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{{Infobox Military Conflict {{Infobox Military Conflict
|conflict=Battle of Hill 776 |conflict=Battle for Height 776
|height=230 |height=230
|image= |image=
|caption= |caption=
|partof=] |partof=]
|place=Hill 776, ], ] |place=Height 776, ], ]
|date=29 February – 1 March (or 3 March), 2000 |date=February 29 – March 1 or 3,<ref name=claims/> 2000
|result=Chechen ] |result=Chechen separatist victory
|combatant1=] ] and ] |combatant1=] ] and ]
|combatant2=] ]<br>] ] |combatant2=] ]<br>] ]
|commander1=] ]{{KIA}}<ref name=laststand/> |commander1=] ]{{KIA}}<ref name=laststand/>
|commander2=] ]{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} |commander2=] ] {{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}
|strength1=91<ref name="miracle"/> |strength1=91<ref name="miracle"/>
|strength2=70-75<ref name=kc/><ref name=kavkaz>] (22 February 2008): </ref> <!-- see talk page -->
|strength2=1000-2500(''different estimates'')<ref name="cbc"/><ref name=claims/>
|casualties1=84 killed<ref name="miracle"/> |casualties1=84 killed<ref name="miracle"/>
|casualties2=400-500 killed <ref name=laststand/> |casualties2=12 killed<ref name=kc/>
|casualties3=Note: Their respective official figures according to the both sides involved in the Hill 776 clashes (not the whole battle).}} |casualties3=Note: Their respective official figures according to the both sides involved in direct combat at Height 776 (not the entire operation of the breakthrough from the Argun Gorge).}}
{{FixBunching|mid}} {{FixBunching|mid}}
{{Campaignbox Second Chechen War}} {{Campaignbox Second Chechen War}}
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The '''Battle for Height 776''', the best known part of the larger '''Battle of Ulus-Kert''' (there was also fighting over the town of Ulus Kert, the village of Selmentausen, Hill 705.6, Hill 787 and elsewhere in area), was a controversial engagement in the ] during fierce fighting over control of the ] ] in the ] of ]. The '''Battle for Height 776''', the best known part of the larger '''Battle of Ulus-Kert''' (there was also fighting over the small town of Ulus-Kert, the village of Selmentausen, the Heights 705.6 and 787, and elsewhere in area), was a controversial engagement in the ] during fierce fighting over control of the ] ] in the highland ] of central ], where the Russian military forces unsuccesfully attempted to surround and destroy a large ] force ] from the Chechen capital ] to ] and ] in the southern mountains of Chechnya following the 1999–2000 ].<ref name=bbc>] (6 March 2000) </ref>


Russian military forces attempted to surround and destroy a large Chechen rebel force ] from ] to ] and ] following the 1999–2000 ].<ref name=bbc>] (6 March 2000) </ref> On 29 February 2000, just hours after the Russian Defense Minister ] had assured his government that the war was over,<ref name="nation">'']'' (15 March 2000) ,</ref> an isolated Russian force based out of the 6th ] of the ] from ] found itself cut off in the Chechen mountains. After heavy close-quarters fighting, the Russians dug in on the hill and held the line against the hostile force despite of the Chechen strong superiority of men power. On February 29, 2000, just hours after the Russian Defense Minister ] had assured his government that the Chechen War was over,<ref name="nation">'']'' (15 March 2000) </ref> an isolated Russian force based around a company of ]s of the ] from the city of ] found itself cut off at a hill top in the way of a retreating Chechen column led by ],<ref name="fairy"/> commander of foreign fighters in Chechnya. After by all accounts heavy close-quarters fighting, the Russians dug-in on the hill were overrun and almost entirely wiped-out.


Uncertainty continues to surround many aspects of the engagement, including how many people were engaged in the battle on both sides, how many casualties the Russians suffered and inflicted, how much ] and ] were provided, and even how long fighting for the hill raged (with time spans ranging, according to conflicting Russian official statements, from a six-hour overnight fighting to a four-day battle).<ref name=claims>'']'' (10 March 2000): </ref> Uncertainty continues to surround many aspects of the engagement, including how many people were in fact engaged in the battle on both sides, how many casualties the Russians suffered and inflicted, how much artillery support and ] were provided, and even how long fighting for the hill raged - with time spans ranging (according to conflicting Russian official statements) from just a six-hour overnight fighting to even a four-day battle.<ref name=claims>'']'' (10 March 2000): </ref>


