Kakig Torossian
Kakig Torossian | |
|---|---|
 Torossian in 2014 | |
| Born | 19 March 1950 Serop, Hayreniky |
| Allegiance |  Republic of Syara (1977-1983)  Syara (1988-2014) |
| Service/ | Army of the Syaran Republic Syaran National Army |
| Years of service | 1977 - 2014 |
| Rank | Colonel General |
| Unit | 5th Army |
| Battles/wars | Refusal War Imerti Conflict Zemplen War |
| Awards | see below |
Kakig Torossian is a Syaran former general best known for commanding 5th Army during the Zemplen War.
An ethnic Hayreniky, Torossian defected from the Army of the Syaran Republic to fight alongside the Wardens during the Refusal War. After the war he was comissioned as a Colonel into the Syaran National Army, and by 1995 had been promoted to Brigadier General. In 2000 he was promoted to Major General, commanding the 5th Mechanized Infantry Division. In 2004 he was promoted to Lt. General and given command of I Corps. During the Imerti Conflict Torossian led Syaran reinforcements that drove Ruvelkan forces from Imerti. Upon the outbreak of the Zemplen War Torossian was tasked with commanding Syaran forces along the southern sector of the border, and was given command of 5th Army during Operation Aspis. 5th Army succesfully catured the city of Pannonhalma in October, and afterwards engaged in heavy fighting during the Ruvelkan Winter Counter-Offensive. In spring 2009 5th Army played a supporting role in Operation Synaspismos. Following Syara's victory Army Group Gamma fought its way through the Matra Mountains, hoping to break into the Kenderes Steppe. Torossian led 5th Army through Operation Sagaris, in the largest single battle of the war which ended in Syaran defeat. Unable to make further breakthroughs towards Kenderes, 5th Army remained on the defensive around the Matra Mountains for much of the war. During Operation Homefront Torossian attempted to have 5th Army counter-attack against Ruvelka's Army Group Center, but was forced to retreat back towards Syara. Torossian served for an additional four more years after the war ended, and was heavily involved in the post war restructuring of the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces.
A skilled commander who adapted well to the difficult Ruvelkan terrain, Torossian's reputation as a general is usually overshadowed by the very poor working relationship he had with his peers and superiors. Torossian got along badly with his commanding officer Field Marshal Daniel Mladenov Todorov, whom he considered ineffective and difficult to work with. Torossian and Todorov clashed heavily during Operation Sagaris, where Torossian felt Todorov's planning was subpar and directly contributed to Syara's defeat. Torossian had difficulty working with his peers in Army Group Gamma; while he personally liked 8th Armys' commander Emanuel Bilić he found his pacing and methodology far too slow and held a personal disdain for 10th Armys' Tihomir Orlić, with the two rarely communicating directly. Although the disfunction within Army Group Gamma's senior leadership was well known with SCAF Central Command, nothing major was done about it, which Torossian claimed after the war was the result of nepotism within Central Command. He has published several works on the war since his retirement, and has often appeared in interviews and documentaries about the conflict.