up to 1000 people Russian army :

84th separate reconnaissance battalion
664th GRU special forces detachment

Losses

unknown

11 killed 40 wounded 4 armored vehicles destroyed

Battle of Duba-Yurt (also known as Battle at the Wolf Gate listen)) - episode of the Second Chechen War, which occurred in the village of Duba-Yurt and its surroundings on December 29-31, 1999. Part of the battle for the "Wolf Gate". During an attempt to establish control over the entrance to the Argun Gorge (the so-called “Wolf Gate”), reconnaissance groups of federal forces were ambushed by militants and were forced to retreat with losses. The militants retained their control over Duba-Yurt and the “Wolf Gate”.

Federal Command Plans

The “Western” group of federal troops under General Shamanov was ordered to drive the enemy out of a strategically important area. The only asphalt road to the mountainous regions of Chechnya runs here. According to the plans of the military leaders, the first strike was to be delivered by small units of GRU special forces and the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion of the armed forces. Their task is to secretly rise to the key heights of the Wolf Gate and gain a foothold there, and in the event of a retaliatory strike by the militants, hold out until the main forces arrive.

Militant positions

Near the gorge there was a village called Duba-Yurt, which belonged to the “negotiated” settlement, which meant that the residents observed neutrality. Accordingly, military operations by federal troops in Duba-Yurt were categorically prohibited, and violation of these conditions by our troops entailed criminal liability both for those who gave the order and for those who directly violated the peace agreements. Federal troops did not have the right to introduce military equipment into the treaty settlements, but in fact the agreement was observed only by the federal command, while local residents provided active support to Khattab’s forces.

Federal forces

To occupy the “Wolf Gate”, combined assault detachments were recruited from the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion and the 664th GRU special forces detachment. Each combined detachment, consisting of two GRU special forces groups, was assigned one reconnaissance group of the 84th reconnaissance battalion. There were three combined detachments in total, consisting of 6 special forces groups and 3 reconnaissance battalion groups. All combined detachments were commanded by officers of the 664th GRU special forces detachment.

GRU senior lieutenant Aralov was appointed commander of the 1st assault detachment "Aral". He was assigned to the reconnaissance group of Senior Lieutenant Solovyov “Romashka”.

The commander of the 2nd assault detachment "Baykul" was GRU senior lieutenant Baykulov. He was assigned to the reconnaissance group of senior lieutenant Klyandin “Owl”.

The commander of the 3rd assault detachment "Taras" was GRU senior lieutenant Tarasov. He was assigned to the reconnaissance group "Shark" of Lieutenant Mironov

The overall command of the operation was carried out by Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin. For the convenience of coordinating the actions of the groups, the management of the operation determined the same radio frequencies.

Reconnaissance in force December 29

The 84th battalion, together with special forces units, was tasked with finding out the number and location of militant forces in this area. The reconnaissance was supposed to be carried out in force. To complete the task, the reconnaissance battalion was tasked with occupying the heights above Duba-Yurt to ensure free access for motorized riflemen. The plan for subsequent actions was quite simple: use the data received, push the militants into the valley, and then destroy them in the open. According to the plan, special forces units were to move ahead, followed by reconnaissance groups, which periodically had to stop and wait for the infantry. The advance of the combined groups was supposed to be supported by aviation and artillery. The 160th tank regiment of Colonel Yu. Budanov was concentrated nearby.

On the night of December 29, a group of special forces rose to the heights and without a fight occupied the militant positions equipped there. Those, as usual, went to spend the night at bases located in the mountains. When the enemy patrol returned here in the morning, it came under fire from scouts. In response, the militants opened heavy fire on the special forces from small arms and mortars. Solovyov’s reconnaissance group “Romashka”, numbering 27 people on 2 infantry fighting vehicles, had to come to the aid of the special forces. Only after six hours of battle did the scouts manage to break through to the heights. The militants, taking the dead and wounded, retreated. Russian soldiers, by order of the operation commander, Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin, also returned to their original positions. During the battle on December 29, the special forces lost 1 person killed and 3 wounded. The scouts lost 2 people wounded.

Fight December 30

On December 30, the head of reconnaissance of the West group clarified the tasks of the prepared combined assault detachments. In the middle of the day, all three combined groups set out and the operation began. At 12.30, almost simultaneously, each on their own routes, the combined detachments “Aral” and “Baykul” began to advance. The Taras group was the last to leave. Motorized rifle units advanced behind the assault detachments. Already at this stage, the commanders gradually realized that the militants were listening to radio communications and were well aware of the assault plan. Ambushes awaited the attackers at the places identified on the map. The second combined detachment, which included “Baykul” and “Sova”, at this time found itself under fierce fire from mortars and anti-aircraft guns. Wherever the reconnaissance groups went, militants were waiting for them, greeting them with heavy fire.

Meanwhile, the Aral and Romashka groups safely reached the height from where the special forces were evacuated the day before. In the ravine they found caches of dead militants, hastily covered with fresh leaves. By nightfall, the militants ceased fire - they probably received orders to gather at the entrance to the “Wolf Gate” - the village of Duba-Yurt. "Baykul", which was in front at some distance from the "Sova" group, discovered the movement of several groups of militants towards the village of Duba-Yurt. In the darkness, a line of luminous points flocked to Duba-Yurt.

Fight December 31

At 4 a.m. on December 31, the group’s headquarters received information that the “Taras” detachment Art. Lieutenant Tarasov, who was operating in close proximity to the village of Duba-Yurt, was ambushed and blocked by militants. The command sets the task for the reserve of the 84th reconnaissance battalion - the reconnaissance group of senior lieutenant Shlykov (call sign "Nara") to move to the southern outskirts of Duba-Yurt and take up defensive positions at level 420.1 in order to prevent the militants from breaking through. All motorized rifle units at that moment were carrying out tasks to block the heights east of the village. The shortest route to mark 420.1 passed through Duba-Yurt. The Nara group was given the task of staying in the specified area until the main forces of motorized rifles arrived, while the combined assault detachments would destroy the militants in the direction of the Taras group. As it became known later, the Taras group did not go to the indicated area, getting confused in the search for heights. They did not transmit any signals about the encirclement to the group’s command post. It was impossible to identify the voice. Obviously, the militants prepared disinformation on air in advance.

“Nara”, under the command of the deputy commander of the 2nd reconnaissance company for educational work, senior lieutenant Vladimir Shlykov, on three BMP-2s in the amount of 29 people, began to move out of the initial area in the direction of Duba-Yurt at about 6 am. The village was covered in thick fog, visibility was almost zero.

The infantry fighting vehicles moved in almost complete darkness and thick fog. The camouflage lights were turned off. When entering the village - an order to stop. The group commander, having contacted the operation command, asked for confirmation of his actions in conditions of limited visibility of the area. We waited for about twenty minutes. Then again the command: “Forward!”

Having passed the column 400 meters into the village, the militants simultaneously opened fire on the scouts with everything they had. The first shot from a grenade launcher hit the lead BMP-2, in which Senior Lieutenant Shlykov was located. Private Sergei Voronin, who was next to the commander, was fatally wounded in the stomach. Under crossfire, the scouts dismounted, taking up a perimeter defense. It was not possible to determine the specific locations of the militants.

Yuri Babarin, in 1999 a private, senior intelligence officer of the 84th ORB, tells:

“It felt like the mountains came to life, that is, shooting began from all sides, gunfire. They beat us with every type of weapon you can think of. Machine guns, grenade launchers. We just lay there for almost two hours, unable to raise our heads. Their calculation was probably that while it was dark, they would knock out one “bekha” (BMP) and the other... They prepared thoroughly. There probably wasn’t an empty square meter there, because there was either a mine or a grenade launcher shell. There were definitely 10 kilograms of lead for every square meter.”

The artillery could not provide high-quality cover due to poor visibility. In the village, the Russian column was shot at from grenade launchers, the soldiers were knocked out by snipers. The airwaves were filled with cries for help. However, it turned out to be impossible to use aviation, since Duba-Yurt was covered with a thick veil of fog. “Akula” came to the aid of Shlykov, but the second column was immediately fired upon upon entering the village. The scouts dispersed and began to fire back. When one of the Nara group’s infantry fighting vehicles was hit, its commander, Sergeant Ryakhovsky, ordered the gunner to leave through the airborne squad, and he himself opened fire on the militants surrounding him. The footage taken by the militants themselves shows that no one dares to approach the burning car; the militants are staying close to the shelter. After several direct hits on the BMP, the ammunition exploded. Ryakhovsky burned alive, covering his comrades to the last. The mechanic-driver of the same car, Private Nikolai Adamov, was struck by a sniper’s bullet. The squad commander, Junior Sergeant Shander, was wounded and fought until a second grenade launcher shot ended his life. Private Mikhail Kurochkin, grenade launcher of the Nara group:

“The snipers were working on us. The fire came from all sides. We saw militants descending from the mountains into the village. They also shot at us from the houses of this village. The fire was so dense that the bullets scattered wires over the road. Our second “beha” was not yet on fire, its machine gunner was firing. The grenade launcher of the “spirits” crawled closer to her - the first shot ricocheted and exploded behind the houses. The second hit the BMP turret. Sergei Yaskevich dies there; his right leg is torn off. Until the last seconds of his life, he asked for help on the radio, and he died with headphones on his head. Our dead and wounded lay around this infantry fighting vehicle.”

At this time, at the location of the 84th reconnaissance battalion, it was decided to pull out the Nara group from Duba-Yurt. The remnants of the reconnaissance battalion came forward to help the dying colleagues: signalmen, cooks, sick and wounded people - 30-40 people, armed with AK-74U close-combat machine guns.

At this time, the 160th Tank Regiment of Colonel Yuri Budanov was stationed three kilometers from Duba-Yurt. As Lieutenant Colonel of the tank regiment Oleg Metelsky later recalled: “Our regiment was given an order not to open fire on Duba-Yurt, since it is a peaceful village.”. Major of the 84th reconnaissance battalion Sergei Polyakov went there to ask for a tractor to evacuate the damaged infantry fighting vehicles in the village. The groups trapped in the ring of militants were supported by the battalion commander of the 160th tank regiment, Vladimir Pakov. With the tacit consent of Colonel Budanov, Pakov sent 2 T-64 tanks with crews of officers to the battlefield. By evening, a third tank joined them. According to the commander of the Romashka reconnaissance group, Solovyov, the soldiers would not have been able to leave the ring without the support of tanks. Apparently, the militants were not expecting tanks in the village, so their appearance caused confusion and turned the tide of the battle. The tanks opened fire on the positions of the militants in the village, and under their cover, the Akula group on an infantry fighting vehicle managed to break through to the encircled Nara group and begin evacuating the wounded. The militants sandwiched the last vehicle of the Akula group with BelAZ trucks, intending to cut off the escape route. The mechanic-driver, private Eldar Kurbanaliev, and junior sergeant Mikhail Sergeev, died. The surviving infantry fighting vehicles fired several smoke grenades towards the village. Under the cover of smoke, the remnants of the scouts with the wounded were able to escape from the fire bag. Six hours of fierce battle practically destroyed the center of the village. It was not possible to evacuate damaged equipment and several killed soldiers

Not far from the village, in an open field, a first aid post was quickly set up. The wounded were unloaded directly into the mud. Doctors here provided them with first aid and sent them to the infirmary.

