Battle of Hill 776
Encyclopedia
The Battle for Height 776, part of the larger Battle of Ulus-Kert, was an engagement in the Second Chechen War
that took place during fighting for control of the Argun River
gorge in the highland Shatoysky District
of central Chechnya
, between the villages of Ulus-Kert and Selmentausen.
In late February 2000, the Russian military attempted to surround and destroy a large Chechen separatist
force (including many foreign fighters) withdrawing from the Chechen capital Grozny
to Shatoy
and Vedeno
in the southern mountains of Chechnya following the 1999–2000 siege and capture of Grozny and the rebel main force's breakout from the city earlier that month. On 29 February 2000, just hours after Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev
had assured his government that the Chechen War was over, an isolated Russian force based around a company of paratrooper
s of the 76th Airborne Division
from the city of Pskov
found itself cut off by a retreating Chechen column led by Ibn Al-Khattab
, commander of foreign fighters in Chechnya. After heavy close-quarters overnight fighting, Russian positions on the hill were overrun and most of the soldiers were killed.
Uncertainty continues to surround many aspects of the engagement, including the number of combatants, casualties, how much artillery support and close air support
was provided, and even how long the battle lasted.
of the Russian Airborne Troops (VDV) tactical group in the area, based on the 104th Guards
Airborne Regiment of the 76th Division and including also teams from the Spetsnaz
, GRU
, and the elite Vympel
group of FSB, was to block an exit from a gorge, while other Russian forces attempted to encircle
a large Chechen force departing the village of Ulus Kert. The 6th Company, part of the regiment's 2nd Battalion, was part of this blocking force. The company's nominal commander was Major Sergey Molodov; however, it was actually led personally by Lieutenant Colonel Mark Yevtyukhin
, commander of the entire battalion. With him were a reconnaissance
platoon and an artillery forward observer
team led by Captain Viktor Romanov.
At dawn of 29 February, in dense fog, the Russians were surprised by a large-scale Chechen breakthrough and were attacked from their rear by a reconnaissance group of about 20 rebel fighters, soon joined by many more who then had them surrounded. After suffering heavy losses (including the death of Major Molodov) from the initial ambush, the rest of the Russians retreated to a hilltop designated Height 776, where they hastily dug defensive positions. They received fire support, including from the regimental artillery battalion's 2S9 Nona self-propelled 120 mm mortars; however, a pair of Mil Mi-24
attack helicopters reportedly turned back after being shot at en route. The only Russian reinforcement that made it to Height 776 were 14 men of the 4th Company's third platoon, personally led by the battalion's deputy commander, Major Alexander Dostavalov. Attempts by the 1st and 3rd Companies, as well as the rest of the 4rd Company, to rescue their surrounded comrades or to stop the breakthrough were largely unsuccessful. Eventually, badly wounded Captain Romanov allegedly called for fire support on his own position (this is also disputed, as it has been claimed that the final radio message from the group was actually curses thrown at their commanding officers for betraying them) before being overrun in the final Chechen attack. According to the Russians, 84 of their soldiers were killed in combat at Height 776, including all of the officers. Only seven rank-and-file soldiers survived the battle, four of them injured (some Russian sources acknowledge only six survivors, not counting the seventh who had answered a call for surrender and was then beaten, stripped out of his uniform and abandoned by the rebels).
Sergeyev
, VDV commander General Georgy Shpak
, and the commander of federal forces in Chechnya, General Gennady Troshev
) initially insisted that only 31 of their men were killed in the battle and denied the unofficial rumours of 86 dead. Sergey Yastrzhembsky
, Russian President Vladimir Putin
's spokesman on Chechnya, also claimed 31 fatalities were "the total losses of that company for several days". After days of denials, Russian officials eventually admitted the losses, some of them apparently caused by friendly fire
from their own artillery. Russian newspapers reported that Marshal Sergeyev had ordered the losses to be covered up, as the loss came just a week after 25 men from the 76th Airborne Division were killed in another battle in Chechnya. Even after the figure of "at least 85" killed has been confirmed by Sergeyev, VDV deputy commander Nikolai Staskov said they were killed over four days, from 29 February to 3 March. According to one source, "unofficially the losses sustained by Russian paratroopers on 1 March are blamed [by the Russian command] on the decision of the Eastern group's commander Gen. Sergey Makarov and the VDV tactical group's commander Aleksandr Lentsov." The final figure ultimately stood at 84. However the total Russian strength and the losses among the other Russian units operating in the area of Ulus-Kert were never officially disclosed.
