From Hadrut to Shushi: A Former Mayor's Account of a Young Soldier

The Mayor of Shushi, Arzvik Sargsyan, continues to assert that there were no fleeing soldiers. "Specifically at our position on the mountain range, there were 20 soldiers from Hadrut. They had no commander. I saw one soldier talking on the radio, 'Mr. Commander, where are you? Please move us from here.' There was no one giving orders; the soldiers were brought there and left. I am not a commander and couldn't give orders. There were soldiers who came, and I asked if there were any anti-tank gunners among them. They said they were tank crew, but there were no tanks. I organized the boys and they started fighting. The soldier did not flee; he stood his ground, but there was no one giving orders or controlling the situation. If I had given such an order, I could have been judged; I was not a commander. The soldier stood his ground. Among the soldiers, there was one boy, a very young boy, you could say he was a child; you should have seen how bravely he went into battle. He inspired the others. If they had a commander with them, they would have been even braver," he said.

Sargsyan is confident that the Armenian side's defeat was due to a lack of organization. "If it was not organized, if they were left to walk 90-100 km from Hadrut to reach Shushi..." he commented.