==Battle== ==Battle==
The goal of one of the ]al ]s ] (VDV) tactical group in the area, based out of the 104th ] ] Regiment of the 76th Division (including army's ] ] subunits and the velite ] (] ]) groups), was to block a gorge while other Russian forces ] a large Chechen force which had been dislodged from Ulus Kert. The 6th Company was part of the 2nd ] ] which participated in this blocking force. The company, whose nominal commander was ] Sergey Molodov, was actually led in the field by the 2nd Battalion's commanding officer, ] Mark Yevtyukhin. Attached to it were two also reconnaissance ]s and a ] team (led by ] Viktor Romanov).<ref name=laststand/> The goal of a regimental ] of the ] (VDV) tactical group in the area, based out of the 104th ] Airborne Regiment of the 76th Division (including ] subunits and the elite ] ] ] groups), was to block an exit from the gorge while other Russian forces attempted to ] a large Chechen force which had been dislodged from the area of the village of Ulus Kert. The 6th Company was part of the 2nd Airborne Battalion which participated in this blocking force. The company, whose nominal commander was Major Sergey Molodov, was actually led in the field by the 2nd Battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Yevtyukhin. Attached to it were also two small ] Spetsnaz teams and a ] team led by Captain Viktor Romanov.<ref name=laststand/> On the dawn of 29 February, the Russians were caught by surprise by a large-scale Chechen breakthrough. After suffering heavy losses from the initial contact, when they were attacked from their rear, the rest of Russians retreated to the hilltop where they made some hastily dug defensive positions. The only Russian force that made it to Height 776 in the thick of the battle was the 4th Company's third platoon, personally led by Major Aleksandr Dostovalov, who was the battalion's deputy commander. Desperate attempts from other Russian units to rescue the grouping were unsuccessful and the badly wounded Captain Romanov eventually resorted to calling in fire support on his own position. According to official Russian data, 84 soldiers were killed in the fighting on the hill, including all officers. Only seven (or six, according to some sources) Russian rank-and-file soldiers survived the battle, four of them injured.<ref name=laststand>] (July 2001) </ref>


⚫ The battle caused embarrassment for Russian military officials who attempted to conceal their loss of an entire unit. Russia's high commanders, including ] ],<ref name="nation"/> VDV commander General ],<ref name=bbc/><ref name="conflicting">] (7 March 2000) </ref> and the commander of federal forces in Chechnya, General ],<ref name="cbc">] (7 March 2000) </ref> initially insisted that only 31 of their men died in the battle and denied the unofficial reports claiming 86 soldiers were killed; the Russian President ]'s spokesman on Chechnya, ], also claimed the 31 dead were "the total losses of that company for several days".<ref>] (6 March 2000) </ref> After days of government denials, top Russian officials eventually admitted 84 fatalities, some of them apparently from the ] of their own artillery.<ref>'']'' (12 March 2000): </ref> Russian newspapers reported that Sergeyev had ordered the losses to be covered up,<ref name=stranded>'']'' (11 March 2000): </ref> as the loss of this unit came just a week after 25 men from the 76th Division were killed in an another battle in Chechnya.<ref>] (11 May 2006) {{dead link}} ()</ref> According to one source, "''unofficially the losses sustained by Russian paratroopers on 1 March are blamed on the decision of the Eastern group's commander Gen. Sergey Makarov and the VDV tactical group's commander Aleksandr Lentsov.''"<ref>Venik's Aviation (7 March 2000) {{dead link}} ()</ref> 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.<ref name="cbc"/> This figure was soon revised to 1,500-2,000 by Yastrzhembsky,<ref name=bbc/> and raised to 2,500 by Troshev later.<ref name=claims/> (At the same time, Colonel General Valery Manilov, first deputy chief of the ], claimed there were only 2,500 to 3,500 separatist fighters left in all of Chechnya.<ref>] (10 March 2000): </ref>) According to Yastrzhembsky's statement, 70 rebels surrendered at what he called a "pocket" at Selmentausen, while "up to 1,000 might have succeeded in escaping".<ref name=bbc/> According to 2001 the article in '']'' ("]"), the official newspaper of the ], separatist casualties in the Argun Gorge area totaled approximately 400 dead, including 200 bodies allegedly found on Height 776.<ref name=laststand/> However, as of 2008, the official federal estimate rose to about 500 enemy dead according to the Russian government website,<ref>Russian Embassy to ] (undated): </ref> while the state-controlled English language TV station ] referred to even over 700 fighters killed.<ref name="miracle"/>
On 29 February, the Russians were caught by surprise by a large-scale Chechen breakthrough. The only Russian force that made it to Hill 776 in the thick of the battle was the third ] of the 4th Company, personally led by Major Aleksandr Dostovalov (deputy commander of the 2d Battalion). Desperate attempts from other Russian units to rescue them were unsuccessful and the troops eventually resorted to calling in support fire on their own positions. According to official Russian data, 84 soldiers (presumably including members of the units other than the 6th Company) were killed in the fighting on the hill, including all officers on site. Only seven (or six, according to some sources) Russian soldiers survived the clash, four of them injured (the highest ranking survivor was ] Andrey Proshev).<ref name=laststand>] (July 2001) </ref>


