Enver Pasha's campaign in Bukhara (1922)

Enver Pasha's campaign in Bukhara
Part of the Basmachi movement
Territories under Enver Pasha's control or influence (1921–1922)
Date April–May 1922 Location Bukhara and most of Uzbekistan Result Basmachi-Afghan victory Territorial changes Basmachi forces captured most of the former territory of the Emirate of Bukhara [1] [2] [3] [4]
Belligerents
Basmachi movement Military support:   Afghanistan	Russian SFSR Bukharan PSR
Commanders and leaders
Enver Pasha Molla Abdul Kakhar	Mikhail Frunze Fayzulla Xoʻjayev
Strength
20,000	Over 100,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	~17,000 dead [5] Other estimates (1921–1923): up to 259,000 [6] [7] (likely exaggerated).

Enver Pasha's campaign in Bukhara or Enver Pasha's Bukhara campaign ^[8] was a series of military engagements between the Basmachi movement, led by Enver Pasha ^{[9] [10] [11]} and Molla Abduk Kakhar, ^{[12] [13] [14]} and Soviet forces led by Mikhail Frunze ^[15] in former Emirate of Bukhara and Soviet Turkestan during April and May 1922. ^[16] The campaign resulted in the Basmachi forces temporarily gaining control over much of Eastern and parts of Western Bukhara, ^{[17] [18] [19] [20]} challenging Soviet authority in the area. Despite initial successes, Soviet counteroffensives later that year continued to contest the region. The campaign formed part of the broader Basmachi Revolt against Soviet rule in Central Asia following the Russian Civil War.

Background

After Enver Pasha's successful siege in Dushanbe, Under Enver's leadership, the Basmachis regained control over much of Bukhara. ^{[21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]} Koyenikov, the official Soviet Russian representative in Bukhara, reported to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs that "the Basmachi were growing stronger and becoming organized in Eastern Bukhara, were also active in Western Bukhara, and that even the capital, Bukhara itself, was in danger." ^[29] During this period, the movement also became more centralized; regular meetings were held among the leaders of Khiva, Bukhara, and Fergana. ^{[30] [31] [32] [33] [34]} Enver Pasha's successful gains in Bukhara were on the verge of spreading to Dagestan, where signs of unrest had already begun to emerge. ^{[35] [36]} He established a unified army in Bukhara, implemented a Western-style chain of command, ^[37] and incorporated Turkish officers into the ranks. ^[38] Bukharan Army could no longer contain the movement and, fearing the collapse of their own government, the Bukharan Council of Nazir, Fayzulla Xo'jayev approved yet another increase in Soviet troop commitment in the area. ^{[39] [40]}

Campaign

After Enver Pasha's successes in Turkestan, Russian forces deployed approximately 100,000 troops to the region to combat his forces. ^{[41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49]} In May 1922, after receiving military aid from Afghanistan—including 800 soldiers, weapons, and 80 camel-loads of ammunition ^{[50] [51] [52] [53]} Enver Pasha mobilized from his headquarters in the Kafirun region with approximately 20,000 Basmachi fighters under his command. ^[54] He launched a broad offensive, clearing Soviet forces from Dushanbe, Hisar, Beljivan, Kulab, Darvaz, Karategin, Saraykamar, Kurgantepe, Kabaduyan, and most of the city of Baysun, ^{[55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] [62]} (The detailed report submitted to Galip Pasha, who had been appointed as the representative to Bukhara, confirms this information. More than half of the territory of the Emirate of Bukhara was under the military control of Enver Pasha's forces, not the Soviets.) ^[63] In accordance with the decisions made at the 15 April 1922 congress, he established local and civil administrations in these areas and stationed a portion of his troops in the mentioned locations to maintain control and security. ^{[64] [65] [66] [67] [68]} when Enver's forces controlled the whole of the eastern part of Bukhara, ^[69] the Soviets were quite worried and perceived this situation to be more complicated than some military victories won by Enver:

