Operation Goranboy

Part of the Nagorno-Karabakh War

Date	12 June 1992 – March 1993
Location	Goranboy and Tartar provinces of Azerbaijan Republic
Result	Azerbaijan initially managed to break through the NKR defenses and capture over 48% of former NKAO territory, but failed in their overall strategic goal.

Belligerents

Republic of Armenia

Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh

Republic of Azerbaijan

Commanders and leaders

Manvel Yeghiazaryan

Surat Huseynov

Isgandar Hamidov

Strength

unknown detachment

Arabo detachment
"Aramo" detachment
"Artziv 9" detachment
"Zeytun" detachment
"Nikol Duman" detachment
"Zoravar Andranik" detachment
"Meghradzor" detachment

additional battalions,
110 tanks
at least 70 BTRs and BMPs

Casualties and losses

20 civilians captured (later all released)
The entire ethnic Armenian population of Goranboy fled the region

Operation Goranboy was a large-scale military offensive by Azerbaijan in the summer of 1992. Its aims were to take complete control of the entire territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and put a decisive end to the secessionist Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. This offensive is regarded as a successful breakthrough by the Azerbaijani Army and marked the peak of Azerbaijani success throughout the entire six-year Nagorno-Karabakh War. It also marked the beginning of a new, more intense phase of that war. Over 8,000 Azeri troops and 4 additional battalions, at least 90 tanks and 70 infantry fighting vehicles, as well as Mi-24 attack-helicopters were used in the offensive.

After Azerbaijan's initial military successes, re-grouped Armenian forces repelled the attack re-capturing most of the seized regions.

On 12 June 1992, just five days after Abulfaz Elchibey of Popular Front of Azerbaijan was elected the President of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani military first launched a large scale diversionary attack from the east, in the direction of the Askeran region at the center of Nagorno-Karabakh. Two groups of Azeri troops, totaling 4,000 troops, attacked positions to the north and south of Askeran. As a result of fierce fighting the Azeris managed to establish control over several settlements in the Askeran region: Nakhichevanik, Dovşanlı, Pirjamal, Dahraz, and Agbulaq.

On 13 June 1992, Azerbaijan launched the main large-scale three-day offensive against the region of Goranboy (the territory of the former Shahumyan rayon of Azerbaijan SSR) located north of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was defended by just two, small and poorly-equipped, Armenian voluntary detachments. This offensive, code-named Operation Goranboy (named after the rayon that lies to the north of former NKAO) and headed by Suret Huseynov, threw 4,000 troops, 160 armored vehicles (including 90-110 tanks) and attack helicopters at the relatively undefended positions in northern Nagorno-Karabakh. As many as 4 tank battalions and 2 mechanized infantry battalions of the 23rd Division of the former Soviet Union Army, as well as 4 additional battalions of the Azerbaijan Army and various brigades from the neighboring regions, were joined in this operation. After 15 hours of fierce fighting against the Azerbaijani forces, the two Armenian detachments withdrew. Azerbaijan managed to capture several dozen villages in the Goranboy region originally held by the Armenian forces, and the entire Armenian civilian population of this region fled. According to the report of the Memorial human rights society which sent its mission to Goranboy in the aftermath of the operation, there were no civilian casualties, as Armenians had fled the region before the Azerbaijani troops approached them. The population of the neighbouring Azeri and Russian villages remained unaffected.

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Wikipedia