The guns of August: On Aug. 8, the Georgian military began firing rockets at separatist rebels in the breakaway province of South Ossetia, located along the Russian border. The region’s status has been unresolved since a bloody civil war in the early 1990s, and it has been traditionally backed by Moscow. Georgia claims its military action was provoked by South Ossetian separatists.

The Russians are coming: Hours after Georgia launched its assault, Russian troops crossed the border to aid South Ossetian rebels. Kremlin officials said that Russian peacekeepers stationed in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, had been killed by Georgian shelling.

Breaking from the herd: Russian tanks encounter a herd of cows near the South Ossetian village of Dzhava on Aug. 9. Although Russia claimed to be responding to attacks on its peacekeepers, foreign leaders overwhelmingly condemned what they saw as an aggressive move to annex Georgian territory.

The fog of war: South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity stands with Russian tanks and troops in Dzhava on Aug. 9. Georgia and Russia have been building toward a confrontation over the region for years, particularly under nationalist Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, whose close ties to the West and efforts to join NATO have angered Moscow.

Facing despair: A wounded man lies in the basement of a destroyed hospital in Tskhinvali on Aug. 10. Both sides have accused the other of war crimes, with Russia characterizing Georgia’s initial assault as a campaign of “ethnic cleansing.” On Aug. 13, Georgian officials countered that South Ossetian troops, aided by Russians, were carrying out massacres in Georgian villages, as ethnic conflict threatens to spread throughout the Caucasus.

The Putin touch: On Aug. 9, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits South Ossetian refugees who managed to flee the fighting and escape across the border to Russian-controlled North Ossetia. The powerful Russian leader described Georgia’s actions as “complete genocide” and defended his country’s decision to respond with force.

Damage control: A Georgian firefighter douses a fire at a military radio tower outside Tbilisi on Aug. 11. The conflict quickly escalated beyond South Ossetia, as Russian naval forces blockaded Georgia from the Black Sea and Russian planes began bombing strategic military locations within undisputed Georgian territory.

Touring the front: President Saakashvili discusses the situation with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Gori, a city near the Ossetian border, on Aug. 11. At one point, both men had to run for cover when an unidentified helicopter flew overhead. Kouchner, along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, were engaged in fast-paced shuttle diplomacy over the weekend to broker a cease-fire.

Names of the fallen: A Georgian soldier reads a list of victims at a military hospital in Gori on Aug. 11. Reports on the number of deaths vary, but the Georgian Ministry of Health has said that 175 people were killed, mostly civilians. Russia has said that 2,000 civilians were killed in the Georgian assault on South Ossetia.

Retreat: Georgian tanks withdraw from Gori on Aug. 11. The city saw heavy bombing by Russian planes, although Russian and Georgian news sources often contradict each other on the extent of Russia’s ground incursion into Georgia. Despite a cease-fire agreement reached some days later, Russian forces along with “volunteers” from throughout the Caucasus remain near Gori, and unconfirmed reports of attacks on civilians continue.

Red sea: More than 150,000 turned out in Tbilisi on Aug. 12 to rally in support of the Georgian president. President Saakashvili told the crowd that Georgia would be quitting the Commonwealth of Independent States, a Moscow-led group of ex-Soviet countries, and urged other members to do the same.

Breaking news: Residents of Tskhinvali watch television on Aug. 12. The discrepancies between Russian and Georgian media sources were often extreme, particularly when it came to casualty totals. In Georgia, Russian Web sites were blocked a day after the conflict began, and Russian hackers broke into a Georgian government Web site, posting pictures comparing President Saakashvili to Adolf Hitler.

A flare for diplomacy? French President Nicolas Sarkozy looks on as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a press conference in Moscow on Aug. 12. Sarkozy, who currently chairs the European Union, helped broker a peace agreement that was signed by both parties. He also met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Aug. 14 before she flew to Tbilisi.

Displaced: With Russian forces threatening to advance into Georgian territory, residents of Gori began to evacuate on Aug. 11. Russian forces still controlled the city as of Aug. 14, despite reports that they would pull back into South Ossetia on that day.

Unwelcome guest: A Russian soldier keeps watch over a military convoy near Gori on Aug. 13. Despite the official cease-fire, clashes between Georgian forces and foreign “irregulars” continue. Many observers believe Russia is trying to orchestrate President Saakashvili’s ouster, with one Russian tank commander warning, “[I]f he doesn’t understand the situation, we’ll have to go further. It’s only 60 kilometers to Tbilisi.”

Waiting for America: American and Georgian flags are flown as crowds gather to listen to President Saakashvili in Tbilisi on Aug. 12. Under Saakashvili, Georgia has been a close U.S. ally, and many Georgians felt betrayed when American troops did not arrive to help repel the Russian invasion during the early days of the conflict. After the cease-fire agreement was signed, President George W. Bush announced that the U.S. military would provide humanitarian aid to Georgia’s citizens.

Blunderer in chief? Saakashvili’s future remains in doubt, as many are starting to criticize the Georgian president for provoking a war that his country had no chance of winning. Saakashvili came to power in 2003 vowing to reclaim the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and hoping to steer Georgia toward NATO membership. He appears to have failed at all three.

Many opposition leaders in Georgia, initially hesitant to criticize the president, are now growing incensed, arguing that Saakashvili walked right into a Russian trap and gambled on military support from the United States and European powers that he should have never expected. Once considered one of the world’s most promising young leaders, Saakashvili’s fall from grace has been rapid and tragic, and the consequences for his country are likely just beginning.