Alexander Solovyov lieutenant. Battle at the Wolf Gate

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From the combat log:
“On December 29, three groups were allocated from the battalion to conduct reconnaissance in the area of ​​849.4, bridge, road intersection, 420.1.
During the mission, one reconnaissance group was ambushed. To provide assistance and evacuation, a reconnaissance group under the command of Art. Lt. Solovyov. Having completed the assigned task, the units returned to their original area. Personnel losses - 2 wounded.
On December 30, 1999, the group’s reconnaissance chief clarified the group’s tasks. At 12:30 on December 30, 1999, a reconnaissance group under the command of Art. Lieutenant Solovyova and the reconnaissance group under the command of Lieutenant Klyandin advanced in vehicles to the area of ​​height 950.8.
From 23:00 on December 30, the reconnaissance group fought with superior enemy forces. As a result of the battle, small arms, an 82 mm mortar and a large number of ammunition.
By 6:00 on December 31, the first and third reconnaissance groups in the areas indicated by them began a battle with the enemy.
Intelligence Reserve under the command of Art. Lieutenant Shlykov was given the task of moving to the southern outskirts of Duba-Yurt and taking up defense at the 420.1 mark in order to prevent the retreat of the militants and the approach of enemy reserves.
By 16:30, the personnel, dead and wounded were evacuated to the command post, with the exception of 6 people killed and 4 units of damaged armored vehicles.
In the period from December 29 to December 31, losses were: killed - 10 people, wounded - 2.”

