Sergeant Kakhaber Tavgorashvili - Georgian Special Operations Forces

GeneralL

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Sergeant of the Georgian Army Special Operations Brigade Kakhaber Tavgorashvili can be found on the list of fallen Georgian servicemen who meet their faith during the South Ossetia War in 2008.
Number 125 is only one trace among many who mark the days of that tragic event.

It was in the afternoon of August 8. The counter terrorism instructor of an army special task force was engaged in heavy street fighting. The small section consisted of him and a few colleagues, fighting a way through armed Ossetian separatists and Russian Special Forces into the heart of "Tskhinvali", the Ossetian capital city. There was to establish a foothold in the center prior to the day when Georgian ground forces entered the area. It was believed that Tskhinvali had been cleared of separatist forces and only a low number of civilians left, approving the claims of government officials who had been in the area when the Russian ordered general evacuation was executed, starting already a week earlier. According to one of the officials, they found nothing but a "ghost town" when driving around. However the unit managed to fend off attacks in the incredible time frame of 27 hours, fortified in two tactical well chosen apartments and blocks. Numerous skirmishes made one of the apartments go up in flames and most of the unit lacked on ammunition after a while. The opposing force consisted of rather poorly organized groups of approximately 15-20 men each, armed with AK-47 rifles and RPK light machine guns. First they tried to attack one apartment from the open advancing to the rear and the flanks, but after taking casualties, they fortified in apartments themselves and started to shoot from windows and balconies. The enemy tried it over and over again but failed multiple times. The time passing, the attacks became incomparable well organized, obviously aided by local Russian special forces and the last appartment went up in flames. Two hours later a Georgian tank platoon with Infantry support appeared and offered ammunition and assistance. Only seconds later one tank got hit, followed by a merciless shootout with heavy casualties on both sides.

Around 9 wounded and 3 KIA had to be evacuated via transport. Sergeant Tavgorashvili took over the main task at that momentum, to secure his fellow soldiers in danger. Six were brought out to safety, while the others concentrated on securing the perimeter. Two others were evacuated minutes later. The Sergeant grabbed the last one to also get him out and was then hit by a sniper bullet in the cervical / head area and passed away instantly at Shanghai street, Tskhinvali, August 8, 2008.

Reported first and only Special Forces member of the Republic of Georgia who has been KIA since 1993.
 
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