Georgian order of battle According to the
Moscow Defence Brief, an English-language magazine published by the Russian non-governmental organisation the
Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, the Georgian troops included the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Infantry Brigades, the Artillery Brigade, part of the 1st Infantry Brigade and the standalone Gori Tank Battalion. Additionally, special forces and Ministry of Internal Affairs troops were deployed. The total number of troops was 16,000 according to the magazine. According to the EU fact-finding mission, 10,000–11,000 soldiers took part in the war. The 1st Infantry Brigade, the only one instructed to NATO standards, was serving in Iraq at the beginning of the war; The best Georgian troops were overdue from Iraq and could not participate in the fighting. The presence of prime 2,000 Georgian military and the bulk of Georgian high-level government officials abroad before the war meant that Georgia did not intend to begin hostilities.
Russo-South Ossetian-Abkhaz order of battle A sizeable portion of the Russian 58th Army, one of the foremost military units in Russia, was included in the Russian order of battle. The 58th Army fought in
Second Chechen War. This view was supported by independent Russian analysis. Colonel-General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn, Russian deputy chief of general staff, said the Soviet-made
Tor and Buk anti-aircraft missile systems, bought by Georgia from Ukraine, were responsible for shooting down Russian aircraft during the war. A Russian assessment, reported by Roger McDermott, said that Russian losses would have been significantly higher if the Georgians had not left behind a portion of their Buk-M1 systems near Senaki in western Georgia and several Osa missile launchers in South Ossetia. According to some reports, Georgia also possessed a battery of the Israeli-made
SPYDER-SR short-range self-propelled anti-aircraft system. The Georgian air-defence early-warning and command-control tactical system was linked via Turkey to a NATO Air Situation Data Exchange (ASDE), which provided Georgia with intelligence during the conflict. Konstantin Makienko of CAST saw substandard instruction of pilots as the primary reason for the paltry conduct of Georgian air sorties. There was a small number of disciplined and knowledgeable officers in high ranking positions, and Saakashvili's government had no military background.
Russia The Russian
Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C³I) performed poorly during the conflict. However, Russian reconnaissance battalions and regiments were also deployed during the war. Deputy chief of the General staff of Russia, General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said that in the conflict new weapons were not tried out. The RIA Novosti editorial also said that Russian Su-25 ground-attack jets did not have radar vision and ground-target coordinate computing. They also did not have long-range surface-to-air missiles that could be fired beyond the air-defence zones of an adversary. Mechanised infantry opened a new front in Abkhazia, which contributed to the quickness of the Russian military success. A Reuters analyst described Russia's army as "strong but flawed"; the war demonstrated that Russia's "armed forces have emerged from years of neglect as a formidable fighting force, but revealed important deficiencies." He stated that Russia fell short of its role of a first-rate military power due to these faults. Unlike the Second Chechen War, Russia's force in Georgia was composed primarily of professional soldiers instead of conscripts. Reuters journalists in Georgia stated that they found the Russian forces to be well-outfitted and orderly forces. CAST director
Ruslan Pukhov said that "the victory over the Georgian army ... should become for Russia not a cause for euphoria and excessive joy, but serve to speed up military transformations." After the ceasefire was signed on 12 August, in Georgia proper, Russian troops attempted to seize and destroy Georgian armament, a process termed by the
Moscow Defence Brief as the "demilitarization of the Georgian Armed Forces". At the time of the conflict, Georgia operated 191
T-72 tanks, of which 75 were deployed into South Ossetia. Georgia lost at least 10 T-72 tanks destroyed in and near Tskhinvali. After the end of hostilities, the Russian military seized a total of 65 Georgian tanks. About 20 of those were subsequently destroyed. The Georgian army possessed 154
IFVs, 16
reconnaissance vehicles, 66
APCs and 86 multi-purpose tracked
armoured vehicles before the conflict. Less than 10 armoured vehicles were destroyed in combat. Two
BMP-2s were destroyed in combat and two were captured. At least 20 BMPs were captured after the hostilities, including several
BMP-1s that were upgraded to BMP-1U. Georgia lost two
Otokar Cobra armoured vehicles. Dozens of automobiles and lorries were also lost. Two
DANA self-propelled howitzers of the Georgian army were destroyed in combat and two DANAs were captured in and near Gori. Further 20 artillery pieces, including 120 mm mortars, were left behind. Six
2S7 Pions were captured after the hostilities. Two Buk-M1 launch vehicles and their transport loaders, as well as up to five
OSA-AKM SAMs were also captured. The Russian military seized 1,728 firearms at the Senaki Second Infantry Brigade base. The Georgian Navy lost one boat at sea according to Russia. In Poti, four boats were submerged. Nine
rigid-hull inflatables were captured. The Air Force sustained limited damage as only three transport planes and four helicopters were confirmed lost. The Georgian air force ceased all sorties after 8 August. Instead all fighter and
training aircraft, including the
Su-25s, were tucked away. Russian bombers impaired the airstrips in Georgia. A Russian air attack on Marneuli Air Force Base destroyed three
AN-2 aircraft. Russian airborne forces set fire to two
Mi-24 helicopters and one
Mi-14 on 11 August. Georgian Defence Minister Davit Kezerashvili said that Georgia lost
materiel worth $250 million. According to Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, his country saved 95 percent of its armed forces.
