The Marine Infantry Battalion () is a marine corps of the

Republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a 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 the Caspian Sea to the east, Russi ...

. It serves in combat operations an amphibious assault force of the

Azerbaijani Navy The Azerbaijan Navy () is the naval component of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces operating in the Caspian Sea. History The inception of Azerbaijani Naval Forces dates back to August 5, 1919, when the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republi ...

. It is currently based in Zığ. Its polygon is on Wulf Island in the

Bay of Baku Bay of Baku (Baku Bay) is a natural harbor of the Baku port and local yacht club, on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula and on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Description It has an area of 50 km² and a coastline of 20&nb ...

Overview

Due to a need for extra troops on the front lines of the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, a Marine Battalion was formed from the personnel of the naval and ground units of the Naval Forces. The battalion was sent on 19 April 1994 to the front in order to prevent an enemy offensive in the

Aghdam Aghdam () is a town and the nominal capital of the Aghdam District of Azerbaijan. Founded in the 18th century, it was granted city status in 1828 and grew considerably during the Soviet period. Aghdam lies from Stepanakert at the eastern foot ...

, returning on 25 July upon the successful completion of its combat mission. A

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

delegation visited Baku from 15 to 18 September 2009 to familiarize themselves with the service combat activities of the unit. Exchanges of marines have also been carried out with a number of foreign countries.

2020 Karabakh war

Members of the marine infantry took part in hostilities during the

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

. The marines took part in the capture of the

Qubadli District Qubadli District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the south-west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the Lachin, Khojavend, Jabrayil and Zangilan districts, and ...

. They were honored alongside other military personnel at the Baku Victory Parade on Azadliq Square on 10 December. The marine formation was led by First Class Captain Zaur Guliyev. Captain Guliyev was earlier awarded the title of

Hero of the Patriotic War The Hero of the Patriotic War () is the highest title in Azerbaijan. The title was created by the law "Regulations on the title of "Hero of the Patriotic War" of the Republic of Azerbaijan" dated 26 November 2020 and the decree of the President o ...

. Personnel of the marine infantry completed their missions and returned to their base on 1 December, during which the Commander of the Naval Forces Rear Admiral Subhan Bekirov expressed gratitude to them.

References

{{Azerbaijani Armed Forces Azerbaijani Marines Military units and formations established in 1994 Military units and formations of Azerbaijan in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

Overview

2020 Karabakh war

See also

References