In the first days after the battle, Gen. Troshev said 1,000 rebel fighters were involved. This figure was subsequently raised to 1,500–2,000 by Yastrzhembsky and eventually to 2,500 by Troshev. However, according to a statement by Colonel General Valery Manilov, first deputy chief of the Russian General Staff
, there were only 2,500 to 3,500 separatist fighters left in all of Chechnya at this time. According to Yastrzhembsky on 6 March, some 70 rebels had laid down their arms at what he called a "pocket" at Selmentausen, while "up to 1,000 might have succeeded in escaping". The very first Russian official statements mentioned the death of 100 Chechen fighters at the price of 31 Russian soldiers. According to the article in Krasnaya Zvezda
(Red Star), the official newspaper of the Russian Ministry of Defense, separatist casualties in the Argun Gorge area totaled approximately 400 dead, including 200 bodies allegedly found at Height 776. However, the official federal estimate was later raised to about 500 enemy dead, according to the Russian government website, and in 2008 the state-controlled English language TV station Russia Today
spoke even of over 700 fighters killed there.
According to one interview with a Chechen fighter, there were some 1,600 fighters in the slow-moving column, but he did not specify how many spearhead
ed the withdrawal and how many were in the main caravan (many of them also being badly injured, including the recently-maimed Shamil Basayev
, who reportedly ordered Khattab to clear the hill of the Russian mortar spotters) or in the rear and flank guard forces. On their Kavkaz Center
website, the separatists admitted losing only 12 men in combat at Height 776 (among those killed while storming the hill were three Turkish
volunteers) and 13 more in other fighting at that time in the area between the villages of Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt, as well as about 50 killed during their march to Vedeno
. In addition to these losses, it was alleged that 30 wounded fighters left behind at Selmentausen were captured and executed by Russians after being turned in by a traitor. At first, Chechen rebel spokesman Movladi Udugov
told AFP
that up to 30 soldiers and officers were killed in the attack by 65 Chechen fighters. Later, the Chechen separatist sources estimated Russian losses in the extended battle at about 200 servicemen, including "about hundred Pskov commandos".
On 10 March, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov
announced a general order to begin "an all-out partisan war" and the separatist forces remaining in the still unoccupied territories scattered to launch a long guerrilla war. The Russian command thus lost one of their last chances to defeat a large number of the pro-independence fighters in a concentrated position, although in March the federal forces managed to inflict devastating losses against a different column of some 1,000–1,500 fighters (trapping the group under Ruslan Gelayev in the village of Komsomolskoye on 6 March and then killing hundreds of them in the following siege
).
While there were no civilians in the immediate proximity of the clashes at the uninhabited Height 776, there were severe civilian casualties during the struggle for the broader Argun Gorge area, in particular from the artillery and air attacks on Ulus-Kert, Yaryshmardy and other villages, where thousands of locals and refugee
s from Grozny were trapped. Furthermore, there were many credible reports of direct atrocities against the population. For example, on 6 March, a group of civilians was detained by soldiers at the notorious Russian checkpoint on the road between Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt; 12 men from the group "disappeared
" and the bodies of three of them were unearthed at the nearby village of Tangi-Chu two months later. In an infamous incident later in March, a local girl, Elza Kungayeva, was abducted from her home in Tangi-Chu, then raped and strangled to death by Russian Ground Forces
Colonel Yuri Budanov
.
Later, it was seen as a glorious last stand
by the paratroopers, confirming the VDV's reputation in the same way that the Battle of Camarón
did for the French Foreign Legion
, and the events have been quickly enshrined in heroic myth. Even though some in the Russian army view it as a defeat that could have been avoided, it is officially seen in Russia as an example of bravery and sacrifice.
In 2001, Putin flew to Chechnya to visit the former battlefield. In 2008, a day before Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day
, a street in Grozny was officially renamed as "84 Pskov Paratroopers Street", a move that sparked further controversy in Chechnya.
conferring Russian state awards upon participants of the battle. 63 soldiers received the Order of Courage
and 22 (all 13 officers and nine enlisted men) were awarded the country's highest medal and title of the Hero of the Russian Federation
. In comparison, only 65 medals of the Hero of the Soviet Union
medal were awarded for the entire duration of the 10-year Soviet intervention in Afghanistan
.