Almost simultaneously with the shooting of the convoy in Duba-Yurt, the militants began to intensively fire at the scouts and special forces who were in the mountains. After a night break, their anti-aircraft gun resumed fire. We had to call aviation and request fire from the artillery battalion, which was stationed in Starye Atagi. The attack aircraft, due to the dense fire of the militants and poor visibility, were unable to perform high-quality targets. The artillery of the federal troops partially suppressed the enemy's firing points, but did not create barrage fire and soon ceased to operate.

Consequences of the battle

The losses of the reconnaissance battalion amounted to 10 people killed, 29 seriously wounded and 12 lightly wounded people who refused to go to the hospital. The irreparable losses of armored vehicles were: BMP-2 - 3 units, BRM-1 K - 1 unit. A few months later, another participant in the battle in Duba-Yurt from the Nara group died in the hospital.

The next day, January 1, the militants still continued to hold the village. Duba-Yurt. A few days later, the dead were exchanged. Private Mikhail Kurochkin, took part in the battle as part of the Nara group:

“Three days have passed. The special forces brought the corpses of militants for exchange. I was sent to identify the dead. I knew Seryozha Voronin well. Shortly before this operation, he and I made tattoos on our hands. The dead lie dead: the heads of the contract soldiers were cut off, and the ears of the conscripts were cut off. Seryozhka’s face is stretched out, covered in dirt, his ears are missing - they cut them off. The face is unrecognizable, it is so disfigured. At first I recognized him by his jacket. I say: “Cut the jacket on your left hand.” If it’s a tattoo, it’s him.” They cut it... This is Seryozhka Voronin. I was shaking all over, wobbling, it was so scary...”

A few weeks after the execution of the second company of the reconnaissance battalion in Duba-Yurt, special forces destroyed a detachment of militants in the mountains of the Argun Gorge. Among the trophies was a recording of the battle, filmed by the militants. The footage, which was filmed from about three hundred meters above the village, shows episodes of the battle in Duba-Yurt on December 31, 1999 and the morning of January 1, 2000, when the bandits examined the remains of burnt equipment and the corpses of Russian soldiers. The video footage taken by the militants shows what the battlefield looked like: burned cars, the bodies of dead soldiers whom their comrades could not pull out from the battlefield.

During the assault, the courage of Russian privates and officers was demonstrated, but the operation was obviously unsuccessful. The detachments entered into battle with an enemy superior in numbers, weapons and technical equipment. The inertia of management in decision making also played a sad role. In some cases, assistance was not provided to groups dying under fire for fear of being punished for unauthorized actions; orders were not given in a timely manner.

Suspicions of betrayal of command

After the defeat of the Nara group of the 84th reconnaissance battalion, a strong belief emerged among the soldiers that they had been betrayed by the command. The commander of the “Romashka” group, A. Soloviev, admits in his interview that already at the stage of preparing the operation, he was faced with the inexplicable behavior of the command, namely Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin. To this day, he does not understand why the commanders were taken to Duba-Yurt itself for reconnaissance, because the actions were planned to be carried out at the heights. Certain fragments of phrases conveyed by the major suggest the idea of ​​betrayal in the circles of command.

Senior Lieutenant Alexander Solovyov says:

“While we were looking at the ridges and hills on the outskirts of the village, Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin took several pistol magazines, a couple of grenades, signal flares and one of us, Senior Lieutenant Tarasov. The lieutenant colonel told us: “I’ll go to the Duba-Yurt commandant’s office and find out the situation in the village. If you see a red rocket, save me.” Mitroshkin had everything at that moment: a map, radio frequency numbers on which we later worked, our call signs, a communication diagram with artillery and aviation. The lieutenant colonel left for Duba-Yurt in the same way as General Verbitsky, transferring to a Chechen jeep. When the lieutenant colonel and senior lieutenant returned about 40 minutes later, Mitroshkin told us: “We’re leaving here quickly!” Tarasov was pouring sweat. We ask him: “Why are you sweating so much?..” He replied: “In this village everyone is armed to the teeth and dressed in NATO uniform.” - “Have you even found a commandant?..” - “What kind of commandant could there be?!” Then, when all of us had dispersed, I lingered and heard Mitroshkin say to Tarasov: “Senior Lieutenant Tarasov, I’ll clarify the task for you.” Involuntarily I heard this clarification: “Chechen intelligence officers will work with you tonight.” I remember I was very surprised: what kind of intelligence officers could the Chechens have???” A little later, the command lined up scouts at the foot of the mountains - so that all three reconnaissance detachments, which were to carry out a secret mission, were clearly visible to the militants holed up in the mountains. It was even possible to count our scouts by their heads... On the same day, on the hills of the Argun Gorge, they were all ambushed. And the next day - a new order: “Forward, there!”.

Another participant, Vladimir Pakov, claims that he knows both the commander of the “West” group and Lieutenant Colonel Miroshkin himself and other commanders well and does not believe in their betrayal. In his opinion, the militants, having more advanced communication devices at their disposal, tuned in to the frequency, which is confirmed by the facts of the radio game during the assault.

However, after a bloody battle, the command of the reconnaissance battalion expected a new battle - a battle with the investigators of the special department. Alexander Solovyov alone was called in for questioning about eleven times, and, according to him, they were subjected to extreme psychological pressure. It turned out that there were no official orders for the reconnaissance operation on December 29-31, 1999, and they tried to lay the blame for the deaths and failure of the assault on the immediate commanders. They were especially interested in the candidacy of Pakov, who unauthorizedly used tanks and had a decisive influence on the outcome of the battle.

Sergeant Oleg Kuchinsky recalls:

“Very soon officers from the group’s command and the special department entered the tent. They were looking for switchmen. ...They listened to us for about thirty minutes and realized that we needed to quickly leave here, otherwise there would be trouble in this tent. We understood that we needed to restrain those guys so that they wouldn’t do anything crazy now. Otherwise there will be trouble. If they go to the headquarters and someone tells them something wrong, but everyone has machine guns, machine guns... They will stand in front of this command post - and it’s only a kilometer and a half walk to the command post... They will destroy everything there. Well, everyone felt, everyone felt that it was a betrayal.”

The question of the militants' awareness of all the actions of Russian groups was raised already in the first days of the battle, and even the reason for such awareness was revealed - the availability of radio frequencies. However, there was no solution to the problem. Attempts to blame the death of fighters on their immediate commanders also particularly demonstrate the fear of the top leadership for their own well-being. Against the backdrop of everything that happened, it is not surprising that the majority of combatants to this day consider the tragedy that took place in the Argun Gorge to be a betrayal.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Battle of Duba-Yurt (1999)

“Taisez vous, mauvaise langue,” said Dolgorukov. – It’s not true, now there are already two Russians: Miloradovich and Dokhturov, and there would be a 3rd, Count Arakcheev, but his nerves are weak.
“However, Mikhail Ilarionovich, I think, came out,” said Prince Andrei. “I wish you happiness and success, gentlemen,” he added and left, shaking hands with Dolgorukov and Bibilin.
Returning home, Prince Andrei could not resist asking Kutuzov, who was silently sitting next to him, what he thought about tomorrow’s battle?
Kutuzov looked sternly at his adjutant and, after a pause, answered:
“I think that the battle will be lost, and I told Count Tolstoy so and asked him to convey this to the sovereign.” What do you think he answered me? Eh, mon cher general, je me mele de riz et des et cotelettes, melez vous des affaires de la guerre. [And, dear general! I’m busy with rice and cutlets, and you are busy with military affairs.] Yes... That’s what they answered me!