"What will be the outcome of this enterprise? From a military point of view, there can be only one opinion, that the large Soviet Federation which knew how to contain the English and the French attack when fighting Denikin, Kolchak and Wrangel, is strong enough to destroy the enterprise of Enver Paşa.... It is not the military aspect of this affair which makes us worry, it is more the political aspect... In effect, the past glory of Enver as man of the Muslim state, can still attract crowds of ignorant dehgans in some remote regions today." ^[70]

During the campaign, Kuşcubaşızâde Hacı Sâmi sent a letter to İli Hacı Beg: ^[71]

From Hacı Sâmi Bey (Kabul) To İli Hacı Bek (Kashgar)

June 3, 1922 ^[72]

To your esteemed presence,

Honorable brother İli Hacı,

On Tuesday, October 28th, Enver Pasha rose up from Bukhara, calling upon all the Muslims of Turkestan to revolt against the Russian Government, and we proceeded into Eastern Bukhara. As of now, the regions of Samarkand, Bukhara, Ashkabad, Qarshi, and even as far as Ferghana are under siege. The Russians have proven by their actions that, beyond being enemies of Islamic civilization, they are now enemies of both the material wealth and the moral values of Islam.

The service you and your comrades have rendered in spreading education in Kashgar is worthy of deep gratitude. The Chinese have never been enemies of Islam like the Westerners. When I was in Shanghai, I had contact with Chinese notables. It is always possible for the Islamic world and the Turks to come to an understanding with the Chinese. The Chinese are a civilization worthy of respect. Even today, they continue to prove this in practice.

I heard in Kabul that you have been granted permission to open schools, exercise your social rights, and form communal organizations. This news brought me great joy.

With this occasion, I offer my respect to all my dear comrades.

Kuşcubaşızâde Hacı Sâmi

Aftermath

Enver Pasha, who managed to largely unify the Basmachi in a short period of time, succeeded in forming a general front in March 1922 by including the Fergana, Samarkand region units, and the Eastern Bukhara units. Following this development, on March 28, 1922, Enver Pasha was declared the commander of all forces in Eastern Bukhara by a decree sent by Alim Khan. ^{[73] [74]}

In response to Enver's challenge, Red Army Commander S. S. Kamenev created the Bukharan Forces Group (under the control of the Turkestan Front), which included 2 cavalry brigades, 2 cavalry squadrons, and 1 rifle division-7,530 men in all. The Reds pursued Enver in two columns, one to seal the Afghan frontier and the other to envelop him from the from the north and expel him from the fertile Gissar Valley. ^[75] In the same year and the following year Bukhara People's Soviet Republic government fired all Ottoman prisoners of war working in Bukhara as teachers, ostensibly for provoking factionalism in the country and supporting Enver’s misdeeds. ^{[76] [77]}

