Talk:Battle of Tskhinvali

Attention to all readers. This article is being defaced by an anon.

Dear Anon: help improve the article, but don't be an ass to other members. Respect will get you farther than your current tactic. 70.131.218.57 (talk) 18:30, 11 August 2008 (UTC)Shane

Request for expansion

Please expand. Made a very "bare bones" article. Sparten (talk) 05:59, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm going to try to add information from the other article —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.229.12.186 (talk) 06:20, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Request for correction by the native speakers of English!

Please keep correcting the article written mostly by non-native speakers, including the punctuation!! It's important to eliminate grammar and stylistic errors that make the article look untidy!!

The article demands semi-protection - at least to save results of language correction.--195.98.173.10 (talk) 06:32, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Please don't, I'm the main editor, and I'm not logged on, and I don't have time for it at the moment Been typing all night long.

Help expanding the stubs needed!

Can someone with an account start an article for the OSInform News Agency? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.200.215.40 (talk) 14:40, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Even if you can't add any specific information, just help expanding the names of agencies and spokesmen. Don't leave the dead red.

Request for Pictures!

We have to add some pictures now!! Someone please help with this! Pictures showing Tshinvali before and after the battle to demonstrate that it was a city completely destroyed by shelling are escpecially welcome. But don't just add blood and gore, we've all had enough of this already. If you can't find the uncopyrighted ones, just skrew the copyright. No one's going to sue anyone, that's a world issue, that's way too important.

Timeline

The division of the time line into "Timeline before Russian Army interfered" and "Timeline of Georgia - Russia phase of battle" seems artificial. Russian peacekeepers have been part of the battle from the very beginning. Now, where should that dividing line be drawn? Is it when Russian tanks crossed the border? Or is when Russian jets crossed the border? ...Can we please get rid of this confusing break? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Speaking fish (talk • contribs) 21:39, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

IMHO such parts should be done. The dividing moment of the battle - actions of russian tanks and artillery from the evening August, 8 (real fighting contacts between Georgian and Russian regular troops) till the end. Before that moment it was fighting between georgians (the restoration of constitutional order in the region - Georgia officials' point of view; or the georgian Genocide of the Ossetians - Ossetians' point of view). After that moment - it is the war between Unated Nations states. --195.98.173.10 (talk) 23:19, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Actually, it is not. Because the first fire contact between Georgian regular army and Russian peacekeepers took place between 7th and 8th of August Vadimkaa (talk) 22:50 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Map

Please give a legend for the map. So you can tell disposition of forces. Sparten (talk) 11:39, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Of the two current maps, the one captioned "A map of the Caucasus showing the forces disposition before the battle of Tskhinvali." is just silly--mrg3105 (comms) ♠♥♦♣ 05:39, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Peace vs. peace

So, georgian peacekeepers are fighting russian peacekeepers?Slipzen (talk) 12:52, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

• Yes, it seems so. Russian President Medvedev said it on the press-conference. He said that Russian peacekeepers were asked to get away from their positions when Georgian attack begun, and when they refused both Georgian peacekeepers and Georgian regular military forces opened fire. Vadimkaa (talk) 22:40 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Battle is over

In the main article about this 2008 conflict it sais Russians have taken over the capitan and also I hear that on the news. Kermanshahi (talk) 12:58, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

• I am now hearing via al Jazeera that, after the failure of the last major assault, Georgian forces have fallen back from Tskhinvali completely. It would appear the battle has ended in a Russian and South Ossetian victory. 71.227.162.75 (talk) 08:23, 10 August 2008 (UTC)
  • Tere is only the winner of this war - the United States of America. How long will they pit people, nations, neighbours to USA profit?!!! Damned! --195.98.173.10 (talk) 10:36, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Timeline

Please, don't citate on russian mass-media, and let's make timline without qoutes firstly, then will chek up the facts --Niggle (talk) 14:28, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

To all editors! There are a lot of mistakes depends on timezone. According to the information on Tbilisi page, Georgia timezone is UTC+4 at winter, and UTC+5 at summer (DST). So Georgia has 1 hour difference to Moscow time (Moscow: UTC+3 winter; UTC+4 summer). It means, that by Tskhinvali local time was the Friday (August, 8) when Georgia started heavy shelling of the city. This information demands to be checked up and corrected in the article!!! --Niggle (talk) 19:32, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

So such statement IMHO is incorrect: "23:30 Georgian troops started bombardment of Tskhinvali using heavy artillery (howitzers), 122 mm multiple-launch rocket systems "Grad", and large-caliber mortars)[17][18]". If you based on Moscow media - they use Moscow timezone. Georgian and Ossetian - their own? We exectly don't know the same minutes, but it was between 00:00 and 01:00 at local georgian time on August, 8 (it means 23:00 till 00:00 local moscow time on August, 7). --195.98.173.10 (talk) 20:27, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

South Ossetia uses Moscow timezone. But I agree that exact minutes in time notations give a false sense of precision. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Speaking fish (talk • contribs) 21:16, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Pictures

After Russian Army interfered, both sides use similar weapons - T72 in different modifications, but nobody T80. IMHO, it would be better without any pictures (at list right now). --Niggle (talk) 15:56, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Exact time of Russian tanks interference

Our tanks couldn't entered Tskhinvali 12:14 local time - they was in Russia.