At 10 o'clock in the evening, Weyrother with his plans moved to Kutuzov's apartment, where a military council was appointed. All the commanders of the columns were requested to see the commander-in-chief, and, with the exception of Prince Bagration, who refused to come, everyone appeared at the appointed hour.
Weyrother, who was the overall manager of the proposed battle, presented with his liveliness and haste a sharp contrast with the dissatisfied and sleepy Kutuzov, who reluctantly played the role of chairman and leader of the military council. Weyrother obviously felt himself at the head of a movement that had become unstoppable. He was like a harnessed horse running away downhill with its cart. Whether he was driving or being driven, he did not know; but he rushed as fast as possible, no longer having time to discuss what this movement would lead to. Weyrother that evening was twice for personal inspection in the enemy’s chain and twice with the sovereigns, Russian and Austrian, for a report and explanations, and in his office, where he dictated the German disposition. He, exhausted, now came to Kutuzov.
He, apparently, was so busy that he forgot to even be respectful to the commander-in-chief: he interrupted him, spoke quickly, unclearly, without looking into the face of his interlocutor, without answering the questions asked of him, was stained with dirt and looked pitiful, exhausted, confused and at the same time arrogant and proud.
Kutuzov occupied a small noble castle near Ostralitsy. In the large living room, which became the office of the commander-in-chief, gathered: Kutuzov himself, Weyrother and members of the military council. They were drinking tea. They were only waiting for Prince Bagration to begin the military council. At 8 o'clock Bagration's orderly arrived with the news that the prince could not be there. Prince Andrei came to report this to the commander-in-chief and, taking advantage of the permission previously given to him by Kutuzov to be present at the council, remained in the room.
“Since Prince Bagration will not be there, we can begin,” said Weyrother, hastily getting up from his place and approaching the table on which a huge map of the surrounding area of ​​Brünn was laid out.
Kutuzov, in an unbuttoned uniform, from which, as if freed, his fat neck floated out onto the collar, sat in a Voltaire chair, placing his plump old hands symmetrically on the armrests, and was almost asleep. At the sound of Weyrother's voice, he forced his only eye open.
“Yes, yes, please, otherwise it’s too late,” he said and, nodding his head, lowered it and closed his eyes again.
If at first the members of the council thought that Kutuzov was pretending to be asleep, then the sounds that he made with his nose during the subsequent reading proved that at that moment for the commander-in-chief it was about much more important than the desire to show his contempt for the disposition or for anything else. be that as it may: for him it was about the irrepressible satisfaction of a human need - sleep. He was really asleep. Weyrother, with the movement of a man too busy to waste even one minute of time, looked at Kutuzov and, making sure that he was sleeping, took the paper and in a loud, monotonous tone began to read the disposition of the future battle under the title, which he also read:
"Disposition to attack the enemy position behind Kobelnitsa and Sokolnitsa, November 20, 1805."
The disposition was very complex and difficult. The original disposition stated:
Da der Feind mit seinerien linken Fluegel an die mit Wald bedeckten Berge lehnt und sich mit seinerien rechten Fluegel laengs Kobeinitz und Sokolienitz hinter die dort befindIichen Teiche zieht, wir im Gegentheil mit unserem linken Fluegel seinen rechten sehr debordiren, so ist es vortheilhaft let zteren Fluegel des Feindes zu attakiren, besondere wenn wir die Doerfer Sokolienitz und Kobelienitz im Besitze haben, wodurch wir dem Feind zugleich in die Flanke fallen und ihn auf der Flaeche zwischen Schlapanitz und dem Thuerassa Walde verfolgen koennen, indem wir dem Defileen von Schlapanitz und Bellowitz ausweich en, welche die feindliche Front decken. Zu dieserien Endzwecke ist es noethig... Die erste Kolonne Marieschirt... die zweite Kolonne Marieschirt... die dritte Kolonne Marieschirt... [Since the enemy rests his left wing on the forest-covered mountains, and with his right wing he stretches along Kobelnitsa and Sokolnitsa behind the ponds located there, and we On the contrary, if our left wing surpasses his right wing, then it is advantageous for us to attack this last enemy wing, especially if we occupy the villages of Sokolnits and Kobelnits, being given the opportunity to attack the enemy’s flank and pursue him in the plain between Shlapanits and the Tyuras forest, avoiding with those defiles between Shlapanitz and Belowitz, which covered the enemy front. For this purpose it is necessary... The first column marches... the second column marches... the third column marches...], etc., Weyrother read. The generals seemed reluctant to listen to the difficult disposition. The blond, tall General Buxhoeveden stood with his back against the wall, and, fixing his eyes on the burning candle, it seemed that he was not listening and did not even want to be thought that he was listening. Directly opposite Weyrother, fixing his shining open eyes on him, in a militant pose, resting his hands with his elbows outstretched on his knees, sat the ruddy Miloradovich with his mustache and shoulders raised. He remained stubbornly silent, looking into Weyrother’s face, and only took his eyes off him when the Austrian chief of staff fell silent. At this time, Miloradovich looked significantly back at the other generals. But from the meaning of this significant glance it was impossible to understand whether he agreed or disagreed, was pleased or dissatisfied with the disposition. Count Langeron sat closest to Weyrother and, with a subtle smile of a southern French face that did not leave him throughout the reading, looked at his thin fingers, quickly turning the corners of a golden snuffbox with a portrait. In the middle of one of the longest periods, he stopped the rotating movement of the snuffbox, raised his head and, with an unpleasant politeness at the very ends of his thin lips, interrupted Weyrother and wanted to say something; but the Austrian general, without interrupting his reading, frowned angrily and waved his elbows, as if saying: later, then you will tell me your thoughts, now if you please look at the map and listen. Langeron raised his eyes upward with an expression of bewilderment, looked back at Miloradovich, as if looking for an explanation, but, meeting Miloradovich’s significant, meaningless gaze, he sadly lowered his eyes and again began to twirl the snuffbox.
“Une lecon de geographie, [A lesson from geography,"] he said as if to himself, but loud enough to be heard.
Przhebyshevsky, with respectful but dignified courtesy, bent his ear to Weyrother, looking like a man absorbed in attention. Small in stature Dokhturov sat directly opposite Weyrother with a diligent and modest look and, bending over the laid out map, conscientiously studied the dispositions and the terrain unknown to him. Several times he asked Weyrother to repeat the words he had heard poorly and the difficult names of the villages. Weyrother fulfilled his wish, and Dokhturov wrote it down.
When the reading, which lasted more than an hour, was over, Langeron, again stopping his snuff-box and without looking at Weyrother or anyone in particular, began to talk about how difficult it was to carry out such a disposition, where the position of the enemy is supposed to be known, whereas this position could be we do not know, since the enemy is on the move. Langeron's objections were well-founded, but it was obvious that the purpose of these objections was primarily the desire to make General Weyrother feel, as self-confidently as schoolchildren reading his disposition, that he was dealing not only with fools, but with people who could learn in military affairs. When the monotonous sound of Weyrother’s voice fell silent, Kutuzov opened the chapter, like a miller who wakes up during a break in the soporific sound of the mill wheels, listened to what Langeron was saying, and, as if saying: “And you’re still talking about this nonsense!” hastily closed his eyes and lowered his head even lower.
Trying to insult Weyrother in his author's military pride as sarcastically as possible, Langeron argued that Bonaparte could easily attack, instead of being attacked, and as a result make this whole disposition completely useless. Weyrother responded to all objections with a firm, contemptuous smile, obviously prepared in advance for any objection, no matter what they said to him.
“If he could attack us, he would do it today,” he said.
“You therefore think that he is powerless,” said Langeron.
“A lot, if he has 40 thousand troops,” Weyrother answered with the smile of a doctor to whom a doctor wants to indicate a cure.
“In this case, he is going to his death, waiting for our attack,” Langeron said with a thin ironic smile, looking back at the nearest Miloradovich for confirmation.
But Miloradovich, obviously, at that moment was thinking least of all about what the generals were arguing about.
“Ma foi, [By God,” he said, “tomorrow we will see everything on the battlefield.”
Weyrother grinned again with that smile that said that it was funny and strange for him to meet objections from the Russian generals and to prove what not only he himself was too sure of, but what the emperors were sure of.
“The enemy has put out the fires, and a continuous noise is heard in his camp,” he said. - What does it mean? “Either he moves away, which is the only thing we should be afraid of, or he changes his position (he grinned). But even if he took a position in Tyuras, he only saves us from a lot of trouble, and all the orders, down to the smallest detail, remain the same.
“How then?” said Prince Andrei, who had been waiting for a long time for an opportunity to express his doubts.
Kutuzov woke up, cleared his throat heavily and looked around at the generals.
“Gentlemen, the disposition for tomorrow, even today (because it’s already the first hour), cannot be changed,” he said. “You heard her, and we will all do our duty.” And before a battle, there is nothing more important... (he paused) than getting a good night's sleep.
He pretended to stand up. The generals took their leave and left. It was already past midnight. Prince Andrei left.

The military council, at which Prince Andrei was not able to express his opinion, as he had hoped, left a vague and alarming impression on him. He did not know who was right: Dolgorukov and Weyrother or Kutuzov and Langeron and others who did not approve of the attack plan. “But was it really impossible for Kutuzov to directly express his thoughts to the sovereign? Can't this really be done differently? Is it really necessary to risk tens of thousands and my, my life for the sake of court and personal considerations?” he thought.
“Yes, it’s very possible they’ll kill you tomorrow,” he thought. And suddenly, at this thought of death, a whole series of memories, the most distant and most intimate, arose in his imagination; he remembered the last farewell to his father and wife; he remembered the first times of his love for her! He remembered her pregnancy, and he felt sorry for both her and himself, and in a nervously softened and excited state he left the hut in which he had stood with Nesvitsky and began to walk in front of the house.
The night was foggy, and moonlight mysteriously broke through the fog. “Yes, tomorrow, tomorrow! - he thought. “Tomorrow, perhaps, everything will be over for me, all these memories will no longer exist, all these memories will no longer have any meaning for me.” Tomorrow, maybe, even probably, tomorrow, I foresee it, for the first time I will finally have to show everything that I can do.” And he imagined the battle, its loss, the concentration of the battle on one point and the confusion of all the commanders. And now that happy moment, that Toulon, which he had been waiting for so long, finally appears to him. He firmly and clearly speaks his opinion to Kutuzov, Weyrother, and the emperors. Everyone is amazed at the correctness of his idea, but no one undertakes to carry it out, and so he takes a regiment, a division, pronounces a condition so that no one will interfere with his orders, and leads his division to the decisive point and alone wins. What about death and suffering? says another voice. But Prince Andrei does not answer this voice and continues his successes. The disposition of the next battle is made by him alone. He holds the rank of army duty officer under Kutuzov, but he does everything alone. The next battle was won by him alone. Kutuzov is replaced, he is appointed... Well, and then? another voice speaks again, and then, if you are not wounded, killed or deceived ten times before; Well, then what? “Well, then,” Prince Andrei answers himself, “I don’t know what will happen next, I don’t want and can’t know: but if I want this, I want fame, I want to be known to people, I want to be loved by them, then It’s not my fault that I want this, that this alone is what I want, this alone is what I live for. Yes, for this alone! I'll never tell anyone this, but oh my God! What should I do if I love nothing but glory, human love? Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear or dear many people are to me - my father, sister, wife - the most dear people to me - but, no matter how scary and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love for to myself people whom I do not know and will not know, for the love of these people,” he thought, listening to the conversation in Kutuzov’s yard. In Kutuzov's yard the voices of the orderlies were heard; one voice, probably the coachman, teasing the old Kutuzovsky cook, whom Prince Andrei knew, and whose name was Titus, said: “Titus, what about Titus?”
“Well,” answered the old man.
“Titus, go thresh,” said the joker.
“Ugh, to hell with it,” a voice rang out, covered by the laughter of the orderlies and servants.
“And yet I love and treasure only the triumph over all of them, I treasure this mysterious power and glory that floats above me here in this fog!”

That night Rostov was with a platoon in the flanker chain, ahead of Bagration’s detachment. His hussars were scattered in chains in pairs; he himself rode on horseback along this line of chain, trying to overcome the sleep that was irresistibly pushing him over. Behind him he could see a huge expanse of our army’s fires burning dimly in the fog; ahead of him was foggy darkness. No matter how much Rostov peered into this foggy distance, he saw nothing: sometimes it turned gray, sometimes something seemed black; then lights seemed to flash where the enemy should be; then he thought that it was only shining in his eyes. His eyes closed, and in his imagination he imagined first the sovereign, then Denisov, then Moscow memories, and again he hastily opened his eyes and close in front of him he saw the head and ears of the horse on which he was sitting, sometimes the black figures of the hussars when he was six steps away I ran into them, and in the distance there was still the same foggy darkness. "From what? It’s very possible, thought Rostov, that the sovereign, having met me, will give an order, like any officer: he will say: “Go, find out what’s there.” Many people told how, quite by accident, he recognized some officer and brought him closer to him. What if he brought me closer to him! Oh, how I would protect him, how I would tell him the whole truth, how I would expose his deceivers,” and Rostov, in order to vividly imagine his love and devotion to the sovereign, imagined an enemy or deceiver of the German whom he enjoyed not only killed, but hit him on the cheeks in the eyes of the sovereign. Suddenly a distant cry woke up Rostov. He shuddered and opened his eyes.
"Where I am? Yes, in a chain: slogan and password – drawbar, Olmütz. What a shame that our squadron will be in reserves tomorrow... - he thought. - I’ll ask you to get involved. This may be the only opportunity to see the sovereign. Yes, it won't be long until the shift. I’ll go around again and when I return, I’ll go to the general and ask him.” He adjusted himself in the saddle and moved his horse to once again ride around his hussars. It seemed to him that it was brighter. On the left side one could see a gentle illuminated slope and the opposite, black hillock, which seemed steep, like a wall. On this hillock there was a white spot that Rostov could not understand: was it a clearing in the forest, illuminated by the moon, or the remaining snow, or white houses? It even seemed to him that something was moving along this white spot. “The snow must be a spot; spot – une tache,” thought Rostov. “Here you go…”
“Natasha, sister, black eyes. On... tashka (She will be surprised when I tell her how I saw the sovereign!) Natashka... take tashka...” “Straighten that, your honor, otherwise there are bushes,” said the voice of a hussar, past whom Rostov was passing, falling asleep. Rostov raised his head, which had already dropped to the horse’s mane, and stopped next to the hussar. A young child's dream irresistibly beckoned him. “Yeah, I mean, what was I thinking? - not forget. How will I speak to the sovereign? No, that’s not it – it’s tomorrow. Yes Yes! On the car, step on... stupid us - who? Gusarov. And the hussars with mustaches... This hussar with a mustache was riding along Tverskaya, I also thought about him, opposite Guryev’s very house... Old man Guryev... Eh, glorious little Denisov! Yes, all this is nonsense. The main thing now is that the sovereign is here. The way he looked at me, and I wanted to say something to him, but he didn’t dare... No, I didn’t dare. Yes, this is nothing, but the main thing is not to forget that I thought the right thing, yes. On - the car, we are - stupid, yes, yes, yes. This is good". - And he again fell with his head on the horse’s neck. Suddenly it seemed to him that they were shooting at him. "What? What? What!... Ruby! What?...” Rostov spoke, waking up. The moment he opened his eyes, Rostov heard in front of him, where the enemy was, the drawn-out cries of a thousand voices. His horses and the hussar standing next to him pricked their ears to these screams. At the place from which the screams were heard, one light came on and went out, then another, and along the entire line of French troops on the mountain, lights were lit, and the screams became more and more intensified. Rostov heard the sounds of French words, but could not make out them. There were too many voices buzzing. All you could hear was: ahhh! and rrrrr!
- What is this? What do you think? - Rostov turned to the hussar standing next to him. - It’s the enemy’s, isn’t it?
The hussar did not answer.
- Well, don't you hear? – After waiting quite a long time for an answer, Rostov asked again.
“Who knows, your honor,” the hussar answered reluctantly.
- Should there be an enemy in the area? - Rostov repeated again.
“It may be him, or it may be so,” said the hussar, “it’s a night thing.” Well! shawls! - he shouted at his horse, moving under him.
Rostov's horse was also in a hurry, kicking the frozen ground, listening to the sounds and looking closely at the lights. The screams of voices grew stronger and stronger and merged into a general roar that could only be produced by an army of several thousand. The fires spread more and more, probably along the line of the French camp. Rostov no longer wanted to sleep. The cheerful, triumphant cries from the enemy army had an exciting effect on him: Vive l"empereur, l"empereur! [Long live the Emperor, Emperor!] was now clearly heard by Rostov.
- It’s not far, it must be beyond the stream? - he said to the hussar standing next to him.
The hussar only sighed, without answering, and cleared his throat angrily. Along the line of hussars the tramp of a horse riding at a trot was heard, and from the night fog the figure of a hussar non-commissioned officer suddenly appeared, appearing like a huge elephant.
- Your honor, generals! - said the non-commissioned officer, approaching Rostov.
Rostov, continuing to look back at the lights and shouts, rode with the non-commissioned officer towards several horsemen riding along the line. One was on a white horse. Prince Bagration with Prince Dolgorukov and his adjutants went to see the strange phenomenon of lights and screams in the enemy army. Rostov, having approached Bagration, reported to him and joined the adjutants, listening to what the generals were saying.
“Believe me,” said Prince Dolgorukov, turning to Bagration, “that this is nothing more than a trick: he retreated and ordered the rearguard to light fires and make noise in order to deceive us.”
“Hardly,” said Bagration, “I saw them on that hill in the evening; If they left, they left there. Mr. Officer,” Prince Bagration turned to Rostov, “are his flankers still standing there?”
“We’ve been standing there since the evening, but now I don’t know, your Excellency.” Order, I will go with the hussars,” said Rostov.
Bagration stopped and, without answering, tried to make out Rostov’s face in the fog.

