 By May 8, Armenian forces had amassed a force of nearly 1,000 fighters to storm Shusha.In the twilight hours of May 8, Ter-Tadevosyan directed his forces to assail Shusha from different directions and attack it from the flanks and its rear to avoid the ridge facing Stepanakert which was the town's most easily defendable location.The force was divided into 5 companies, four of which (under the command of Arkady Karapetyan, Valery Chitchyan, Samvel Babayan and Seyran Ohanyan) would attack from different directions, and the fifth (under command of Yura Ovanisyan) would remain as reserve in case any of the groups needed immediate reinforcement.