Hero of the Russian Federation recipients for this incident are:
show, the 2004 television series Chest imeyu ("I Have the Honour"), the 2006 four-part television film Grozovye vorota ("The Storm Gate") and the 2006 movie Proriv ("Breakthrough").
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
that took place during fighting for control of the Argun River
Argun River (Caucasus)
The Argun River flows through the northern Caucasus, Georgia, and the Chechen Republic of Russia. It is an affluent of the Sunzha and lies within the river basin of the Terek...
gorge in the highland Shatoysky District
Shatoysky District
Shatoysky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. Its administrative center is the rural locality of Shatoy. District's population: 13,155 . Population of Shatoy accounts for 13.5% of the district's population....
of central Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, between the villages of Ulus-Kert and Selmentausen.
In late February 2000, the Russian military attempted to surround and destroy a large Chechen separatist
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
force (including many foreign fighters) withdrawing from the Chechen capital Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
to Shatoy
Shatoy
Shatoy or Shatoi is a village in the Chechen Republic, Russia. It is the administrative center of Shatoysky District. Population: 1,771 . It is the home village of underground rebel President Doku Umarov. Geographical location: ....
and Vedeno
Vedeno
Vedeno is a rural locality in the Chechen Republic, Russia, located some southeast of Grozny. It is the administrative center of Vedensky District. Population: 11,512 ;...
in the southern mountains of Chechnya following the 1999–2000 siege and capture of Grozny and the rebel main force's breakout from the city earlier that month. On 29 February 2000, just hours after Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev
Igor Sergeyev
Igor Dmitriyevich Sergeyev was the Defense Minister of the Russian Federation from 22 May 1997 until 28 March 2001...
had assured his government that the Chechen War was over, an isolated Russian force based around a company of paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s of the 76th Airborne Division
76th Airborne Division (Russia)
The 76th Guards Air Assault Division is a division of the Russian Airborne Troops based in Pskov.-History:The 76th Air Assault Division was originally established in 1939 as the 157th Rifle Division. On 1 March 1943 it became the 76th Guards Rifle Division...
from the city of Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
found itself cut off by a retreating Chechen column led by Ibn Al-Khattab
Ibn al-Khattab
Samir Saleh Abdullah Al-Suwailem , more commonly known as Emir Khattab meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab, and also known as Habib Abdul Rahman, was a Muslim guerilla fighter and financier working with Chechen Mujahideen in the First Chechen War...
, commander of foreign fighters in Chechnya. After heavy close-quarters overnight fighting, Russian positions on the hill were overrun and most of the soldiers were killed.
Uncertainty continues to surround many aspects of the engagement, including the number of combatants, casualties, how much artillery support and close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
was provided, and even how long the battle lasted.
Battle
The goal of a regimental combat group task forceTask force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
of the Russian Airborne Troops (VDV) tactical group in the area, based on the 104th Guards
Guards unit
Guards units are elite units and formations in the armed forces of the former Soviet Union, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. These units were awarded Guards status after distinguishing themselves in service, and are considered to have elite status. The Guards designation originated during the...
Airborne Regiment of the 76th Division and including also teams from the Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
, GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
, and the elite Vympel
Vympel
Vympel , also known as KGB Directorate "B" ,Vega Group or Spetsgruppa V, Group B is a Russian special forces unit....
group of FSB, was to block an exit from a gorge, while other Russian forces attempted to encircle
Encirclement
Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. The German term for this is Kesselschlacht ; a comparable English term might be "in the bag"....
a large Chechen force departing the village of Ulus Kert. The 6th Company, part of the regiment's 2nd Battalion, was part of this blocking force. The company's nominal commander was Major Sergey Molodov; however, it was actually led personally by Lieutenant Colonel Mark Yevtyukhin
Mark Yevtyukhin
Mark Nikolayevich Yevtyukhin was a Lieutenant-Colonel and Commander of the Pskov-based 2nd Battalion of the 6th Company, 104th Guards Airborne Regiment, 76th Guards Airborne Division, who was killed in action during the Battle for Height 776.0 near Ulus-Kert, Chechnya...