Chechen trap [Between betrayal and heroism] Prokopenko Igor Stanislavovich

Chapter 13 Wolf Gate

Wolf Gate

The events that will be discussed are included in one of the darkest pages of the Chechen war. On December 31, 1999, on the outskirts of the village of Duba-Yurt, a company of the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion of federal troops was shot. The massacre took place at the entrance to the Argun Gorge. It is formed by two ridges of dominant heights. They have long been nicknamed the Wolf Gate. A bad place. Our Russian boys met death here...

Beginning of December 1999. During these days, army intelligence reported: almost 3 thousand well-armed and trained militants under the command of Khattaba. The western group of federal troops was ordered to drive the enemy out of a strategically important area. The only asphalt road to the mountainous regions of Chechnya runs here. According to the plans of the military leaders, the first strike was to be delivered by small units of GRU special forces and the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion of the armed forces. Their task is to secretly rise to the key heights of the Wolf Gate and gain a foothold there, and in the event of a retaliatory strike by the militants, hold out until the main forces arrive. Everything seems simple. But from the very beginning the operation followed a completely different scenario.

On the night of December 29, the special forces rose to the heights and without a fight occupied the militant positions equipped there. Those, as usual, went to spend the night at bases located in the mountains. When the enemy patrol returned here in the morning, it came under bullets from scouts. The next moment the mountains seemed to come to life...

My interlocutor - Gennady Bernatsky, in 1999 senior lieutenant, platoon commander of the 84th battalion. Here's what he said:

“The shooting started. They began to attack them with mortars. They killed the deputy commander... This special forces was from an airborne training brigade, the deputy commander was a major. A sniper killed him, and a sniper killed the soldier too.”

Gennady Bernatsky went in one of the reconnaissance groups to help the special forces. Note that such groups are designed and specially trained for covert actions behind enemy lines. And then, like infantry, they were deployed in a chain and rushed to storm heights infested with militants. The next moment, Khattab’s snipers began to methodically target the targeted points.

Gennady Bernatsky continues his story:

“It turned out to be a very interesting picture. Half of the guys sit in front - there is a forest in front of the road - and half sit in the back. And it turned out like this: here’s a stump, a clean place, and that means I’m lying behind it. And the sniper hits and hits. It’s once over your head, twice over your head..."

It was impossible to make out where the militants were shooting from. How many there are - one can only guess. It will soon become clear that over the course of several years they built an entire fortified area on the Wolf Heights. So, we were waiting in the wings...

Tells Gennady Bernatsky:

“During the period from 1997 to 1999, they buried trailers at heights, dug pits there, lowered trailers with loopholes into them, all this was compacted, trees and bushes were planted on top of it all, in two years it, naturally, all grew, It was possible to fire from there.”

Militants suddenly appeared from underground. There were more and more of them. The scouts requested assistance from artillery and aviation. But they failed to gain a foothold at the heights. Soon the first wounded appeared.

Oleg Kuchinsky fought in Chechnya during the first campaign. Then, after one serious scrape, their unit was accused of failure to comply with orders. Since then, Oleg has not parted with the recorder. He recorded all the fights in which he participated. Just in case. Everything that happened in those hours at the Wolf Gate can be heard on the film he kept.

That battle lasted almost 6 hours. Under heavy fire, the scouts continued to push forward. The order is to find the bleeding special forces and pull them out from the heights.

From the combat log of the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion (ORB):

"December 29th. During the mission, one of the reconnaissance groups was ambushed. A second reconnaissance group advanced to provide assistance and evacuation... Having completed the assigned task, the unit returned to the original area. Personnel losses - two wounded."

The next day, the scouts were alerted and, together with the special forces, were again rushed into the assault. They acted in three groups. The task of each is to master one of the three heights of the Wolf Gate. From there you can clearly see the entrance to the Argun Gorge near the village of Duba-Yurt.

The “Romashka” reconnaissance group operated at the left height. The day before, artillery and aviation were working along this slope. Their work was clearly visible in the trenches abandoned by the militants: spent cartridges and bloody bandages everywhere. The bandits dragged the wounded with them. And the bodies of the dead were buried here and covered with fallen leaves. This is defeat Khattab will still remember our military...

“December 30, 1999. The reconnaissance group... captured small arms, an 82-mm mortar and a large amount of ammunition.”

The central height was stormed by the SOVA reconnaissance group. The militants played a cunning game with the scouts. They fired from machine guns and began to go deeper into the forest. They did not engage in combat. Lured into a trap. This happened often during that war. It was the handwriting of the Black Arab - Khattaba. Oleg Kuchinsky Such tricks were familiar from the first campaign.

Tells Oleg Kuchinsky, in 1999 Sergeant, sniper of the 84th ORB:

“We hear that the machine gunners are retreating - well, by the sound of shots. We did not return fire because we wanted to create a defense. And they didn’t want to reveal themselves either in quantity or in direction. I say: “Guys, this is repeating Khattab’s method. They drag us into the gorge, and there they will either shoot us from the heights or cover us with mortars. Let's get out of here."

The idea was not to pursue the militants, which they strenuously sought, but to go to the right and up to the heights.

The slope there was steep. Each reconnaissance aircraft carried about 30 kilograms of ammunition. But they were expected there too...

Oleg Kuchinsky continues his story:

“Where we were supposed to gain a foothold in this gorge, there was a cut and trees fell there. What is this - can you imagine? Well, everything was mowed down there.”

The militants used anti-aircraft guns, or zushki, a twin automatic aircraft cannon. Rate of fire over 600 rounds per minute, enormous destructive power. “Zushki” were often captured from militants.

Something else was worse. Wherever the reconnaissance groups went, militants were waiting for them, greeting them with heavy fire. And then a guess arose: the enemy is aware of the Owl’s movements!! But the scouts have orders to go to the designated area. And then the fighters decide to test their assumptions. Before reaching the indicated point, they radio: “The group is in place.”

Tells Oleg Kuchinsky:

“In the place where we should be, mines began to fall. Imagine - there are mines where we should be! But our radio was silent!”

How do the militants know the exact coordinates of the scouts? Only the staff and the group commander know about this. Is it really a leak from our own?

Oleg Kuchinsky continues the story:

“We didn’t talk on the radio anymore. We got together and started thinking: where did the mines come from, who knew that we were supposed to be at this height, in this place? Well, we all thought about it and decided: guys, act only according to the situation.”

This decision violated the order, but thanks to it they just stayed alive. This often happened during that war, when information about their traitors was sold to militants for money or chatterboxes blurted out on the air. The militants had money and had the latest means of communication and radio intelligence. Everyone knew about it, but remembered it when it was too late...

This is what happened to the neighbors. The special forces group reached the indicated point and immediately reported it on the radio. The next moment, enemy mines fell on them. The militants prepared another trap for them: fake trenches.

Tells Oleg Kuchinsky:

“They climbed to this height and looked - there were trenches. And they lay down in these trenches. And the depth of the trenches is 50 cm. As soon as they lay there, mines immediately fell on them. And here on the air - “Owl, Owl, help!” And, of course, they are fired upon. And we’re already leaving this place.”

The soldiers of the "Sova" group rushed to the aid of their comrades. But you can’t really run uphill with a full load of ammunition. Already on the spot, a picture of the battle opened up in front of them.

Oleg Kuchinsky testifies:

“The wounded are lying on the ground. We can’t find the rest, they scattered along the edge of the height and lay there, waiting for a second shelling.”

A respite from the battle. Many wounded. They need to be evacuated to a safe place somehow. At night in the mountains infested with militants, this is almost unreal. The scouts took up defensive positions in order to make their way to their own in the morning. And then for some reason the bandits suddenly stopped firing. Apparently, they received orders to gather at the entrance to the Wolf Gate - to Duba-Yurt.

This was another treachery of the enemy. Duba-Yurt belonged to the category of so-called treaty villages. Local elders assured the command of the federal troops that they remained neutral and would not allow militants into the village. The military guaranteed that in this case they would not introduce troops and heavy equipment into the treaty settlements. But it was here at these hours that a cruel blow to our guys in the back was being prepared.

That night Khattab, this seasoned leader was biding his time. And he gathered his entire flock for the decisive throw. One of the reconnaissance groups from Wolf Heights saw what was happening down there. A line of luminous points flocked to Duba-Yurt. More than 700 of these fireflies. A simple but effective trick that militants were good at.

Tells Evgeny Lipatov, in 1999 :

“They hung these lanterns in front of them on a pole, on a stick. From the outside it feels like it’s being held in your hands. But in fact, they hung them a meter and a half in front of them. Well, that’s what they usually did if they were marching in a convoy at night.”

Overnight, more than a thousand heavily armed militants converged on Duba-Yurt. The scouts who remained at the heights persistently reported this to the command. But for some reason the information was ignored. As well as the decryption of radio communications of field commanders intercepted three days earlier. It followed from them that an ambush was being prepared in Duba-Yurt.

I talked to Yuri Babarin. In 1999 he was private, senior intelligence officer of the 84th ORB. He said:

“We reported that they were waiting for us in Duba-Yurt. That is, that there is movement going on there, negotiations are underway, they are being deciphered. There is no need, we say, for us to go there. They left the command in the dark. Well, the command, they have their own plans, their own views, probably.”

