Jandri Ubiria, Deputy Director of the State Service of Veterans Affairs, Vladimer Imnadze, Director’s Advisor, together with the representatives of the Abkhazian Government, Service employees and veterans, laid a wreath at the Heroes Memorial today to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Tamishi. They paid tribute to the soldiers who died in the battles for the territorial integrity of Georgia once again.
Later on, the soldiers of “Shawnabada” Bbattalion laid a wreath at the memorial on Mount Elia. The memorial is after named the heroes who fell on the battlefield during the battle of Tamishi. They once again commemorated one of the important battles of the Abkhazian war and paid tribute to the comrades who died during the repulse of the Russian landing.
The renovated memorial of the fighters who died for the unity of Georgia was opened on Mount Elia in 2016. On all four sides of the monument, the names of 110 fighters – “Shavnabadeli” and artillerymen are engraved and decorated with the map of Georgia. The area was the place of deployment of “Shavnabada” Battalion and the artillery unit at different times, where the memorial of the fighters who died for the territorial integrity of Georgia was erected for the first time. The damaged memorial was renovated by Tbilisi Isani District Administration with the support of the State Service of Veterans Affairs. “Shavnabadeli”, veterans of the Abkhazian war, together with the representatives of the State Service of Veterans Affairs, gather at the memorial every year on July 2 to immortalize the memory of their fallen comrades on the day of Russian landing in Tamishi.
The opposing side launched a naval landing with a Russian warship consisting of 600 people on July 2, 1993, at 05:00 a.m, near the town of Tamishi. The first blow was received by the Georgian units located in Tamishi, Labra and Zemo Kindghi at dawn. Abkhazian formations and North Caucasian confederates along with the landing became active. The enemy attacked a part of Georgian units from the north – via Tkvarcheli. The attack was so unexpected that almost all Georgian soldiers were killed. “Shavnabada”, “Avaza” and Dusheti battalions suffered the biggest losses. All Georgian combat units in the country at that time were involved in the battle; As a result of several days of selfless fighting, the Georgian side lost about 300 fighters. Russian-Abkhazian-North-Caucasian groups suffered heavier losses from Georgian units.
On July 10-11, Ochamchire-Sukhumi highway was completely opened as a result of the joint efforts of Georgian public formations. The Russian landing in Tamishi was aimed at taking Sukhumi, but the repulse of the landing delayed this plan for several months.
Battle of Tamishi – one of the most important episodes of the Abkhazia war, entered the history of Georgia as the greatest example of self-sacrifice, unity and heroism of Georgian soldiers.
