In 2008, Nikolai Gagloyev was 24 years old, his brother Andrey was 23, and the third brother was three years younger, but was always with them. Back in 2004, the three of them had to defend their homeland. This is the fate of several generations - to become very young warriors.
“We did not let our younger brother into combat positions, he was still too young. But every time he secretly made his way and stood with us,” Nikolai recalls.
Nobody thought about danger in those years, there was a need to defend the Republic, and every normal man considered it his duty - to protect his land, family, his people,” he says.
First, militia units were formed, and several years later, battalions were formed under the Ministry of Defense. The Gagloyev brothers were assigned to the fourth company of the fourth battalion. After 2004, everyone dreamed of peace, but the enemy turned out to be much more insidious, he made another attempt to destroy South Ossetia, and called the military operation "Open Field".
But the blitz-krieg failed again, once again the neighbors could not calculate the courage of the defenders of the republic and did not take into account that this time Russia would help, forcing the aggressor to peace.
“Today, many people cannot even imagine what heroism the South Ossetian defenders of the Fatherland demonstrated until the Russian army came to our aid. Thanks very much to each of them! - Nikolay Gagloyev noted with warmth. - Hundreds sacrificed their health for the independence of our Republic, dozens gave their lives so that our children could live in a free, recognized state. And this must be remembered. "
From wedding to war
On August 5, a friend of the Gagloyev brothers, Inal Byazrov, decided to get married in Vladikavkaz. They grew up together, and as children they decided that Kolya would be the best man at Inal's wedding. He could not fail his friend.
“And so, it happened. The situation was already very tense, the city was being shelled for several days, there were the first victims. My brother and I decided to go to the wedding, but they did not let us to leave the service, they threatened to register us as deserters . However, I could not fail to fulfill my promise. The wedding was celebrated, but the whole celebration my brother and I were in suspense, thoughts were far from fun. We returned on the morning of August 7, and immediately went to the post, asking our younger brother to bring us a military uniform and everything we needed. In short, we did not get home, and became one of the participants in the five-day war of August 2008, as it will be called after the end.
Then we still did not know how many days the confrontation would go on, although everyone understood that nothing good awaited us and we had to be ready for any turn. The fourth battalion was located in the building of a former fruit tree nursery in Shanghai. From there, the territory bordering Georgia is visible at a glance. At noon on August 7, we noticed how the Georgian army began to approach our borders closer and closer. Later they changed their direction and moved towards the village of Khetagurovo,” said Nikolai Gagloyev.
By midnight on August 7, a massive shelling of the city began, with the use of multiple launch rocket systems (Grad). The fruit nursery building was located near the military town, where the peacekeeping forces were located, and therefore this area was under fire with particular intensity.
“Near the dugouts, a convenient place was taken by the mortarmen of our battalion, who were actively repelling the enemy attacks. In just a few minutes, the peacekeepers' barracks were completely destroyed, and our positions became open. The horrors of war, which are usually seen in films, we experienced ourselves. The chronicle of the war years in documentary films has become an absolute reality. The enemy began to bomb from the air, the Georgian plane were flying directly over our dugouts, and the explosions from the Grad shells and aerial bombs were heard alternately. We decided to wait out the heavy shelling in the dugout, but kept the situation under control,” he says.
The soldiers were provided with helmets, but they were not enough for all of them. The Gagloyev brothers got only one, and they decided to give it to Andrey - the machine gunner. After all, as you know, a machine gunner in a war is the first target for the enemy.
Warm stream of blood
On the morning of August 8, Nikolai again decided to monitor the situation, and in the trench he tripped over a helmet, bent down after it, as I felt a strong blow. “I don't know what happened and how long I was laying on the ground, but when I came to myself, I realized that I was covered with earth and it was hard to breathe. I tried to take a deep breath, and something warm flowed all over my body. I began to touch myself, I realized that both hands were injured, my face and clothes were covered in blood, and my body was getting warmer and warmer. Gena Pliev (Chencho) and Andrey ran up to me and dragged me into the dugout. Gena was not taken aback and immediately bandaged my wounds. In the training center "Bars" we were taught not only to fight, but also taught the skills of medicine. We all took courses at the training center, and were ready for emergency situations. We knew that when a person is wounded in the stomach, it begins to swell, and this is not a good sign. And so, Andrey periodically asked if my stomach was swelling. It seemed to me that my stomach was swelling, but I could not admit it to my brother. 5-10 minutes passed. The pain was so strong that I was already thinking about death,” Kolya recalls.