• 12:14 Russian tanks entered Tskhinvali, reported first by Russian media and later by CNN.

Such statment is wrong - it probably mistake with timzone (ordinar local in Georgia - UTC +4; summer local time there - UTC +5 and UTC). --Niggle (talk) 16:56, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Rename: Battle for Tskhinvali

The conflict is a struggle to capture the city. Tskhinvali isn't a random battlefield. I propose we rename this article Battle for Tskhinvali. Am I right? - SSJ ☎ 21:47, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Bold move. - SSJ ☎ 21:49, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

nonsense. all urban battle articles have Battle of... Like Battle of Berlin or Battle of N'Djamena --TheFEARgod (Ч) 23:39, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

You can use "for" and "of" for both cases but it's best to leave it alone.--66.229.12.186 (talk) 10:48, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Was vs. Is Fought

Since Russia has control of the city we should update the page.--66.229.12.186 (talk) 11:12, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Please do not update to the past tense because the war is still on, and we don't know what happens next.

Comment: Russian control of Tskinvali (at least before Aug 10) is disputed. See below "Concern about the Neutrality of Sources"

• Could you reffered to some Internet mass media (or Governmental) source? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vadimkaa (talk • contribs) 08:37, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

What happened

It seems to be that the following thing happened. Georgia is George Bush's personal protectorate. He put Saakashvili there. The Georgian people don't like Mr. S but can't do anything. Mr. S finally launched an attack on the capital of South Ossetia which is basically a Russian protectorate. The exact reason is unknown. Maybe Bush told him to, maybe he did it on his own. The attack indeed seems to be genocidal and against the civilians, because the city was attacked at night on the eve of the Olympics, when many people were sleeping or preparing to watch TV, and the nearby villages were attacked. And he shut down all Russian information channels, which points finger at him as an anti-media fighter, because no matter how much Russia is disliked in the west shutting down information channels is just kind of self-explanatory. So it looks like the plan was simply to erradicate the inhabitants of S. Ossetia by Blut und Eisen which is rather sparsely populated and backland area of the central Caucasus, and either kill them or drive them out of there. The initial onslaught killed at least 1500, whereas about 5000 more are hiding or dying in the basements of the destroyed houses. The Russian forces stood on guard at the border and quickly interfered several hours later which is just enough to get from the North Ossetia, because somehow they knew for weeks something was up, and the trouble was brewing. Now (August 10), Mr. S is calling his dogs off, because the city has been destroyed as much as they could destroy it, and the most important part of the operation is over. The Georgians are usually thought as kind by nature, the most good-natured people of Caucasus and historically friendly with Russia and other peoples, but this time they were bulldozed to engage by S.'s police at gunpoints, so it is not their fault. This seems to be the most reasobale version, presently.

Apparently on his own. He seems to be quite hell-bent on setling the score, and GWB needs his troops down in Iraq - not indispensabley but he's quite happy that they keep the situation in Diyala Governorate and along parts of the Iraq-Iran border from (once again) getting messy. "Somehow they knew" - well nicely put. Based on what 3was reported and Saakashvali's version of the events, Putin had gathered the troops, making it look like Russia was planning a preemptive invasion. But the aim was to test Saakashvali, push him over the brink, make him fire first. A "Russian peacekeeper" (reasonable enough) convoy was shot to pieces by Georgian artillery under orders from a panicked Saakashvali to stop the presumed "invasion" (it was almost certainly not an invasion then, but at least on paper a legitimate movement of peacekeepers. But with Moscow simply refusing to commnet on the troop deployment in N Ossetia, Saakashvali's reaction was almost predictable). Then, and reasons for this might remain forever unknown, Saakashvali or someone else, Tskhinvali was reduced to rubble by Georgian forces. Then the Russians started to waltz in.

