Gurgen Dalibaltayan
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Gurgen Harutyun Dalibaltayan ( hy, Գուրգեն Հարությունի Դալիբալթայան; 5 June 1926 – 1 September 2015) was an Armenian military commander. He was the Chief of General Staff of Armenian Armed Forces during the 1992 Battle of Shusha, a battle to capture the city from Azerbaijan. He is credited with devising a strategy to assault the strongly fortified town of
Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...
using diversionary attacks against adjacent villages to draw out the defenders of the town while the commander of troops, Arkady Ter-Tatevosyan, encircled the town and cut off reinforcements. His strategy is generally considered impossible, or at least implausible, as he was originally outnumbered. General military tactics suggest a force of three times the defender's size to successfully storm and win.


Early life

Dalibaltayan was born in the Armenian-populated town of Bogdanovka (present-day
Ninotsminda Ninotsminda (Georgian: ნინოწმინდა ; Armenian: Նինոծմինդա) is a town and a center of the eponymous municipality located in Georgia's southern district of Samtskhe-Javakheti. According to the 2014 census the town h ...
, Samtskhe-Javakheti,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
), near the border with
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. He attended the Secondary School of Gorelovka from 1934 to 1944. Upon graduating, he spent three years at the Tbilisi School of Infantry. Dalibaltayan then joined the ranks of the
Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...
.


Military career


Soviet Army

Dalibaltayan held various commanding positions in
Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...
,
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
, Perekeshkul, Prishib,
Kirovabad Ganja (; az, Gəncə ) is Azerbaijan's third largest city, with a population of around 335,600.Azərbaycan Respublikası. — 2. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və inzibati rayonları. — 2.4. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və ...
,
Abakan Abakan (russian: Абака́н, p=ɐbɐˈkan; Khakas: , ''Ağban''/, ''Abaxan'') is the capital city of the Republic of Khakassia, Russia, located in the central part of Minusinsk Depression, at the confluence of the Yenisei and Abakan Rivers. A ...
and
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
during his service in the
Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...
. He was the commander of the 242nd Infantry Division of the
Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...
from 1969 to 1975. Outside of the USSR, he was Deputy Chief of Staff from 1975 to 1980 for the
Southern Group of Forces Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...
in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. He had also participated in higher academic courses for commanders at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR (now
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
) in 1976 and 1978. Dalibaltayan held his final position starting in 1987 as Deputy Commander of the
North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...
for combat training in Rostov-on-Don. In 1991, he left the Soviet Armed Forces prior to the
Fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
.


Armenian Army

The
Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...
, the country of origin for Dalibaltayan, had soon afterward joined him amongst its ranks. Dalibaltayan was appointed Chief of Staff of the Defence Committee of the Council of Ministers of Armenia in 1991. Within the same year, he had been promoted to Chief of the General Staff of the Armenia and also became the first Deputy
Defence Minister of Armenia The Defence Minister of Armenia () is the head of the country's Ministry of Defence, who is charged with the political leadership of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The position was originally created in 1918 and was re-established in January 1992 f ...
. Dalibaltayan was one of the leaders of the Armenian military during the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...
. He was the commander of Armenian forces for the Battle of Shusha, with the assistance of
Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan Arkady Ivani Ter-Tadevosyan ( hy, Արկադի Իվանի (Հովհաննեսի) Տեր-Թադևոսյան; russian: Аркадий Иванович Тер-Тадевосян; May 22, 1939 – March 31, 2021), also known by his nom-de-guerre Kom ...
. All of the military factors were in the favor of the Azeri Army. The Azeris had advantage in terms of the quantity and the quality of military equipment. They held a numerical superiority and also held the high ground. Due to the strategic position of Shusha, the town could be easily defended. Therefore, a direct attack by Armenian forces was not a viable option for Dalibaltayan. Furthermore, according to military conventions and practices, for the operation to be successful, the Armenians would have to outnumber the Azeris by at least 3–4 times (even more when attacking an elevation), with no such manpower available at the time. Instead, together Dalibaltayan and Ter-Tadevosyan devised a strategy of launching several diversionary attacks against the adjacent villages to draw out the defenders of Shusha, while the Armenian forces would in the meantime encircle and cut off the town from further reinforcements. The capture was a success and proved to be a turning point in the war in favor of Armenia. The date Shusha was captured, 9 May 1992, is celebrated as
Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...
in Armenia, also coincidentally coinciding with the end of the
Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Following the war, he worked as the Advisor to the President of Armenia and the chief military inspector from 1993 to 2007. As of 2007, he was the Senior Advisor to the Minister of Defense.


Personal life

He was married to Shushanik Dalibaltayan (née Khachatryan). They have two children, a daughter Varduhi (b. 1952) and a son Varazdat (b. 1954). Dalibaltayan was an honorary citizen of
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
. He died on 1 September 2015 at the age of 89.


Awards

*
Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...
*
Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...
*
Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
, 3rd class *
Order of the Combat Cross Awards and decorations of Armenia are military and civil decorations of Armenia which are bestowed by various agencies of the Armenian government for acts of accomplishment benefiting the government and the Armenian nation as a whole. National Her ...
, 1st degree (1998) * Medal "For Services to the Fatherland" * Medal "For Distinguished Service", 1st class * Medal "For Distinguished Service", 2nd class * Order of
Nerses the Gracious Nerses IV the Gracious (; also Nerses Shnorhali, Nerses of Kla or Saint Nerses the Graceful; 1102 – 13 August 1173) was Catholicos of Armenia from 1166 to 1173. A more precise translation of his epithet ''Shnorhali'' is "filled with Grace". He ...
* Order of the Combat Cross, 1st degree (2000) *
National Hero of Armenia National Hero of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի ազգային հերոս, translit=Hayastani azgayin heros) is the highest title in Armenia. The law on the title was signed by President Levon Ter-Petrosyan on 22 April 1994. It is awarded "for o ...
(2021, posthumously)


References


External links


The whole Armenian nation was participating in the liberation of Shoushi
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalibaltayan, Gurgen 1926 births 2015 deaths Armenian generals Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War First Nagorno-Karabakh War Georgian people of Armenian descent Chiefs of the General Staff (Armenia) Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni People from Samtskhe–Javakheti