INTRODUCTION - Background - Medvedev's War? REFORMING THE GEORGIAN ARMY - Expenditure - Contingents for multi-national forces and Western training - Rearmament - Contradictory doctrine - Additional armed personnel - Organization of infantry brigades - Georgian Army order of battle, August 2008 RUSSIAN & ALLIED FORCES - Forces in readiness and in place - South Ossetian forces - Abkhazian forces THE STRATEGY OF TENSION THE WAR: DAY ONE, AUGUST 8 - The Georgian plan - Major-General Zaza Gogava - Initial bombardment - Confusion in Moscow - The advance on Tskhinvali - Street fighting - The turning-point - The Russian ground advance DAY TWO, AUGUST 9 - Moscow strikes back DAYS THREE TO FIVE, AUGUST 10-12 - The South Ossetian front - Russian order of battle - Continuing Russian advance - Georgian failures of command - Ceasefire - The Abkhaz front - Russian order of battle - The Kodori Gorge THE WAR IN THE AIR - The combatants - Operations and losses THE WAR AT SEA - The naval combatants - Operations and losses ANALYSIS - Summary - Georgia - Russia AFTERMATH - Russian gains - Georgians in Afghanistan FURTHER READING INDEX sses THE WAR AT SEA - The naval combatants - Operations and losses ANALYSIS - Summary - Georgia - Russia AFTERMATH - Russian gains - Georgians in Afghanistan FURTHER READING INDEXsses THE WAR AT SEA - The naval combatants - Operations and losses ANALYSIS - Summary - Georgia - Russia AFTERMATH - Russian gains - Georgians in Afghanistan FURTHER READING INDEXsses THE WAR AT SEA - The naval combatants - Operations and losses ANALYSIS - Summary - Georgia - Russia AFTERMATH - Russian gains - Georgians in Afghanistan FURTHER READING INDEX.