Technically both sides are in gross violation of international law. But while there is really no excuse for Saakashvali to have reacted like how he did instead of e.g. toing the same thing that the Emir of Kuwait did in 1990 (stay put and call up the US and the NATO and the UN to get Medvedyev to withdraw his troops while assuring guarantees for the case he doesn't and buy time for preparations) he ordered a full-scale break of what ceasefire agreement there was. Russia on the other hand can claim that yes, it violated Gorgias territorial integrity (that has been only existing on paper for nearly two decades anyway) and tracting to the threat posed by wholesale and indiscriminate desctuction of civilian life and property and its peacekeeping forces.

I wonder how this one is going to be spun. In any case, if anyone orchestrated anything here, it was Putin. The have lost a lot in a week, and predictably so. You do NOT entice an ally - some would say a puppet - who's in a precarious position and mentally perhaps not very stable to any shenanigans.

But Georgians seem to support Saakashvali more often than not. He is certainly not as unpopular as you put it. Not exactly popular either, but I'd guess if this war hadn't happened, the people would have put up with him for some more years, depending on how quickly the opposition got its act together. They seem to prefer a fool supported by the US to a fool supported by Russia, but I guess that they just prefer a fool who plays petty dictator once in a while to one who tries to do it all the time (that's how Saakashvali came to make his bid for power in the first place, remember?). If the Russians restrain themselves, they might have planted a knife in Saakashvali's back for good; he'll fall down soon enough because it is his incompetence that brought about this war. If they do to main Georgia what the Georgian army did to SOssetia, Saakashvali's chances on getting through this one strangthened are much better. In brief, the Kremlin's stance was "we're simply trying to restore the status quo ante, and the outcome depends on how much they toe to this line. That would mean a ceasefire in the next days if not hours, and a complete disengagement. But the numbers of mercenaries fighting on both sides does not suggest that this is gonna happen without problems. Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 13:04, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

As to history, it is difficult to assess whether South Osetia is or is not a historical Georgia's territory. South Ossetia was formed in the 1920s. It seems that Ossetians lived there for ages in spots, although it's true that their number was quickly increasing throughout the 20th century during the Soviet period. However, Georgians lived there too. At least, the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1972) officially cites 66% of Ossetians, 28% of Georgians, whereas the 19th century polls for Tskinvali cite few or no Ossetians, and it was said to be populated mostly by Jews and Armenians (!). So there has always been comlex ethnical situation, and the population has probably alwasys been mixed, and changing for ages. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.234.25.210 (talk) 16:20, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Georgians and Ossetians were mostly peasants so it's no wonder that Tskhinvali was populated mainly by Armenians and Jews at that time (Armenians formed a plurality even in Tbilisi then). Alæxis_¿question? 03:50, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Mercenaries Vs volunteers

Russia across Georgia of using Mercs but Russia has Volunteers from Cossacks ethic groups —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.229.12.186 (talk) 22:56, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

• The huge difference between mercenaries and volunteers is that mercenaries fight for money while volunteers fight for the idea. Some Georgian POWs, by the way, could not even speak Georgian. (talk) 05:29, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Wow, this article is crap

Needs to be REALLY cleanud-up or even rewritten almost totally. --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 05:27, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Concern about the Neutrality of Sources

Two comments:

1. I wonder why this page is within projects S.OSetia (understandible) and Russia (not so much so), but not Georgia (that's totally outrageous). I mean is a peacekeeper (or if you ask us, Georgians - Invader, but never mind) more important than the country in which S.Osetia is located?

• Even BBC and CNN sources called 'Russian peacekeepers'. Just type "CNN Russian peacekeepers" in Google. Anyway, here Georgian troops called Georgian Army and not like S.Ossetains wanted to called them, as an example.

2. This is a major comment to almost all articles in Wikipedia. Russian sources seem to have announced that Russians have regained control of Tskinvali on the evening of August 8. various Russian sources report anywhere between this time, and evening of Aug 9.

I totally distrus the first time and am very sceptical to the second one. Anyhow (whatever my beliefs), This is not what Georgian forces have reported and at least "According to Russian Sources" should be added prior to any statements about the Tskinvali retake. And for the totally honest people, this is the chronology of (battle) events according to Georgian side:

night of Aug 08 - Georgia Takes (with very little resistance, from locals) 8 (this increased in the morning) villages around Tskinvali and to the north of it

morning of Aug 08 - Georgia takes most of tskinvali with all but one posts taken

afternoon of Aug 08 - 3:00 - 6:00 ceasefire is declared from Georgian side and a corridor opened to allow civilians come out.

Evening of Aug 08 - Complete control over Tskinvali is gained with no major events reported during the evening. Clashes reported North of Tskinvali, near the South of Town Java.

Aug 09 - Fighting is reported and Heavy attacks from North by Russian Forces, although The town stays in Georgian control.

