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ABSTRACT
In
the year 1918, Georgia
restored her independence from Russia. This became possible as a
result of World War I and disintegration of the Russian Empire due to its failure
to withstand a tremendous pressure endorsed by the war effort. During its
three years of independence, Georgia’s
moderate socialist leadership was rather successful in the establishment of a
democracy-track society. However, the development of democratic processes in
the First Republic
faced a number of challenges that included involvement in military conflicts
with Turkey, Armenia, as well as the “Reds” and the
“Whites” of Southern Russia, economic blockade by Western powers, delay of
international recognition, internal conflicts and subversive activities of
local Bolsheviks encouraged by the Bolshevik regime in Moscow.
By
the end of February, 1920, an alliance was formed between the Kemalist
government of Turkey and
the Soviet leadership of Russia.
The new allies required a stable land-bridge between the two countries. In
order to achieve that goal, the three independent states of the South
Caucasus - namely Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Georgia - were to be taken over and
partitioned between Soviet Russia and Turkey. By 31.05.1920, Azerbaijan was invaded and Sovietized by Russia’s
11th Red Army. Four months later, Armenia
was invaded by the Kemalist Army of Karabekir Pasa and partitioned between Turkey and Russia. The last independent
country believing to be a bastion of the West squeezed between the Kemalists
and the Soviets was Georgia,
and it was to fall as well in order to finalize Soviet-Turkish project in the
Caucasus.
This
paper provides comprehensive coverage of the Soviet military campaign against
Georgia
that was launched on February 11th, 1921, in breach of a non-aggression
treaty. It contains a detailed
analysis of the major military operations of the campaign as well as a
comparison of military might of both conflicting parties. This paper is one
of the first attempts to cover the above-mentioned historical event which can
be found especially interesting nowadays when Georgia
and Russia
are once again balancing at the brink of military conflict.
The
paper is accompanied by 4 full-color maps and 2 color diagrams.
    
CLICK HERE TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE AND TO SEE
THE MAPS.
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