Online war-2020

Karabakh war-2020 emerged as first in Caucasus and second worldwide after wars in the Near East where video-cameras of mobile telephones had widely been used. Some military servicemen from both armies televised and set on the Web what was going on in field conditions. Any viewers could get in Youtube to watch a genuine battle on a camera mounted on fighter’s helmet or in his hands, footage of firing and deaths. 

Enemies defined objectives upon localization of mobile phones

«The use of common camera-free mobile phones was not prohibited. Officers were advised to have their own mobile phones. I’m still keeping a torn paper А4 with telephone numbers of all warrant officers of battalion», said Vusal Agayev, a war veteran, senior lieutenant of motorized infantry company.

«The army was instructed as follows: not to inform a location point by the phone; not answer telephone calls. We repeated that all of us were alive and well. Following ceasefire we informed about our location points but without any details. The most difficult was to identify a coverage area of mobile phone service provider. When entered the area, it had always been Azercell.

Our company lost 15 out of 81 soldiers. Two officers, 13 soldiers and sergeants were killed. I did not know what to say should friends and family members have me on the phone.  I contacted my family in very rare cases. First, I had to think of my service only and not to straggle. Second, if I had any contacts with my family members’ I felt uneasy. That’s why I phoned very rarely», V. Azayev said.

«If a telephone on, any mobile provider is aware where a number is located (SIM card). Note that Armenians were also engaged in catching these signals. We prohibited telephone connection during transfers, attacks and marches. It is not as if everybody met these requirements», V. Azayev remembered.

Footage of panic and flight of enemy

It should be noted that video-reports clearly demonstrated worldwide the panic and disorder in the Armenian army and., instead, heroism of Azerbaijani warriors. There is a record of attacks of special elite forces via forest, rocks and fortress walls on Armenian subdivisions in Shusha. 

Military experts of Russia and Ukraine, thousand kilometers away from Karabakh keeping track of satellite data and Internet news sites, provided informative analyses of combat operations. Press-services of warring sides were far away from this. As a result, Armenian press-service became an object of hatred of ordinary Armenians and f ridicule of Azerbaijanis after an Armenian general said that the press-service of the Armenian army provided not 30% but 100% of falsehood.

«Our army won the victory not only through Semen Pegov’s reports on location of the Armenian army. It is worth reminding that our army liberated Gadrut and moved northwards to Shusha while a press-service officer Artsvrun Ovannisyan lied through his teeth that together with head of separatists Araik Arutyunyan he was sauntering through Gadrut, and S. Pegov backed up his story. It was rather difficult to size up the real situation in terms of bravura statements of Armenian mass media earlier war. However, later on Azerbaijani observers quickly learned to separate fact from fable, fictions of the Armenian propaganda about the Karabakh war», -Roya Rajably wrote in Forum.

Exchanging views in Forum, Nikita Lobko dotted every i and crossed every t in his live commentary «Rain» from Khankendi. «Note that the journalist had interviews with a woman and her pregnant half-Russian woman of Armenian name who was moving to Armenia by bus. The two women were very nervous; they hesitated of whether  leave Khankendi or not. The refuge told the journalist that her husband was killed in the front and her future baby remained an orphan. Her husband was not subject to deployment, she added that there was a complete chaos and confusion in the Karabakh army and that she did not believe in victory of Armenians. I believed an ordinary refugee more than statements of top war officials and seasoned political experts from Russian pro-Armenian mass media».

Last telephone conversation

It is a heart-melting topic – pre-battle telephone conversations of servicemen with their families. Today Azerbaijani TV-channels are demonstrating SMS texts and audio-messages of fallen soldiers and officers. Thus, their family members recalled that their sons dreamt of falling shahids, and their dreams came true. Incredible result of Azerbaijani collective patriotic upbringing and propaganda.

Senior lieutenant Vusal Azayev told Turan that telephones were charged from cars (asked drivers about it) and diesel-generators. Note that telephones were turned off in the course of the fight to prevent localization, especially screen illumination at night.  Enemy could notice the light and open fire on the light source.   

No film studio, Hollywood is able to show video-plots of the Third Karabakh war. Note that camera operators were not professionals, they shot at random, a camera hanged loosely, swear words were everywhere on the air; there were cases of abusive treatment of war prisoners. A la guerre comme a la guerre. 

They fought, and we had opportunity to see the war live. Video-recording from the frontline is a big draw to drive out scripted formats. It’s terrifying to watch everything on the air; the fighting ceased to be an abstraction and a work of film producer. The fighting continued without musical score or offscreen voice.  There are not subtitles but crushing reality of war. 

It’s unfortunate that not all servicemen shot a movie records in Karabakh otherwise Azerbaijani movie specialists would be able to create a video-epic of Victory on the basis of wealthiest material.

Note that V. Agayev failed to shoot a movie; he had just helped with the article.  «I was asked why there were so few photographs while the Web is full of video- photo materials. I had no time to to deal with ithese materials. Several shots I have were snapped after the ceasefire, following the liberation of Jabrail and Gubadly when were moved first to Agestan (Gatrut), then to Krasniy Bazar (Hojavend). Our detachment drew duty and patrolled our position in the region...»