Morning of Aug 10 - Heavy air attacks and a massive russian army causes Georgian army to regroup to the south of Tskinvali.

Afternoon of Aug 10 - First a ceasefire is declared by Georgian side, and then total withdrawal of forces from Tskinvali and the whole conflict region. Russian troops are reported not to allow some Georgian troops passage.

Morning of Aug 11 - (as I'm writing) Georgian side has withdrawn all the Army from the conflict region, although Russians are proceeding outside the Conflict region and attacking Georgian forces. Air bombardment of Georgia continues.

• You free to change this article. You may add an alternative chronology. The only need is official verifiable sources in the Internet. Georgian, if you want.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.147.224.22 (talk) 07:32, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Russia also says Georgian forces are still near the town and groups of Georgian commandos were sent to infiktrate it. --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 08:23, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

• Citation would be nice. The policy is quite simple: everything should be referred. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vadimkaa (talk • contribs) 08:31, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

As it seems, Georgian troops withdrew from the town but not the surroundings roughly coincident with the ceasefire announcement. Shelling of Tskhinvali by Georgian troops has reputedly since resumed. The information you outline here roughly matches with the train of events as seen from in remote from Central Europe.

You make a an important remark. Source of information - ideally the ultimate source, since e.g. "Russian peacekeepers" is not a term CNN et al thought of themselves, they got it from somewhere - should be given ALWAYS. Because there are perhaps half a dozen people willing and able to give accurate information e.g. on what happens in the Tskhinvali region (the few reporters still there). Anything else is guesswork and political intertests commingling. Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 12:38, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

The lead Russian armoured battalion almost wiped-out in an ambush - embedded Russian journalist

Very heavy losses (most of vehicles lost), Russian 58th army commander wounded (which was officially confirmed) and 2 Russian journalists wounded.

http://mk.ru/blogs/MK/2008/08/10/society/365780/ --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 08:29, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

• Here we got 1,700 peacekeepers from Russian side at the beginning of the battle. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vadimkaa (talk • contribs) 08:44, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

The battle is being fought in a narrow river valley, it is more like WWI trench warfare. Armored assaults by both sides have been counterproductive. I suspect this will turn into artrittion type battle going on till one side is burned out. Biafra?Geo8rge (talk) 15:14, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

What I want to know is, if this source is being used, then why besides the part about the commander being wounded are the other casualties not really reported? If an entire armored battalion is destroyed, then why are losses so few? Either the Russians are covering up losses(As has happened in Chechnya and other events- heavy losses are onyl admitted to after the events and conflict has passed)or the Russian journalist believes moderate casualties equate to being destroyed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.131.218.57 (talk) 17:47, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

From cleanup - salvage what you want while amking a proper article - also removed all propaganda elsewhere

The Campaign of the Georgian Army

August 1 through 7, 2008

• Georgia confronts South Ossetian forces in limited military engagements in the villages of ( Avnevi; Tamarasheni; Prisi; Kurta) and villages controlled by South Ossetia (Khetagurovo ) and the outskirts of Tskhinvali.
• Six Ossetians reported dead when the capital of South Ossetia came under fire . The evacuation of children began.
• On the late evening of Aug 2 and the night of Aug 2-3, the Georgian forces approached Tskhinvali, bringing infantry and armored vehicles up to the conflict area.

August 7, 2008 (herein, the local time is used: the UTC daylight saving time + 5 hr, or the regular UTC + 4 hr)

• Secretary of the Georgian National Security Council Kakha Lomaia to Reuters: "Separatists opened fire at the two Georgian villages of Prisi and Tamarasheni, and we had to return fire"
• "Ludmila Kelekhsayeva, the Chief Doctor Deputy of the Republican Hospital in Tskhinvali, said that the first wounded began to arrive late at night (Aug 6?) from villages Avnevi, Ubiat, Khetagurovo, Satikar... Two civilians dead in the village of Khetagurovo because of massive shelling: one man hit by an explosion, and one woman burned in her house", the OSInform News Agency reported.
• 23:30 The Georgian troops began shelling Tskhinvali using heavy artillery, such as howitzers, GRAD rocket launchers, and large-caliber mortars; "The South Ossetian defense forces did not open fire at first, but as the enemy fire intensified, they started firing back at the aggressor. The Tskhinvali center is being shelled from the direction of Gori where 27 GRAD rocket launchers have been installed...The Commander of the Peacekeeping Forces Marat Kulakhmetov stated that the Georgian side has just informed him that they are starting the war", the OSInform News Agency reported.

