User:Benjamin Trovato/My sandbox4

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{1{Infobox military conflict 339 wounded }}
 * conflict=Battle of Gimry 1832
 * partof=the [1[Caucasian War]]
 * date= October 1832
 * place=[1[Gimry]], [1[Dagestan]]
 * result= Russian victory
 * combatant1=[1[Image:Thirdimamateflag.svg|22px]] [1[Caucasian Imamate]]
 * combatant2= Russian Empire
 * commander1=[11[Ghazi Muhammad]]
 * commander2=Velyaminov
 * strength1= 600-3000
 * strength2= 10,000
 * casualties1=192 killed
 * casualties2=41 killed

The Battle of Gimry (1832), during the [1[Caucasian War]], was General Velyaminov’s capture of [1[Ghazi Muhammad]]’s headquarters at [1[Gimry]]. Ghazi Mohammad was killed but [1[Imam Shamil|Shamil]] escaped.

In early October (all dates old style), Velyaminov left Temir-Khan-Shura ([1[Buynaksk]]) 25km to the east. The route led through early snow across a broad and level plateau which slowly rises from 1500 feet to 6000 feet and then suddenly drops 5000 feet down into the canyon of the north-flowing Avar Koysu. In many places the canyon walls are almost vertical. Gimry is on the east side of the river at the mouth of a side canyon which extends about 7km southeast. There were two paths down into the canyon, neither of which was fit for an army. Velyaminov chose the eastern one leading to the head of the side canyon where the drop is about 3000 feet. (Today there is a long automobile tunnel from the plateau to the head of the side canyon.) Taking advantage of the morning mist Velyaminov got his advance guard down to the side canyon, in places using ropes and ladders, and spent several days cutting an approximation of a road. This took from the 10th to the 13th, on the 14th Baron Rosen came up with more soldiers and by the 17th most of the force was concentrated at the upper side canyon.

Ghazi Muhammad had built three walls across the side canyon about 4km southeast of Gimry. Near the outer wall were two stone houses, to which the Russians paid little attention. Today these are marked by a modern reconstruction called Shamil’s Tower. Velyaminov’s plan was to take the left end of the first wall and then make a frontal attack while the wall was enfiladed. This failed because the officer turned too soon and made a frontal attack with great loss. At this point [1[Gamzat-bek]] appeared from the south and threatened to cut off the head of the Russian force. Klugenau appeared at the right moment and Gamzat-bek withdrew, leaving Ghazi Muhammad to his fate. Seeing that the first attack had failed due to a mistake, Velyaminov tried the same tactic again. This time it worked. When the first wall was taken the Russians pursued so quickly that the enemy had no time to re-form on the second or third walls. By this time it was dark and the Russians camped where they stood.

Meanwhile attention turned to the two houses. They were occupied by some sixty murids who had either resolved to die there or were cut off when the first wall fell. Two companies of sappers and several mountain guns were sent to clear the houses. After a few rounds the houses were assaulted and all the defenders were killed, only two escaping. That night some natives were called to identify the dead. One body was that of Ghazi Muhammad. He was said to be lying in the Muslim attitude of prayer. One of the two men who escaped was Shamil. There are different versions of the story, but according to Baddeley, Shamil suddenly appeared above a raised doorway. When the soldiers raised their guns to shoot he leaped over them, landed behind their backs, cut down three of them with his sword but was bayonetted in the lung by a forth. He grasped the weapon with one hand, killed its owner with the other, pulled out the bayonet and disappeared into the forest.

The next day, October 18, Klugenau entered Gimry without resistance. The village elders sued for peace. A week later the army returned to Temir-Khan-Shura. The Russian losses were given as 1 officer and 40 men killed, 19 officers and 320 men wounded and 18 officers and 53 men contused, for a total of 452. The Murids lost 192 dead with no wounded counted.