, commander of the entire battalion. With him were a reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
platoon and an artillery forward observer
Artillery observer
A military artillery observer or spotter is responsible for directing artillery fire and close air support onto enemy positions. Because artillery is an indirect fire weapon system, the guns are rarely in line-of-sight of their target, often located tens of miles away...
team led by Captain Viktor Romanov.
At dawn of 29 February, in dense fog, the Russians were surprised by a large-scale Chechen breakthrough and were attacked from their rear by a reconnaissance group of about 20 rebel fighters, soon joined by many more who then had them surrounded. After suffering heavy losses (including the death of Major Molodov) from the initial ambush, the rest of the Russians retreated to a hilltop designated Height 776, where they hastily dug defensive positions. They received fire support, including from the regimental artillery battalion's 2S9 Nona self-propelled 120 mm mortars; however, a pair of Mil Mi-24
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...
attack helicopters reportedly turned back after being shot at en route. The only Russian reinforcement that made it to Height 776 were 14 men of the 4th Company's third platoon, personally led by the battalion's deputy commander, Major Alexander Dostavalov. Attempts by the 1st and 3rd Companies, as well as the rest of the 4rd Company, to rescue their surrounded comrades or to stop the breakthrough were largely unsuccessful. Eventually, badly wounded Captain Romanov allegedly called for fire support on his own position (this is also disputed, as it has been claimed that the final radio message from the group was actually curses thrown at their commanding officers for betraying them) before being overrun in the final Chechen attack. According to the Russians, 84 of their soldiers were killed in combat at Height 776, including all of the officers. Only seven rank-and-file soldiers survived the battle, four of them injured (some Russian sources acknowledge only six survivors, not counting the seventh who had answered a call for surrender and was then beaten, stripped out of his uniform and abandoned by the rebels).
Controversies
The battle embarrassed Russian military officials, who attempted to conceal the casualties they had suffered. Russia's top military leaders (including Marshal of the Russian FederationMarshal of the Russian Federation
Marshal of the Russian Federation is the highest military rank of Russia, created in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It ranks immediately above General of the Army and Admiral of the Fleet , and is considered the successor to the Soviet-era rank of Marshal of the Soviet...
Sergeyev
Igor Sergeyev
Igor Dmitriyevich Sergeyev was the Defense Minister of the Russian Federation from 22 May 1997 until 28 March 2001...
, VDV commander General Georgy Shpak
Georgy Shpak
Georgy Ivanovich Shpak was the governor of Ryazan Oblast, Russia from 2004-2008.He was the commander of the Airborne Troops from 1996 to 2003. He was elected for the Rodina bloc.-References:...
, and the commander of federal forces in Chechnya, General Gennady Troshev
Gennady Troshev
Gennady Nikolayevich Troshev was a Russian Colonel General in the Russian military and formerly the commander of the North Caucasus Military District, including Chechnya, during the Second Chechen War...
) initially insisted that only 31 of their men were killed in the battle and denied the unofficial rumours of 86 dead. Sergey Yastrzhembsky
Sergey Yastrzhembsky
Sergey Vladimirovich Yastrzhembsky , born December 4, 1953, Moscow, is a Russian Federation politician and diplomat born into a Polish family, Jastrzębski vel Jastrzembski...
, Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
's spokesman on Chechnya, also claimed 31 fatalities were "the total losses of that company for several days". After days of denials, Russian officials eventually admitted the losses, some of them apparently caused by friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
from their own artillery. Russian newspapers reported that Marshal Sergeyev had ordered the losses to be covered up, as the loss came just a week after 25 men from the 76th Airborne Division were killed in another battle in Chechnya. Even after the figure of "at least 85" killed has been confirmed by Sergeyev, VDV deputy commander Nikolai Staskov said they were killed over four days, from 29 February to 3 March. According to one source, "unofficially the losses sustained by Russian paratroopers on 1 March are blamed [by the Russian command] on the decision of the Eastern group's commander Gen. Sergey Makarov and the VDV tactical group's commander Aleksandr Lentsov." The final figure ultimately stood at 84. However the total Russian strength and the losses among the other Russian units operating in the area of Ulus-Kert were never officially disclosed.
In the first days after the battle, Gen. Troshev said 1,000 rebel fighters were involved. This figure was subsequently raised to 1,500–2,000 by Yastrzhembsky and eventually to 2,500 by Troshev. However, according to a statement by Colonel General Valery Manilov, first deputy chief of the Russian General Staff
General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is the military staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and oversees operational management of the armed forces under the Russian Ministry of Defence.The staff is...
