Samedbey Mehmandarov
Encyclopedia
Samadbey Mehmandarov Sadykhbey oglu was an Azerbaijani General of the Artillery
General of the Artillery (Imperial Russia)
In the Imperial Russian army, General of the Artillery was the second-highest possible rank, below Generalissimo of Russia or General-Fieldmarshal, produced by splitting General-in-Chief into service branches....

 in the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...

 and served as the Minister of Defense of
Minister of Defense (Azerbaijan)
The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan is the Azerbaijani government ministry, associated with the Azerbaijani military. The ministry is responsible for keeping Azerbaijan defended against external threats, preserving its territorial integrity, waging war on behalf of Azerbaijan , and the...

 Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...

.

Early life

Samedbey Mehmandarov was born on October 16, 1855 in Lankaran
Lankaran
-History:The city was built on a swamp along the northern bank of the river bearing the city's name. There are remains of human settlements in the area dating back to the Neolithic period as well as ruins of fortified villages from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Lankaran's history is rather recent,...

, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

 in a noble family originally from Shusha
Shusha
Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...

. He graduated from 2nd Constantine Military School in St. Petersburg in 1875, was conferred the rank of podporuchik and assigned to 1st Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...

 artillery brigade. In the course of military service he was promoted to poruchik
Poruchik
Poruchik was a military rank in several Slavic countries, such as the Russian Empire and the Republic of Poland, equivalent to Lieutenant. "Poruchik" means "messenger", "officer for orders". This is a Slavic copy of the term "Lieutenant" .In Russia this rank was first introduced in Strelets New...

 in 1877 and seconded two years later to 2nd artillery brigade in St. Petersburg.

Active duty

In 1885 shtabs-kapitan
Senior Captain
Senior Captain is a rare military rank which is used in some countries armed forces.-Army:In some armies of the world, the senior captain is a rank between a regular Captain and a Major. The rank is often only found in armies and air forces...

 Mehmandarov was assigned to 38th artillery brigade in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

, where he served 9 years. In 1894, 38th artillery brigade was transferred to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, where he became a member of court martial. In 1898, captain Mehmandarov was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and appointed the commander of 1st battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...

 of 3rd artillery battalion. The same year, Mehmandarov’s battery was moved to Transbaikal
Transbaikal
Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia , or Dauria is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" Lake Baikal in Russia. The alternative name, Dauria, is derived from the ethnonym of the Daur people. It stretches for almost 1000 km from north to south from the Patomskoye Plateau and North...

 region and took part in China Relief Expedition
China Relief Expedition
The China Relief Expedition was the name of an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to the rescue of United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted from between 1898 and 1901...

 in 1901. For the services in battle Mehmandarov was conferred the rank of colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

. In 1903 he completed a course in Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...

 Officer's Artillery College.

When the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

 broke out in 1904, Mehmandarov was appointed the commander of 7th Eastern Siberia artillery battalion. During the siege of Port Arthur
Siege of Port Arthur
The Siege of Port Arthur , 1 August 1904 – 2 January 1905, the deep-water port and Russian naval base at the tip of the Liaotung Peninsula in Manchuria, was the longest and most violent land battle of the Russo-Japanese War....

 he was the commander of the Eastern Front Artillery. For the services in battle he was promoted to major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 and decorated with the Order of Saint George of IV degree. After the capitulation
Capitulation (surrender)
Capitulation , an agreement in time of war for the surrender to a hostile armed force of a particular body of troops, a town or a territory....

 of the fortress the garrison was in Japanese captivity. When Japanese commanders allowed the captured Russian officers to return home in exchange to signing an obligation not to fight against Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Mehmandarov refused and preferred to stay with his soldiers.

Upon his return from captivity Mehmandarov was appointed the commander of 7th East Siberian Artillery Brigade in 1906, and became the commander of 3rd Siberian Army Corps artillery a year later. In 1908, he was conferred the rank of lieutenant-general. In 1910, he was appointed the commander of 1st Caucasian Division; in 1913 he became the commander of 21st Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 Division and in this position entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 within 3rd Caucasian Army Corps. Under Mehmandarov’s command the division earned the reputation of one of the best in the Russian Army, and 81st Apsheron and 83rd Samur regiments especially distinguished themselves. He was decorated with the Order of Saint George of III degree for the battles of 27 – 29 September 1914, and Saint George sword decorated with diamonds for the battle near Iwangorod on 14 February 1915. On December 11, 1914 Mehmandarov was appointed the commander of 2nd Caucasian Army Corps. Mehmandarov’s corps was engaged in the fiercest battles with German troops and during the whole war had not surrendered to the enemy a single piece of ordnance. On 22 March 1915 Samedbey Mehmandarov was promoted to the rank of the General of the Artillery
General of the Artillery (Imperial Russia)
In the Imperial Russian army, General of the Artillery was the second-highest possible rank, below Generalissimo of Russia or General-Fieldmarshal, produced by splitting General-in-Chief into service branches....

. He was decorated with British, French and Romanian orders.

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

After the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...

 in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 Mehmandarov resigned and left for Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...

. With the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...

 in 1918, Samedbey Mehmandarov became the third and last Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan. He held this position until 11th Red Army troops invaded
Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan
The Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan, also known as the Sovietization or Soviet occupation of Azerbaijan, was a military campaign carried out by the 11th Army of Soviet Russia on April 27 - May 11, 1920 to overthrow the government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and to install a Bolshevik regime...

 Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

 in 1920. After the fall of the national government and establishment of the Soviet rule in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

 Mehmandarov was arrested, but was released two months later. He taught in military schools and was an advisor to the Commissariat of Military and Naval Forces of Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....

 until his retirement in 1928.

Samedbey Mehmandarov died on February 12, 1931 in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...

.

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