On December 29, we were given a task, divided into groups, three - from the battalion to reinforce the GRU special forces detachment. I understood the task: with three mixed detachments to take the indicated direction, three ridges in the area of ​​​​the Wolf Gate. On one side of the gorge, a North Caucasian reconnaissance battalion worked with a special forces detachment. When we arrived on the 29th, it was clear that fighting was going on there, corpses were already being brought down from the mountains, the losses were heavy. We had to act on the left side, occupy the heights, and clean up. As Major Pakov (deputy commander of the reconnaissance battalion, holder of three Orders of Courage) told me in confidence: “There could be up to two thousand militants there... Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin from the GRU was responsible for the operation, we had to strengthen him. The immediate task has been set, the further one is only for a day, maximum two.
A few days before the operation, I checked my fleet of combat vehicles and discovered that one BRDM was missing. I asked Major Pakov where the vehicle was sent, he replied that the BRDM, along with a regular crew and a landing party of three people, was sent to the disposal of General Verbitsky. For what, Pakov did not specify. In the afternoon of the same day, when the BRDM returned to the unit, I asked sniper Kuchinsky, who rode the BRDM, where and with whom they went. Kuchinsky said that they were taking some general, but to which village - I don’t remember, which general - I don’t know.
On December 27 or 28, at a meeting, Major Pakov announced that our battalion on December 29 would take part in the operation in the Argun Gorge. Major Pakov ordered preparations for the operation. He did not convey the general plan of the operation and the mission to the reconnaissance group commanders.
On December 29, at about 10 o’clock, the reconnaissance group of our battalion, who were supposed to take part in upcoming operation, on standard military equipment, on the orders of Pakov, they arrived at the OP of the 160th tank regiment (the regiment commander was the notorious Colonel Budanov). A little later, reconnaissance groups from the GRU reconnaissance detachment arrived there. At the OP of the tank regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin said that the task of the upcoming operation, which should begin on the evening of December 29, would be to capture the dominant heights on the eastern side of Duba-Yurt for the further advancement of motorized rifle units to these heights. According to organized interaction, each GRU detachment, which consisted of two reconnaissance groups, was assigned one reconnaissance group from our battalion. My group, together with me, was assigned to a GRU officer (I think the chief of staff of the detachment, a major). We had to master the heights. In addition, according to the same principle (two RGs from the GRU detachment, one RG from our battalion), two more reconnaissance detachments were formed, which were also headed by GRU officers, and our reconnaissance groups, together with the commanders, were part of these detachments as dowries.
All the formed detachments could be seen from the heights that we were supposed to capture. After the formation of the detachments, Mitroshkin put all the reconnaissance group commanders in the covered body of a GAZ-66 vehicle, so that we would not be visible, and were taken to the village of Duba-Yurt for on-site reconnaissance.
I didn’t understand then, and now I’m asking myself: if we had to operate in the mountains, why were we taken directly to the village for reconnaissance? To look up from below and orientate? There were only 12-15 of us officers, with weapons and ammunition. The reconnaissance groups remained in the clearing at the foot of the gorge. We began to approach Duba-Yurt. The car stopped. Mitroshkin ordered us: not to get out of the car, poke holes in the tarpaulin, and conduct reconnaissance through them.
After some time, a jeep drove up to us at a distance of 25–30 meters from the direction of Duba-Yurt. Mitroshkin left the cab, walked up to the back, called one of the special forces officers, asked me for additional ammunition for the Stechkin, I gave him two magazines, and he said: “Look carefully, if you see a rocket, help me out.” Leaving us at the car, Mitroshkin said that he would go to the commandant of Duba-Yurt to clarify the situation. Mitroshkin and his officer headed towards the jeep, I saw it through the hole. As soon as they approached the jeep, two men dressed in camouflage NATO uniforms came out; I did not notice any weapons on them. Mitroshkin and his officer left for Duba-Yurt in this jeep. They returned about 20 minutes later. Each group leader carries a map with him at all times, so I think they had a map with them.
When Mitroshkin returned in the same jeep, we immediately went to the location of the 160th Tank Regiment. On the way, I asked the officer accompanying Mitroshkin if they had met with the commandant, to which he replied: “What kind of commandant is there, there’s half the village in NATO uniform with weapons.”
At the location of the tank regiment, Mitroshkin ordered us to act independently as part of the created reconnaissance detachments with the onset of darkness, while he dismissed all group commanders and ordered his officer to approach him. I was an accidental witness to their conversation, as I approached Mitroshkin to pick up my pistol clips. Mitroshkin told his officer that he should meet Chechen intelligence officers in the designated area for joint action. Seeing me, Mitroshkin quickly rolled up the map and directed me to complete the task. I asked: “Perhaps there will be some changes in the operation? Should we leave at your command?” - “No, you’ll do it yourself, as soon as it gets dark.” It was suspicious why Mitroshkin went to Duba-Yurt, and what kind of Chechen intelligence officers we were supposed to meet...
Duba-Yurt was a treaty village. So, at least, it was believed that its residents did not allow bandits into the village. The officer who went to the village with Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin said: at the school there were about thirty young bearded men dressed in the new NATO uniform; it was clear that they were unloading under pea coats, but they stood without guns. Mitroshkin asked the commandant: “Who are they?” - “Militia, defend against bandits who come from the mountains and steal cattle.” - “How do you protect yourself from bandits?” - “We have pistols, well, a couple of grenades.” Then these militias shot at our people from Shmeli, SPG-9, AGS...
The operation on December 29 did not begin, since one GRU reconnaissance group, which had been carrying out a combat mission since December 27, was ambushed. As part of my reconnaissance group, together with Mitroshkin, I went to the aid of the reconnaissance group that was ambushed and fought a night battle shoulder to shoulder with Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin.
I went to my people, formed a group, gave instructions, and gave orders. And then Major Pakov runs up and shouts: “Daisies”! To battle! Two infantry fighting vehicles approached, a special forces group of 12–13 people was already sitting on the armor. I put my group on the armor and forward. They began to approach the ridge and parachuted from the armor. They immediately opened fire on us from the heights, both from ours and from our neighbor, and we got caught in the crossfire.
And we found ourselves in front of the heights minefields, our engineers set it. I don't know why they didn't tell us about them. I noticed the stretch marks at the last moment. Then the engineers told me: “Where you went, everything is covered in mines!” But nothing, we got through. We fought our way up this hill, and losses immediately began. Everyone was immediately told “Stop!”