According to the developers of the operation, everything turned out to be simple. Reconnaissance groups and special forces knock out militants from the Wolf Heights into the valley. Here they are covered by the reserve second company of the 84th battalion, which wages an hour-long, maximum one-and-a-half-hour battle. The company is then replaced by larger motorized rifle units.

In reality, everything went wrong. Ignoring reports of an ambush, the second company is ordered to enter Duba-Yurt, although it could have bypassed the village. Almost three dozen fighters find themselves in a trap.

31th of December. 3 a.m. The second company of the 84th battalion is in reserve. At night she is alerted and ordered to move through Duba-Yurt towards the Wolf Gate. They leave in three infantry fighting vehicles, loaded to the brim with ammunition.

Tells Yuri Babarin, in 1999 :

“Usually orders are given literally a few minutes before the start of the operation, in a whisper, to avoid any leakage of information.”

But it seems that such secrecy no longer mattered. Twenty-nine scouts did not yet know that on the outskirts of Duba-Yurt several hundred well-armed and trained militants were waiting for them in ambush.

The infantry fighting vehicles moved in almost complete darkness and thick fog. Camouflage lights are turned off. When entering the village - an order to stop. Perhaps the group’s headquarters were still thinking about whether to send the company to Duba-Yurt or not. Or maybe someone was playing an invisible game, giving the militants time to take up firing positions. We waited for about twenty minutes. Then again the command: “Forward!” There were only a few tens of meters left to the line between life and death.

Tells Yuri Babarin:

“It felt like the mountains came to life, that is, shooting began from all sides, gunfire. They beat us with every type of weapon you can think of. Machine guns, grenade launchers. We just lay there for almost two hours, unable to raise our heads. Their calculation was probably such that while it was dark, they would shoot down one “bakha”, the other ... "

From the combat log of the 84th ORB:

“While advancing, the 2nd Company group fell into a prepared ambush, suffering significant losses.”

The militants learned that the company would enter Duba-Yurt no less than 24 hours in advance. Otherwise, they simply would not have had time to bring such an incredible amount of ammunition here.

Yuri Babarin continues his story:

“They prepared thoroughly. There probably wasn’t an empty square meter there, because there was either a mine or a grenade launcher shell. There were exactly 10 kilograms of lead for every square meter. It’s just some kind of miracle that they weren’t hit or wounded.”

Surviving that massacre truly turned out to be a miracle. The militants showered the scouts with fire almost until dawn. After the battle, out of twenty-nine people, nine remained in the 2nd company.

Yuri Babarin testifies:

“We crawled up, we see two of our soldiers lying, Seryozha Yatskevich and Sasha Zakhvatov. We crawl past, and I see: his eyes are open, he’s lying down, looking to the side. I say: “Sasha, that’s enough, I say, come on, let’s crawl away little by little.” He lies there, says nothing, his eyes are only open. I say: “Sash, are you alive or wounded?” Only then did I realize that the man was already dead.”

Bodies Alexander Zakhvatov and Sergei Yatskevich The scouts were never able to escape from the shelling. Only the next day they were exchanged for the corpses of dead militants.

This is how on December 31 in Duba-Yurt they finished off one of the 2nd company’s infantry fighting vehicles at point-blank range. When the vehicle was hit, its commander, Sgt. Ryakhovsky ordered the gunner to leave through the airborne compartment, and he himself opened fire on the militants surrounding him. The footage taken by the militants themselves shows that no one dares to approach the burning car; the militants are staying close to the shelter.

After several direct hits on the BMP, the ammunition exploded. Ryakhovsky burned alive, covering his comrades to the last.

Group Oleg Kuchinsky I was waiting for help. They were promised that in the morning they would be replaced by fresh motorized rifle units. But there were no motorized rifles at the appointed place.

As it turned out later, that morning they did not even receive an order to leave the unit. Aren't there a lot of strange coincidences? What is this? Someone's mistake? Ineffectiveness? Negligence? Betrayal? Or maybe revenge?! It will soon become clear that this may have been the case.

The sergeant tells Oleg Kuchinsky:

“They realized that we would walk hard, slowly, and they wanted to get around us on both sides, to encircle us. Well, whoever could, dragged the wounded. What is it like to drag a wounded person? Those who haven't worn it don't know. Because after 100 meters you can no longer hold your hands, the raincoat-tent just slips out of your hands, as if it were smeared with something. Naturally, we began to change. Those who are on defense come to us. We go into a perimeter defense and shoot back.”

The main forces of the militants operated in Duba-Yurt. But there were still small detachments of them in the mountains. Like seasoned wolves, they followed the trail of the scouts. Easy prey: in the mountains for more than a day, they have wounded on their hands, so they won’t go far. Meanwhile, in Duba-Yurt, the fate of the 2nd company was being decided in a fierce battle.

Oleg Kuchinsky continues his story:

“There was already a battle going on on the right. When there is a battle going on, you perceive everything in slow motion. And you see everything so well. You can sometimes even notice a bullet while flying. How it flies."

Group Oleg Kuchinsky continued to look for the motorized riflemen who were supposed to meet them. I went down closer to Duba-Yurt. Only from here did the scouts hear the sounds of battle and cries for help on the air.

Tells Oleg Kuchinsky:

“We understand: our guys are being shot there. They ask: “Help as much as you can.” We say: guys, let's gather the wounded, send them along the left side of the hill, and we ourselves will go to Duba-Yurt. We send the wounded and leave.”

The cruel truth of war: they could not help their own who were dying under the bullets of militants. They had no right. We did not receive an order to strike in the enemy's rear. Without knowing the plans of the command, it is dangerous to take risks. And the scouts continued to descend from the mountains. Meanwhile, in Duba-Yurt, the militants continued to shoot the 2nd company in cold blood.

When dawn broke, militant snipers, positioned on the slopes of the heights surrounding the village, came into action.

Tells Private Yuri Babarin:

“They started shooting us methodically. Where should we answer? Shoot at the mountains? The height there is probably 300 or 400 meters. And they had this whole area, the whole road was shot, nothing flew past, everything fell on us.”

The snipers were hiding on the slope. They acted professionally and hit anyone who found themselves in open areas. They seemed to mock the bleeding soldiers. A few minutes later, one of these snipers wounds Kuznetsov.

Tells Ivan Kuznetsov, in 1999 :

“The snipers hit them like this: here are the poles and wires. A couple of snipers were working. One hits the wire, the wire begins to fall, the second hits the same wire, and a piece practically falls under people’s feet. Can you imagine what kind of aces they had?”

At this time, the following happened at the battalion's location. It was decided to pull the 2nd company out of Duba-Yurt. But there are no more than three dozen souls available. And here's another problem. It turned out that the battalion had only one horn left per machine gun. The day before, everything was given to groups that went to the mountains and Duba-Yurt. It turned out that there were plenty of cartridges, but nothing to load them into.

Testifies Alexey Trofimov, in 1999 :

“There were very few people in the battalion, because the cooks went, the mechanics went, the drivers, the gunners went, everyone went.”

It's easy to say - pull it out. In Duba-Yurt there are many wounded, killed, and damaged military equipment.

That day the colonel rescued them Budanov. The tank regiment he commanded was located next to the 84th reconnaissance battalion. Major Sergey Polyakov I went there to ask for a tractor to evacuate the BMPs that had been knocked out in the village.

Tells Sergey Polyakov, in 1999 :

“I asked for a tractor. And he, in addition to this, also allocated a tank. That is, he set the task for the battalion commander to personally advance with a tank and a tractor to evacuate equipment and provide cover so that we could pull out this group.”

Meanwhile, the residents of Duba-Yurt behaved as if nothing was happening. And they really keep their word - they maintain neutrality, when on the outskirts of their negotiated village a battle has been going on for several hours.

Major Sergey Polyakov continues his story:

“When we approached Duba-Yurt, right where the fighting was already taking place, we rolled off the tower. Because the bullets, like peas, began to bounce off the armor. And we ran through the ditch to the wall, where we already had a group from the reconnaissance platoon.”

Later, the scouts took pictures near this wall. They are still surprised that a barrier of only half a brick could withstand such a barrage of fire.

Tells Alexey Trofimov, in 1999 warrant officer, sergeant major of the 84th ORB:

“This brick wall, behind which we stood, covered ourselves, it was salvation for us, because, frankly, they were tap dancing at us.”

Soon a tank from the regiment approached the battlefield Budanova. He fired several times from a cannon at the militants' firing positions. They quieted down a little. The battalion soldiers, who were hiding behind the wall, took advantage of this short respite and rushed to the rescue of their comrades from the second company.

But you can’t walk under continuous fire. It is dangerous to stay in an infantry fighting vehicle - they will burn you with grenade launchers. Then the scouts opened the rear hatches of the troop compartment and, hiding behind them, went forward. They violated the Combat Regulations, but this was the only opportunity to somehow hide from enemy bullets. However, it was not peaceful mountaineer shepherds who acted against them, but well-trained shooters. The snipers began to hit the scouts hidden behind the armor with ricochets from the asphalt.

Tells Alexey Trofimov:

“The professionals worked, fired off the asphalt, ricocheted. And a ricochet turns out to be not just a bullet wound, it is a fracture, that is, it hits the bone - and a fracture. Two people from my group received exactly these gunshot wounds from the asphalt.”

By the time we reached our own people, we lost several people. Now it was necessary to evacuate both those who were being rescued and those who were rescuing. The same ricochet seriously wounded an ensign Kuznetsova.

Tells Ivan Kuznetsov, in 1999 senior warrant officer, commander of the communications platoon of the 84th ORB:

“We ran for the armor, I fell. At first I didn’t understand what was going on, I stood up, forward again, stood on my right leg, fell again, and then a fountain of blood erupted from my right leg. I looked: there was a bullet hole there, on this side, on the left side of the right leg, a bone was sticking out, three fragments of these bones, there was a bullet hole through it. At first, for about one second, it was so easy for me, I didn’t feel it, then it started to burn strongly, and my leg practically gave out, I couldn’t walk.”

Kuznetsov was loaded into the landing compartment of the infantry fighting vehicle. They also put everyone they could reach here: the dead, the wounded - there was no time to sort it out. When the car began to back up to get out of the fire, the militants hit it with a shot from a grenade launcher.

Alexey Trofimov continues his story:

“My infantry fighting vehicle was hit, again, the grenade launcher hit me. If an infantry fighting vehicle is stationary and a shot hits the asphalt without injuring the vehicle, it interrupts the thrust with the blast wave. The car is running, the engine is working, everything is fine. Can I do what? Take her and steal her. Which is what they subsequently did.”

The armored vehicle lost control and crawled backwards. Kuznetsov I unfastened the magazine of the machine gun - it was empty. There was still a grenade in the unloading vest. And then the car stopped. Very close he heard the voices of people. I decided that the militants were looking for wounded scouts. He remembered that moment for the rest of his life.

Tells Ivan Kuznetsov:

“I took out a grenade, pulled the pin, put it under me and looked - someone was running up to the door, right close to the door, and at that moment, you know, I remembered my whole life in a second, I probably remembered from the first day, as I remember, and until the last. I see a hand sticking inside the BMP. I took out a grenade and extended my hand to this hatch. The hatch opens - and there it stands Trofimov Alexey".

