Battle of Gagra

Battle of Gagra
Part of War in Abkhazia
Date1–6 October 1992
Location
Result Abkhaz-North Caucasian victory
Territorial
changes
Abkhaz–North Caucasian separatists capture Gagra District
Belligerents
 Abkhazia
Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus
 Georgia
Commanders and leaders
Abkhazia Vladimir Arshba
Sultan Sosnaliyev
Shamil Basayev
Georgia (country) Giorgi Karkarashvili
Units involved
Abkhaz National Guard
Cossack units
13th "Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion[1]
"Orbi" (lit.'griffin')
"White Eagles" special units
Strength
3,000–4,000[1] Hundreds[1]
Casualties and losses
117 killed (Abkhaz claim)[2] 42 killed, 47 captured (Georgian claim)[3]
300 killed (Russian claim)[4]
429 Georgian civilians (Georgian claim)[5]

The Battle of Gagra was fought between Georgian forces and the Abkhaz secessionists aided by the Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus (CMPC) militants from 1 to 6 October 1992, during the War in Abkhazia. The allies, commanded by the Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, captured the town of Gagra from the undermanned Georgian forces (which were reportedly fewer in numbers but possessed more tanks and armoured personnel carriers)[6] in a surprise attack, leading to an outbreak of ethnic cleansing of local Georgian population. The battle proved to be one of the bloodiest in the war and is widely considered to be a turning point in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. The action, in which Russian commanders were suspected to have aided to the attackers, also resulted in a significant deterioration of the Georgian-Russian relations.

  1. ^ a b c The HRW 1995, p. 25-6
  2. ^ Changes on the Western Front: how Gagra was liberated Abkhaz World, October 3, 2020
  3. ^ "A war we will not forget!". for.ge (in Georgian). October 2, 2015.
  4. ^ "Russian news sources reported some 300 dead on the Georgian side alone" Human Rights Watch Reports. 7 (7). 1995.
  5. ^ Murphy, p. 15
  6. ^ The HRW 1995, p. 25