At the first stage of the operation, the drivers of combat vehicles of the 1st reconnaissance company especially distinguished themselves. When the militants' base was discovered, it turned out that the approaches to it were targeted with machine guns and grenade launchers. Approaching the base was mortally risky. But all the drivers at speed, skillfully maneuvering, managed to drive to convenient positions, as a result of which they were able to quickly suppress enemy firing points. Here are the names of these brave and skillful men: Corporal Almaz Akhmetyanov, senior mechanic-driver Corporal Sergei Kostylev, senior mechanic-driver Lance Sergeant Alexey Gogolev, driver mechanic Private Ildus Abulkhasanov, driver mechanic Private Valery Androsov, driver mechanic Private A. Mashkin.
After the operation, all of them were nominated for Suvorov medals.
Two detachments remained in place, ours went forward. They fought until three o'clock in the morning and found a group of living special forces soldiers. By this time I had two wounded, the special forces had one dead and three wounded. These special forces had been working for two days and were supposed to meet us, but they themselves were ambushed, so we had to pull them out.
On the evening of December 29, I left the mountains, following Mitroshkin’s order, with three wounded special forces soldiers. We pulled them out, we were met by armor in the bushes, they began to load them, at this time the sniper shot another soldier who was carelessly smoking and thereby giving away his position. The wounded were loaded. I again went to my group, but came under fire from a sniper. The mountain was bald, I realized that I couldn’t pass. There was no point in going around it, I would have gotten lost. Then Mitroshkin ordered me to return to the base. With these wounded special forces, I returned to the base and then the remnants of my group, others, and special forces came out.
As soon as all the guys were lined up, Pakov came running: “Sanya, help out Petya Zakharov (commander, deputy company commander of the 3rd reconnaissance battalion motorized rifle division, Hero of Russia), he is in the rear, carrying an important trophy, many “spirits” follow him. I remember how I met Zakharov’s out of breath group. And when Petrukha was the last to jump onto the armor, I noticed that his back was covered in blood. To my question: “Are you wounded?”, he smiled tiredly and answered “It’s from the trophies...”. I went to the armor, took six soldiers, took him, and we returned to the camp. This was already on the morning of the 30th. We slept for about five hours. They woke us up, and again there, again...
On the morning of December 30th we again went to the same place and again stormed this height. The entire hill and the trenches on it were covered in blood, traces of drags, a lot of bloody stretchers, bandages, syringes: they got a good kick in the teeth from us at night. In the trench I see: a small crater, and on the parapet - brains. The militants took the body of their dead man, but left the broken machine gun. This militant was hit by a grenade launcher.
They threw their corpses into the ravine. I found two such caches. I poked it there with a stick - a cache. In one I counted six, they were showered with fresh leaves, they were sitting there dead, with their heads and hands tied. Then these corpses of militants were exchanged for our dead guys, who could not be immediately taken out of Duba-Yurt...
I had a “Crossbow” radio with me, on which I heard on the battalion frequency a report from the acting commander of the second reconnaissance company, Senior Lieutenant Shlykov, that he was ready to enter Duba-Yurt. At the same time, the commander of the second company used the company’s call sign “Akula”, so I understood that he was talking about the entire company. The commander of the second company asked twice: “What to do?”, to which the “Hundredth” replied: “Go blindly!” The company commander asked again: “I don’t understand what to do?” The “hundredth” answered him again: “Go blindly!” I heard this dialogue personally from my radio station, which was always with me.
I heard shouts on the radio: “I’ve been hit, save me! Help!". The screams on air made my hair stand on end. Our people were burned from both sides, including from the height where our people should have been. At this time, a battle broke out at our height. I had one earpiece of the radio station on my ear, and I continued to listen to the battalion frequencies. For about five minutes everything was calm. But then I heard cries for help from the driver of one of the damaged infantry fighting vehicles. I also heard some sergeant reporting to someone that he was fighting. Someone reported that the company was being fired upon from all nearby houses with grenade launchers and targeted sniper fire.
The commander of the second company reported to “The 100th” that I, “Nara,” was ambushed. Also, the commander of the second company reported that there were many damaged vehicles, running out of ammunition, and large losses of personnel. To this, “The Hundredth” answered him: “Trench on the occupied lines and hold the defense until reinforcements arrive.” The commander of the second company asked for help, saying that in about fifteen minutes there would be no one left from the company. Then someone else, who it was - I don’t know, using the call sign “Hundredth” said: “We’ll do what we can, but now there’s no one to send.” Then the same voice said to “Nara”: “Go away, there is no one to send.”
Pakov went to the commander of the 160th Tank Regiment and asked him to come to the rescue. Budanov provided two tanks with crews recruited from volunteer officers, and they immediately went to the rescue of the scouts who were ambushed. There was fog, the tanks could not shoot accurately, there was a fear of hitting our own people.
The company that was ambushed would not have been able to get out of the fire without the help of tanks. I heard that the tanks then, helping our scouts, shot the entire ammunition load of 50 shells and two thousand rounds of ammunition. They came out of the battle empty. Survivors of that battle told me that when these two tanks ran out of ammunition, they simply turned their barrels towards the bandits, scared them, and they ran away!
On the morning of December 31, my group reached the fortified area of ​​​​the militants, and the battle began; I no longer followed the negotiations of the battle in Duba-Yurt.
We requested aviation, the planes arrived, but they were fired at by militants from anti-aircraft machine guns, for this reason and poor visibility due to dense fog, the planes flew away without bombing. We then requested artillery fire. Artillery partially suppressed the nearest militant firing points. After which we asked to repeat fire on anti-aircraft machine guns and on enemy armored vehicles (two BMP-2), to which “Soty” replied that there was a ban on artillery. I don’t know whose ban it was. We decided to stop and dig in in a perimeter defense, which we did. I reported to “Sotomy”, Mitroshkin was supposed to work on this call sign, that ammunition was running out and there was no water. I asked for help, “The Hundredth” gave the command to stop moving, take up defensive positions and hold the line until the next morning.
We found the militants' "Ural", the engine was damaged, there were mortars, anti-tank mines, plastids in boxes, ammunition, food rations, LNG-9, RPGs, shots, small arms. And the “spirits” dragged this “Ural” into the mountains through the mud! There were so many footprints! We lifted the car up the mountain, five kilometers away.
At approximately 23:00 on December 31, about fifteen motorized riflemen came to our aid. conscript service. When asked who they were and how many there were, the eldest of them, a sergeant, reported to me that they had received orders to dig in in this area. He said that their entire company was scattered throughout the ridge with the same task. Using the battalion frequency, I contacted Major Pakov and asked what we should do. Pakov ordered to leave from there. During this battle, there was one wounded in the special forces reconnaissance group; there were no casualties in my group...