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{*{Infobox military conflict }}1{1{Campaignbox Caucasian War}}
 * conflict=Batlle of Ichkeria
 * partof=the [1[Caucasian War]]
 * image=
 * caption=
 * date= 1842
 * place=Ichkeria, [1[Chechnya]]
 * result=Russian defeat
 * combatant1=[1[Image:Thirdimamateflag.svg|22px]] [1[Caucasian Imamate]]
 * combatant2= Russian Empire
 * commander1=Shu 'ayb, Ullubey
 * commander2=Count Pavel Grabbe
 * strength1=less than 2,000
 * strength2=10,000
 * casualties1=unknown
 * casualties2=1,766 killed or wounded

The Battle of Ichkeria (1842) was the attempt by General Grabbe to take [1[Imam Shamil]]’s capital at Dargo during the [1[Caucasian War]]. It failed because of the difficulty of moving a large force through the forest.

After his defeat at Akhulgo in 1839 Shamil established a new headquarters at Dargo in a forested valley in Chechnya about 33km south of the Russian lines. The region was called Ichkeria. In late 1841 Count Grabbe visited Saint Petersburg and persuaded Nicholas I to give him command of the forces on the Left Flank and northern Dagestan, that is, the area north and east of Dargo. From at least 21 March 1842 Shamil and most of his men were fighting at Kazi-Kumukh about 115 kilometers southeast of Dargo. Grabbe decided to attack Shamil’s capital in his absence.

Grabbe’s intention was to march quickly south to Dargo, destroy it, and then move south over the mountain and take Andi and Gumbet. He had 10,000 men and 24 guns. The size of his force worked against him. To carry his supplies he needed a large number of carts and 3,000 horses. Because of the poor roads, or trails, through the forest the baggage train strung out over several versts {kilometers} and it took half his force to guard it on both sides. With several battalions for front and rear guard, the various parts of the line could not protect each other. In addition to the hills and rivers the mountaineers began to build barricades and set ambushes.

On 30may {all dates old style, so add 12 days for the Western calendar}, Grabbe left Gerzel 33km north of Dargo. He went south along the left bank of the Aksay River, the same route as [1[Battle of Dargo (1845)|Vorontsov’s retreat]] in 1845. That day he made only 7 vests against no resistance {The sources do not say whether the Chechens had advance knowledge of the attack. If they had no warning it would have taken them several days to bring up their reserves}. That night it rained heavily, making the road worse. On the second day they made 12 versts in 15 hours, fighting all the way. They were forced to camp for the night on a waterless plain. On the third day they made only 6 versts. The enemy had increased to something under 2,000, the roads were more difficult, barricades more frequent, the troops had been short of water for two days, there were already several hundred wounded and confusion increased hourly. On the night of the third day (01jun) Grabbe saw that further advance was impossible and gave orders to retreat along the same road.

The retreat was worse than the advance. It necessitated the abandonment, or, where possible, the destruction of everything that would slow their movements. The retreat became vary disorganized and assumed the appearance of a rout {The sources do not say whether this was due to command failure or whether there was some other problem}. On 04jun (seventh day) they arrived back in Gerzel, having lost 66 officers, 1700 men, one field gun and nearly all their provisions and stores. When Shamil heard of Grabbe’s movement he abandoned his perhaps unprofitable campaign and hurried back to Chechnya. When he arrived the fighting was already over. The impact of Grabbe’s failure was even greater because he had faced only the local levies of two Naibs – Shu ‘ayb and Ullubey. A month later Grabbe made an unsuccessful raid against Igali on the [1[Andi Koysu]]. After this he was released from command at his own request. Grabbe’s return was witnessed by Prince Chernyshev, the Minister of War. This contributed to Nicolas’ decision to forbid all major raids into the interior, a policy that did not work well.

For the second attempt to take Dargo see [1[Battle of Dargo (1845)]].

references and notes
J. F. Baddeley, The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus,1908+OCR reprint [1[Category:Caucasian War]] 1Category:1842 in Russia Ичкеринское сражение under add links camp box

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Battle of Ichkeria

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The Siege of Akhulgo (1839) was a siege during the Caucasian War. General Grabbe besieged [1[Imam Shamil]] in the rock-fortress of Akhulgo. After 80 days the rock was taken, most of the defenders were killed, but Shamil managed to escape.

