@LDG:
Well, “in motion” includes filling up the gas tanks, setting up formations at staging points, sending out small units to secure the route, eliminating potential adversaries along the route (lots of news establishing that, including inflammatory, unsubstantiated reports by The Bear, et al, of Georgian atrocities)… all the vast creaking-groaning that accompanies a major armored assault.

In this day and age of cel fones, is it not reasonable to presume that both sides knew with absolute certainty what the large scale movements of the other side were, albeit only broadly? What is amazing is that Georgia had artillery in range of Tskhinvali, was my point.

Other than that, I’m just reading tea leaves and blowing hot fumes, sorry.