According to one interview with a Chechen fighter, there were some 1,600 fighters in the slow-moving column, weighed down by their remaining-crew-operated weapons, ammunition and wounded they were transporting,<ref>Grani.Ru (26 March 2002) {{dead link}} ()</ref> but not mentioning how many of them ]ed the withdrawal, how many were in the main caravan, and how many consisted of the rear guard. On their ] website, the separatists officially admitted losing only 12 men in combat at the Height 776, 13 more in other fighting at that time in the area between the villages of Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt (where the mostly-positional warfare continued since the late 1999), and about 50 killed during their march to the Shatoy and Vedeno districts; in addition to these losses, 30 wounded fighters left behind at Selmentausen were claimed to be captured and allegedly executed by Russians after being turned in by a traitor.<ref name=kc>] (29 February 2004) </ref> Among the fighters who were killed while storming the hill were three ].<ref>] (7 April 2005) {{dead link}} ()</ref> At first, Chechen rebel spokesman ] told ] that up to 30 soldiers and officers were killed in the attack by 65 Chechen fighters (this figure of Russian losses from the initial ambush is consistant with the official Russian version<ref name=laststand/>).<ref>'']'', Volume 116, Issue 4‎ (page 25)</ref> Later, the Chechen separatist sources estimated Russian losses at up to 200 killed, including about 100 "so-called Pskov commandos."<ref>] (8 March 2005) {{dead link}} ()</ref> Several days later the Chechen President ] announced a general order "to start an all-out partisan war",<ref name=stranded/> and his forces then scattered to launch a long guerrilla war. The Russians thus lost their last chance to destroy a bulk of the pro-independence Chechen forces in a concentrated position, althrough later in March they managed to inflict devastating losses on an another large separatist force of some 1,000-1,500 fighters, who were successfully ], killing several hundred of them in a three-week battle.
⚫ The battle caused consternation for Russian military officials who attempted to conceal their loss of an entire unit. Russia's high commanders, including ] ],<ref name="nation"/> VDV commander ] ],<ref name=bbc/><ref name="conflicting">] (7 March 2000) </ref> and the commander of federal forces in Chechnya, General ],<ref name="cbc">] (7 March 2000) </ref> initially insisted that only 31 of their men died in the battle and denied the unofficial reports claiming 86 soldiers were killed; the Russian President ]'s spokesman on Chechnya, ], also claimed the 31 dead were "the total losses of that company for several days".<ref>] (6 March 2000) </ref> After days of government denials, top Russian officials eventually admitted that 84 paratroopers died, some of them apparently from ] (caused by called fire support on their own positions for holding the line).<ref>'']'' (12 March 2000): </ref> Russian newspapers reported that Sergeyev had ordered the losses to be covered up,<ref>'']'' (11 March 2000): </ref> as the loss of this unit came just a week after 25 men from the 76th Division were killed in another battle in Chechnya.<ref>] (11 May 2006) </ref>