Decoding of radio communications in the battalion’s combat area on the heights to the left of Duba-Yurt on December 29–30:
Voice of Sergeant Kuchinsky (sniper of the reconnaissance airborne company):

December twenty-ninth... thirty minutes past three.

A few more shots from the BMP gun...

Someone's exclamation:

ABOUT! It's burning!

Yes... Not alone...

Is this the 38th here?

160th Tank Regiment.

On the contrary, all the tanks of the 160th went there. And these are the Buryats...

Yes, “Shilka” will fuck you up, it won’t seem like much.

16:20. The special forces hit. Ambush. There are wounded. There is a battle going on. (Nearby is the loud sound of a BMP cannon firing, a little further away is the sound of machine gun fire). Artillery helps. Our group (Romashka, senior lieutenant Solovyov) and a special forces group moved forward to help, an armored group (from the 1st company of the reconnaissance battalion). Let's go get the wounded. Our “beha” came in... (roar of the engine) 17:20. This is "beha" from the infantry. She makes a landing pad for a helicopter to pick up the wounded. MTLB went to collect the wounded.

The nearby noise of BMP engines...

- “Central”, I’m starting to move towards you! Please, please: do not open fire!

All groups! All groups! I am “Phalanx!” (call sign of one of the special forces groups of the 16th separate brigade special purpose) - The armor is coming towards you... They give you a green rocket... Do you understand? Welcome.

Hurry up, move...

- “The hundredth”, “the hundredth”, I am the “eleventh”! (call sign of one of the special forces groups).

Mitroshkin:

I understand you, I understand you... Who is the “eleventh”?

We are located…

I got you... Position yourself in a line. Whoever was in front of you, send it to me. I understand you, identify yourself as a rocket...

I mean...

Engine noise...

Kuchinsky:

Turntables, here they are...

Mitroshkin:

Stay together, take a defensive position. How did you understand?

The hundredth, the hundredth, I'm the fifth, welcome. (Special Forces Group).

Fifth, fifth, who is he?

The rumble of a helicopter overhead... Close - machine gun fire... Rumble.

Kuchinsky:

You don’t need to identify yourself to anyone... Now take away who I told you. How did you understand? Welcome. Place them in a line and sit...

Central, I'm sixth. Where to place the infantry?

Mitroshkin:

So that's it. “Micah”, I am the “hundredth”, welcome. “Micaiah,” you went out, where did I tell you?

Well done. Now “Aral” will come at you (special forces group commander, senior lieutenant Aralov). Meet Aral.

I started moving, we were separated by about a hundred meters. I'm coming at you head on.

At least say “stop, who’s coming!”, understand?

Got it, got it.

- “Aral”! I am the “hundredth”. Where are “The Inspector General” and “Baykul?”

- “Baykul” (special forces group commander, Hero of Russia, senior lieutenant Baikulov) remained at the top. That left me and the next group.

Where did the “Inspector General” group go?

The Inspector General's group was second. “The Inspector General” remained in the second group. And partly I have a couple of pieces of the second group.

- “The hundredth”, I am the “first”, (one of the special forces groups), at the reception.

Mitroshkin:

- “The hundredth” at the reception...

I’m higher up with the second group... - one of the group commanders. - A little higher, about a hundred meters...

Repeat one more time…

I am with the second group at a distance of about one hundred meters from the third group. How did you understand? Welcome.

Got you... "Baykul"...

Walkie-talkie crackle.

- “Armor”, “Armor”, I am the “hundredth”, welcome.

I am “Sova”, welcome (senior lieutenant Klyandin, platoon commander of the reconnaissance battalion of the 3rd motorized rifle division).

Pass it on! “Mukha” (the call sign of one of the special forces groups. There were 12 groups in total, 16 people in each), with a group of wounded, advances towards him along the gorge. Where the group was, how it designated itself... There is a hill to your left... The “fly” is moving forward...

- “Fly”, “Fly”, “Fly” comes from me. She's moving forward!

Got it, got you.

Mitroshkin:

- “Phalanx”, I am the “hundredth”. Welcome. Did you give it to the armor? Welcome.

