The Azerbaijani Land Forces () are the land force component of the

Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces () is the military of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were ...

. Since the fall of the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, Azerbaijan has been trying to create professional, well trained, and mobile armed forces. Based on 2013 statistics, the country has about 85,000 ground force troops, with additional paramilitary forces of 15,000. In addition, there are 300,000 former service personnel who have had military service in the last fifteen years. Reportedly, in wartime, the Army proper could call upon the support of the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

, the Internal Troops of Azerbaijan, and the State Border Service. The exact wartime command structure remains unclear.

History

During the Soviet period, Azerbaijan was part of the Transcaucasus Military District, whose forces in the republic were commanded by the 4th Army. The 4th Army consisted of three motor rifle divisions (the 23rd Guards Motor Rifle Division (MRD) at

Ganja ''Ganja'' (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for cannabis flower, specifically marijuana or hashish. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi (, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒa� ...

, the 60th Motor Rifle Division at

Lankaran Lankaran (, ) or Lánkon () is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a disti ...

, and the 295th Motor Rifle Division 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 ...

), plus army troops that included missile and air defence brigades and artillery and rocket regiments. Azerbaijan also hosted the 49th Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, which contained over 7,000 train-car loads of ammunition holding in excess of one billion units of ammunition and stores. In addition, the 75th Motor Rifle Division, part of the 7th Guards Army, was in the

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked country, landlocked Enclave and exclave, exclave of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republi ...

. In summer 1992, the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan, following a resolution by the Azerbaijani president on the privatization of units and formations in Azerbaijani territory, forwarded an ultimatum demanding control over vehicles and armaments of the 135th and 139th motorized rifle regiments of the 295th Motor Rifle Division. The transfer of the property of the 4th Army (except for over half the equipment of the 366th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 23rd Division captured by Armenian armed formations in 1992 during the regiment's withdrawal from

Stepanakert Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in ...

) and the 49th Arsenal was completed in 1992. Thus, by the end of 1992, the Azerbaijani Government received arms and military hardware sufficient for approximately three motor rifle divisions with prescribed army units. The stores and equipment of the 75th Division were handed over to the Nakhchivan government. The former Division HQs may have contributed to the formation of corps headquarters.

Twenty-first century

Azerbaijan reorganized its army, and has been preparing its armed forces for possible action against Armenian forces in

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

. Intermittent fighting continued, most recently breaking out into the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, surrounding occupied territories. It was a major esca ...

. Azerbaijan has contracted with Turkey for troop training to strengthen its armed forces. This is necessary in view of deficiencies that Jane's World Armies said in 2004 included huge problems in training, equipping and motivating its soldiers; corruption in its ranks; and a highly politicized officer corps. The

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

tradition of dedovshchina, institutionalized hazing, appeared to be continuing in the armed forces as of 2008. The quality and readiness of much of the army's equipment, Jane's said, is also a problem, as a decade of poor maintenance and chronic shortages of spare parts meant that many systems were not operational, or cannibalised for parts. Azerbaijan has the second-highest military expenditure in CIS. Azerbaijan's defence spending is second only to Russia's within the Commonwealth of Independent States. During the

, the Azerbaijani army was widely accused of committing war crimes against Armenian soldiers and civilians.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

both condemned Azerbaijan's "indiscriminate" shelling of Armenian civilians, including the use of

cluster munitions A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehi ...

. In addition, videos of Azerbaijani soldiers mistreating or executing captive Armenians were circulated online and received widespread condemnation.

Foreign deployments

One officer, 1 sergeant and 32 soldiers formed part of the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

battalion deployed as part of the

Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force and military of Kosovo. KFOR is the third security responder, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (European ...

from September 1999. The Azerbaijanis oversaw eighteen settlements. On 26 February 2008, as Kosovo declared its independence, Azerbaijani President

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 ...

addressed the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

to call for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani peacekeepers from Kosovo. Within ten days the address was accepted. On April 15 of the same year the

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

returned to Azerbaijan. About 400 Azerbaijani servicemen were peacekeepers in Kosovo. Azerbaijani servicemen were deployed to Iraq as part of Combined Joint Task Force 7 in 2003. The peacekeeping unit consisted of 14 officers, 16 sergeants and 120 privates, who secured the hydroelectric power station and reservoir in Haditha from August 2003. One company of Azerbaijani peacekeepers commanded by Captain Nasimi Javadov guarded the area of Haditha Dam, which is one of the principal sources of electricity in Iraq. An Azerbaijani delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Defence visited the Hadithah Dam at the invitation of the Marine Corps officials. From 2004 the company became part of the USMC led Multi-National Forces West. Ilham Aliyev's address to recall the Azerbaijani peacekeepers in Iraq was accepted at the

plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily r ...

of National Assembly by eighty six votes in favor and one against Four Azerbaijani officers in Iraq (Maj. Huseyn Dashdamirov, Capt. Nasimi Javadov, Capt. Alizamin Karimov and Sr. Lt. Abdulla Abdullayev) have been awarded the US Navy and Marines Corps

Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious se ...

