The Battle of Tskhinvali (; ) was a battle for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway state of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the Russo-Georgian War. Georgian ground troops entered the city on early 8 August 2008, after an artillery assault. Georgians took control of most of the city in hours. Russian main forces began entering South Ossetia through the Roki tunnel. After being initially forced to withdraw, the Georgian troops made several attempts to retake the city. Due to the difficult logistics of the terrain, the arrival of Russian reinforcements was slow. After fierce fighting, Georgian troops were finally forced to withdraw from the city on the evening of 10 August. On 11 August, all Georgian troops left South Ossetia. Parts of Tskhinvali were devastated in the three-day fighting.
Background
Before the Battle
On the night of August 2, as a result of an exchange of fire on both sides - Georgian and South Ossetian - more than 20 people were injured, six people died.
Within three days from Russia arrived 300 volunteers from North Ossetia arrived in South Ossetia, while mobilization of up to 2000 “volunteers” and Cossacks began in the North Caucasus. The number of regular Russian troops in the region was increasing.
On 7 August 2008, the Georgian authorities received foreign intelligence reports about movement of Russian troops towards the Roki tunnel. Russian troops had illicitly crossed the Russo-Georgian state border and advanced into South Ossetia by 7 August, before the Georgian military response. According to Der Spiegel, the Georgian tanks were to advance to the Roki Tunnel to seal it off.
The Georgian forces deployed on the South Ossetian border on 7 August included the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Infantry Brigades, the Artillery Brigade, elements of the 1st Infantry Brigade, and the separate Gori Tank Battalion, plus special forces and Ministry of the Internal Affairs troops – as many as 16,000 men, according to Moscow Defense Brief. International Institute for Strategic Studies and Western intelligence quoted by Der Spiegel give a lower estimate, saying that the Georgians had amassed by 7 August about 12,000 troops near South Ossetian administrative line and 75 tanks and armored personnel carriers near Gori.
On the opposite side at the same time, there were said to be 500 regular Russian soldiers and 500 South Ossetian fighters ready to defend Tskhinvali, according to an estimate quoted by Der Spiegel.
According to the materials that were made available to Independent International Fact-Finding Mission by South Ossetian authorities, the South Ossetian military forces consisted primarily of light rifle battalions with seconded artillery units and obsolete Soviet-made armoured vehicles. The total strength of the separatist military and law enforcement personnel, including reserve units which took part in the combat, was less than 3,500.
According to Konstantin Makienko, founder of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), the Georgian objective was a rapid destruction of Ossetian armed forces and a capture of Tskhinvali before the Russian army could have a chance to intervene. "It appears that during the night from August 7 to 8. Tbilisi intended to deliver strikes on the positions of the Russian peacekeepers and the South Ossetian army in order to paralyze the chain of command. The next objective was to take Tskhinvali during August 8, install a puppet government chaired by Dmitry Sanakoyev [...], and bring residents of Georgian enclaves in the republic onto the streets during pro-Georgia mass rallies."
Battle
Georgian attack
Artillery preparation
At 23:35 on 7 August, Georgian artillery units began firing smoke shells into South Ossetia. Soon afterwards, at 23.50 Georgian artillery opened fire against fixed and moving enemy targets. The interval was supposed to allow the civilian population to leave dangerous areas. The equipment used in the artillery assault included 27 rocket launchers, 152-millimetre guns, as well as cluster munitions.
The commander of the Georgian peacekeepers, Mamuka Kurashvili informed the Commander of Joint Peacekeeping Forces, major-general Marat Kulakhmetov, that Georgia began the military operation in South Ossetia. He assured their safety and called for the Russian peacekeepers not to interfere, even though they had orders to shoot on Georgian forces.