Gurgen Dalibaltayan | |
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Born | 5 June 1926 Ninotsminda, Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union |
Died | 1 September 2015 Yerevan, Armenia | (aged 89)
Allegiance | Soviet Union Armenia |
Service/ | Soviet Army Armed Forces of Armenia |
Years of service | 1947–2015 |
Rank | Colonel-General |
Commands | 34th Infantry Regiment 60th Infantry Division 242nd Infantry Division |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | see below |
Gurgen Harutyun Dalibaltayan (Armenian: 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,[1][2] a battle to capture the city from Azerbaijan.[3] He is credited with devising a strategy to assault the strongly fortified town of Shusha 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.[1]