Nzhdeh’s tactical tricks

Nzhdeh has always been a supporter of conscious struggle. According to him, the endurance of the people and the army, the will to achieve victory, largely depend on the realization of the goal of that struggle, the defense of the idea, right, or territory for which the war is being waged. According to Nzhdeh’s theory, one of the most important qualities of a military leader is the ability to exert a moral influence on his soldiers, without which it is impossible to achieve victories. Among the reasons for the military successes achieved in Syunik, Nzhdeh also singles out the “attacking rocks”, “explosive barrels”, “hammer and web”, “powerful fireworks”, “rescue blindness”, “wolf strategy” and other tactical devices that he developed and used, which effectively applied his David-begian covenants and wolf traps.

1. Wolf strategy

As Nzhdeh notes, the main essence of the “wolf strategy” was that, mainly through night attacks, Nzhdeh’s popular troops first gained a moral advantage by surprising the enemy, and only then went on the offensive. This style of attack allowed him to panic and trap the enemy in a tactical pincer, often diverting him from the previously determined direction of action, forcing him to fight in uncomfortable topographic conditions, and forcing his own troops to avoid prolonged positional battles, minimizing the number of casualties and ammunition consumption, etc.

2.Attractive rocks

Nzhdeh, anticipating the enemy’s attack directions, ordered his fighters to hide large quantities of dynamite under the rocks on the heights between him and the enemy. Before the enemy’s attack even began, these mines were detonated, bringing forth, in Nzhdeh’s words, “a hail of stones” and covering the valleys with clouds of smoke and dust. Such a tactic made it possible to prevent the possibility of an attack organized by the enemy and spread panic among his ranks. Gaining a psychological advantage, Nzhdeh’s comrades-in-arms attacked and defeated the surprised enemy.

3. Hammer and web

Nzhdeh deployed a small portion of his forces at non-essential points on the front, and hid the majority to use as a living “hammer” at a decisive moment. After the enemy attack began, the main forces of the Syuniks remained in a passive position for some time, until the enemy, advancing, weakened his vigilance at important points, after which Nzhdeh launched an attack with his main forces, either by flanking or rear-end attack.

4. Psychological attacks

From the perspective of the history of Armenian martial arts, the tactics of psychological attacks used by Nzhdeh are also of interest. According to Nzhdeh, military units are combat-ready as long as the presence of their command staff is felt during the battle. Therefore, in order to weaken the leadership of the enemy forces, Nzhdeh separated a group of fighters from among his comrades, as he called them, “hunters,” whose goal was to destroy the enemy commanders as soon as the battle began. In his works dedicated to the art of war, Nzhdeh specifically emphasizes the importance of the commander’s, leader’s, words in battle. According to him, what a modern long-range cannon often has difficulty doing, a leader’s powerful word easily accomplishes. The word, sometimes commanding and ruling, sometimes calling and urging, always figurative and concise, giving fire to hearts, momentum to arms, and impetus to wills, is the only means of ruling and leading. To win, intelligence and talent are not enough; powerful words are also necessary. Taking into account the historical experience and destiny of the Armenian people, the complex geographical location of Armenia, and the constant territorial ambitions of neighboring countries, Nzhdeh, in his numerous scientific and publicistic works, emphasized the need for the Armenian people to master the art of war and military knowledge. He wrote that war is a permanent evil that has been, is, and will be, and that perhaps centuries and human moral culture can mitigate its nature, change its forms, but never eliminate it.