Battle of Hill 776

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Hill 776


height=230
caption=A Chechen fighter stands over Russian paratroopers killed in action on Hill 776
partof=Second Chechen War
place=Argun Gorge, Chechnya
date=February 29-March 1 2000
result=Chechen Pyrrhic victory
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1=Mark YevtukhinKIA and others
commander2=Ibn al-Khattab, Abu al-Walid
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1= 84 killed and 4 injured
casualties2= 200-500
campaign=

The Battle of Hill 776, also known as the "Battle of Ulus-Kert", was a controversial battle in the Second Chechen War during the fierce fighting over the control of the Argun River Gorge. An isolated 90-men 6th Company of the 76th Guards Airborne Division from the city of Pskov was met an outnumbered Chechen task force of several thousand men, and despite desperate attempts to rescue it and the extreme fight they put up killing at least 200 Chechen insurgents, only six survived.

The battle began just hours after the Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev had assured his government that the Second Chechen War was over."The Independent" (March 15 2000) [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000315/ai_n14282173 Nation grieves for lost paratroops of Pskov] ]

Controversies

Uncertainty continues to surround many aspects of the engagement, including how many casualties the Russians suffered and themselves inflicted and how much, if any, close air support they were provided.

Russia's high commanders, including Marshal Sergeyev, Russian Airborne Troops (VDV) commander General Georgy Shpak,RFE/RL (7 March 2000) [http://www.rferl.org/features/2000/03/F.RU.000307182439.asp Chechnya: Russia Provides Conflicting Reports On Casualties] ] and the commander of federal forces in Chechnya General Gennady Troshev,CBC News (March 07, 2000) [http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2000/03/05/chechen000305.html 31 Russian soldiers killed in Chechnya battles] ] initially all insisted that only 31 of their men died in the battle. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, also claimed 31 killed were "the total losses of that company for several days". [GlobalSecurity.org (6 March 2000) [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2000/03/000306-chechen-rus1.htm On The Situation in the North Caucasus] ] However, it soon turned out that in reality 84 soldiers and officers of the 6th were killed. The loss of the company came just a week after 25 men from Pskov were killed in an another battle in Chechnya. [The Jamestown Foundation (May 11 2006) [http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=416&issue_id=3726&article_id=2371084 Putin address conceals challenges in the North Caucasus] ] The losses among the other Russian units operating in this area during the course of the battle (several airborne and artillery battalions and OSNAZ special forces detachments) were never disclosed.

In the first days after the battle, Russian commanders said 1,000 Chechen fighters were involved. Later, when the higher federal death toll was admitted, they revised this figure upwards to up to 2,500.cite news|url=http://www.redstar.ru/2001/02/28_02/tema.html|title=Шестая рота будет жить вечно|last=Pyatkov|first=Viktor|coauthors=Konstantin Rashshepkin|date=2001-02-28|publisher="Krasnaya Zvezda"|language=ru icon|accessdate=2008-07-15] According to the article in "Krasnaya Zvezda" (Red Star), official newspaper of the Russian Ministry of Defence, Chechen casualties in the area included approximately 400 dead, including 200 found on the Hill 776.U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (July 2001) [http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/JulAug01/JulAug01/bobja01.pdf ULUS-KERT: An Airborne Company's Last Stand] ] As of 2008, the official federal figure is at least 700 insurgents killed. The Chechen separatist news agency Kavkazcenter claims in losing only 12 men killed on the Hill 776 and 13 more in related fighting in the area near the villages of Ulus-Kert and Selmentauzen at the time, including three Turkish volunteers. [Kavkaz Center (29 February 2004) [http://www.kavkazcenter.net/eng/content/2004/02/29/2475.shtml Kremlin's lies about Battle of Ulus-Kert] ] [The Jamestown Foundation (7 April 2005) [http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=411&issue_id=3293&article_id=2369571 Turkish Volunteers in Chechnya] ] They claim Russian losses at up to 200 killed, including about 100 "so-called Pskov commandos". [Chechenpress (8 March 2005) [http://www.chechenpress.info/english/news/2005/03/08/03.shtml The battle of Ulus-Kert gives no rest to Moscow] ]

Aftermath

Partially owing to these points of controversy, the battle has been seen in Russia in two ways: firstly, as a defeat for the Russian military, and secondly, as a glorious last stand made by the paratroopers, confirming the VDV's reputation as an elite force in the same way that the Battle of Camarón did for the French Foreign Legion.

All 13 officers and nine enlisted men of the company received the country's highest medal and honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation, while another 63 received the Order of Courage."The Moscow Times" (19 March 2008) [http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/03/19/007.html Fairy Tales of Glorious Battles in Chechnya] ] In April 2001, President Putin visited the former battlefield during a quick trip to Chechnya. ["The Moscow Times" (16 April 2001) [http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2001/04/16/011.html Putin Takes Quick Trip to Chechnya] ] There were also several Russian productions loosely based on these events, including [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405831/ a 2004 television series] , [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0902981/ a 2006 four-part television film] "The Storm Gate", [AFP (21 February 2006) [http://news.sawf.org/Lifestyle/7978.aspx Russians see 'realistic' Chechnya war film, minus the reality] ] and a 2004 theatrical musical "Warriors of Spirit". [Gazeta.ru (18 June 2004) [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/message/38458 Bizarre Chechen War Musical Hits Moscow Stage] ]

On February 22 2008 (day before Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day), a street in the Chechen capital Grozny was officially renamed as "84 Pskov Paratroopers Street",Russia Today (23 February 2008) [http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/21264 'Miracle resistance' remembered in Chechnya] ] .

References

External links

* [http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/JulAug01/JulAug01/bobja01.pdf ULUS-KERT: An Airborne Company's Last Stand] July 2001 U.S. Army Combined Arms Center paper based on the "Red Star" article
* [http://old.kavkazcenter.com/eng/photo/ulus-kert/ Russian invaders (the paratroopers) eliminated in Ulus-Kert district] Chechen photos of the aftermath hosted on Kavkaz Center
*ru icon [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC3rorOWuDg Hill 776] Russian TV documentary on the battle featuring commentary by the few survivors