Gurgen Dalibaltayan


Gurgen Dalibaltayan
Գուրգեն Դալիբալթայան
Born5 June 1926
Ninotsminda, Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died1 September 2015(2015-09-01) (aged 89)
Yerevan, Armenia
Allegiance Soviet Union
 Armenia
Branch Soviet Army
Armed Forces of Armenia
Years of service1947–2015
RankColonel-General
Commands34th Infantry Regiment
60th Infantry Division
242nd Infantry Division
Battles / wars
Awardssee 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, a battle to capture the city from Azerbaijan. 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.