While there were no civilians in the immediate proximity of the clashes at the unhabitated 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 the other Chechen-held villages, where thousands of locals and refugees from Grozny were trapped.<ref name=stranded/> Furthermore, there were many credible reports of a direct atrocities against the population. For example, on March 6, a group of refugees was detained by soldiers at the notorious Russian checkpoint on the road between Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt; the four women in the group were soon released, but the 12 men "]" (the bodies of three of them were unhearted at the nearby village of Tangi-Chu in May, while the rest of them remained "missing" one year later).<ref>] (March 2001): </ref> In an infamous incident later in March, a local Tangi-Chu girl ] was abducted from her home and strangled by ] officer ].
The total Russian strength and the losses among the other Russian units and subunits operating in the area of Ulus-Kert were never officially disclosed. In the first days after the battle, Troshev said 1,000 rebel fighters were involved.<ref name="cbc"/> This figure was soon revised to 1,500-2,000 by Yastrzhembsky,<ref name=bbc/> and raised to 2,500 by Troshev later.<ref name=claims/> (At the same time, ] Valery Manilov, first deputy chief of the ], claimed there were only 2,500 to 3,500 rebels in all of Chechnya.<ref>] (10 March 2000): </ref>) According to Yastrzhembsky's statement, 70 rebels surrendered at what he called a "pocket" at Selmentausen, while "up to 1,000 might have succeeded in escaping".<ref name=bbc/> According to 2001 the article in '']'' (]), the official newspaper of the ], Chechen casualties in the area totaled approximately 400 dead, including 200 bodies found on Hill 776.<ref name=laststand/> However, as of 2008, the official federal estimate rose to about 500 enemy dead according to the government website,<ref>Russian embassy to ]: </ref> while the Russian state-controlled ] referred to even over 700 rebels killed there.<ref name="miracle"/>


==Aftermath== ==Aftermath==
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] in Pskov in honor of the 6th Company]] ] in Pskov in honor of the 6th Company]]


The battle is viewed in Russia as a glorious ] made by the paratroopers, confirming the VDV's reputation in the same way that the ] did for the ], and the events have been quickly enshrined in ]. It is officially seen in Russia as an example of bravery and sacrifice.<ref name=independent/> 22 Russian soldiers (all 13 ] and nine enlisted men) were awarded the highest ] of the ] (in comparison, only 65 medals of the ] were awarded for the entire duration of the 10-year ]. The battle was viewed in Russia in two ways: at first as a shameful defeat for the Russian military, and then increasingly as a glorious ] made by the paratroopers, confirming the VDV's reputation in the same way that the ] did for the ], and the events have been quickly enshrined in ]. 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.<ref name=independent/> In 2001, Putin flew to Chechnya to personally visit the former battlefield.<ref>'']'' (16 April 2001) </ref> In 2008, a day before Russia's ], a street in Grozny was officially renamed as "84 Pskov Paratroopers Street",<ref name="miracle">] (23 February 2008) </ref> a move that sparked further controversy in Chechnya.<ref name="fairy">'']'' (19 March 2008) </ref><ref>] (29 January 2008) </ref><ref>] (22 February 2008) </ref>

In 2001, Putin flew to Chechnya to personally visit the former battlefield.<ref>'']'' (16 April 2001) </ref> In 2008, a day before Russia's ], a street in the Chechen capital ] was officially renamed as "84 Pskov Paratroopers Street",<ref name="miracle">] (23 February 2008) </ref> a move that sparked further controversy in Chechnya.<ref>] (29 January 2008) </ref><ref>] (22 February 2008) </ref>


===Awards=== ===Awards===
{{Wikisourcelang|ru|Указ Президента РФ от 21.07.2000 № 1334|Battle of Hill 776}} {{Wikisourcelang|ru|Указ Президента РФ от 21.07.2000 № 1334|Battle of Hill 776}}
On 12 March 2000, Vladimir Putin signed an ] conferring ] upon members of the 6th Company. Twenty-two ''desantniki'' received the title ], as follows:<ref></ref> On March 12, 2000, President Putin signed an '']'' conferring ] upon members of the 6th Company,<ref name="fairy"/> of whom 63 received the ]. Twenty-two of the soldiers (all 13 officers and nine enlisted men) were awarded the highest ] and title of the ] (for comparison, only 65 medals of the ] medals were awarded for the entire duration of the 10-year ], in which more than 14,000 ] soldiers died):<ref>{{ru icon}} </ref>

<div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;"> <div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;">
* ]{{KIA}} * ]{{KIA}}
Line 73: Line 72:
* Alexander Suponinsky * Alexander Suponinsky
</div> </div>

Sixty-three of them also received the ].


