In March–April 1920 there was a short war between Azerbaijan and Armenia for Nagorno-Karabakh. It began on March 22 (on Nowruz) when Armenian forces broke the armistice and unexpectedly attacked Askeran and Khankendi. The Armenians assumed that the Azerbaijanians would be celebrating Nowruz and would therefore not be prepared for defense, but an attempted attack on the Azerbaijan garrison in Shusha failed because of poor coordination. In response Azerbaijan forces armies burnt the Armenian part of Shusha and massacred the population. "The most beautiful Armenian city has been destroyed, crushed to its foundations; we have seen corpses of women and children in wells" – recollects Soviet communist leader Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze.