Battle of Tskhinvali

The Battle of Tskhinvali was a battle for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway state of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the Russo-Georgian War. Georgian ground troops entered the city on early 8 August 2008, after an artillery assault. Georgians took control of most of the city in hours. Russian main forces began entering South Ossetia through the Roki tunnel. After being initially forced to withdraw, the Georgian troops made several attempts to retake the city. Due to the difficult logistics of the terrain, the arrival of Russian reinforcements was slow. After fierce fighting, Georgian troops were finally forced to withdraw from the city on the evening of 10 August. On 11 August, all Georgian troops left South Ossetia. Parts of Tskhinvali were devastated in the three-day fighting.

On 5 August Lenta.ru reports 300 volunteers from North Ossetia arrived in South Ossetia, while mobilization of up to 2000 “volunteers” and Cossacks began in the North Caucasus. The number of regular Russian troops in the region was increasing.

Wikipedia