==In popular culture== ==In popular culture==
The Russian government sponsored a series of productions based on these events, including the 2004 ] show,<ref>] (18 June 2004) </ref> the 2004 television series ("I have the Honour"), the 2006 four-part ] ("The Storm Gate")<ref>] (21 February 2006) </ref> and the 2006 movie ''Proriv'' ("Breakthrough").<ref name=independent>'']'' (15 May 2006) </ref> A series of productions loosely based on these events, were produced in the next few years after the battle, including the 2004 ] show,<ref>] (18 June 2004) </ref> the 2004 television series ("I Have the Honour"), the 2006 four-part ] ("The Storm Gate")<ref>] (21 February 2006) </ref> and the 2006 movie ''Proriv'' ("Breakthrough").<ref name=independent>'']'' (15 May 2006) </ref> Some of them were supported by the Russian government.


==See also== ==See also==
Line 87: Line 84:
==External links== ==External links==
{{commonscat|Battle for Height 776}} {{commonscat|Battle for Height 776}}
* July 2001 ] paper based on the ''Red Star'' article * (July 2001 ] paper based on the article in ''Red Star'')
⚫ * {{ru icon}}
* - The same U.S. Army CAC article, as a separate document on a standalone server
⚫ * {{ru icon}}


{{Coord|42|57|47|N|45|48|17|E|type:event|display=title}} {{Coord|42|57|47|N|45|48|17|E|type:event|display=title}}

Revision as of 03:37, 13 March 2010

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Battle for Height 776
Part of Second Chechen War
DateFebruary 29 – March 1 or 3, 2000
LocationHeight 776, Argun Gorge, Chechnya
Result Chechen separatist victory
Belligerents
VDV and Spetsnaz Chechen separatists
Foreign fighters
Commanders and leaders
Mark Yevtyukhin † Abu al-Walid
Strength
91 70-75
Casualties and losses
84 killed 12 killed
Note: Their respective official figures according to the both sides involved in direct combat at Height 776 (not the entire operation of the breakthrough from the Argun Gorge).

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Second Chechen War
Russian offensive (1999–2000)

Guerrilla phase (2000–2009)

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The Battle for Height 776, the best known part of the larger Battle of Ulus-Kert (there was also fighting over the small town of Ulus-Kert, the village of Selmentausen, the Heights 705.6 and 787, and elsewhere in area), was a controversial engagement in the Second Chechen War during fierce fighting over control of the Argun River gorge in the highland Shatoysky District of central Chechnya, where the Russian military forces unsuccesfully attempted to surround and destroy a large Chechen separatist force 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.

On February 29, 2000, just hours after the Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev had assured his government that the Chechen War was over, an isolated Russian force based around a company of paratroopers of the 76th Airborne Division from the city of Pskov found itself cut off at a hill top in the way of a retreating Chechen column led by Ibn Al-Khattab, commander of foreign fighters in Chechnya. After by all accounts heavy close-quarters fighting, the Russians dug-in on the hill were overrun and almost entirely wiped-out.

Uncertainty continues to surround many aspects of the engagement, including how many people were in fact engaged in the battle on both sides, how many casualties the Russians suffered and inflicted, how much artillery support and close air support were provided, and even how long fighting for the hill raged - with time spans ranging (according to conflicting Russian official statements) from just a six-hour overnight fighting to even a four-day battle.

Battle

The goal of a regimental task force of the Russian Airborne Troops (VDV) tactical group in the area, based out of the 104th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 76th Division (including Spetsnaz subunits and the elite Vympel FSB OSNAZ groups), was to block an exit from the gorge while other Russian forces attempted to encircle a large Chechen force which had been dislodged from the area of the village of Ulus Kert. The 6th Company was part of the 2nd Airborne Battalion which participated in this blocking force. The company, whose nominal commander was Major Sergey Molodov, was actually led in the field by the 2nd Battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Yevtyukhin. Attached to it were also two small reconnaissance Spetsnaz teams and a forward observer team led by Captain Viktor Romanov. On the dawn of 29 February, the Russians were caught by surprise by a large-scale Chechen breakthrough. After suffering heavy losses from the initial contact, when they were attacked from their rear, the rest of Russians retreated to the hilltop where they made some hastily dug defensive positions. The only Russian force that made it to Height 776 in the thick of the battle was the 4th Company's third platoon, personally led by Major Aleksandr Dostovalov, who was the battalion's deputy commander. Desperate attempts from other Russian units to rescue the grouping were unsuccessful and the badly wounded Captain Romanov eventually resorted to calling in fire support on his own position. According to official Russian data, 84 soldiers were killed in the fighting on the hill, including all officers. Only seven (or six, according to some sources) Russian rank-and-file soldiers survived the battle, four of them injured.