August 8, 2008

• 00:00 (?) Calls for help and military support arrived over the phone from women in a bombing shelter in Tskhinvali to the OSInform News Agency, asking the government of Russia not leave them under the enemy fire
• 01:42 The Georgian military minister Mamuka Kurashvili stated that "an operation to finish off a criminal regime in order to restore the constitutional order in the region has just begun".
• 02:38 The Georgian troops use MLRS and heavy artillery against the city . Tskhinvali civilians attempt to hide in the basements. It is impossible to get the wounded people to the hospital because of heavy shelling.
• 03:08 Georgian authorities informed the Russian peacekeeping commander about the operation and asked them not to interfere.
• 04:02 The Russian media reported that Georgia had launched a tank attack on Tskhinvali, with at least 15 civilians killed by heavy shelling.
• 04:45 Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temuri Yakobashvili announced that Tskhinvali was nearly surrounded by the Georgian forces
• 05:00 (?) After hours of artillery bombardment Georgian tanks moved into the city and were heading toward the city center, where they were met with fierce resistance from South Ossetian forces. Georgian snipers were the most lethal on the battlefield killing anything that moved according to the civilians. The South Ossetian presidential palace in the city was burning as intense hand-to-hand fighting broke out across the town. Ordinary apartment blocks were pounded as the remains of Georgian tanks struck by rocket-propelled grenades stood burning in the middle of the streets. The Georgian army needed only a few hours to take the city.
• 10:23 The Georgian media informed that Tskhinvali was captured and Georgia now controlled two-thirds of South Ossetia's territory;
• 12:10 The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Georgians had killed at least 10 Russian soldiers and wounded 30 in the first shelling of the peacekeepers base at the city ; later that number was revised to 13 killed and 70 wounded;
• 13:54 A joint statement by the President of North Ossetia-Alania Taymuraz Mamsurov and the South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity claimed that "according to the latest information available, the city continues to resist the incursion of the Georgian troops and has still not been captured". ;
• 14:27 Heavy street fighting was escalating in the city, and it was confirmed by a television footage that four Georgian tanks were on fire at the railroad station square with a few dead Georgian soldiers beside them on the ground ;
• 16:06 The Russian media reported that two armored tank battalions of the 58th Army are moving toward Tskhinvali as a support for Russian peacekeepers . That fact was later confirmed by CNN .
• 18:26 Alexander Barankevich, the Secretory of Security Counsel of South Ossetia, stated that the Georgian troops are leaving Tskhinvali, whereas a column of the Russian armored vehicles is just entering the city. As Reuters reported with reference to the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, there are now about 150 Russian tanks and armored vehicles on the South Ossetian territory. A Interfax correspondent in Tskhinvali said, "There's now a stagnation – you can't hear any shots. The whole city is on fire, every second house seems to be burning"
• 20:00 The legacy of the night attack was initially assessed as thousands of civilians killed according to the South Ossetian sources, and about 100 civilians killed according to the Georgian sources . Inal Pliyev, the Director of the Information Department of South Ossetia told an Interfax correspondent,"Probably thousands, because absolutely everything is destroyed. They used GRAD rockets on the living blocks, houses, a hospital. All office and plant buildings are on fire. The schools, the University, the Ministery of Culture, the Parlament building. The camp of peacekeepers is also mangled. Our defenders managed to hit three tanks that were in the city... Most of the wounded were injured by the air strikes"

After the Russian Army implication

The Russian Army units crossed the border into South Ossetia on August 8, encountering the Georgian forces near the capital of Tskhinvali. These forces were probably based on the 58th Army. Both sides (Russia and Georgia) used armoured vehicles and artillery. On August 9, Russian sources claimed that the Russian Army had regained control over the city, while Georgian sources denied this, insisting the fighting was still on. After the Russians drove the Georgians out of the outskirts of Tskhinvali, the Georgian units regrouped with armored reinforcements from Gori. On the later half of August 9, the regrouped Georgian forces launched a new offensive against South Ossetian and Russian defenders of Tskhinvali. Heavy fighting was said to be underway on the city outskirts, as at least three Georgian tanks were reported hit .