I told her, but they said that we must identify ourselves...

Mitroshkin:

There is no need to send the armor, keep it where I left it, the armor will not pass here, it will not rise!

It will pass! She's already gone...

- “Aral”, “Aral”...

I'll shout to you now! Did you hear me?

There is someone in front of us,” an alarmed voice.

- “Micah”, I’m “the hundredth”, welcome...

- “Central”, “Central”, I am “Phalanx”, welcome.

I hear you, I hear you.

Give me three red flares to identify yourself, welcome.

I am the “hundredth”, meet “Aral”. Tag each other! Agree on the designation...

- “Central”, I am “Phalanx”, do you hear? Welcome.

Two “two hundredths”...

- “First”, “first”, I am “hundredth”.

Approximately how far is it from you? Where are you at? I see the glow of a flashlight.

It's not us! I'll give you a green rocket now, watch! Welcome.

Got you!

- “Central”, I am “Phalanx”, what should the armor do? She can now go the other way.

Mitroshkin:

Armor to stand still! Armor to stand still!

I understood: the armor would stand still and indicate itself with two red rockets.

There is no need to identify yourself yet. Take a perimeter defense!

I understand.

- “The hundredth”, I’m “the first”, give me a green rocket!

I give you a green rocket, watch!

I see the red dimensions of the car!

Take the “two hundredth” and go downstairs. How did you understand?

I understand you.

I'm going to the lantern!

This is not our lantern!

Got it, got you!

- “Eleventh”, as you understand? Welcome. I am the “hundredth!” Give me a green rocket!

Got it, I give you a green rocket!

- “Central”, I’m “Phalanx”, at the reception.

Who did the artillery gunner go with?

He went with "Baykul", which remained at the top.

- “Baykul” sits on top, surrounded.

Mitroshkin:

Tell Baikulov: we need to get out of the encirclement, because the Chichiks are in front of us, they won’t let us in, they’re holding us back!

I understand.

- “Central”...

- “Hundredth”, I am “Eleventh”, have you seen my green rocket?

Yes I saw.

- “Central”? I am "sixth". What should we do? What should we do?

The close, thick crackle of machine gun fire...

I understand you, I understand...

I’m the “hundredth”... Stop the car, I’ll go down to her now!

- “Hundredth”, I’m “second”, welcome. Who is this car going to?

This car is coming towards me on the road.

Will this car pick me up? “The hundredth”, I am the “second”. Will we have a car or not? (this is a radio operator from a scattered group; they could not drag a wounded man there).

Are you on the road?

We are a short distance from her.

State your last name...

I am Private Cheroshkin.

What group are you from?

First and second group.

Are these the ones who were sitting on the hill today? (from December 29 to 30). You move towards the armor. Are there any wounded with you?

Two "two hundredths" and one wounded.

Is the armor far from you?

Four hundred to five hundred meters...

Are you able to move?

I do...

Move forward, meet our troops. They are right in front of us. Do you see the light? When you reach the outskirts, give me a green rocket. They are right in front of us, as soon as you come out of the landing, give me a green rocket. How did you understand? Welcome. "Phalanx!" I'm the hundredth. When you see a green rocket, go out and help him evacuate the wounded. A scattered group came out there. I'm the hundredth. Now he is moving forward to land, his call sign is “second”, with him are two “two hundredths”. As soon as you reach the outskirts of the greenery, give me a green rocket! - Mitroshkin's voice.

- “The hundredth”, I am the “second”. Where to lead groups - first and second. We have two “two hundredths” and one “three hundredths”.

Can you evacuate them? Work under the call sign “Inspector”, I tell you again! Can you carry them yourself? (Mitroshkin, in an attempt to rectify the situation, united the scattered groups and gave them new call signs).

We pick everyone up and start moving down, the movement here is very slow.

I understand you, “Inspector General”, start moving very slowly, follow the road.

I am "sixth". Where are you?

I will not say! Leave, who did you tell?

- “Phalanx”, the armor behind the “two hundredths” comes with headlights...

- “Romashka” (senior lieutenant Solovyov, platoon commander of the reconnaissance battalion of the 3rd motorized rifle division), I am “Central”, welcome.

I am “Chamomile”, I hear you.

The armor extends with the headlights on.

Mitroshkin:

Stop talking, stop talking! Shut up on the air! Work on air at my command! The following groups are with me: “Micah”, “Aral”, groups “Inspector”, “Romashka”. “The Inspector General” comes out of the green, and “Romashka” goes to the armor!

Should we leave or not? - Solovyov. (at this moment he was pulling out two wounded people).

Are you walking along a ridge or along a ravine? Call yourself a rocket, anyone!

