Editing Azerbaijani Armed Forces (section)

===Azerbaijan Democratic Republic===
[[File:Two Azerbaijani soldiers 1919.png|thumb|175px|left|Two Azerbaijani soldiers, members of the Guba military unit of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1919)]]
The history of the modern Azerbaijan army dates back to [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] (ADR) in 1918, when the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan were created on 26 June 1918. First ''de facto'' Minister of Defense of ADR was Dr. [[Khosrov bey Sultanov]]. When the Ministry was formally established, Gen. [[Samedbey Mehmandarov]] became the minister, and Lt-Gen. [[Ali-Agha Shikhlinski]] his deputy. Chiefs of Staff of ADR Army were Lt-Gen. [[Maciej Sulkiewicz]] (March 1919 – 10 December 1919) and Maj-Gen. Abdulhamid bey Gaitabashi (10 December 1919 – April 1920).<ref name="Azerbaijani Army marks 91 years">[http://en.apa.az/print.php?id=104326 Azerbaijani Army marks 91 years] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225202625/http://en.apa.az/print.php?id=104326 |date=25 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.today.az/news/politics/53397.html|title=Azerbaijan marks Day of Armed Forces|access-date=27 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629185253/http://www.today.az/news/politics/53397.html|archive-date=29 June 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Red Army]] invaded Azerbaijan on 28 April 1920. Although the bulk of the newly formed Azerbaijani army was engaged in putting down an Armenian revolt that had just broken out in [[Karabakh]], the Azerbaijanis did not surrender their brief independence of 1918–20 quickly or easily. As many as 20,000 of the total 30,000 soldiers died resisting what was effectively a Russian reconquest.<ref>
Hugh Pope, "Sons of the conquerors: the rise of the Turkic world", New York: The Overlook Press, 2006, p. 116, {{ISBN|1-58567-804-X}}</ref> The national Army of Azerbaijan was abolished by the Bolshevik government, 15 of the 21 army generals were executed by the Bolsheviks.<ref name="Azerbaijani Army marks 91 years"/>
[[File:Army of Azerbaijan in 1918.jpg|thumb|Officers of the army of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918]]