The battle caused embarrassment for Russian military officials who attempted to conceal their loss of an entire unit. Russia's high commanders, including Marshal of the Russian Federation 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 died in the battle and denied the unofficial reports claiming 86 soldiers were killed; the Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman on Chechnya, Sergey Yastrzhembsky, also claimed the 31 dead were "the total losses of that company for several days". After days of government denials, top Russian officials eventually admitted 84 fatalities, some of them apparently from the friendly fire of their own artillery. Russian newspapers reported that Sergeyev had ordered the losses to be covered up, as the loss of this unit came just a week after 25 men from the 76th Division were killed in an another battle in Chechnya. According to one source, "unofficially the losses sustained by Russian paratroopers on 1 March are blamed on the decision of the Eastern group's commander Gen. Sergey Makarov and the VDV tactical group's commander Aleksandr Lentsov." 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 soon revised to 1,500-2,000 by Yastrzhembsky, and raised to 2,500 by Troshev later. (At the same time, Colonel General Valery Manilov, first deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, claimed there were only 2,500 to 3,500 separatist fighters left in all of Chechnya.) According to Yastrzhembsky's statement, 70 rebels surrendered at what he called a "pocket" at Selmentausen, while "up to 1,000 might have succeeded in escaping". According to 2001 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 on Height 776. However, as of 2008, the official federal estimate rose to about 500 enemy dead according to the Russian government website, while the state-controlled English language TV station Russia Today referred to even over 700 fighters killed.

According to one interview with a Chechen fighter, there were some 1,600 fighters in the slow-moving column, weighed down by their remaining-crew-operated weapons, ammunition and wounded they were transporting, but not mentioning how many of them spearheaded the withdrawal, how many were in the main caravan, and how many consisted of the rear guard. On their Kavkaz Center website, the separatists officially admitted losing only 12 men in combat at the Height 776, 13 more in other fighting at that time in the area between the villages of Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt (where the mostly-positional warfare continued since the late 1999), and about 50 killed during their march to the Shatoy and Vedeno districts; in addition to these losses, 30 wounded fighters left behind at Selmentausen were claimed to be captured and allegedly executed by Russians after being turned in by a traitor. Among the fighters who were killed while storming the hill were three Turks. 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 (this figure of Russian losses from the initial ambush is consistant with the official Russian version). Later, the Chechen separatist sources estimated Russian losses at up to 200 killed, including about 100 "so-called Pskov commandos." Several days later the Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov announced a general order "to start an all-out partisan war", and his forces then scattered to launch a long guerrilla war. The Russians thus lost their last chance to destroy a bulk of the pro-independence Chechen forces in a concentrated position, althrough later in March they managed to inflict devastating losses on an another large separatist force of some 1,000-1,500 fighters, who were successfully surroundered in the village of Komsomolskoye, killing several hundred of them in a three-week battle.

While there were no civilians in the immediate proximity of the clashes at the unhabitated 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 the other Chechen-held villages, where thousands of locals and refugees from Grozny were trapped. Furthermore, there were many credible reports of a direct atrocities against the population. For example, on March 6, a group of refugees was detained by soldiers at the notorious Russian checkpoint on the road between Ulus-Kert and Duba-Yurt; the four women in the group were soon released, but the 12 men "disappeared" (the bodies of three of them were unhearted at the nearby village of Tangi-Chu in May, while the rest of them remained "missing" one year later). In an infamous incident later in March, a local Tangi-Chu girl Elza Kungayeva was abducted from her home and strangled by the ground forces officer Yuri Budanov.

Aftermath

Russian president Vladimir Putin at a speech in Pskov at the ceremony unveiling a memorial stone erected on the site of a future monument to paratroopers of the 6th Company
Milestone in Pskov in honor of the 6th Company

The battle was viewed in Russia in two ways: at first as a shameful defeat for the Russian military, and then increasingly as a glorious last stand made 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 personally 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.

