Why did Georgian army flee in disarray?

[Stanchetalarooni]

Though Georgia started this war, it has been portrayed as the plucky little David to Russia's Goliath. But what's interesting is how poorly Georgia fought. Little Finland bloodied Stalin's Red Army in the Winter War of 1940-41, and Chechnya essentially defeated the Russian army in the first war between them in the mid-1990s. Extremely well-equipped by the United States, the Georgian army fled in disarray almost at once.
I think that they knew that they were being misled. That they were being ordered to do a nasty deed to Ossetia and had no real stake in fighting an American folly.

[rockymountaindem]

1. To compare the modern Russian army to the Red Army of 1940 is unfair

The modern Russian army is led by well-trained officers fighting with good equipment and adequate communications. The Red Army of 1940 was incompetently led by men chosen for their political reliability rather than their military skill. Most of their competent leadership had been purged. It was further divided by the dual command structure between regular officers and political officers, as well as a lack of adequate communications equipment. What's more, the Red Army of 1940 did not seek to minimize its own causalities and therefore ended up running headlong into disaster. They were also poorly prepared to respond to asymmetric warfare.

Trying to compare that to the modern Russian army is like trying to compare the Union army at 1st Bull Run to that of the Shenandoah campaign. They were two totally different forces.

[Howardx]

2. exactly right

great post

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. And Chechnya? nt

[rockymountaindem]

4. The Russians inflicted massive losses on the Chechens

who had little to lose, as they saw it, besides their lives. The rebels were content to keep fighting in the face of certain death motivated by extreme nationalism and religious fervor. That's something the professional Georgian army couldn't, and probably didn't want to, call upon.

[pnutbutr]

5. US provided

only small arms, infantry equipment and training to the Georgian army. Any heavy weapons were purchased from other nations and were primarily old Soviet era tanks etc... No match against the modern day Russian equipment and army.