The Mardakert and Martuni Offensives took place during the late summer and early autumn months of 1992 in fighting between

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

and

Azeris Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nume ...

during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...

. On June 27, the Azeri offensive was launched towards the adjacent village of Jardar where Armenian commando Monte Melkonian's fighters had dug in to confront them. The use of

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first dev ...

projectiles decimated the Azeris' armor and allowed the detachments to resist being overrun. The presence of the armored vehicles were also proven to be useless in a

close combat Close combat means a violent physical confrontation between two or more opponents at short range.''MCRP 3-02B: Close Combat'', Washington, D.C.: Department Of The Navy, Headquarters United States Marine Corps, 12 February 1999Matthews, Phil, CQB ...

environment as they were found to be vulnerable targets where maneuvering space was limited and where the defenders easily picked off vehicles that strayed away from the fighting. Following the next day and subsequent weeks, several more offensives were launched by the Azeris, all of which were staved off and credited to Melkonian's organization and command leadership.Melkonian, Markar. ''My Brother's Road, An American's Fateful Journey to Armenia''. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2005

Mediation by the CSCE

In late August, after a stall in talks hosted by the CSCE in Rome earlier in the month, diplomatic relations between the two countries increased and both nations agreed to a truce signing in

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...

, arranged by

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

's president

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...

, that would be observed from September 1 and be monitored by international observers in the enclave. The cease fire, like the many others arranged before it, collapsed within a few days as all three sides were drawn back into the conflict. Azerbaijan made several gains in intense fighting between Armenian forces and, on September 7, was estimated to be holding 25% of the disputed enclave including the northern region of Mardakert. On September 23, the Azeris opened up a new offensive that attacked from several different directions, intending mainly to close the

Lachin Corridor The Lachin corridor ( hy, Լաչինի միջանցք, Lachini mijantsk; az, Laçın dəhlizi or ; ) is a mountain road that links Armenia and the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Being the only road between these two territories, it is has been oft ...

in an operation that killed several hundred Armenian and Azeri soldiers.The New York Times Company
Azerbaijanis Open a Major Offensive
New York Times. September 23, 1992. pg. A15 Armenian forces captured the surrounding Azeri held villages on October 2. The attack culminated in the capture of the Azeris' headquarters at Kurapatkino, putting an end to the shellings upon Martuni. The Armenians also received training from Russian military forces and downed an estimated twenty Azeri fighter aircraft, in this time period, with the use of shoulder-fired Strela-4 and Strela-10

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

References

{{Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Nagorno-Karabakh First Nagorno-Karabakh War Battles involving Armenia 1992 in Armenia Battles involving the Republic of Artsakh Conflicts in 1992