Comrades Kuznetsova with difficulty they unclenched his fingers to pull out the grenade. The next moment, the militants rained down a barrage of fire on them. They did not want to lose an enviable trophy - an almost serviceable car. The scouts retreated. The body of their comrade, a private, remained in the BMP Sergei Voronin. Later, watching footage taken by the militants, the intelligence officers saw how they mocked the dead soldier.

Alexey Trofimov testifies:

“They dragged him into the toilet, to show him: “It’s not us,” they say, “they say, in the toilet, it’s not you who wet us, but it’s us who wet you in the toilet,” although the guy was in an infantry fighting vehicle.”

It was a terrible staging, immediately invented by the militants. Already dead Voronina they dragged him into the toilet, and allegedly “soaked” him here. Alexey Trofimov he still cannot forgive himself for never pulling the body of his comrade from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen wounded and the bodies of the dead were taken out of this inferno. Not far from the village, in an open field, a first aid post was quickly set up. The wounded were unloaded directly into the muddy mud. Doctors here provided them with first aid and sent them to the infirmary. A Trofimov with his driver-mechanic was already returning to Duba-Yurt.

Major Sergei Polyakov remembers in great detail how the events of that day unfolded in Duba-Yurt. He tells:

“They shot from here and from there, that is, they were already taking us into a circle. And, apparently, they had the task of closing this circle.”

The militants concentrated fire on the road. A shallow ditch ran along it - the only place where the scouts could escape. The militants could not reach them in this shelter.

My interlocutor - Evgeny Lipatov, in 1999 junior sergeant, squad commander of the 84th ORB. He tells:

“All the wounded were gathered there. And as soon as we got to them, they started hitting us. Well, then they tried to get someone else out, when all the wounded had already been collected, only the dead remained there, from the first car, who were lying there.”

For some moments the militants weakened the fire. Then one of the infantry fighting vehicles made its way to the ditch. The wounded and dead were loaded into the landing compartment. The car managed to escape from the fire. And the fighters from the ditch, running under fire, returned to the wall.

The main forces of the militants were compressing the encirclement. They apparently already considered the destruction of the company a done deal and shouted on the radio that the Russians were finished. At this decisive moment, two tanks of the colonel approached the battlefield Budanova. They fired several volleys. The militants fell silent. It was a daring and bold step. Only officers sat in the tanks; they acted at their own peril and risk. They violated the order and did not want to set anyone up. After all, it was forbidden to bring tanks into the treaty village.

Tells Ensign Alexey Trofimov:

“The officers were sitting there. The tank commander, that is, the gunner, is an officer, the mechanic is an officer. They came to our rescue. To put it bluntly, they violated the orders of the High Command. Bring tanks into a negotiated village, a peaceful village. But thanks to this, as they say, in violation of those canons and those orders, the guys helped us out and saved us. Many of us are alive and well.”

The footage taken by the militants shows what the battlefield looked like: burnt cars, bodies of dead soldiers whom their comrades could not pull out from the battlefield. But for those who survived that massacre, there was no longer any doubt - the Black Arab would not have done this if he did not know some of the details of the operation of the federal forces.

The sergeant speaks Oleg Kuchinsky:

“The guys all knew how to take Duba-Yurt, and Khattaba We have known for a long time how he fights. And the fact that we were dragged into Duba-Yurt and shot like chickens... Yes, this was such a betrayal on the part of our command, one hundred percent. Know our call signs, know the location of the points where we should be, even the coordinates... No one could possibly know the coordinates if the task was set in the morning, and at night we were already fired upon.”

Who needed it and why, remains a secret behind seven seals. If this was a betrayal, then it was committed with Jesuitical virtuosity. If this is negligence, then it was akin to betrayal. But perhaps this was the intention?

Testifies Evgeny Lipatov, in 1999 junior sergeant, squad commander of the 84th ORB:

“Someone thought that this was a planned setup. Well, it was planned, of course. Someone made a mistake, of course, or somehow they caught us through communications and figured us out through negotiations. Or through officers. Don't know. Of course, this is a guess. But it’s natural that it was planned.”

Favorite tactic Khattaba: lure and ambush. It turned out that the federal troops were once again stepping on the same rake. A similar thing already happened in the Argun Gorge three and a half years ago. The militants also filmed the burned column of the 245th regiment near the village of Yarysh-Mardy. Khattab then he knew both the route of movement of the troops and their call signs. Otherwise, such a tragedy simply would not have happened.

On December 31, 1999, many guys did not return from the battle. The battalion then lost every third soldier. Terrible losses.

Speaks Sergeant Oleg Kuchinsky:

“On the first night, when we gathered in the tent, we said: we don’t need anything, not your strategic plans that you made for December 28, 29, 30 and 31. No need. Find us a permit for Duba-Yurt. And we will go there. And we will find where the cause of the war is. And there we will show in battle which of us is a warrior.”

In the evening after the battle, the surviving fighters gathered in a tent. They did not yet know that at the same time an investigation was in full swing at the group’s headquarters. Very soon officers from the group’s command and the special department entered the tent. They were looking for switchmen. But for some reason they were looking among them, that is, those who escaped alive from that massacre. The soldiers listened and did not believe their ears. And then their patience came to an end.

Sergeant Oleg Kuchinsky told me how that “conversation” went:

“They listened to us for about thirty minutes and realized that we needed to quickly leave here, otherwise there would be trouble in this tent. We understood that we needed to restrain those guys so that they wouldn’t do anything crazy now. Otherwise there will be trouble. If they go to the headquarters and someone tells them something wrong, but everyone has machine guns, machine guns... They will stand in front of this command post - and it’s only a kilometer and a half walk to the command post... They will destroy everything there. Well, everyone felt, everyone felt that it was a betrayal.”

The price to pay for mistakes or betrayal was too high. The death of young boys.

There was another truth of the war that people prefer not to talk about out loud. If it was not possible to remove the bodies of comrades from the battlefield, the corpses of the militants were collected. Hot item. Later they were exchanged for their own. On January 1, such an exchange of bodies took place on the outskirts of Duba-Yurt.

Tells Sergey Polyakov, in 1999 Major, Deputy Commander of the 84th ORB:

“We decided that we would put three BRMs on a ledge, open the doors and just like that, in groups, we would go. Let’s go to the place where the group was located, which had been shooting there since the morning.”

Then the battalion began the most difficult procedure of identifying the dead. Only contract soldiers went there. Seasoned adult men decided to spare the psyche of the yellow-faced conscript soldiers. They have it enough these days. Some bodies were disfigured beyond recognition. One fighter was identified only by a tattoo on his shoulder: a bat is a symbol of scouts. He did it shortly before his last fight.

Somehow, the investigation that had begun very quietly stopped. The 84th reconnaissance battalion did not participate in battles for several weeks and received reinforcements, new equipment, and weapons. But the pain of loss and resentment after Duba-Yurt did not leave many.

Speaks Yuri Babarin, in 1999 Private, senior reconnaissance officer of the 84th ORB:

“We all walked around and didn’t understand who needed it. Almost the battalion was given over to be torn to pieces. Where did the command look, what did it think, what intelligence did it have? Maybe there was some misinformation. I don’t know, we weren’t told practically anything. We were given orders. We did it."

Later, at one of the militant bases destroyed in the Argun Gorge, scouts found a page from the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper with a report on the military operations of the 2nd company of the 84th battalion.

Tells Oleg Kuchinsky:

“The second company, I tell you, it was doomed. Most likely, the opposing party’s services collected information from them. They had one problem. They defeated one spiritual column and spoke about this second company in reports and newspapers. So the spirits tried to pull out this second company so that it could be placed in exactly the place where it could be destroyed. Maybe our people, our leadership, didn’t even realize that they were being dragged in.”

It’s hard to believe that the death of our soldiers could be the result of someone’s blood feud mixed with betrayal.

For many servicemen of the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion, the Duba-Yurt tragedy will remain a bleeding wound for the rest of their lives. Over time, you understand that it is impossible to change what happened. Just like finding the true causes of that long-standing tragedy.

Remembers Oleg Kuchinsky:

“We don’t have specific, reliable documents or witnesses that someone did something... But we can guess. Well, how will you convey this to people, that you will bring it to the open court? You can only judge yourself.”

The year 2000 has arrived. It seemed that the militants' tactics were known. Two bloody tragedies have already occurred in the Argun Gorge and at the Volchi Gate. And here again, due to someone’s betrayal or someone’s negligence, trouble happened. Two months after the events described in the same area, the 6th company of Pskov paratroopers was ambushed. Dozens of people were killed and injured.

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In the office of the deputy commander of the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion, Major Salekh Agayev, they watched a videotape filmed by your correspondent in November last year, when the unit was stationed in Chechnya on the Sunzhensky ridge. Officers and soldiers recognized themselves on the screen, their comrades.

Stop! This is Kurbanaliev, who died near Duba-Yurt! - one of the soldiers screamed.

Kurbanaliev was in the frame for one or two seconds. The scout standing in front of him stepped slightly and covered the face of the scout who died a few weeks later. Left the frame... And soon out of life. Then, on videotape, the scouts found two more of their dead comrades. They also only briefly flashed in the frame. If only I had known then that they would die...

Eighteen soldiers and officers were killed in the second Chechen campaign by the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion of the 3rd motorized rifle division of the 22nd army. Their names are now engraved on the monument, which was unveiled at the battalion headquarters on June 21. The soldiers and officers watched that front-line videotape, where they stood in the same formation next to the dead, and everyone thought: “But I could be among these eighteen...”

Eyes and ears

On September 28, 1999, the reconnaissance battalion, as the vanguard of a group of Russian troops, entered Chechnya from the north. Having carefully adjusted their equipment, checked communications, weapons and ammunition, the reconnaissance groups, one after another, went on their first combat search. The 19-year-olds, under the command of lieutenants only three or four years older than themselves, left into the darkness of the night, into strange hills, into the unknown. The only clear task was to establish the enemy’s strongholds, their numbers and weapons.

The battalion's combat log contains daily meager entries. “The assigned combat mission has been completed. There are no losses of personnel or equipment.” These lines are typical of the first weeks of the campaign.

The enemy, not risking engaging in battles with an avalanche of Russian troops, retreated, offering almost no resistance, only occasionally setting up ambushes. We must pay tribute: the Chechens and mercenaries fight competently and carefully. Reconnaissance groups walked ahead of the Russian motorized rifles. If the scouts established the location of the enemy, they immediately called for artillery fire using the radio with prearranged signals. Merciless volleys of Grads and self-propelled artillery units swept away strongholds, and then the scouts advanced again. We walked, risking every second of being blown up by a mine and getting hit in the forehead by a sniper’s bullet. The radio operators listened anxiously to the broadcast. If communication was suddenly interrupted, the battalion tried not to think about the bad.

In each search, the scouts could be ambushed. Luck largely depended on the skill of the commanders and the caution of each soldier. You must be able to see the mark in the grass, the thin wire from a grenade on a tripwire, and hear the distant sound of shovels. Every sound mattered.

From the battalion’s combat log: “...Active vehicle traffic was established between Alkhan-Yurt and Shaami-Yurt, both during the day and at night... In an ambush at a ford there was a clash with the enemy. Documents of a murdered colonel of the armed forces of the Chechen Republic were taken... In the area of ​​the bridge, two vehicles with militants and a KamAZ fuel tanker were destroyed in an ambush, samples of documents and ammunition were taken... Two machine gun points were destroyed. A group of militants and a stronghold were discovered. The operation of optical instruments is noted in square 90551... They called in artillery fire at two discovered firing points... They captured a driver who was setting up a tripwire with a grenade..."