Russia and South Ossetia Russia admitted that three of its Su-25 strike aircraft and one Tu-22 long-range bomber were lost. Georgia at that time claimed it had downed no less than 21 Russian aircraft. South Ossetian forces lost two BMP-2s.
A detailed list of the destroyed and captured vehicles of both sides Russia (80+, of which destroyed: 76+, damaged: 2, captured: 2) Tanks (6+, of which destroyed: 6+) • 1+
T-55A: (1+, destroyed
[South Ossetian]). • 1
T-62M: (1, destroyed). • 1
T-72B: (1, destroyed). • 3
T-72B Obr. 1989: (3, destroyed).
Armoured Fighting Vehicles (4, of which destroyed: 3, captured: 1) • 2
BRDM-2: (1, destroyed) (1, captured [South Ossetian]). • 2
BRDM-2M: (2, destroyed).
Infantry Fighting Vehicles (20, of which destroyed: 19, damaged: 1) • 10
BMP-1: (10, destroyed). • 4
BMP-1P: (4, destroyed). • 5
BMP-2: (1, destroyed [South Ossetian]) (3, destroyed) (1, damaged). • 1
BMD-2: (1, destroyed).
Armoured Personnel Carriers (5, of which destroyed: 3, damaged: 1, captured: 1) • 1
BTR-70: (1, captured). • 4
BTR-80: (3, destroyed) (1, damaged).
Armoured Recovery Vehicles (1, of which destroyed: 1) • 1
BREM-Ch: (1, destroyed).
Artillery Support Vehicles (1, of which destroyed: 1) • 1 1V13(M) battery fire control center: (1, destroyed).
Self-Propelled Artillery (1, of which destroyed: 1) • 1 122mm
2S1 Gvozdika: (1, captured and destroyed [South Ossetian]).
Aircraft (8, of which destroyed: 8) • 1
Su-25 close air support aircraft: (1, damaged beyond economical repair). • 2
Su-25BM close air support aircraft: (2, destroyed). • 2
Su-25SM close air support aircraft: (1, destroyed) (1, damaged beyond economical repair and scrapped). • 2
Su-24M strike aircraft: (2, destroyed). • 1
Tu-22M3 strategic bomber: (1, destroyed).
Helicopters (2, of which destroyed: 2) • 1
Mi-8MT transport helicopter: (1, destroyed [accident]). • 1
Mi-8MTKO transport helicopter: (1, destroyed [accident]).
Trucks, Vehicles and Jeeps (32, of which destroyed: 32) • 11
GAZ-66: (9, destroyed) (2, destroyed [South Ossetian]). • 3
ZiL-131: (3, destroyed). • 1
KrAZ-225B: (1, destroyed). • 1
Ural-375D: (1, destroyed). • 11
Ural-4320: (11, destroyed). • 9 KamAZ 6x6: (9, destroyed). • 1
UAZ-452: (1, destroyed). • 2
UAZ-469: (1, destroyed) (1, destroyed [South Ossetian]). • 2 Unknown truck: (2, destroyed).
Georgia (186, of which destroyed: 89, damaged: 1, captured: 96) Tanks (44, of which destroyed: 27, captured: 17) • 14
T-72AV: (6, destroyed) (7, captured) (1, damaged and captured). • 29
T-72B: (4, destroyed) (17, captured and destroyed) (8, captured) • 1
T-72 SIM-1: (1, captured).
