13/11/2021
By Prof. Z. S. Andrew Demirdjian, Los Angeles, 14 October 2021
“Nothing is so good for the morale of the troops
as occasionally to see a dead general.”
– Field Marshal Lord Slim
Many Armenians continue to agonize as to why we lost the war to the armies of Azerbaijan and Turkey in last year’s Artsakh War.
The lion’s share of the blame is hurled at the previous and present heads of state, namely Pres. Levon Ter-Bederossyan, Robert Kocharian, Serzh Sargsyan, and PM Nikol Pashinyan for their negligence in preparing for war. The four politicians are not the wrong targets for the fiasco since they were also the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces.
Since government leaders depend on the military for a nation’s security, we should also identify those who share the blame for the defeat. Naturally, the generals are at the top of the totem pole for they are the commissioned officers ranking above a lieutenant general. No name of active general will be mentioned here. We will focus on Armenian military commanders.
In this article, three little, but pregnant, words comprising the title of this essay will be analyzed to show what went wrong with Artsakh’s defense.
Most Armenian generals are well educated. They have had extensive education and experience to rise to their position. Despite Armenia’s small population, over the years Armenia has produced thousands of famous generals who also served in the Russian armed forces with distinction.
By Prof. Z. S. Andrew Demirdjian, Los Angeles, 14 October 2021