Geography: About 75km west of the Caspian Sea the east-flowing [1[Andi Koysu]] joins the north-flowing Avar Koysu to form the [1[Sulak River]] which flows northeast. All three flow in canyons. About 5km south is the village of [1[Gimri]] where [1[Ghazi Muhammad]] was killed in 1832. Akhulgo is about 5km west. At Akhulgo the Andi Koysu flows east, then north, east, south and east, forming a rectangle. Inside the rectangle are two steep hills several hundred feet above the river. The western one, Old Akhulgo, is narrow and runs north-south. It is somewhat comma-shaped and can only be approached easily along a narrow ridge from the village of Ashitla to the southwest. The eastern one, New Akhulgo, is broader and higher. Between them runs the Ashitla River. At a narrow point in canyon the two hills were connected by a bridge 40 meters above the Ashitla River. South of New Akhulgo and outside the rectangle is the conical Surkhay’s Tower which is taller than the other two and dominates the whole area. In addition to their steepness there were natural and artificial caves and semi-underground houses. The place is a natural fortress whose only weakness is the difficulty of hauling water up from the river.

The 1837 expedition: In 1837 General Fese destroyed the village of Ashitla and then killed a number of fugitives who had fortified themselves at Old Akhulgo by blasting then with cannon from Surkhay’s Tower. Shamil viewed the ruins of Ashitla and this may have influenced him to improve the fortifications at New Akhulgo. See [1[Shamil War]] for details.

The march: The plan was to attack Akhulgo in two columns, one from Fort Vnezapnaya {modern Endirey} 45km north of Akhulgo and one from Temir-Khan-Shura {[1[Buynaksk]]} 30 km east. Since Shamil had many supporters to the north the main force was the northern one and the eastern column was used mainly for supplies. Probably to avoid the Avar Koysu canyon the eastern force would go south, then west to Kunzakh, then north to Akhulgo. The march began from Vnezapnaya on 21 May {[1[Old Style and New Style dates|all dates old style]], so add 12 days for the Western calendar}. On the 25th they dispersed a group under Shamil himself at Burtunay with little fighting. They then faced the fortified village of Argouani {modern Argvani does not quite fit Baddeley’s description}. The place was difficult to attack, but too strong to bypass and there was no time for a siege. On 30-31 May it was blasted open with artillery, taken by storm and the inhabitants slaughtered. The Russians lost 146 killed and 500 wounded and the mountaineers perhaps 2000. They now had the problem of crossing the Andi Koysu and contacting the supply column that was waiting on the Betli plateau south of Akhulgo. They captured one of the destroyed bridges, rebuilt it with roof beams from the nearby village, crossed with some of their men and made contact with the supply column. On the 11th they repaired the bridge at Chirkata and on the 12jun occupied the ruins of Ashilta less than a kilometer southwest of Akhulgo, thus beginning the siege.

Shamil was now shut in with about 4000 people, of whom something over 1000 were fighting men {Baddeley does not explain why the women and children were not evacuated.}. Grabbe had about 6000 Russians and 3500 native militia. Seeing that those on the north bank were in a dangerous position, on the 14th he withdrew them to the south bank which was a mistake. On the night of 18/19 June the Murids occupied Ashitla without being noticed. Had they been more aggressive they might have accomplished something, but they were driven off the next morning.

Surkhay's Tower taken: At dawn on 29jun cannon opened up on Surkhay’s Tower with little effect. The assault began at 9AM. They got almost to the top but could go no further. The attack was called off at dusk with a loss of 300 men (36 killed), but the Murids had lost a larger share of their men. Heavier guns were brought up and on 04jul bombardment began which soon reduced the top to a mass of ruins. The Murids held out, the assaulting parties were withdrawn and the bombardment continued. Seeing no hope the few remaining defenders tried to slip through the Russian lines. When the final storming party reached the summit they found only a few wounded. The Russian loss on the final day was only 12 killed.

