Operation Kalbajar

Operation Kalbajar
Part of First Nagorno-Karabakh War
Map showing the height of the Azerbaijani offensive (c. mid-February 1994)   Areas recaptured by Azerbaijan during the operation   Armenian-occupied territories   Azerbaijan outside of the conflict zone   Armenia
Date 15 December 1993 (1993-12-15) – 20 February 1994 (1994-02-20) (2 months and 5 days) Location Kalbajar, Azerbaijan Result Armenian victory
Belligerents
Azerbaijan	Nagorno-Karabakh Republic  Armenia Alleged: Russian volunteers
Commanders and leaders
Heydar Aliyev Surat Huseynov Najmaddin Sadigov Mammadrafi Mammadov Valeh Rafiyev Saleh Ilyasov Eldar Hasanov Gorkmaz Garayev	Levon Ter-Petrosyan Hrachya Andreasyan Serzh Sargsyan Robert Kocharyan Samvel Babayan Vitaly Balasanyan Levon Mnatsakanyan Samvel Karapetyan Arshavir Gharamyan
Units involved
Azerbaijani Armed Forces Azerbaijani Land Forces 701st Kalbajar Motorised Rifle Brigade Ministry of Internal Affairs Kalbajar police[1]	Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army Central Self-Defence Group Armed Forces of Armenia 555th Vardenis Motorised Rifle Regiment 7th Gyumri Engineer Battalion 9th Etchmiadzin Engineer Battalion
Strength
3,500 servicemen (December 1993)	+2,000 servicemen (February 1994)
Casualties and losses
~4,000 servicemen killed 1,337 servicemen died of frostbite 111 servicemen missing Several dozen equipment captured	~2,000 servicemen killed Several dozen equipment, including tanks, IFVs, and artillery captured

Operation Kalbajar (Azerbaijani: Kəlbəcər əməliyyatı) was a military offensive launched by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in late 1993 against the forces of the Armenian Army and the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to recapture the district of Kalbajar in the final stage of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Armenian forces had captured the entire district in an offensive in March–April 1993. These developments caused political turmoil within Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani military commander Surat Huseynov marched from Ganja to Baku in the summer of 1993, to depose the then president of Azerbaijan, Abulfaz Elchibey. Ex-Soviet leader Heydar Aliyev assumed power and made Huseynov the country's prime minister. The Armenians were easily able to push further and capture several districts of Azerbaijan adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh during this period. Aliyev vowed to take back the lost territories.

The Azerbaijani forces, made up of over three thousand soldiers of the 701st Kalbajar Motorised Infantry Division, launched the offensive on 15 December, in high altitudes and harsh winter conditions, which led to some commanders opposing the operation. After back-and-forth action, the Azerbaijanis had passed over the Murov range by mid-January 1994. They were able to cut off the Vardenis–Martakert road and advanced towards to the Kalbajar–Martakert–Lachin road. The Armenians were caught off guard and the offensive initially met little resistance, with the Armenian forces retreating deeper into the region. By February, the Azerbaijani forces had approached Kalbajar. The offensive took a turn, and the Armenian forces were able to regroup and launch a counter-offensive with a large number of troops. They were able to cut off the road passing thorough the Omar Pass and besiege the Azerbaijani forces. The Azerbaijanis panicked and had to retreat through harsh mountainous terrain and deadly weather. By 20 February, the Azerbaijani forces were able to retreat to their original positions, except for two battalions, which were encircled by Armenian forces and fell under heavy bombardment.

The offensive is the single deadliest military engagement of the war, in which both Armenian and Azerbaijani forces suffered heavy casualties. According to British journalist Thomas de Waal, overall, more than six thousand servicemen were killed during the offensive. Many Azerbaijani soldiers, ill-prepared for winter conditions, either froze to death or died from avalanches. The high number of casualties paved the way to the signing of the Bishkek Protocol, ending the war. The Azerbaijani authorities kept their casualty numbers a secret, and it is still unknown who gave the order to launch an offensive in winter.