Afghanistan

Azerbaijan sent a platoon of 21 soldiers, one officer, First Lieutenant Shamil Mammadov, and one NCO to the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

(ISAF) in Afghanistan in November 2002 to contribute to peace, security and order. The platoon performed patrolling duties in southern

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. On 2 October 2008 the National Assembly passed a decision to send 45 more peacekeepers to Afghanistan. In an interview with the

Azeri Press Agency Azeri or Azeri Turk may refer to: * Azeri people, an ethnic group also known as Azerbaijanis * Citizens of Azerbaijan * Azeri language, the modern-day Turkic language * Old Azeri, an extinct Iranian language * Azeri Turk (journal), Academic jour ...

Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette gave ISAF's thanks for Azerbaijan's contribution. The number of peacekeepers serving in the

Resolute Support mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Dece ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

was raised from 94 to 120 on 9 January 2018. according to an amendment by the Milli Majlis on 29 December 2017.

Structure

Opposed by Armenian forces, the Azerbaijani military was forced back out of Nagorno-Karabakh and was significantly reorganised in the mid-1990s predominantly around brigades, though at least one division was reported as late as 2000. Manoeuvre formations have consistently stayed at a strength of around twenty brigades and regiments since 1995, though that has slowly risen recently. During the 1990s, these brigades may have included the 701st Motor Rifle Brigade (1st Army Corps), the 708th Motor Rifle Brigade (1st Army Corps), 130th Motor Rifle Brigade (1st Army Corps), 161st Motor Rifle Brigade (2nd Army Corps), 709th Motor Rifle Brigade (formerly the 23rd Motor Rifle Division), and the 112th Motor Rifle Brigade. The Land Forces currently consist of five army corps:C. W. Bland
Azerbaijan: Is War Over Nagornyy Karabakh a Realistic Option? Advanced Research and Assessment Group. Caucasus Series 08/17. — Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, 2008, p.12
* 1st Army Corps also known as Barda Army Corps (deployed near

), currently led by Major General Hikmat Hasanov **1st Motor Rifle Brigade **3rd Motor Rifle Brigade **9th Motor Rifle Brigade **10th Motor Rifle Brigade **15th Motor Rifle Brigade **17th Motor Rifle Brigade * 2nd Army Corps also known as Beylagan Army Corps (concentrated against Armenian occupied territories and part is deployed on the Azerbaijan-Iranian border), currently led by Major General Mais Barkhudarov **2nd Motor Rifle Brigade **4th Motor Rifle Brigade **6th Motor Rifle Brigade **8th Motor Rifle Brigade **13th Motor Rifle Brigade **14th Motor Rifle Brigade **18th Motor Rifle Brigade * 3rd Army Corps also known as Shamkir Army Corps (concentrated against Armenian occupied territories), currently led by Lieutenant General Rovshan Akbarov **7th Motor Rifle Brigade **11th Motor Rifle Brigade **12th Motor Rifle Brigade **16th Motor Rifle Brigade **19th Motor Rifle Brigade **20th Motor Rifle Brigade * 4th Army Corps also known as

Army Corps (covers Absheron Peninsula and the coast) **Motor Rifle Brigade **Motor Rifle Brigade **Motor Rifle Brigade * Nakhchivan Separate Combined Arms Army (deployed in Nakhchivan ), currently led by

Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

Karam Mustafayev * 6th Army Corps The IISS estimated in 2007 that the Azerbaijani regular army was 56,840 strong, probably basing this figure on Conventional Forces in Europe treaty data. It attributes to the army five corps headquarters, 23 motor rifle brigades, one artillery brigade, one multiple rocket launcher brigade, and one anti-tank regiment. Of the five army corps, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Army Corps are concentrated against NK; part of 2nd is deployed on the

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian border; the 4th covers the capital and the coast and the 5th is deployed exclusively in Nakhchivan. Following the 2020 war, and specifically during the Baku Victory Parade, experts noted that a 6th corps was created, in part due to the partial mobilization that occurred in the country during that 44-day period. In addition, the Army maintains the following units: * Azerbaijani Special Forces badge

Azerbaijani Special Forces * Peacekeeping Battalion *Security Team * Artillery Brigade * Multiple Rocket Launcher Brigade * Anti-Tank Regiment *Communication Brigade *Engineering Brigade *Logistics Brigade * Commando Brigades

Ranks

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

Other ranks

The rank insignia of

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

s and

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

Equipment

Service March

The service march of the Lane Forces is "Forward" (''Marş "İrəli"'') also known as the "Soldier's Anthem" (''Əsgər Marşı''). The lyrics are based on that of the '' Regiment March'', which is the official march of the Special Forces Command of Turkey. The lyrics of the march are as follows: The march was written by Cavanşir Quliyev. It is performed at all military parades in Azerbaijan.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military of Azerbaijan Armies by country 1992 establishments in Azerbaijan