References

1. Basmacılar Türkistan Milli Mücadele Tarihi Baymirza Hayit p.205
2. Alone Through The Forbidden Land Krist, Gustav p. 78
3. John King, John Noble, Andrew Humphreys Central Asia p.367
4. Bulletin périodique de la presse russe France. Ministère de la guerre (1791-1936) p. 1
5. Aslan Turlybek, Enver Paşa, p. 366.
6. Glenda Fraser, Basmachi, Vol. 1, p. 59
7. Baymirza Hayit, Turkestan in XX Jahrhunder p.202
8. Glenda Fraser, Basmachi Vol 1 p.42
9. Basmacılar Türkistan Milli Mücadele Tarihi Baymirza Hayit p.209
10. Aydın İdil Enver Paşa'nın son savaşı p.227
11. BCA, 23/8/1922, File: 43111, Background File: 30.10.0.0, Location number: 247.671.11
12. Basmacılar Türkistan Milli Mücadele Tarihi Baymirza Hayit p.205
13. Central asian review Vol VII p.245
14. Glenda Fraser, Basmachi Vol 1 p.58
15. Dr. Robert F. Baumann Russian-Soviet Unconventional Wars in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan p.121
16. Basmacılar Türkistan Milli Mücadele Tarihi Baymirza Hayit p.205
17. Unesco History of Civilizations of Central Asia p.177
18. Bulletin périodique de la presse russe France. Ministère de la guerre (1791-1936) p.1
19. Some aspects of the basmachi movement and the role of enver pasha in Turkestan Mehmed shahingoz and Amina akhanteva p.31
20. The revolt of the basmachi according to red army journals (1920–1922) Helene Aymen de Lageard p. 8
21. Joseph castagne Les Basmatchis p.51
22. Dr. Robert F. Baumann Russian-Soviet Unconventional Wars in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan p.112
23. Dr. Robert F. Baumann Russian-Soviet Unconventional Wars in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan p.100
24. Okan Yeşilot-Burcu Özdemir, Sovyet Arşiv Belgeleri Işığında Basmacı Hareketi, p.288
25. Fate Saw the Jewel: Enver Pasha's Post-War Intrigues, 1918-1922Ben Tannenbaum p.63
26. Enver Pasha and the Basmaji movement in Central Asia S.R. Sonyel p. 56
27. Dilip Hiro Inside Central Asia p.42
28. An interdisciplinary journal for the study of history, philosophy, religion and classics Vol 3 Issue 1 2008 Donna O'Kearney Enver Pasha and the Basmachi Rebellion p.102
29. Baymirza Hayit Basmacılar Türkistan Milli Mücadele Tarihi pp.207-208
30. Cihan Yalvar 1918-1922 yılları arasında Emir Timurun Mirası: "Buhara Emirliği" p. 230
31. Nurettin Hatunoğlu, Türkistan’da Son Türk Devleti Buhara Emirliği ve Alim Han, Ötüken Neşriyat, 2011 İstanbul pp.322, 323
32. Musa Gümüş Türkistanda Vatan Müdafaacıları: Korbaşılar hareketi ve Enver Paşa p.660
33. Martha Olcott, “The Basmachi or Freemen's Revolt in Turkestan 1918-24”, Soviet Studies, Vol. 33, 1981, P. 363.
34. Okan Yeşilot-Burcu Özdemir, Sovyet Arşiv Belgeleri Işığında Basmacı Hareketi, p.288
35. Enver Paşa Basmacılar isyanı (Enver Pasha and the basmachi movement) - İlyas Kara p. 132
36. Cemal Kutay Enver Paşa Lenine Karşı p.61
37. David ray johnson Soviet counterinsurgency p.33
38. The Basmachi or Freemen's revolt in Turkestan 1918–24 Martha B. Olcott p. 359
39. Chahryar Adle, Unesco, Madhavan K. Palat, Anara Tabyshalieva History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Towards the contemporary period : from the mid-nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century p.177
40. Kangas, Roger David, Ph.D. Faizulla Khodzhaev: National Communism in Bukhara and Soviet Uzbekistan, 1896-1938 p.220
41. Sovyetlerde Türklüğün ve İslam'ın bazı maddeleri Baymirza hayit p.230
42. Enver Paşa Basmacılar isyanı (Enver Pasha and the basmachi movement) - İlyas Kara p. 133
43. Dr. Robert F. Baumann Russian-Soviet Unconventional Wars in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan p. 100
44. Cihan Yalvar 1918-1922 yılları arasında Emir Timurun Mirası: "Buhara Emirliği" p.230
45. Murat Bardakçı, Enver p.349
46. Unesco History of Civilizations of Central Asia p.177