- “Aral”, I am the “hundredth”, welcome. "Aral", are they shooting at you?

On right…

These are chichiki... Attention! Do not respond to anyone with missiles! "Cloud" with you? That's it, come out guys... "Aral", I saw you, I don't need you anymore, come down, that's it.

No, it doesn’t work... (walkie-talkie crackling). “Baykul”, which was at the top there, came out to me, and with it two “two hundredths” and one “three hundredths”.

I understand you. Welcome,” someone’s intelligent, indifferent voice.

I'll count everyone now and report to you. That's it, we are in radio silence. - Mitroshkin.

- “The Hundredth”, I am “Romashka”: the heavy one was sent... The wounded man was sent to the reconnaissance battalion. I am at the hill along which we came, with only one armor, and five people from special forces, the rest are “Romashki”. Sappers are with me, what should we do?

Now let's clarify, wait.

- “The Hundredth”, I am “Chamomile”, I came down, indicate where I should go! I am below, as I indicated. On the right, where we came from, there is a hillock, there is a sniper working there, there is a wounded man on the armor, and there is also a wounded man in the special forces group. Be careful!

Armor, armor! I’m the “hundredth”, welcome!

I am Phalanx!

- “Tell that “Mukha” with a group of wounded is moving towards him. Where the group was, as it designated itself, is to your left, a hill. The “fly” is moving forward!

- “Fly”, “Fly”, “Fly” comes from me! - someone's voice...

From the award lists:

...Senior Lieutenant Alexander Solovyov, platoon commander of a reconnaissance company. On the night of December 29, commanding the 2nd reconnaissance group for the withdrawal of special forces, he started a night battle at a height. He quickly and skillfully evacuated the wounded and personally destroyed one shooter.

... Corporal Alexander Mamonov, squad commander of the 1st reconnaissance company. While on reconnaissance patrol he discovered an ambush, destroyed an enemy machine gunner, thereby saving the life of a scout who did not notice him. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

... Corporal Igor Sidorov, sniper. On the night of December 29, at an altitude of 558.0, the group was ambushed. The night battle began. Destroyed the machine gun crew, which ensured the least losses in the group.

... Corporal Anton Shirinsky, senior radiotelegraph operator-intelligence officer. On the night of the 29th, at an altitude of 558.0, a battle broke out during the approach. He destroyed the attacking enemy rifleman, took advantageous positions and with fire gave his comrades the opportunity to outflank the enemy.

...Junior Sergeant Yuri Kurilov, reconnaissance machine gunner. On December 29 at 16:30 in the reconnaissance group of Art. Lt. Solovyov at height 552.7, where a special forces group was fighting surrounded by a group, discovered an ambush. He threw grenades at the machine gun crew. Repelling enemy attacks from the left flank, he provided cover for the corridor for the group to exit and evacuate the wounded.

...Private Andrei Mironov, radiotelegraph operator of the Romashka reconnaissance group. On the night of December 29, at an altitude of 558.8, the patrol group was ambushed. I saw a grenade flying at the feet of the group commander, knocked him down, thereby preventing the death of the commander. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

…. Private Alexey Smirnov, radiotelegraph operator of the 1st reconnaissance company. On December 29, while on patrol on a mountain path, I discovered three bandits with a mortar. He let them in and destroyed two of them at point-blank range and captured the mortar. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Alexander Sorokin, senior RVN operator. On December 29, two BRM-1k BRMs operated from the RVN to provide fire support for special forces, the 1st reconnaissance company and the RDR. The armored group, in which Private Sorokin was located, went to the aid of the special forces. He was in the top three; during the evacuation of a comrade, he was wounded in the leg by a sniper, but carried him to a safe place. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Sergeant Andrei Kishaev, squad commander of the 1st reconnaissance company. December 29th - the commander of the troika is on patrol. He organized an ambush, and when a gang came out, they started a battle, in which he destroyed the grenade launcher. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Sergeant Roman Papin, squad commander of the 1st reconnaissance company. On December 29th he was on patrol. I noticed a group of militants who were mining the path. Destroyed all three and cleared the path. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Alexander Myasnikov, radiotelegraph operator of the 1st reconnaissance company, sniper. With patrol at around 647.1 I was in ambush. When a bandit group came to ambush, he killed the leader of the group with a well-aimed shot. Confusion began in the ranks of the gang; the rest of the bandits were finished off by the group. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Sergeant Dmitry Porplik, squad commander of the 1st reconnaissance company. On December 29, while on patrol, he discovered a militant ambush. During the battle, he destroyed several enemy firing points and helped the wounded. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Junior Sergeant Dmitry Yaroshenko, gunner-operator of an infantry fighting vehicle of the 1st reconnaissance company. On December 29th I was on patrol with an armored group. When they discovered an enemy ambush, fire destroyed a machine gun and a grenade launcher crew, which made it possible to save three wounded scouts. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Senior Lieutenant Gennady Bernatsky, platoon commander of a reconnaissance company. On December 29, the reconnaissance group of Senior Lieutenant Bernatsky conducted reconnaissance of height 558.0. The group was the first to discover the ambush. He made a decision: to covertly bypass the enemy and destroy him with a surprise attack. In battle he acted skillfully, boldly and decisively. During the battle, the group destroyed 10 bandits and a machine gun crew.

