlinski published a number of works on artillery, including a book titled “''Use of Field Artillery in a Battle''”, and invented an original target-finding device, which was called “Shiklinski triangle”. In 1908 Shiklinski was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, and in 1912 he was conferred the rank of major-general and assigned the deputy chief of Officer's Artillery College.

World War I

When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

started in 1914 Ali-Agha Shikhlinski was appointed the commander of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

garrison artillery. In January 1915, Shikhlinski was seconded to the

Northwestern front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...

to manage the training of heavy artillery guncrews. On May 23, 1915, he was appointed the general for errands at the commander-in-chief of the Northwestern front, and after division of the front into two held the same position at the Western front. On October 31, 1915, he was appointed to the position of the general for errands at the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. He was charged with the creation of heavy artillery battalions and brigades. From April 1916 16, Shikhlinski was the acting inspector of Western Front artillery. He was in charge of the artillery aspects of operations of the Western Front. On April 2, 1917, Ali Agha Shikhlinski was promoted to the rank of

Azerbaijani National Army

After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

in Russia, Ali Agha Shikhlinski was appointed the commander of the 10th Russian army in September 1917. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he resigned from his position and moved to

, where he was charged with formation of the Muslim (Azerbaijani) corps. The corps supported the

Ottoman Army of Islam The Islamic Army of the Caucasus (; Turkish: ''Kafkas İslâm Ordusu'') (also translated as ''Caucasian Army of Islam'' in some sources) was a military unit of the Ottoman Empire formed on July 10, 1918. The Ottoman Minister of War, Enver Pasha ...

in the

Battle of Baku The Battle of Baku (, , ) took place in August and September 1918 between the Ottoman– Azerbaijani coalition forces led by Nuri Pasha and Bolshevik– ARF Baku Soviet forces, later succeeded by the British–Armenian– White Russian forces ...

with

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

and British forces. In January 1919, the government of

appointed Shikhlinski a deputy to the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Republic

Samad bey Mehmandarov Samad bey Sadykh bey oghlu Mehmandarov (, ; 16 October 1855 – 12 February 1931) was an Azerbaijani General of the Artillery in the Russian Imperial Army, a member of the Independence faction of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic R ...

. On June 28, 1919, Ali-Agha Shikhlinski was promoted to the rank of General of the Artillery of the Azerbaijani army. After the

Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan The Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan, also known as the Sovietization or Soviet invasion of Azerbaijan, took place in April 1920. It was a military campaign conducted by the 11th Army of Soviet Russia with the aim of installing a new Soviet govern ...

and establishment of the Soviet regime in Azerbaijan in April 1920, Shikhlinski was arrested and released two months later.

Red Army

In 1920–1921, he was seconded to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he was an adviser to the artillery inspection department of

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and taught in Higher Artillery School. On 18 July 1921, Shikhlinski was transferred back to Baku, where he taught at a military school and became a deputy to the chairman of the military science society of Baku garrison. In 1926, Shikhlinsky published the Russian-Azerbaijani Concise Military Dictionary. He resigned from military service in 1929 and wrote his memoirs, which were published in 1944.

Death

Building on the Jafar Jabbarly Street 14

He spent his last days in his house, apartment 14 of Jafar Jabbarly Street in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. Prior to his death, Ali Agha Shikhlinski wrote his memoirs "My Memories" in 1942. The book was published nine months after the general's death, in May 1944. A well-known Russian and Soviet military specialist, Doctor of Military Sciences, Major-General Evgeny Barsukov wrote a preface to the book. This book was published by "Azərnəşr" in Azerbaijani and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

in 1984 with mass circulation (60 thousand) with additions and explanations. The funeral of Ali Agha Shikhlinski, who died of cardiosclerosis in the hospital now named after Agha Musa Naghiyev on August 18, 1943, and was organized by philosopher

Heydar Huseynov Dr. Heydar Najaf oglu Huseynov ( Azeri: ''Heydər Hüseynov'') (3 April 1908, Yerevan – 15 August 1950, Baku) was an Azerbaijani philosopher and academician. Life Huseynov was born in Erivan (present-day Yerevan, Armenia) into the petty bourge ...