The reconnaissance battalion carried out the tasks of the commander of the “West” group and acted in the interests of not only the 3rd motorized rifle division, but also its neighbors. The scouts throughout the campaign were the “eyes and ears” of the command. We also had to carry out tasks of particular importance. For example, an operation was successfully carried out during which it was necessary to obtain material evidence of the direct participation of NATO countries in the Chechen conflict. It was November 21st. Then the scouts set up an ambush and killed five bandits. They were wearing uniforms and equipment from one of the NATO countries, which was later shown on central television. And the West stopped openly supporting the Chechen regime for some time.

First blood

For two and a half months, the reconnaissance battalion, moving further and further into the mountains of southern Chechnya, fought without losses. But everyone understood that sooner or later trouble would happen. The scouts, as usual, went away for two or three days, sometimes 10–15 kilometers.

On December 10, one of the reconnaissance groups near Chiri-Yurt established Basayev’s headquarters, but was ambushed. A fight ensued. The scouts knocked the enemy down from a height, then found the corpses of ten bandits on its slopes. In this battle, two scouts were wounded and Sergeant Mikhail Zosimenko died. He managed to destroy the machine gun crew in the trench and three machine gunners. The bandits walked around the foreman and shot him point-blank.

Scouts don't abandon their friends

The further the reconnaissance groups went into the mountains, the more stubborn the militants’ resistance became. The group of senior lieutenant Pyotr Zakharov, on the outskirts of Duba-Yurt, established several caches of bandits and destroyed a caravan with weapons. Two Chechens were killed in the battle, one of whom turned out to be Basayev’s closest associate. The scouts barely managed to escape pursuit.

On December 16, in thick fog, the reconnaissance group of Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Mironov was ambushed. The scouts, finding themselves surrounded, took on an unequal battle. The commander of the reconnaissance group, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Khamitov, received a radio message about the incident. His group had just occupied an important height; there was an enemy ahead, ready to attack. But Alexander could not leave his comrades in trouble. With half of his group, the officer went to help Mironov’s group. Secretly, Khamitov’s group entered the enemy’s flank and opened heavy fire. The militants were forced to weaken the pressure on the encircled scouts. Senior Lieutenant Khamitov received numerous wounds in the thigh in battle, was bleeding, but did not leave the battlefield and personally destroyed the machine-gun crew of the militants.

Thanks to the bold maneuver of the reconnaissance group of Senior Lieutenant Khamitov, a large group of reconnaissance officers was saved. This battle ended without losses. If it weren’t for Khamitov’s help, who knows how many zinc coffins would have gone to Russia... Alexander Khamitov, when he was evacuated bloodied by helicopter to Mozdok, thought about anything but the fact that in a few months he would stand in the Kremlin next to the president Russia, and the golden star of the Hero of Russia will sparkle on his chest... At twenty-four years old...

And in that battle, both groups of scouts, having united, occupied another height and fought to hold it until the infantry arrived.

New Year at the Wolf Gate

The village of Duba-Yurt is located at the entrance to the Argun Gorge. Wolf Gate is the name of this strategically important point. Here, militants in large forces, commanded by Khattab, were preparing to give a stubborn battle to Russian troops in order to prevent them from entering the southern regions of Chechnya.

The scouts received orders to establish enemy forces in the area by reconnaissance in force. And there were three days left until the New Year...

First, one reconnaissance group ran into an ambush near Duba-Yurt. A group of senior lieutenant Solovyov came to her aid. The scouts lost two people wounded and retreated to their original positions. The next day, December 30, two reconnaissance groups went on a search in armored vehicles. During the advance, one infantry fighting vehicle hit a mine. So far there have been no losses...

At 23:00 on December 30, one of the reconnaissance groups started a battle with superior enemy forces in Duba-Yurt. We managed to capture several small arms, a mortar and a large amount of ammunition. The Chechens did not leave their dead behind. At three o'clock in the morning, two more groups of reconnaissance moved into the area. By six o'clock in the morning the battle broke out. On the southern outskirts of Duba-Yurt, the group of senior lieutenant Vladimir Shlykov was surrounded. The scouts, suffering losses, nevertheless gained a foothold in one of the buildings. A group of senior lieutenant Mironov was already in a hurry to help the encircled, but the militants met it with fire and did not give them the opportunity to get through to the encircled.

By nine o'clock in the morning on December 31st, the remaining units of the battalion were alerted - signalmen, repairmen, a logistics support platoon... It was necessary to help the scouts get out of the encirclement, save the living, carry out the wounded and dead. The evacuation group was headed by the deputy battalion commander for educational work, Major Saleh Agayev, a real Baku native and a real commissar. It was not the first time he had to be in such a situation. When on December 15 one of the reconnaissance groups was ambushed, Major Agaev with reinforcements moved into the battle area, struck the flank and ensured the group’s withdrawal with fire. And here is a similar situation. Under heavy fire, the group of Major Salekh Agayev repelled the attack of the bandits and made their way to the encircled people in Duba-Yurt. Major Agayev carried out two wounded, and his entire group carried out ten and one killed.

The situation was complicated by the fact that in the continuous fog helicopters could not help us,” recalls Major Agaev, “but later tankmen came to our aid. It’s very hard to remember this battle... They even fired at us from the mosque. The four dead could not be found immediately; they were later exchanged for the killed bandit commanders.

For the evacuation of the wounded and killed, Major Agayev was awarded the Order of Courage... A month and a half later, in February, Salekh Agayev distinguished himself once again when, with an armored group, he rescued scouts who were ambushed. And at the beginning of March, he and his group broke through to the height where the scouts were fighting, organized its defense and evacuated the wounded. Soon after this, he was awarded the second Order of Courage for the campaign.

“In that merciless war...”

From the battalion’s combat log and the award sheets for the scouts who died that day, an army-sparing picture emerges of the heaviest battle, in which 10 were killed and 29 scouts were wounded...

Sergeant Vladimir Shchetinin was killed by a sniper as he climbed out of his combat vehicle, which had been hit by a grenade launcher. In the battle, until the last minute he fired from the cannon and machine gun of the BMP, helping to evacuate his wounded comrades with fire...

Junior Sergeant Stanislav Kulikov died from a sniper bullet at the end of the battle, when the group began to retreat. In battle he acted skillfully and bravely, covering with fire the group that was evacuating the wounded.

Private Vladimir Serov was killed by a sniper while ensuring the group's retreat. His comrades remember that he was wounded, caught in enemy crossfire, but continued to fight...

Sergeant Alexander Zakhvatov was killed by a grenade launcher. He fought while surrounded, was wounded, managed to shoot a sniper, and was wounded again. His comrades saw him fire back until he disappeared into the gap.

Private Nikolai Adamov, driver of an infantry fighting vehicle, was killed by a sniper. When the combat vehicle was ambushed and hit, Nikolai was seriously wounded, but he still ensured that his comrades disembarked from the vehicle.

Sergeant Viktor Ryakhovsky burned in the turret of an infantry fighting vehicle. When his combat vehicle was hit, he took the gunner's place in the turret and fired. The BMP was hit by another grenade launcher shot, but Victor continued to fire, ensuring the withdrawal of his comrades. He fought until the last minute of his life.

Sergei Yaskevich was killed by a direct hit from a grenade launcher. When his infantry fighting vehicle was ambushed, he skillfully organized a perimeter defense. Sergei's leg was torn off, but he continued to fire and destroyed two militant firing points.

Private Sergei Voronin was killed by a sniper. When the group was ambushed, he was seriously wounded, but fired back until the last moment.

Private Eldar Kurbanaliev also died from a sniper’s bullet. His infantry fighting vehicle was hit, but Eldar fired, covering his comrades.

Sergeant Vladimir Sharov died from a direct hit from a grenade launcher. Until the last second, he covered the flank of the ambushed group with a machine gun.

Private Alexander Korobka had both legs torn off by a mine and seriously wounded in the head. He suffered until April 29 and died. In the battle near Duba-Yurt, when the scouts were surrounded, he skillfully fought and destroyed two machine gunners. On the videotape, Sasha, who was standing in formation in the second row during filming, also flashed into the frame for only one or two seconds. The scouts, while watching the film, returned these frames several times, where he was still alive. According to reviews of his fellow soldiers, he was a very modest guy, thanks to him many of his comrades survived.

The Wolf Gate was defended by the detachments of Khattab and Basayev, a total of about a thousand bandits. The scouts identified the enemy forces, but then the motorized riflemen, tankers and artillery had to fight here for a whole week.

Before this operation, we were preparing for the New Year,” recalls Major Agayev. - In Mozdok we bought champagne and tangerines for the guys. But we all had no time for the holiday... It was very hard on our souls after such losses.

“Thank you for the children...”

After Duba-Yurt there were new battles, night searches, and ambushes. The battalion's scouts were the first to reach the outskirts of the village of Komsomolskoye, for which there were particularly fierce battles, and, as Major Agaev recalls, “dragged the infantry behind them.” The list of those killed in the battalion added several more names. And the bandits placed several dozen more poles with green flags on their graves.

The 84th separate reconnaissance battalion, on whose banner the Order of the Red Star and the Red Banner of Battle is perhaps the only part of the combined group of Russian troops in Chechnya, where all personnel were awarded for one campaign, and some two or three times. In addition to A. Khamitov, who became a captain ahead of schedule, and was awarded the gold star of the Hero of Russia, senior lieutenants A. Soloviev and P. Zakharov (posthumously) were nominated for this rank.

The battalion was withdrawn from Chechnya when it had completely fulfilled its duty. The conscripts were demobilized. And soon Major Salekh Agayev received a letter from Leonid Vysotsky’s mother: “...Only thanks to such wonderful people and excellent professionals like you, our children were able to withstand and not break in the difficult conditions of war. Your son remembers you with warmth and gratitude. I am infinitely happy that at the most difficult time for my son, a deeply decent person who was not indifferent to the fate of people was next to him. Thank you so much for everything you have done for our children...”

If only it were possible to return their dead sons to the mothers...

At the end of December 1999, when federal forces blocked Grozny, the Western tactical group of troops was preparing for a decisive blow against the militants who had settled in the Argun Gorge. The entrance to this gorge has long been called the Wolf Gate. The order for the assault was also given to special forces. The operation began on December 30, and the very next day a reconnaissance company of the 84th battalion was ambushed. As a result, this battle became the bloodiest in its history; the scouts lost 10 people killed and 29 wounded.

Units of the battalion were the first to enter the territory of Chechnya on September 28, 1999; for a long time they were to become the “eyes and ears” of the command of the “West” group, although the battalion acted not only in the interests of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division, but also its neighbors. The battalion also had to carry out missions of particular importance. For example, intelligence officers conducted an operation to collect material evidence of assistance from NATO countries to Chechen separatists. On November 21, the scouts set up an ambush and destroyed a group of 5 militants, in full uniform and equipment from one of the NATO countries; subsequently, footage of this uniform was shown on TV and the West for some time stopped openly supporting the Republic of Ichkeria.

The battalion fought for almost two and a half months without losses. The first casualty appeared in the battalion on December 10, when scouts discovered the headquarters near Chiri-Yurt; in the ensuing battle, Sergeant Mikhail Zosimenko was killed, and two more scouts were injured. The further the battalion advanced, the more active the resistance from the militants became.

Three days before the new year, the battalion was given the task of conducting reconnaissance in force together with GRU special forces units and establishing enemy forces in the area of ​​the Duba Yurt settlement. This Chechen village is located right at the entrance to the Argun Gorge - a strategically important point, here the militants under the command hoped to detain Russian troops and not let them into the southern part of Chechnya.