...Senior Sergeant Nikolai Korzhavin, deputy. platoon commander. On the night of December 29th he was part of the 2nd reconnaissance group at around 558.0. As we approached the height we came under fire. During the battle, a situation of danger was created surrounding the patrol. Acting boldly and decisively, risking his life, he moved forward with both his machine gun and underbarrel grenade launcher destroyed a machine gunner and two enemy machine gunners.

...Private Yuri Aleksandrovsky, radiotelegraphist-reconnaissance reconnaissance company. At an altitude of 552.7, where a special forces group was fighting surrounded by a group, the group was ambushed. Was part of a machine gun crew. Having moved to the right front edge, he took an advantageous position and repelled the enemy’s attacks, not allowing him to come from the right flank, and destroyed four bandits. Covering the group's retreat, he discovered a sniper and destroyed him, thereby helping to carry out the wounded.

...Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Shlykov, Deputy. commander of the 2nd reconnaissance company for educational work. On the outskirts of Duba-Yurt, the lead vehicle of Senior Lieutenant Shlykov was shot from an ambush. He fiercely resisted enemy fire, ensured the withdrawal of part of the group, and held combat positions until the arrival of the Akula group. He saved some of the personnel who were ambushed and put up worthy resistance to the enemy. He was seriously wounded, but competently organized the battle, being surrounded by militants. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Sergeant Viktor Ryakhovsky, senior BMP operator of the reconnaissance company. He was on BMP No. 063, on the lead vehicle. During the shelling, he took the place of the gunner, and ordered him to leave the car. Together with the wounded junior sergeant Shander, he opened fire on the enemy. The car was hit. Ordered Shander to leave the car. Fought the battle. Another hit. I could no longer escape. Burnt out in the BMP turret. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Junior Sergeant V. Shander, squad leader on BMP No. 063. During shelling from an ambush, he received a severe shrapnel wound from a grenade explosion, but took his place in the BMP and fired. The BMP was hit and fired without leaving the burning vehicle. He was severely shell-shocked and received numerous burns to his face. Trying to save the commander of the vehicle, Sergeant Ryakhovsky, he received another injury. Presented to the Order of Courage.

... Junior Sergeant Yuri Shelimanov, senior intelligence officer. He was on BMP No. 063. At the beginning of the shelling, he turned the machine gun towards the enemy, fired accurately, which helped the remaining comrades leave the fire zone. Extinguished the fire from the machine gun point. He carried his wounded comrade on himself. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

... Private S. Krylov, intelligence officer. He was on BMP No. 063. He was seriously wounded when the vehicle was fired upon from an ambush. Destroyed the machine gun crew. During the battle, being surrounded, he was extremely collected. Presented to the Order of Courage.

... Private A. Safyanov, gunner-operator on BMP No. 063. He fired at a height with a grenade launcher located there from a BMP cannon. I received an order to leave the car. During the battle, on the orders of the group commander, Senior Lieutenant Shlykov, under heavy enemy fire, he made his way into an infantry fighting vehicle and kept in touch with the battalion commander. He fired, ensuring the removal of wounded comrades. Destroyed an enemy sniper. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Sergei Sergei Yaskevich, commander of the reconnaissance squad. He was in BMP No. 083. The vehicle was shot from an ambush. He was seriously wounded and lost his leg. He fired until the last moment of his life and managed to suppress two enemy firing points. Killed by a grenade launcher. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Sergeant I. Solovyov, deputy. reconnaissance platoon commander. He was on the armor of BMP No. 086. He was fired upon from an ambush, and during the breakthrough he fired against an enemy machine gunner and sniper. He fought until help arrived. Helped carry out wounded comrades. In the battle, he destroyed two enemy firing points. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Sergeant Alexander Zakhvatov, senior reconnaissance officer, was on BMP No. 083. When the armor was fired upon, he was wounded twice, but fought. Destroyed the sniper. Killed by an RPG shot. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Junior Sergeant A. Pervakov, commander of the BMP-2. When the car was hit by an RPG, he was shell-shocked and seriously wounded, but fought. Destroyed an enemy machine gunner. Presented to the Order of Courage.

