Tarlan Aliyarbayov

In 1914, Aliyarbayov graduated from the Tiflis military school in 1st class. During World War I, Aliyarbayov served as a second lieutenant in the 205th Shamakhi Infantry Regiment of the 52nd Infantry Division in the Eastern Front.[2] He later commanded a company and battalion of the regiment,[1] fighting in several battles.[4] Aliyarbayov was severely wounded during the mid-1916 Brusilov offensive; this was his fourth injury since the beginning of the war. He was sent to Brest for medical treatment, after which he left for Baku.[1]

On 19 December 1918, as a captain, Aliyarbayov joined the national army formed by Musavat of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, serving as the captain of the 2nd Baku Infantry Regiment.[5] Pushed back by the Red Army in Russia, the Russian Volunteer army led by Anton Denikin was scattered throughout the country. After capturing Derbent, the White Guardsmen, tried to invade Azerbaijan but were stopped by Aliyarbayov and his forces in Gusar.[6] On 7 March 1919, by the decree of the Minister of War and the General of Artillery Samad bey Mehmandarov, Aliyarbayov was appointed as the acting assistant to the Baku District military commander.[7] In this capacity, he led the military conscription of civilians in Baku and its surrounding districts into the Azerbaijani National Army. He continued to serve until the Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan in 1920.[4][8]

In 1920, after the Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan and the establishment of Soviet power in the country, Aliyarbayov joined the newly formed Azerbaijani Red Army.[2] In 1922, he served in the headquarters of the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs (Narkomvoenkomrat, NKVM) of the Azerbaijani SSR.[6] From 1920 to 1922, Aliyarbayov led the local pro-Bolshevik forces in skirmishes with local golchomag insurgents near Shusha, Kurdamir, and Aghsu.[9]

The second People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs of Azerbaijan Aliheydar Garayev and the acting chief of staff of the Azerbaijani Red Army Yusif bey Maghrubov noted Aliyarbayov, who held important posts from the first days of the Soviet power in Azerbaijan, "conscientiously performed the duties assigned to him, and was distinguished by his loyalty to the proletarian government". He worked in the organisation of the district military commissariats in the Azerbaijani SSR and oversaw the citywide mobilisation in Baku in 1920–21.[6][10] From 1923 to 1929, Aliyarbayov served as an assistant to the military commissar of the Azerbaijani SSR and as the head of the Azerbaijani Territorial Administration.[2] From 1925 to 1931, he was a candidate member of the Central Executive Committee of the Azerbaijani SSR.[11]

In 1927, Aliyarbayov graduated from the Higher Command Courses at the M. V. Frunze Military Academy. From 1930 to 1938, he served in military schools of the South Caucasus,[2] teaching military science at universities of the Azerbaijani SSR and training personnel for national military formations.[11] Aliyarbayov, along with Mehmandarov and Shikhlinski, played an important role in the formation of local military units and the training of Soviet-Azerbaijani military officers.[12] Aliyarbayov worked as a military training teacher at the Azerbaijan Oil Institute in 1932. The same year, the commander of the Azerbaijani Mountain Rifle Division, Divisional Commander Gambay Vezirov, stated of the 88 students taught by Aliyarbayov, 87 passed the exams for the rank of junior officer. Out of those, 22 were awarded the rank of deputy platoon commander and five petty officers, adding Aliyarbayov was "distinguished in the military field as a disciplined, capable and exemplary commander".[10]

In 1934, Colonel Sluzhkov, who was seconded from the Transcaucasian Military District to monitor the teaching of military disciplines in the higher educational institutions of the Azerbaijani SSR, described Aliyarbayov, who was the head of courses at the Azerbaijani Agricultural Institute, as "a very valuable leader for a higher school" and a "good organiser", stating he had the "ability to clearly express his thoughts both in Russian and Azerbaijani".[10]

In 1941, Aliyarbayov, who was the acting head of the training department of the Telavi Rifle and Mortar School, graduated from the M. V. Frunze Military Academy.[13] On 2 June 1942, during the Battle of the Caucasus, Aliyarbayov was appointed as the deputy commander and on 1 October the same year as the commander of the 416th Rifle Division.[2] On 30 November, his forces engaged German troops and Chechen insurgents in Chechnya, and after two days broke the German defence lines to recapture Novo-Lednevo and Kapustino. Aliyarbayov's forces continued to push back the Germans, destroying large firing points. In late 1942, 350 km (220 miles) deep into the German lines, his forces recaptured dozens of towns and villages in the North Caucasus. Throughout 1943, he commanded the 79th and 88th Regiments, the 402nd Rifle Division,[6] and was the deputy commander of the 58th Army Corps in 4th Army of the Transcaucasian Front.[14] He retired from his military career in 1948.[2]