himself. The funeral was accompanied by an orchestra from the Baku Military Garrison. Nigar Shikhlinskaya in 1914

Legacy

A short biographical film named " The General", directed by Rauf Kazimovski, was released in 1970. An

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Closed Joint-Stock Company (, Азәрбајҹан Хәзәр Дәниз Ҝәмичилији, AXDG/АХДҜ, ) is an Azerbaijani shipping company. It is also known as CASPAR (from the Russian Каспийское па� ...

tanker was named after him in 1980. There is a street in

and

Gazakh Qazax (; ) is a city in and the capital of the Gazakh District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 20,900. Gazakh is a city and administrative district in the west of Azerbaijan, the "western gate" of Azerbaijan. History Early history I ...

named after him. By the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR dated July 28, 1990, the sixth cotton collective farm in

Sabirabad District Sabirabad District () is one of the 66 Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan, districts of Azerbaijan. Located in the centre of the country, it belongs to the Mil-Mughan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Saatly District, Saat ...

and 135th secondary school, located in the seventh Micro-District of

, was named after him. There is a memorial bass-relief on the building that he lived in. On July 23, 1990, under the decree of the

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and for ...

, "General Ali Agha Shikhlinski" scholarship was established for the students of higher education. In 1996, a descendant of the military commander, film director Zia Shikhlinski, made a short documentary film named "Was considered the god of artillery", which was aired on November 16, 2006, in

, organized with the assistance of the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan. In 2014,

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The Constitution of Azerbaijan, Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of Executive (government), executive power, co ...

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

signed an order on commemorating the 150th anniversary of General Ali Agha Shikhlinski. A well-known Russian and Soviet military specialist, Doctor of Military Sciences Evgeny Barsukov wrote about him: Ali Agha Shikhlinski was one of the characters of Russian-Soviet writer Alexander Nikolaevich Stepanov's "Port-Arthur" and "Zvonaryov Family" novels.

Films

* The General (1970 film) () * Was Considered The God of Artillery () * Honorable Commander: General Ali Agha Shikhlinski ()

Honours and medals

* 3rd Class

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

(1891) * 3rd Class

Order of Saint Anne The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

(1896) * 2nd Class

with Swords (1901) * 2nd Class

(1904) *

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery () was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the Saint George ...

(1905) * 4th Class

for Bravery (1905) * 2nd Class

(1905) * 4th Class

Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine the Great, Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev, Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of ...

with Swords and Banners (1905) * Russo-Japanese Silver War Medal (1907) * The Highest Favor (1907) * Bronze Medal "In memory of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty" (1913) *

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(1913) * 3rd Class

(1913) * 1st Class

(1915) * 1st Class

(1915) * 2nd Class

with Swords (1915)

Bibliography

Works

* "Use of artillery in the battlefield" (1910) * "A set of tasks for solving mountain and field artillery problems" (1916) * "Russian-Azerbaijani brief military dictionary" (1926) * "Worker-Peasant Red Army Artilleryman's Instructions" (1927) * "My Memories" (1944)

Gallery

File:Ali-Agha Shikhlinski.jpg, Ali Agha Shikhlinski in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

(Early 20th century) File:Ali-Agha Shikhlinski and Nigar Shikhlinskaya.jpg, Ali Agha Shikhlinski and his wife

Nigar Shikhlinskaya Nigar Huseyn Afandi gizi Shikhlinskaya, née Gayibova (; October 10, 1871 or March 21, 1878 in Tiflis – August 15, 1931 in Baku) was the first Azerbaijani nurse. She was fluent in several languages, including Russian and French, and served on t ...

(Early 20th century) File:Ali-Agha Shikhlinski and Nigar Shikhlinskaya 2.jpg, Ali Agha Shikhlinski and his wife

(1920's) File:Aliagha Shikhlinski in 1920.jpg, Major-General Ali Agha Shikhlinski (1920) File:Shikhlinski-Veisov-Frunze-Karaev 1925.jpg,

Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (; ; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theory, military theorist. Born to a Bessarabian father and a Russian mother in Russian Turkestan, Frunze at ...

at combat training of the Azerbaijani Soldiers of the Red Army (April 1925)

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

External links