, there were only 2,500 to 3,500 separatist fighters left in all of Chechnya at this time. According to Yastrzhembsky on 6 March, some 70 rebels had laid down their arms at what he called a "pocket" at Selmentausen, while "up to 1,000 might have succeeded in escaping". The very first Russian official statements mentioned the death of 100 Chechen fighters at the price of 31 Russian soldiers. According to the article in Krasnaya Zvezda
Krasnaya Zvezda
Krasnaya Zvezda is an official newspaper of Soviet and later Russian Ministry of Defence. It was founded on January 1, 1924. Today its official designation is "Central Organ of the Russian Ministry of Defence."...
(Red Star), the official newspaper of the Russian Ministry of Defense, separatist casualties in the Argun Gorge area totaled approximately 400 dead, including 200 bodies allegedly found at Height 776. However, the official federal estimate was later raised to about 500 enemy dead, according to the Russian government website, and in 2008 the state-controlled English language TV station Russia Today
Russia Today
Russia Today may refer to:* Russia Today, an English language 24-hour television news channel from Russia. It was launched in 2005 and is not related to an online news service of the similar name operated by EIN News...
spoke even of over 700 fighters killed there.
According to one interview with a Chechen fighter, there were some 1,600 fighters in the slow-moving column, but he did not specify how many spearhead
Spearhead
A spearhead is the sharpened tip of a spear.Spearhead may also refer to:-Armed conflict:* Armoured spearhead, a tactical formation* Spearhead, nickname of the U.S. 3rd Armored Division in the U.S...
ed the withdrawal and how many were in the main caravan (many of them also being badly injured, including the recently-maimed Shamil Basayev
Shamil Basayev
Shamil Salmanovich Basayev was a Chechen militant Islamist and a leader of the Chechen rebel movement.Starting as a field commander in the Transcaucasus, Basayev led guerrilla campaigns against the Russian troops for years, as well as launching mass-hostage takings of civilians, with his goal...
, who reportedly ordered Khattab to clear the hill of the Russian mortar spotters) or in the rear and flank guard forces. On their Kavkaz Center
Kavkaz Center
The Kavkaz Center is a privately run website by pro-Chechen which aims to be "a Chechen internet agency which is independent, international and Islamic" that "does not represent the viewpoint of any state structures"...
website, the separatists admitted losing only 12 men in combat at Height 776 (among those killed while storming the hill were three Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
volunteers) and 13 more in other fighting at that time in the area between the villages of Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt, as well as about 50 killed during their march to Vedeno
Vedeno
Vedeno is a rural locality in the Chechen Republic, Russia, located some southeast of Grozny. It is the administrative center of Vedensky District. Population: 11,512 ;...
. In addition to these losses, it was alleged that 30 wounded fighters left behind at Selmentausen were captured and executed by Russians after being turned in by a traitor. At first, Chechen rebel spokesman Movladi Udugov
Movladi Udugov
Movladi Saidarbievich Udugov was the First Deputy Prime Minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria...
told AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
that up to 30 soldiers and officers were killed in the attack by 65 Chechen fighters. Later, the Chechen separatist sources estimated Russian losses in the extended battle at about 200 servicemen, including "about hundred Pskov commandos".
On 10 March, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov
Aslan Maskhadov
Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was a leader of the Chechen separatist movement and the third President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.He was credited by many with the Chechen victory in the First Chechen War, which allowed for the...
announced a general order to begin "an all-out partisan war" and the separatist forces remaining in the still unoccupied territories scattered to launch a long guerrilla war. The Russian command thus lost one of their last chances to defeat a large number of the pro-independence fighters in a concentrated position, although in March the federal forces managed to inflict devastating losses against a different column of some 1,000–1,500 fighters (trapping the group under Ruslan Gelayev in the village of Komsomolskoye on 6 March and then killing hundreds of them in the following siege
Battle of Komsomolskoye
The Battle of Komsomolskoye took place in March 2000 between Russian forces and separatists in Chechnya in the village of Komsomolskoye .-The battle:...
).
