Gurgen Dalibaltayan
Gurgen Dalibaltayan Գուրգեն Դալիբալթայան | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 June 1926 Ninotsminda, Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 1 September 2015 (aged 89) Yerevan, Armenia |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union Armenia |
| Branch | 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, 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.