Both brothers were constantly with him and decided to take him to the hospital. With them were also two Kozaev brothers, who asked to wait out the heavy shelling, although they understood that time was running out. About three hours passed. Andrey nevertheless got out, found the car and together with Chencho carried his brother into the car.
“There was a small path from Shanghai to the district of School No. 12, which was blocked by large concrete slabs so that cars would not drive on it. But we had to go along this path, the road was heavily shelled. The car could not pass between the two slabs, we tried several times to get over the concrete slabs, but failed. From each attempt I was thrown up and down, and the pain intensified, there was a feeling that I was torn apart. We somehow got over obliquely,” he said.
Last meeting
In the area of the 12th school, people ran out of the basement of one of the houses, among them were the relatives of the Gagloyevs. The last time the brothers saw their uncle and aunt was on that very day, when the enemy shell overtook the family on the bypass road, along which thousands of South Ossetian residents who were trying to leave for North Ossetia. For many, it has become the "road of death", as well as for the aunt and uncle of Nikolai ...
“We decided to get to the ambulance building so that they could give me first aid. We were driving along Oktyabrsky str., turned into Sovetskaya Street, passed the Ostrovsky intersection, when we saw a Cobra tank driving straight at us. We reached the intersection of Ostaev-Sovetskaya streets, I looked around and saw how the tank was directing its tower at us, we sharply turned onto the. Ostaev street. The two guys jumped out, Chencho had a grenade launcher, he aimed to shoot. Although I was exhausted, I jumped out of the car, jumped into the window of the nearest house and fell down. Another tank was waiting for us right in front of the ambulance building, and it fell under the shell of Gena Pliev,” he added.
The ambulance building was destroyed, there was no one inside. Andrey started calling for help, and someone answered from the basement. There were many people there, including the ambulance nurse. They immediately gave me first aid, gave me pain-relieving injections, and I wanted to live again. After the war I came to them to thank them.
Andrey asked the driver to lend him the ambulance car to take me to the hospital. But he said he would take us himself as soon as the shooting stopped. We obeyed him, there really was no other way out. A slight lull - we decided to go. Stalin Street was completely destroyed, large pits from shells, crumbling trees that blocked the path of the ambulance car. We reached the hospital in the evening, the way from Shanghai to the republican hospital took about eight hours. Seeing the doctors, I sighed and though: “Now I definitely won't die,” the fighter recalls the hardest day of his life.
There were many doctors, nurses, in the basement of the hospital. Nicholai was immediately put on the operating table. Several doctors were examining the wounds: one was bandaging a hand, another was examining the abdominal cavity, the third was examining the other hand, and the fourth was trying to remove a military boot from a swollen wounded leg.
Doctors were walking around him, and dust rose from their steps in the basement. They bandaged the wounds, gave injections, and the wounded fell asleep.
“My friend, the son of a doctor Aivar Bestaev, having seen me, brought my father to examine me too. His opinion coincided with the decision of other doctors: as soon as the first ambulance arrives from Vladikavkaz, urgently send me,” said Kolya.
Long days and nights in the hospital wards
“My cousin Alan Gagloyev and friend Sashik Tuayev at that time were working in the KGB, having learned about my injury and the need to take me to North Ossetia, they asked to give them a car, as the cars from North Ossetia were late. A surgeon Azamat Tedeev told the nurse to give me strong pain relief so that I could endure until Vladikavkaz. After that injection, the pain was completely removed, there was even a desire to get up and walk. But this happiness did not last long, just until the village of Ruck, the pain returned,” said Kolya.
“We arrived in Vladikavkaz on August 9, I was placed me in the hospital, where I stayed for three months, then a hospital in St. Petersburg, and long days of rehabilitation,” Nikolai Gagloyev finished his story with a thoughtful look, as if doctors stood before his eyes, those courageous doctors of South Ossetia, who saved him, like many others, and gave him hope for life. And the wounds are as deep today as they were then, twelve years ago, but already in the memory and in the soul of our hero.
