As a military strategist and former military, what the Russians did is crystal clear, and obvious. They wanted to take and hold Abkhazia and South Ossetia; they needed to prevent supporting fire from the naval base, prevent reinforcement both via the railhead at Senaki and from Tbilisi. They took the railhead, while launching a spoiling attack at Gori, followed by a fixing force to prevent reinforcement via Tbilisi. They used artillery and penetration in depth to disorganize the Georgian forces until they accomplished their objectives.
You’re right: that’s precisely what Russia did.
Exactly and spot on! Very few people took the time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.