Jump to content

Battle of Tskhinvali

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Top Gun (talk | contribs) at 22:28, 11 August 2008 (→The battle). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Battle of Tskhinvali
Part of 2008 South Ossetia war

Movements of opposing forces around Tskhinvali. Blue arrows show Georgian movements, red show Russian.
DateAugust 8 - August 10, 2008
Location
Tskhinval, South Ossetia (Georgia)
Result Russian-Ossetian victory, Georgian withdrawal[1]
Belligerents
South Ossetia Republic of South Ossetia
Russia Russian Federation		 Georgia (country) Georgia
Commanders and leaders
South Ossetia Unknown
Russia Anatoly Khrulyov of the 58th Army (WIA)[2][3]
Russia Marat Kulakhmetov of the former peacekeeping forces		 Unknown
Strength
South Ossetia Unknown
Russia 1,700 troops formerly serving as peacekeepers[3] and several thousand troops from Russia		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
South Ossetia Unknown
Russia 18 killed, 7 missing and 150 wounded (Russian claim)[4]		 Unknown
Possibly more than 2,000 civilians killed (Russian claim)[5]

The Battle of Tskhinvali was a battle for the city of Tskhinvali, the capital of the Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia, fought over three days in August 2008 as the main engagement in the 2008 South Ossetia War. The city of Tskhinvali had been devastated in the three-day fighting.

The battle

The cities of Tskhinvali and Gori are located in the valley of the Greater Liakhvi River, within about 20 miles (32 km) of each other. The Georgian military was based at Gori, while Tskhinvali was the primary objective of the Georgian forces.[citation needed] It was suggested by Civil Georgia that the ultimate goal of the Georgian forces was to control the Roki Tunnel, which is the sole major land route from Russia to South Ossetia.[6]

The Georgian Army entered the province of South Ossetia during the early hours of August 8, 2008 after a prolonged artillery onslaught on the city of Tskhinvali.[7] By 04:45am Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temuri Yakobashvili announced that Tskhinvali was nearly surrounded by the Georgian forces.[8] After hours of artillery bombardment, Georgian forces moved into the city and were heading toward the city center, where they were met with fierce resistance from the South Ossetian rebels. There, according to media reports, hand-to-hand fighting occured and several Georgian tanks were destroyed. However, the Georgians kept advancing through the city, burning the separatist presidential palace. In the end, the Georgian army managed to take control of the city after only a few hours of intense urban combat.[9] However, despite the Georgian claim that Tskhinvali was captured and Georgia now controlled two-thirds of South Ossetia's territory, reports were coming out of the city that there were still some pockets of separatist resistance.[citation needed]

At this time the Russian Ministry of Defence also reported that at least 10 Russian soldiers were killed and 30 were wounded in the initial Georgian shelling of the Russian peacekeeping force base at Tskhinvali;[10] this number was later revised to 13 killed and 70 wounded.[5]

During the afternoon of August 8, Russian ground forces, with air support, crossed the international border into South Ossetia from the Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania.[11] The Russians reportedly reached Tskhinvali several hours later with two armored battalions of the 58th Army.[12] Both sides (Russia and Georgia) used armoured vehicles and artillery during the fight for the city. On August 9, the Russian 58th Army commander Lieutenant General Anatoly Khrulyov was wounded in a Georgian ambush which reportedly inflicted heavy losses on the Russian spearhead column; two tanks, 25 IFVs and two APCs were said to be lost, which had not been confirmed by Russia.[3]

After the Russians and South Ossetian fighters drove the Georgians out of the outskirts of Tskhinvali, the Georgian units regrouped with armored reinforcements from Gori.[citation needed] On the later half of August 9, the regrouped Georgian forces reportedly launched a new offensive against South Ossetian and Russian defenders of Tskhinvali using heavy tube and rocket artillery,[13] while heavy fighting was reportedly underway on the city outskirts, with Georgian forces breaking through the defenses and the rebel sources reporting three enemy tanks destroyed.[14] Just before midnight a five-hour artillery onslaught on the city ended,[citation needed] but the fighting with the Georgian infantry in the south of Tskhinvali continued.[citation needed] Civilians still remained in the basements with no food or water.[citation needed] The South Ossetian forces complained that Georgia had not yet provided a peace corridor to evacuate the civilians caught up in crossfire.[citation needed]