August 9, 2008

• 07:25 "The Georgian forces shelled Tskhinvali all night intermittently for about one hour or one-and-a-half each time, stopped at times by the backfire from the defense forces... About 70% of city buildings are now destroyed. The situation is very tough", said a spokeswoman of the South Ossetia government Irina Glagolyeva to the Russian Vesti 24 News Channel.
• 07:36 "South Ossetia still controls Tskhinvali... The artillery shelling was on and off at night, the civilians kept hiding in the basements. Many apartment blocks were on fire all night long, and the fires could not be put out because of lack of water supply. Still, the Georgian media go on claiming that the control over Tskhinvali belongs to Georgia. Last night, the broadcasting of all Russian TV channels over Georgia was discontinued", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 8:30 "Some explosions heard here and there. The bakery now works in the city. In the morning, people had a chance to come out and get some bread. The ex-neighbors regrouped, and now tend to hide in the same basements. No power in the city. The retreating Georgians took some city inhabitants hostage, whose number cannot be presently determined. The Tskhinvalians blocked and barricaded the basements doors as hard as they could, and prepared some axes to fight off any abusive action". Last night, the Georgian tanks kept firing at the few still standing apartment blocks in the city. Smashed Georgian tanks can be seen on the streets, you can also see a destroyed BMP on the southern outskirts with some dead bodies nearby", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 11:19 "Again, Tskhinvali is under heavy artillery fire coming from the direction of the Georgian villages", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 11:19 "The Georgian snipers keep firing at vehicles transporting the wounded to the hospitals of South Ossetia", said Irina Glagoleva, a spokeswoman for the South Ossetia government.
• 11:30 "The women and children in Tskhinvali suffer from thirst. The city has not had any access to water, gas, electricity for 3 days. The cell phones are losing power. The Georgian snipers shoot anyone who tries to get out into the street", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 14:22 "An intense, massive shelling of living blocks of the city by Georgian forces using mortars, artillery, BMPs, tanks, and the GRAD rocket launchers is on. The shells are coming in bursts, the intervals between the bursts are less than a second", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 15:20 "Tskhinvali is under control of the South Ossetian forces, but the extermination of the Georgian gun-layers who coordinate the fire on the city continues", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 15:38 "Some shelling to the houses near the border. Fire and smoke everywhere... The exact number of victims is unknown to me...", reported Inal Pliyev, the director of the Information Department of South Ossetia , from Tskhinvali.
• 15:40 The evacuation of 100 wounded persons is under way, as reported by the State Information Committee of South Ossetia to a correspondent of the REGNUM News Agency
• 19:00 After regrouping in the suburbs of Tskhinvali, the Georgian forces launched a new bombardment of the city using heavy artillery (howitzers), GRAD rocket launchers, and large-caliber mortars. Georgian troopers supported by tanks entered the southern outskirts of the city
• 20:00 Yuri Morozov, the head of the government of South Ossetia, reported to the Russian Vesti News Channel , "About 5000 civilians remain in Tskhinvali, whose evacuation is not possible at the moment. The Georgian side continues to bombard the territory with all weapons available including the GRAD rocket launchers, howitzers, and tanks. The road to the city is under heavy fire. Tbilisi should provide at least a 2-3 hours corridor to evacuate the wounded."
• 20:16 The OSInform News Agency reported that a heavy fighting with the Georgian infantry continues on the south and southwest outskirts of Tskhinvali.
• 21:27 South Ossetia's military shotdown a Georgian attack plane. The fall of the blazing plane was videotaped and played on the Russian Vesti television channel.
• 23:50 A five-hour artillery onslaught on the city ended. The OSInform News Agency claims that a major Georgian attack has been stopped, reporting 12 Georgian tanks destroyed and 1 Georgian bomber shot down. The fighting with the Georgian infantry on the south of Tshinvali continues. Civilians still remain in the basements with no food or water. The South Ossetian forces complain that Georgia has yet not provided a peace corridor to evacuate the civilians caught up in crossfire.

August 10, 2008

• 07:30 "The artillery fire from both sides continued throughout the night. The Georgian troops fired at Tskhinvali from the surrounding heights. There was some battle near the town of Kvais, and an attempt to capture the village of Singur", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 08:00 "There's some stagnation at this time. Some of the people in the basements have come outside. The Ossetians continue mopping up the snipers. A group of snipers is hiding in the Emalprovod Cable Plant building. As far as you can assess it visually, there seems to be more bodies of Georgian soldiers, than the Ossetians. Some battle continues on the outskirts. The Russian tanks are in the city.... About 5000 thousand of civilians still remain in the city. Georgia has not yet provided a peace corridor for their evacuation... A raiding squad of about 30 persons has infiltrated into the village of Tbet at night (August 9-10) which is used by the civilians who try to escape from Tskhinavli. There is a broken car now standing on the road with the civilians they shot on spot. A family in one of the Tbet's homes has also been shot to death, there are children among the dead", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 09:52 The South Ossetia Secretary of State Konstantin Kochiyev told the REGNUM News Agency, "The situation in the Republic of South Ossetia has changed to a catastrophe during the past two day. The city of Tskhinvali no longer exists. The number of dead is uncountable, there seem to be thousands. How many more have been tortured to death by the Georgian aggressors is hard to imagine. This cannot be forgiven. The atrocities of the Georgian troops are beyond measure. South Ossetia will never forgive what has happened to our people. There are many dead bodies of Georgian soldiers and broken vehicles both on the outskirts of Tskhinvali and near its center. Today and last night, the Ossetian fighters continued defending the territory, but the enemy doesn't stop. Our forces are running out. We're waiting for Russia to support. It's not even about hours, it's about minutes."
• 12:00 "The battle outside Tskhinvali continues. There is heavy firing from both sides. Self-propelled artillery vehicles, GRAD rocket launchers and aircraft can be heard. Some gunshots in the city -- the chase for the remaining Georgian snipers continues", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 13:43 "An unexploded cluster bomb of non-Russian design outlawed in 100 countries was found in one of the destroyed houses of Tskhinvali", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 14:16 "The number of the onslaught casualties is now being determined nearing 1500 persons. Military maps with plans to capture Tskhinvali are often found in the packs of dead Georgian soldiers", reports the OSInform News Agency.
• 23:27 The city came under artilery fire again. The joined Ossetian and Russian forces are trying to surpress it by firing back. They also continue mopping up the Georgian snipers. Moreover, the extermination of snipers continues in the villages that were previously occupied by the Georgian forces. The evacuation of civilians is under way, but some people stay to defend the city or bury their relatives, friends or neighbors .

