Incidentally, the 40th day after death is a special commemoration of death in the Orthodox Christian tradition. In this case, it is also another hallmark, a time to reflect on the outcome of the five-day war.

The more time passes, the more details on the August hostilities become known, so analysts and the public in general have more to go on as they try to re-create a complete picture of how it happened. Although it would take too much time to tell the whole story here, it still would be useful to recall the basic facts and a few important details.

Open hostilities in the vicinity of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, began in the small hours of Aug. 8, when Georgian artillery struck at the city and the Russian peacekeepers' positions in it. Georgian peacekeepers participated in the attack as well, having turned their arms against their Russian allies.

The first strike hit a 220-strong peacekeeping battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Konstantin Timerman. It was his men's tenacity that helped repulse the first assault, which had a decisive influence on the ensuing events: Georgia failed to seize the city right away and make the world face an accomplished fact.

It was during that night -- or rather, early in the morning -- that Russia's war machine began responding to events, and news came of Russian fighter jets seen above the Georgian forces' position. The air strikes performed by Sukhoi Su-25 fighters and Sukhoi Su-24 bombers also played an important role in repulsing the first attack on Tskhinvali.

On the afternoon of Aug. 8 the first Russian units entered South Ossetia -- the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 19th Motorized Rifle Division -- to defend local residents and reinforce peacekeeping forces, but it was not until Aug. 9 that they actually reached the besieged peacekeepers.

Battles in local villages mainly were fought by local militia and volunteer units, while Russian troops interfered only if they had to take on large Georgian army units, for which the militia was no match.

Russian forces also undertook the mission of suppressing Georgian artillery, while the Russian air force struck Georgian rear infrastructure.

Russian special units also took on a Georgian task force. There is information that their successful operation prevented Georgian commandos from blowing up the Roki Tunnel, a mountain pass on the Caucasus Main Motorway. If blocked, it could have seriously hampered the operation because alternative routes lack sufficient traffic capacity.

The fighting in and around Tskhinvali went on for three full days, and by the end of the third day Georgia's artillery was mostly destroyed, and what was left of it retreated. Georgian ground forces left the city, too.

(In Part 2: How the military equipment matched up.)

(Ilya Kramnik is a military commentator for RIA Novosti. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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