On December 29, one of the reconnaissance groups of the battalion was ambushed not far from the battalion, a group of Lieutenant Solovyov immediately came to its aid, the scouts were able to retreat, losing two people wounded, the next day two more groups went to search in armored vehicles, 1 infantry fighting vehicle was blown up by a mine, but again there were no casualties. Late in the evening of December 30, the scouts entered into battle with superior enemy forces in the Duba-Yurt area. The scouts managed to capture a number of small arms, a large amount of ammunition and a mortar. At night, two more groups moved into the area.

By the morning of December 31, this situation had developed. Two groups from the airborne and first reconnaissance companies worked at the Wolf Gate; the 2nd reconnaissance company of the battalion remained in reserve. At about 6 o'clock in the morning a message arrived that the GRU special forces detachment Art. Lieutenant Tarasov was ambushed and is fighting in the area of ​​one of the heights. As it turned out later, Tarasov’s detachment did not reach any height and did not enter into battle. Most likely, militants entered the radio game on open frequencies and lured the scouts into an ambush.

One way or another, it was decided to send the 2nd Ravzedrota to the rescue of the special forces, which was supposed to pass in a straight line through Duba-Yurt; the village was considered negotiated and the leadership of the operation did not expect to meet militants there. At the entrance to the village, a group of Art. Lieutenant Shlykov came under heavy crossfire from militants who were holed up in vegetable gardens and buildings on the outskirts. The scouts were shot almost point-blank.

In a short time, all 3 infantry fighting vehicles were knocked out, the survivors were able to gain a foothold on the outskirts and fought. Lieutenant Mironov’s group immediately came to their aid, but due to dense fire, it was unable to break through to its own, stopping a hundred meters away. In the morning there was a dense fog over the village, which made it difficult for artillery and aviation to operate; they were afraid to hit their own people.

At about 9 o'clock in the morning the battalion commander began to assemble a combined detachment from the units available at hand. The evacuation group hastily included a repair platoon, a logistics support platoon, signalmen, and sick members of the reconnaissance companies. The evacuation group was headed by the deputy battalion commander for educational work, Salekh Agayev. But it was difficult to assemble these groups, there were people, there were cartridges, but there were no magazines, most of the magazines were given to units that had already gone into battle, half had AKS-74-U assault rifles, effective at a distance of 50-100 meters. And yet, the actions of the evacuation group turned out to be quite timely and successful; under continuous enemy fire, the group was able to carry ten wounded and one killed from the battlefield, Salekhov himself carried two wounded.

Three tanks from the tank regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Budanov provided great assistance to the scouts in trouble. The commander of the 84th battalion, Vladimir Pakov, personally went to the command post of the tank regiment and asked for help; he could not give orders. Budanov allocated him tanks with officer crews, without wasting time on coordination with the high command.

As a result of the battle near the village of Duba-Yurt, the reconnaissance battalion lost 4 units of armored vehicles, 10 people killed and 29 wounded; later, in April, another participant in this battle died in the hospital. After the battle, the battalion was withdrawn for reorganization, and a few days later, investigators from the military prosecutor's office began investigating the operation that led to such losses. All battalion officers were interrogated. The investigation into this battle ended in nothing; the perpetrators were not identified.

05.04.2012

Wolf Gate. December 1999 – another black page in the history of the Chechen war

The Argun Gorge is one of the largest gorges in the Caucasus in terms of length, formed by the breakthrough of the stormy waters of the Argun. Today, a ski resort is planned to be located here, but just recently this area was watered with the blood of Russian soldiers. Bullets whistled around, the glasses of sniper scopes gleamed in the green thickets, as if “spirits” were appearing from underground. At the end of December 1999, the 84th reconnaissance battalion and special forces groups were ordered to storm the “Wolf Gate” - that was the name of the entrance to the gorge.

The 84th reconnaissance battalion arrived on the territory of Chechnya back in September 1999, it consisted mainly of soldiers with low professional training, only a small part of the battalion included professional officers and contract soldiers. However, it was precisely thanks to this relatively small group of military personnel that the battalion’s losses until December 1999 were minimal. Some of the officers already had experience of military operations in five and even seven hot spots. By December, even inexperienced young soldiers had gained the necessary experience and could act competently even in difficult unforeseen situations. Shortly before the operation in the Argun Gorge, the 84th battalion was used as an assault battalion on the Gikalovsky Heights. By the time of the assault, the 84th reconnaissance battalion was a serious force capable of fulfilling the combat mission assigned to it.

By the beginning of 2000, the Wolf Gate was an important strategic point. This area, in fact, was the gateway to the southern regions of the republic, so the militants were preparing for a clash long before the assault began. Numerous camouflaged trenches, trailers and shelters dug deep into the ground, tripwires - all this was prepared in anticipation of the federal troops. At the head of the mountaineers was the experienced and battle-hardened Khattab, who knew the area well and had at his disposal a wide network of agents. Many of the participants in the assault on the “Wolf Gate” are convinced that among Khattab’s agents there were also individual Russian commanders who received considerable rewards for transmitting information.

The 84th battalion, together with special forces units, was tasked with finding out the number and location of militant forces in this area. The reconnaissance was supposed to be carried out in force. Near the gorge there was a peaceful village of Duba-Yurt, which was classified as “negotiable”, which meant that the residents observed neutrality. Federal troops did not have the right to introduce military equipment into the treaty settlements, but in fact the agreement was observed only by the federal command, while local residents provided active support to Khattab’s forces.

To complete the task, the reconnaissance battalion was tasked with occupying the heights above Duba-Yurt to ensure free access for motorized riflemen. The plan for subsequent actions was quite simple: use the data received, push the militants into the valley, and then destroy them in the open. To successfully implement the plan, the battalion was divided into 3 combined groups, each of which consisted of two special forces detachments and one reconnaissance battalion detachment. The attack aircraft, codenamed "Aral", led by Senior Lieutenant Aralov, were supposed to act together with the reconnaissance detachment "Romashka" under the command of Senior Lieutenant Solovyov. The Baykul assault detachment, led by Senior Lieutenant Baykulov, operated with the Sova reconnaissance group of the 84th battalion, led by Senior Lieutenant Kalyandin. The third detachment consisted of the group of senior lieutenant Tarasov, code-named "Taras" and the reconnaissance group "Akula" of senior lieutenant Mironov.

It seemed that the operation was thought out to the smallest detail, even the frequency of radio messages was determined to be uniform so that the groups could hear each other's messages and coordinate their actions. According to the plan, special forces units were to move ahead, followed by reconnaissance groups, which periodically had to stop and wait for the infantry. The advance of the combined groups was supposed to be supported by aviation and artillery. A tank regiment was concentrated nearby.

Alexander Solovyov admits in his interview that already at the stage of preparing the operation, he was faced with the inexplicable behavior of the command, namely Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin. To this day, he does not understand why the commanders were taken to Duba-Yurt itself for reconnaissance, because the actions were planned to be carried out at the heights. Certain fragments of phrases conveyed by the major suggest the idea of ​​betrayal in the circles of command. On the other hand, another participant, Vladimir Pakov, claims that he knows both the commander of the “West” group and Lieutenant Colonel Miroshkin himself and other commanders well and does not believe in their betrayal. In his opinion, the militants, having more advanced communication devices at their disposal, tuned in to the frequency, which is confirmed by the facts of the radio game during the assault.

The start of the operation was scheduled for the evening of December 29, but Solovyov’s detachment had to set out in the morning, since the militants discovered a group of special forces, whom the command decided to provide assistance. The number of the detachment was only 27 people, of which 16 belonged to the reconnaissance battalion. The group advanced on two infantry fighting vehicles, then continued on foot. It was impossible to move quickly through the foothills in full equipment. In addition, the militants opened continuous fire on the attackers, so they had to take cover behind the armor and gradually move towards the forest. It was not difficult to detect the special forces trapped in Khattab’s ring of fire, since the group still had contact, but the combined group was able to cross the fire zone and occupy the height only after six hours.

Alexander Solovyov recalls that on the approaches to the height there were minefields installed by Russian specialists. And again the major asks the question of why they were not warned about the presence of stretch marks, which were discovered only by chance. Solovyov’s detachment lost two people wounded, while one soldier in the assault group was killed. The assigned task was completed, three wounded special forces soldiers were taken to the camp and handed over by doctors. During transportation, Solovyov’s group lost another soldier, who was wounded by a sniper shot. As soon as the first combined group left the area and formed up, it was again rushed to save Zakharov’s detachment.

On December 30, in the middle of the day, all three combined groups set out and the operation began. Solovyov and his soldiers again had to take the heights abandoned the day before by order of Colonel Mitroshkin. Already at this stage, the commanders gradually realized that the militants were listening to radio communications and were well aware of the assault plan. Ambushes awaited the attackers at the places identified on the map. The terrible guess was confirmed. The second combined group, which included “Baykul” and “Sova,” was at that time under fierce mortar fire. Early in the morning, Tarasov's group was ambushed and sent signals for help, fighting a fierce battle. The command sent Senior Lieutenant Shlykov's group to storm height 420.1. At this time, the combined groups were fighting in the direction of Tarasov’s special forces. The militants continued active disinformation on the air, as a result of which “Nara,” as Shlykov’s group was called, was also ambushed in the center of Duba-Yurt.

The artillery could not provide high-quality cover due to poor visibility. In the village, a Russian column was shot at from a grenade launcher, and soldiers were knocked out by snipers. The airwaves were filled with cries for help. However, it turned out to be impossible to use aviation, since Duba-Yurt was covered with a thick veil of fog. “Akula” came to the aid of Shlykov, but the second column was immediately fired upon upon entering the village. The scouts dispersed and decided to shoot back.

Battalion commander Vladimir Pakov provided support to the groups caught in the militant fire. Without waiting for orders from their command, with the tacit consent of Colonel Budanov, 2 tanks with crews were sent to the battle site. According to Solovyov, without the support of equipment, the fighters would not have been able to leave the ring. Apparently, the militants did not expect the appearance of tanks in the village, so their appearance caused confusion and turned the tide of the battle. Six hours of fierce battle practically destroyed the center of the village.

The 84th reconnaissance battalion and the special forces, scorched by enemy fire, met the first day of the year, counting their losses. The assault on the Wolf Gate claimed the lives of ten scouts and wounded another twenty-nine. However, after a bloody battle, the command of the reconnaissance battalion expected a new battle - a battle with the investigators of the special department. Alexander Solovyov alone was called in for questioning about eleven times, and, according to him, they were subjected to extreme psychological pressure. It turned out that there were no official orders for the reconnaissance operation on December 29-31, 1999, and they tried to lay the blame for the deaths and failure of the assault on the immediate commanders. They were especially interested in the candidacy of Pakov, who unauthorizedly used tanks and had a decisive influence on the outcome of the battle.

The employees of the special department withdrew from the battalion and special forces positions solely out of fear of the possibility of the soldiers being disrupted, since confidence in the general’s betrayal reigned among the people. Armed soldiers could at any time break the line of the regulations and deal with those who were considered traitors. The investigation did not establish the perpetrators; no one was held responsible for the deaths.

The following died in the battle for the Wolf Gate:

1. Sergeant V. Shchetinin;

2. Junior Sergeant S. Kulikov;

3rd Private V. Serov;

4. Sergeant A. Zakhvatov;

5. Private N. Adamov;

6. Sergeant V. Ryakhovsky;

7. Sergeant S. Yaskevich;