While there were no civilians in the immediate proximity of the clashes at the uninhabited Height 776, there were severe civilian casualties during the struggle for the broader Argun Gorge area, in particular from the artillery and air attacks on Ulus-Kert, Yaryshmardy and other villages, where thousands of locals and refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s from Grozny were trapped. Furthermore, there were many credible reports of direct atrocities against the population. For example, on 6 March, a group of civilians was detained by soldiers at the notorious Russian checkpoint on the road between Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt; 12 men from the group "disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
" and the bodies of three of them were unearthed at the nearby village of Tangi-Chu two months later. In an infamous incident later in March, a local girl, Elza Kungayeva, was abducted from her home in Tangi-Chu, then raped and strangled to death by Russian Ground Forces
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
Colonel Yuri Budanov
Yuri Budanov
Yuri Dmitrievich Budanov was the Russian military officer convicted by a Russian court of kidnapping and murder in Chechnya.Budanov was highly controversial in Russia: despite the conviction, Budanov enjoyed widespread support of Russian households, as polled by public opinion. At the same time,...
.
Aftermath
Last stand
Last stand is a loose military term used to describe a body of troops holding a defensive position in the face of overwhelming odds. The defensive force usually takes very heavy casualties or is completely destroyed, as happened in "Custer's Last Stand" at the Battle of Little Big HornBryan Perrett...
by the paratroopers, confirming the VDV's reputation in the same way that the Battle of Camarón
Battle of Camarón
The Battle of Camarón, which occurred 30 April 1863 between the French Foreign Legion and the Mexican army, is regarded by the Legion as a defining moment in its history...
did for the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
, and the events have been quickly enshrined in heroic myth. Even though some in the Russian army view it as a defeat that could have been avoided, it is officially seen in Russia as an example of bravery and sacrifice.
In 2001, Putin flew to Chechnya to visit the former battlefield. In 2008, a day before Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day
Defender of the Fatherland Day
Defender of the Fatherland Day is a holiday observed in Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Belarus and several other former republics of the Soviet Union. It is celebrated on February 23.-History:...
, a street in Grozny was officially renamed as "84 Pskov Paratroopers Street", a move that sparked further controversy in Chechnya.
Awards
On 12 March 2000, President Putin signed an ukazUkase
A ukase , in Imperial Russia, was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader that had the force of law...
conferring Russian state awards upon participants of the battle. 63 soldiers received the Order of Courage
Order of Courage
The Order of Courage is a decoration presented by the government of the Russian Federation. Established in 1994, the order is presented for "acts of courage or self-sacrifice."- External links :* *...
and 22 (all 13 officers and nine enlisted men) were awarded the country's highest medal and title of the Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation is a Russian decoration and the highest honorary title that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Russian Federation. The President of the Russian Federation is the main conferring authority of the medal, which is bestowed on those committing actions or deeds that...
. In comparison, only 65 medals of the Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
medal were awarded for the entire duration of the 10-year Soviet intervention in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
.
Hero of the Russian Federation recipients for this incident are:
In popular culture
A series of Russian productions loosely based on these events were produced in the years after the battle, including a 2004 theatrical musicalMusical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
show, the 2004 television series Chest imeyu ("I Have the Honour"), the 2006 four-part television film Grozovye vorota ("The Storm Gate") and the 2006 movie Proriv ("Breakthrough").
See also
- Battle for Hill 3234Battle for Hill 3234The Battle for Hill 3234 was a defensive battle and successful military campaign fought by 345th Soviet paratroopers in Afghanistan against a force of 200 to 250 Mujahideen rebels...
, a successful defense of the Soviet paratroopers against an attack by the Afghan mujahideen in 1988
External links
- "ULUS-KERT: An Airborne Company's Last Stand" (July 2001 U.S. Army Combined Arms CenterU.S. Army Combined Arms CenterThe U.S. Army Combined Arms Center is located at Fort Leavenworth and provides leadership and supervision for leader development and professional military and civilian education; institutional and collective training; functional training; training support; battle command; doctrine; lessons learned...
paper based on the article in Red Star) - Chechnya: Two Federal Disasters, Conflict Studies Research CentreConflict Studies Research CentreThe Conflict Studies Research Centre, or CSRC, was a component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, based at Shrivenham. It specialised in potential causes of conflict in a wide area ranging from the Baltics to Central Asia....
, April 2002 (based mostly on General Troshev's memoir) Photos of members of the 6th Company