Battle for Height 776

Battle for Height 776
Part of the Second Chechen War

Map of the breakthrough, including the fight at the Height 776
Date29 February – 1 March 2000
Location
Height 776, Argun Gorge, Chechnya
Result Chechen victory
Belligerents
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Chechen Republic of Ichkeria  Russia
Commanders and leaders
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Shamil Basayev
Ibn al-Khattab
Abu al-Walid		 Russia Mark Yevtyukhin †[1]
Russia Viktor Romanov †
Strength
Disputed
70 (per Chechnya)[2]
First day; 1,000+ (per Russia)
Subsequently; 1,500–2,000+ (per Russia)
 90[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
21–25 killed[3] (per Chechnya)
100 killed[4] (per Russian veteran Lobanov)
400–700[5] killed (per Russia)		 84 killed
6 wounded [6]
Note: Their respective official figures according to both sides involved in direct combat at Height 776 (not the entire operation of the breakthrough from the Argun Gorge, which also included other skirmishes in the area ).

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 Selmentauzen.

In late February 2000, the Russian military attempted to encircle and destroy a large Chechen 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.[7] On 29 February 2000, just hours after Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev had assured his government that the Second Chechen War was over,[8] an isolated Russian force composed mainly of a company of paratroopers of the 76th Airborne Division from the city of Pskov found itself cut off by a retreating Chechen column led by Shamil Basayev and Ibn Al-Khattab.[9] After heavy close-quarters overnight fighting, the Russian position was overrun and almost entirely wiped out. The incident inspired a Kremlin-funded film, and fascinated Russian leader Vladimir Putin.[10]

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 how long the battle even lasted.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference laststand was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Хаттаб о бое под Улус-Кертом, с десантниками 6 роты 104 полка ВДВ: "Это была не наша работа, а ангелов Аллаха"". 7 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Хаттаб о бое под Улус-Кертом, с десантниками 6 роты 104 полка ВДВ: "Это была не наша работа, а ангелов Аллаха"". 7 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Десантник рассказал, как погибала псковская 6-я рота в Чечне".
  5. ^ Забытый подвиг 6 роты [Forgotten Feat of 6 Companies] (in Russian). Эксперт. 1 March 2014.
  6. ^ Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ BBC News (6 March 2000) Chechen rebels besieged
  8. ^ The Independent (15 March 2000) Nation grieves for lost paratroops of Pskov
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference fairy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Osborn, Andrew. "Kremlin film makes heroes out of paratroops it left to be massacred". The Independent. Retrieved 17 March 2023.