The main siege: The Russian lines were now shortened and they were relieved of fire from Surkhay’s Tower. The works were brought closer and new batteries set up. On 12jul 3500 reinforcements arrived. Grabbe now had 10,092 Russians and the native militia. Both sides were semi-besieged in that Shamil could bring some supplies from the north while Grabbe had to bring his supplies through dangerous country. His main problem was bringing artillery shells to batter the fortress. The third assault was set for 16jul. There would be three columns. The largest force would attack New Akhulgo {east} along a narrow ridge,, the second would assault Old Akhulgo {west} and the smallest force would penetrate the Ashitla canyon and swing one way or the other as circumstances permitted. Bombardment lasted from dawn to 2PM, the troops moved up and the attack began at 5PM. The eastern column took the first outwork on the ridge and were then confronted by a ditch that they knew nothing about. 600 men were now confined to a small space with cliffs on three sides and a narrow path back. They were only saved by darkness. If the attack had not started so late in the day it is unlikely that any would have survived. The center column penetrated some way into the gorge, drew heavy fire from Old Akhulgo on the left and a shower of rocks from New Akhulgo on the right and was forced to retreat. The western column accomplished nothing at Old Akhulgo. The attack was a total failure. The Russians lost 156 killed and 719 wounded while the defenders lost perhaps 150.

A whole month was spent improving the Russian position with only 100 men lost, but sanitary conditions were bad and the Russian force dwindled to 6000. Grabbe realized that Shamil was receiving supplies and re-enforcements from the north so on 04aug two battalions managed to cross the river and position themselves north of Akhulgo, thus completing the siege. A covered gallery was built with great difficulty toward New Akhulgo to bring up men secretly and safely. Shamil’s position worsened. He was drawing fire from all sides, water could only be gotten by climbing down the rock under fire, there was no wood for cooking, the sun was hot and it was difficult to bury the dead. Negotiations were attempted with no result.

Grabbe made the fourth assault on 17aug. The same three columns were used and the result was the same failure. 102 were killed, 162 wounded and 293 contused by thrown rocks and falls. But Shamil had lost a larger share of his men. He raised a white flag and sent his 12-year-old son as hostage The next day General Pullo was admitted to the rock for discussions, but it became clear that Shamil did not intend to surrender.



The fifth assault began on 21aug and again failed. The next morning the attack was renewed. The Russians met almost no resistance and gained possession of New Akhulgo. They found large numbers of fugitives scaling the opposite cliff or still climbing down to reach the bridge to Old Akhulgo. Tarasevich’s column entered the gorge, climbed up and captured the bridge and reached the top of Old Akhulgo before the garrison could stop them. The two day’s fighting cost the Russians 150 killed and 494 wounded. Since most who remained on the rock refused to surrender the fighting, or slaughter, continued for a week. Each house or cave had to be individually taken. Men were lowered on ropes to search the caves on the cliff side. Mothers killed their children, some flung themselves off cliffs, women and children attacked bayonets with rocks and daggers. Some pretended to surrender and then killed their captors. Tarasevich died this way. More than 1000 corpses were counted and there were 900 prisoners, mostly women, children and old men. By 29aug there was no one on the rock but Russians. The 80-day siege cost the Russians 512 killed, 1722 wounded and 694 contused, plus uncounted losses from disease. The Russians searched for Shamil’s body but could not find it. None of the prisoners could or would say where he was.

Shamil escapes: Shamil’s second wife Djavarat was killed during the siege and his sister Fatima threw herself off a cliff. On the night of 21/22aug, before New Akhulgo was abandoned, Shamil with his pregnant first wife Fatimat, their young son Khazi Mahommed and a few followers lowered themselves to a cave above the river. The next night they descended to the river, built a raft, loaded it with dummies and set it adrift. While the pickets were distracted they went downstream along the river bank and turned south up a ravine. They met a picket and killed the officer but Shamil and his small son were wounded. They returned to the river, bridged it with a plank {sic. Baddeley’s geography does not fit Google Earth.} and headed northwest. Within a year Shamil had re-established his rule in Chechnya and Dagestan. Grabbe withdrew from the mountains and dismissed his men to winter quarters. Akhulgo was never again inhabited.

references and notes
J. F. Baddeley, The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus,1908