Awards

On March 12, 2000, President Putin signed an ukaz conferring Russian state awards upon members of the 6th Company, of whom 63 received the Order of Courage. Twenty-two of the soldiers (all 13 officers and nine enlisted men) were awarded the highest medal and title of the Hero of the Russian Federation (for comparison, only 65 medals of the Hero of the Soviet Union medals were awarded for the entire duration of the 10-year Soviet War in Afghanistan, in which more than 14,000 Red Army soldiers died):

  • Mark Yevtyukhin †
  • Sergey Molodov †
  • Alexander Dostavalov †
  • Roman Sokolov †
  • Viktor Romanov †
  • Alexey Vorobyov †
  • Andrey Sherstyannikov †
  • Andrey Panov †
  • Dmitry Petrov †
  • Alexander Kolgatin †
  • Oleg Yermakov †
  • Alexander Ryazantsev †
  • Dmitry Kozhemyakin †
  • Sergey Medvedev †
  • Alexander Komyagin †
  • Dmitry Grigoriyev †
  • Sergey Vasilyov †
  • Vladislav Dukhin †
  • Alexander Lebedev †
  • Alexander Gerdt †
  • Alexey Rasskaza †
  • Alexander Suponinsky

In popular culture

A series of productions loosely based on these events, were produced in the next few years after the battle, including the 2004 theatrical musical 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"). Some of them were supported by the Russian government.

See also

References

  1. ^ The Independent (10 March 2000): Russia claims rout of rebels in mountain area, but fighting continues
  2. ^ U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (July 2001) ULUS-KERT: An Airborne Company's Last Stand
  3. ^ Russia Today TV (23 February 2008) 'Miracle resistance' remembered in Chechnya
  4. ^ Kavkaz Center (29 February 2004) Kremlin's lies about Battle of Ulus-Kert
  5. Kavkaz Center (22 February 2008): Murtadin ringleader again showed faithfulness to the murderers of Chechen people
  6. ^ BBC News (6 March 2000) Chechen rebels besieged
  7. ^ The Independent (15 March 2000) Nation grieves for lost paratroops of Pskov
  8. ^ The Moscow Times (19 March 2008) Fairy Tales of Glorious Battles in Chechnya
  9. RFE/RL (7 March 2000) Chechnya: Russia Provides Conflicting Reports On Casualties
  10. ^ CBC News (7 March 2000) 31 Russian soldiers killed in Chechnya battles
  11. GlobalSecurity.org (6 March 2000) On The Situation in the North Caucasus
  12. Chicago Sun-Times (12 March 2000): Russians confirm troop deaths 84 fatalities in worst battle of war with Chechen rebels
  13. ^ The Guardian (11 March 2000): No way back: Refugees stranded as Chechnya declares all-out war
  14. The Jamestown Foundation (11 May 2006) Putin address conceals challenges in the North Caucasus (Internet Archive)
  15. Venik's Aviation (7 March 2000) War in Chechnya - 1999 (Internet Archive)
  16. BBC News (10 March 2000): Russia admits heavy losses
  17. Russian Embassy to Thailand (undated): CHECHNYA: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
  18. Grani.Ru (26 March 2002) "We don't consider ourselves conquered and we never will." (Internet Archive)
  19. The Jamestown Foundation (7 April 2005) Turkish Volunteers in Chechnya (Internet Archive)
  20. Armor, Volume 116, Issue 4‎ (page 25)
  21. Chechenpress (8 March 2005) The battle of Ulus-Kert gives no rest to Moscow (Internet Archive)
  22. Human Rights Watch (March 2001): THE "DIRTY WAR" IN CHECHNYA: FORCED DISAPPEARANCES, TORTURE, AND SUMMARY EXECUTION; The "Disappearance" of Nineteen People at the Checkpoint Between Duba-Yurt and Chiri-Yurt (January 13, February 18 and March 6, 2000)
  23. ^ The Independent (15 May 2006) Kremlin film makes heroes out of paratroops it left to be massacred
  24. The Moscow Times (16 April 2001) Putin Takes Quick Trip to Chechnya
  25. Prague Watchdog (29 January 2008) Enemy Street
  26. Prague Watchdog (22 February 2008) Grozny street renamed in honour of Pskov paratroopers
  27. Template:Ru icon Евтюхин Марк Николаевич
  28. Gazeta.ru (18 June 2004) Bizarre Chechen War Musical Hits Moscow Stage
  29. AFP (21 February 2006) Russians see 'realistic' Chechnya war film, minus the reality

External links

42°57′47″N 45°48′17″E / 42.96306°N 45.80472°E / 42.96306; 45.80472

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