By August 10, the joint Russian and South Ossetian forces regained control over the city as the Georgian forces withdrew as Russia had demanded.[15] However, according to the Russians some Georgian snipers and mobile infantry groups still remained in Tskhinvali.[16]

While there was no ground fighting in Gori on August 9 or 10, this launch point of the Georgian military was attacked from the air and residential areas were hit by Russian aircraft.[17]

Casualties

The number of total civilian casualties in Tskhinvali remains unknown, as no official investigation took place, and no independent third-part estimates have been reported. Russian officials asserted on August 9 that more than 2,000 civilians have died (the pre-war population being around 30,000).[5] Russian bombing raids also killed and injured a number of civilians elsewhere.[18] Several journalists were reported to be among the casualties,[2] including the two who were embedded with the ambushed Russian armoured column in which General Khrulyov was wounded.[3]

Military losses are also unknown or unclear, with the Russian claim of 25 Russians soldiers dead or missing and 150 wounded by the afternoon of August 10.[4] Alexander Lomaia, secretary of Georgia's National Security Council, stated that 200 Georgian soldiers were killed in both the battle for Tskhinvali and the air raids on military bases in other parts of Georgia.[19] A South Ossetian separatist official claimed that "foreign mercenaries", including "blacks", were found among the dead Georgian soldiers; this had not been confirmed by Georgia.[20]

References

  1. ^ Georgia pulls out of Tskhinvali, Al Jazeera, August 10, 2008
  2. ^ a b Journalists Suffered Combat Losses, Kommersant, Aug. 11, 2008
  3. ^ a b c d Template:Ru icon Трое суток в эпицентре войны, Moskovskiy Komsomolets, 10.08.2008
  4. ^ a b Template:Ru icon Посол России в Грузии заявил о двух тысячах погибших жителях Цхинвали, Lenta.Ru, 09.08.2008
  5. ^ a b c 2,000 civilians dead in Tskhinvali fighting-Ifax, Reuters, 09 Aug 2008
  6. ^ MIA: Java and Roki Tunnel are Next Targets, Civil.Ge, 9 Aug.'08
  7. ^ Georgian MLRS launched rockets on Tskhinvali - BBC video
  8. ^ Tskhinvali almost surrounded - Georgian official, Itar-Tass, 8 August 2008.
  9. ^ Bodies are lying everywhere. It’s hell, The Sunday Times, August 10, 2008
  10. ^ Template:Ru icon Минобороны РФ заявило о расстреле российских миротворцев, Lenta.ru, 08.08.2008
  11. ^ Russian tanks 'rolling into Georgian breakaway', CNN, August 8, 2008
  12. ^ Template:Ru icon Russian tanks entered Tskhinvali, Lenta.Ru, 08.08.2008
  13. ^ http://02varvara.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/%E2%80%9Cthey-stinted-on-no-one%E2%80%9D/
  14. ^ Georgia Army Launches New Offensive on South Ossetia Capital Tskhinvali, Sofia News Agency, 9 August 2008
  15. ^ Russia expands Georgia blitz, deploys ships, Associated Press, Aug 10, 2008
  16. ^ Georgia 'calls Ossetia ceasefire', BBC News, 10 August 2008
  17. ^ Russian jets attack Georgian town, BBC News, 9 August 2008
  18. ^ Georgia conflict: Screams of the injured rise from residential streets, Sunday Telegraph, 10 Aug 2008
  19. ^ http://www.effedieffe.com/content/view/4120/183/
  20. ^ Dead Mercenaries Found in Tskhinvali, Kommersant, Aug. 10, 2008

Videos

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Tskhinvali&oldid=231324129"