August 11, 2008

• 00:55 The Health Minister of South Ossetia Nugzar Gabarayev said that the last group of 100 wounded has been evacuated from the Republican Hospital bombed down by the Georgian artillery .

--Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 08:54, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Also unsourced (Georgian forces)

3 infantry battalions,
2 tank battalions,
2 self-propelled artillery battalions,
special forces and sniper units --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 09:37, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

There is a large degree of misunderstanding and under-reporting going on. While everyone is focused on Tskhinvali, they have failed to take note that the intended campaign is one of return of SO to Georgia, and in fact all Georgian troops are committed to it. Call up of reserves after the fact and withdrawal of troops from Iraq was a necessary evil of offensive planning. There are three border sectors in the front, with each one operating a brigade. The southern sector is the only one where tanks have been seen, but the eastern sector is all mountains, and the western sector is not exactly tank country either. One infantry battalion advanced west of Tskhinvali and another east, with only a company of T-72s (12?) actually seen in the city at any one time (reported), so I don't know where "two battalions" are coming from. Tanks are hideously expensive to run, and loose for Georgia. The two artillery battalions have stayed in Georgian territory al this time. Special forces? If any one saw them, they are not that special! Sniper units? There were claims of sniper fire by Russian troops, but all Georgian infantry units, as are Russian, have a number of snipers in their ranks.--mrg3105 (comms) ♠♥♦♣ 09:57, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

edit war

stop it.--66.229.12.186 (talk) 10:53, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Georgian losses

Only from a Georgian statement(s) and sourced. --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 10:57, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

I remember reading (don't know were think it was an other wiki article) that OS claim 700 Georgian dead while Georgia said they suffer 300.--66.229.12.186 (talk) 11:00, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

You've gotta find the link (and make sure it's only about Tskhinvali - Georgians suffered human losses also outside South Ossetia). --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 11:05, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

I thought the Georgien casualty figures (200 civilian dead as of yeasterday I read) were reliable, after all they're the only party to this war taking civilian casualties and able to count them properly. But today I read 92 dead altogether, also from Georgian soources. What gives? (They apparently deflate their military casualties while exaggerating the Russian ones#; the numbers are ludicrous. But why deflate the civilian dead your side suffers?) Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 12:31, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Regarding Sherlock100

Please protect this page from the newly registered users. --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 11:03, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Done. Moreschi (talk) (debate) 11:05, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh yes, help protect the page from "newly registered users" who've been editing this page for three days. Save the world from me, let the crime-dogs flourish!

Do you know what the word "obvious" mean in science? When people say this is "obvious" or "absolutely obvious" or "just evident"? It normally means they are non-scientific and don't have any arguments to support their view. They use emotional arguments and brute force to bulldoze everyone into silence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sherlock100 (talk • contribs) 11:22, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Sherlock100 has been blocked indefinitely. Neıl ☄ 11:29, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Good. Now I think about it, that might have been M.V.E.i. again...Moreschi (talk) (debate) 11:32, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Also rangeblocked his IP for 24 hours to give everyone a rest. Neıl ☄ 13:14, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Nobody is telling me to do so. You are attacking people, disrupting the talk page, and generally being an annoyance. I've blocked this IP range, too. Neıl ☄ 14:20, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

To Neil: Why are you blocking and deleting me? I've only asked a few questions. I'm NOT defacing anything! Who's telling you to do so? I've been editing this page for three days as an honest editor...(Sherlock) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.234.21.63 (talk) 13:48, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