Armoured Fighting Vehicles (2, of which destroyed: 1, captured: 1) • 2
MT-LB: (1, destroyed) (1, captured)
Infantry Fighting Vehicles (25, of which destroyed: 6, captured: 19) • 2
BMP-1: (2, destroyed) • 14
BMP-1U 'Shkval': (14, captured). • 9
BMP-2: (2, destroyed) (2, captured and destroyed) (5, captured).
Armoured Personnel Carriers (3, of which destroyed: 2, captured: 1) • 3
BTR-80: (2, destroyed) (1, captured).
Infantry Mobility Vehicles (3, of which captured: 3) • 1
HMMWV: (1, captured). • 2
Otokar Cobra: (1, captured) (1, damaged and captured).
Command Posts (1, of which captured: 1) • 1
9S470M command post (for
Buk-M1): (1, captured).
Engineering Vehicles And Equipment (5, of which destroyed: 1, captured: 4) • 1
BTS-2 armoured recovery vehicle: (1, captured). • 1
MTU-55 armoured vehicle-launched bridge: (1, captured). • 1
BAT-2 heavy engineering vehicle: (1, destroyed). • 2 Mini MineWolf remote controlled mine clearance systems: (2, captured).
Towed Artillery (25, of which destroyed: 1, captured: 24) • 1 76mm
ZiS-3 divisional gun: (1). • 4 85mm
D-44 divisional gun: (4, captured). • 2 100mm
MT-12 Rapira anti-tank gun: (2, captured). • 17 122mm
D-30 howitzer: (17, captured). • 1 152mm
2A65 Msta-B howitzer: (1, destroyed).
Self-Propelled Artillery (9, of which destroyed: 6, captured: 3) • 4 152mm
ShKH vz. 77 DANA: (2, destroyed) (2, captured). • 5 203mm
2S7 Pion: (4, destroyed) (1, captured).
Anti-Aircraft Guns (2, of which captured: 2) • 1 23mm
ZU-23: (1, captured). • 1 57mm
AZP S-60: (1, captured).
Surface-To-Air Missile Systems (6, of which captured: 6) • 2
9K33 Osa-AK: (2, captured). • 2
9A310M1 TELAR (for Buk-M1): (2, captured). • 2
9A39M1 TEL (for Buk-M1): (2, captured).
Radars (2, of which destroyed: 2) • 1
P-18 "Spoon Rest ": (1, destroyed). • 1 ST86U/36D6-M "Tin Shield": (1, destroyed).
Aircraft (3, of which destroyed: 3). • 3
An-2 utility aircraft: (3, destroyed).
Helicopters (3, of which destroyed: 3) • 1
Mi-14BT transport helicopter: (1, destroyed). • 1
Mi-24V attack helicopter: (1, destroyed). • 1
Mi-24P attack helicopter: (1, destroyed).
Naval Ships (9, of which destroyed: 7, captured: 2) • 1
La Combattante II-class fast attack craft Dioskuria '303': (1, scuttled). • 1
Matka-class missile boat Tbilisi '302': (1, scuttled). • 1
Lindau-class minesweeper Aeti: (1, scuttled but subsequently refloated and returned to service as a training platform.). • 1
Stenka class patrol boat P-21 Giorgi Toreli: (1, destroyed). • 3
Zhuk class patrol boat (Operated by the
Coast Guard): (1, P 204, destroyed) (2, P 203 scuttled and subsequently refloated but not returned to service) (3, P 205, destroyed). • 1 Project 1387 class patrol boat Tskaltubo '101': (1, scuttled). • 2
RHIB: (2, captured).
Trucks, Vehicles and Jeeps (44, of which destroyed: 17, damaged: 1, captured: 26) • 7
MAZ-537: (1, destroyed) (6, captured). • 1
KrAZ-255B: (1, captured). • 13
KrAZ-6322: (10, destroyed) (3, captured). • 1
Ural-43206: (1, captured). • 1 KamAZ 6x6: (1, captured). • 1 MAN KAT1 4x4: (1, captured). • 7
Land Rover Defender: (3, destroyed) (1, damaged) (1, damaged and captured) (2, captured). • 6
M35A2: (6, captured). • 4
M35A3: (3, destroyed) (1, captured). • 4
M99A1 HMMWV: (4, captured). == See also ==