Dashalti fighters: Enemy was unaware of our arrival

Thirty years have passed since the Dashalti Operation, the first military operation of the Army's volunteer unit after Azerbaijan regained its independence, Report informs.

For this purpose, a group of media representatives organized by the Ministry of Defense visited the village of Dashalti in Shusha, liberated by the Azerbaijan Army after 30 years.

The failure of the Dashalti Operation was a severe psychological shock for the people of Azerbaijan and had a serious impact on the subsequent course of events. For many years, it was solemnly celebrated by the military-political leadership of Armenia. However, in the 44-day Patriotic War, which began on September 27, 2020, Dashalti was liberated from the enemy, and revenge was taken on our heroic sons who were martyred in this operation. When we say Dashalti, we do not mean defeat, but victory.

At the memorial event held in Dashalti, a military orchestra commemorated the martyrs of Operation Dashalti 30 years ago and laid a wreath at the area.

Several platoons of the Azerbaijani Army entered Dashalti during the operation, which started at 8.00 pm (GMT +4) on January 25 and continued till the evening on January 26 in 1992. Three platoons of the Azerbaijani Army and the defense battalion of the Shusha district participated in the operation led by former Defense Minister, Major-General Tajeddin Mehdiyev. A platoon that entered Dashalti ran into an ambush of Armenians and was obliterated due to tactical errors, lack of communication between groups, the release of intelligence data, and betrayal of guides. The other platoons that entered the village gave losses and managed to retreat. According to official reports, Azerbaijani Army gave more than 90 losses, and many are still missing. Armenians also lost about 80 military servants during this operation.

As a result of successful counter-offensive operations carried out by the Azerbaijani Army on September 27, 2020, the lands occupied by Armenia for many years were liberated. During the 44-day war, the victorious Azerbaijani Army drove the enemy out of Karabakh. The Armenian Armed Forces, which was losing significant manpower and equipment every day as a result of accurate shooting by an Azerbaijani soldier, have retreated. In general, Dashalti can be considered as an example of the courage and bravery of the Azerbaijani Army. The Azerbaijani soldier reaffirmed his readiness to sacrifice his life for the land without hesitation, by taking revenge for Dashalti 30 years after that operation.

Captain Nijat Hajiyev, a veteran of the Patriotic War, said he took part in the battles in Fuzuli, Khojavend, Shusha, as well as in the direction of Dashalti.

According to him, he is proud to take part in the Patriotic War, especially to fight for the freedom of Shusha: "I was evacuated because of a severe injury in the Dashalti battles. We attacked with great enthusiasm, broke the enemy's resistance, and suffered heavy losses. In 1992, Operation Dashalti failed due to a lack of a unified command. However, we set a goal to liberate our occupied lands from the enemy this time. By releasing Dashalti, we avenged our brothers who were martyred at that time. For the first time in Dashalti, I was wounded by artillery fire in the direction of the bridge from Sighnag, but I continued the fight. The second time, on November 4, I was seriously injured and was evacuated from the battlefield with the help of my comrades."

According to Lieutenant-Colonel Firuz Badalov, at that time, he was the chief of staff of military unit N: "On November 3, we were already gathered in the area, prepared three groups for the Dashalti Operation, and placed the groups in the designated positions. We scouted Dashalti's territory and a relief. On the night of November 3-4, at about 3 am, we started moving through the forest roads. First, at 6:30 am, we met enemy forces at the entrance to Dashalti village. The foggy and dark weather made it difficult for us, but on the other hand, it was in favour of us because the enemy did not know about our arrival. We came face to face with them at a distance of 100 meters. Our group was standing on the right bank of the Gargar River in the Dashalti area and the enemy on the other side. Our group of 100 people got involved fierce battle. The enemy could not stand before our combat tactics, threw down their equipment, and retreated. Of course, some of our servicemen were martyred during the Dashalti battles, which is considered the most difficult operation. May God rest their soul in peace. We wish healing to our veterans."

Photo: Vugar Khanlarov