47. David H. Mould Postcards from Stanland Journeys in Central Asia p.49
48. Bradley Mayhew, Paul Clammer, Michael Kohn Central Asia p.367
49. John King, John Noble, Andrew Humphreys Central Asia: A Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit p.32
50. Hikmet Özdemir 3 Jöntürkün ölümü Enver-Cemal-Talat p.278
51. Timur Kocaoğlu, “Osman Khoja (Kocaoğlu) Between Reform Movements and Revolutions,” in Türkistan’da Yenilik Hareketleri ed. Kocaoğlu, 42
52. Abdullah Recep Baysun, Türkistan Millî Hareketeleri (Istanbul, 1943), 65
53. RGASPI, f. 62, op. 2, d. 5, l. 231
54. other estimates: 26,000 CSASA, file 7, cat. 2, d. 466. p. 58.(likely exaggerated) or 20,000 Belleten, Salahi R. Sonyel, Enver Paşa ve Orta Asya'da Başgösteren "Basmacı" Akımı, p.1186 Okan Yeşilot-Burcu Özdemir, Sovyet Arşiv Belgeleri Işığında Basmacı Hareketi, p.288 These numbers are the total number of basmachi forces in central asia, not only during the campaign or 16,000 Marie Broxup The basmachi p.60 or 7,000 The Basmachi movement from within: An account of Zeki Velidi Togan H. B. Paksoy p.390 центральная азия и закавказье история и современность p.64 Some Soviet sources assert that Frunze operated against a force of 40,000 in Bukhara, but it is improbable. Moreover, even had such a force existed, it could not have concentrated in a single effort or 3,000 Dr. Robert F. Baumann Russian-Soviet Unconventional Wars in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan p.112 https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/regional-relations/a-garden-and-a-tomb-in-kabul-2-the-fate-of-the-last-amir-of-bukhara-and-his-countrys-relations-with-afghanistan/ or 12.400-7.465 Şevket süreyya aydemir Enver Paşa makedonyadan orta asyaya p.664
55. Ali Fuat Cebesoy Moskova Hatıraları p.335
56. Tekin Eror Enver Paşa’nın Türkistan Kurtuluş Savaşı pp.122-123
57. Aydın idil Enver Paşa'nın son savaşı p.227
58. Enver Paşa's Last Stand, in Turkistan (1921-1922) - Jack Snowden p.14
59. Current History (1916-1940), Vol. 16, No. 6 (SEPTEMBER, 1922), p. 952
60. Science and Innovation International Scientific Journal - The Role of Anwar Pasha in history of Turkestan - Nabiyev Muhammadali p.605
61. Some aspects of the basmachi movement and the role of enver pasha in Turkestan Mehmed shahingoz and Amina akhanteva p.31
62. Jeffrey S. Dixon, Meredith Reid Sarkers A guide to Intra-State Wars p.473
63. BCA, 23/8/1922, File: 43111, Background File: 30.10.0.0, Location number: 247.671.11
64. Musa Gümüş Türkistanda Vatan Müdafaacıları: Korbaşılar hareketi ve Enver Paşa p.674
65. Musa Gümüş Türkistanda Vatan Müdafaacıları: Korbaşılar hareketi ve Enver Paşa p.660
66. Tekin Eror Enver Paşa’nın Türkistan Kurtuluş Savaşı pp.122-123
67. İlyas Kara Enver Paşa ve basmacılar hareketi p.134
68. Ali Fuat Cebesoy Moskova Hatıraları p.335
69. Ben Tannenbaum Fate Saw the Jewel: Enver Pasha’s Post-War Intrigues, 1918-1922 p.63
70. An Ottoman warrior abroad: Enver Paşa as an expatriate - Şuhnaz Yilmaz p. 58
71. Masaki Yamauchi, Hoşnut olamamış adam Enver Paşa p.275
72. This reflects the old time system that was in use at that time
73. Cihan Yalvar 1918-1922 yılları arasında Emir Timurun Mirası: "Buhara Emirliği" p. 230
74. Nurettin Hatunoğlu, Türkistan’da Son Türk Devleti Buhara Emirliği ve Alim Han, Ötüken Neşriyat,2011 İstanbul p.322.
75. Dr. Robert F. Baumann Russian-Soviet Unconventional Wars in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan pp.112-113
76. Tsentral'nyi Gosudarstvennyi Arkhiv Respubliki Uzbekistan (Central State Archive of the Republic of Uzbekistan), fond. 48, delo. 103, l. 28ob
77. Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (in Russian: Российский государственный архив социально-политической истории, also known as RGASPI), fond. 62, opis (inventory). 1, delo. 7, list. 71 (19.03.1923)