To Neil: But defacing the whole page I've been collecting is much more of an annoyance. And your bans don't work anyway (I don't even know why, I'm not doing anything to avoid them). I promise not to edit anything, just stop thinking of me as a war criminal. Yes, I admit I verbally attacked that jerk Captain. But calling me a general annoyance! I've collected 80% of the material on this page (as it was until Aug 11), and it was 90%-well-sourced, but he just erased it... I promise to shut up just don't destroy the page! (Sherlock)—Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.234.6.173 (talk) 14:37, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

To Neil: And please take a look at that "Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog" discussion page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Captain_Obvious_and_his_crime-fighting_dog. It's full of warnings that the guy is deleting pages! As in, "Warning! Please stop. If you continue to blank out or delete portions of page content, templates or other materials from Wikipedia, as you did to Battle of Okinawa, you will be blocked from editing... " and the like! Now check out who's to blame... He's probably asleep now, because we're in Europe and he's probably in the U.S. Do something about him, because he'll come back and deface it again! Including some of the work Top Gun tried t put back.

request page lock

Caption and someone else I forgot his/hers name are having a edit war. I agree with the Cap that the page has too many unsource information and needs to be handle with but having a edit war is both immature and destroys the article which everyone is trying to make better. --66.229.12.186 (talk) 11:04, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Distance-bar on map please?

Can anyone put a Distance-bar on the map? Thta wd be helpful. (This is a general point: a bar on the map is much better than a scale saying e.g. 1:100000 as different screens show different sizes)

Johnbibby (talk) 11:35, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

I doubt there is a public map available, try google maps, although place names seem to be few/missing. The entire battle is fought in a few river valleys very close to each other.Geo8rge (talk) 15:10, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Inadequate citations

Can somebody check the reference provided in this edit? The site is both in English and Russian, but I can not find this quote in the English text. Also, when furnishing references, specific links to the page in question should be given, not merely a site leaving it up to the user to locate which page on that site has the quote in question. __meco (talk)

Problems with article, anon causing trouble

Come back if there's something from HRW or at least Memorial.

Also, stop quoting the "OSInform News Agency", whatever it is. (Oh, turns out it's the official spearatist propaganda outlet - way to go while avoiding propaganda.)

Also "black" is not "ethnicity" and "knived" is not word.

Please stop making this article crap. --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 15:10, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:

Television footage that came out of the city showed four Georgian tanks were on fire at the railroad station square with a few dead Georgian soldiers beside them on the ground.

Interfax article from the link, which was supposed to be about this "television footage":

"There are hundreds of killed civilians in Tskhinvali. This is the third instance of genocide of the Ossetian people on the part of Georgia. [Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili is the key murderer," he said to Interfax by telephone on Friday. "Resistance in Tskhinvali is mounting. Four Georgian tanks have been hit in the railway station square ," he said.

What the hell is that? Come on people, this is just silly. --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 15:23, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh, and I'll post the "Quotations during the battle" section below whole, because it would be hard to get any more biased than this:

August 9, 2008

"The Georgian snipers keep firing at vehicles transporting the wounded to the hospitals of South Ossetia", said Irina Glagoleva, a spokeswoman for the South Ossetia government.

"The women and children in Tskhinvali suffer from thirst. The city has not had any access to water, gas, electricity for 3 days. The cell phones are losing power. The Georgian snipers shoot anyone who tries to get out into the street", reports the OSInform News Agency.

August 10, 2008 The South Ossetia Secretary of State Konstantin Kochiyev told the REGNUM News Agency, "The situation in the Republic of South Ossetia has changed to a catastrophe during the past two days. The city of Tskhinvali no longer exists. The number of dead is uncountable, there seem to be thousands. How many more have been tortured to death by the Georgian aggressors is hard to imagine. This cannot be forgiven. The atrocities of the Georgian troops are beyond measure. South Ossetia will never forgive what has happened to our people. There are many dead bodies of Georgian soldiers and broken vehicles both on the outskirts of Tskhinvali and near its center. Today and last night, the Ossetian fighters continued defending the territory, but the enemy doesn't stop. Our forces are running out. We're waiting for Russia to support. It's not even about hours, it's about minutes."'

What. --Captain Obvious and his crime-fighting dog (talk) 15:28, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

You're sick, and you know it... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.234.1.55 (talk) 17:34, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Posted this already in the South-Ossetian War Talk page

However, as it is also regarding Tskhinvali, here's a short link: [1] Maybe the article might be of some use... OelnJa (talk) 18:14, 11 August 2008 (UTC)