... Corporal Roman Selin, fired from an ambush, wounded twice. Killed two snipers. Ensured the withdrawal of part of the group. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Junior Sergeant A. Alimov, squad commander. During shelling from an ambush, he was wounded by a grenade fragment, fought an unequal battle, and covered the retreat of part of the group. Destroyed the firing point. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Junior Sergeant Dmitry Fedosov, radiotelegraph operator. At the beginning of the shelling, he radioed in time that the group had been ambushed. He quickly took up a firing position and destroyed several enemy firing points. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Nikolai Adamov, driver. His car was shot from an ambush. Heavily wounded, he left the car and offered fierce resistance to the enemy who surrounded the car. He fired from a machine gun from under a burning infantry fighting vehicle. Destroyed the sniper. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Private Nikolai Bashkov, reconnaissance machine gunner. When firing from an ambush, skillfully wielding weapons, he provided powerful fire resistance in the environment. Wounded twice. Destroyed two machine gun crews. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private Sergei Voronin, senior intelligence officer. During shelling from an ambush, he was seriously wounded, but fought. He was wounded again, but continued to fight. Killed by a sniper. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Private Sergei Danilov, gunner-operator of an infantry fighting vehicle. When the group was ambushed, they fired from an infantry fighting vehicle. When the car was hit by two shots from a grenade launcher, he was seriously wounded and shell-shocked, but did not leave the car. Destroyed an enemy grenade launcher crew. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private M. Lozinsky, a scout, was on BMP No. 083. He destroyed several bandits and was shell-shocked. Covering the group's retreat with fire, he helped his wounded comrades get out from under fire. When help arrived, he continued to hold the defense and covered his comrades carrying out the wounded with fire. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private A. Suvorov, senior reconnaissance officer of the reconnaissance company. He was on BMP No. 086. He was fired upon from an ambush and seriously wounded. Destroyed several enemy firing points. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private Sergei Cherkasov, gunner-operator of an infantry fighting vehicle. He fired, remaining with his wounded comrade until the last. Helped carry out a wounded man under fire. When the “Shark” group approached, he saved the lives of his comrades. Presented to the Order of Courage.

... Petty Officer Dmitry Koirov, senior reconnaissance officer of the reconnaissance company. He was wounded and shell-shocked twice. He fought while surrounded. Destroyed two enemy firing points. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Senior Sergeant Vladimir Khilchenko. In battle he acted skillfully and decisively, destroying three machine gun points. With a shot from a grenade launcher, he destroyed a sniper and a grenade launcher, taking out two wounded. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Junior Sergeant Vitaly Shitov, radio telegraph operator-reconnaissance. When the shelling began from an ambush, he was wounded in the head. After providing assistance, he continued to fight, despite the order to leave the battlefield. He remained to cover the retreat of the group and the wounded. Presented to the Order of Courage.

... Private Evgeny Lipatov, reconnaissance machine gunner. Under the cover of armor, he made his way to his surrounded comrades. Destroyed several firing points in buildings. Helped the group get through to their surrounded comrades. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Eldar Kurbanaliev, driver. Was on the BRM-1k. The car was hit and lost control. He fired from his personal weapon. Killed by a sniper. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Private Andrei Puchkov, reconnaissance operator of the RVN. Covered the retreat of the Nara group and fought an unequal battle. Wounded by a sniper. Fired until last man did not leave the affected area. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private Vladimir Sedov, RVN platoon operator. He was in the cover group, ensuring the withdrawal of his comrades. He fell under enemy crossfire, was wounded, fired, fell behind the group, trying to catch up with it, and was killed by a sniper. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Private Ilmur Zhuruzbaev, driver-mechanic of the reconnaissance company. Provided armor cover for the group. Was hit. He covered the wounded with armor and thereby saved them from death. Helped evacuate the wounded. Ensuring the group's retreat, he fired and destroyed two bandits.

...Sergeant Vladislav Sharov, reconnaissance machine gunner. He covered the left flank of the group with a machine gun and did not allow the bandits to conduct aimed fire. Died from a direct hit from a grenade launcher. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Foreman Sergei Orlov, radiotelegraph operator of the reconnaissance company. Under the cover of an infantry fighting vehicle, he broke through to the encirclement, was seriously wounded, but continued to fire until his ammunition ran out. Presented to the Order of Courage.

... Petty Officer Yuri Panyukov, gunner-operator of the reconnaissance company. Under enemy fire, he saved two wounded comrades. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Senior Sergeant A. Takmanov. Wounded in battle. Breaking through to his surrounded comrades, he destroyed several enemy firing points. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Ermak Muzhikbaev, senior mechanic-driver of the reconnaissance company. On the BMP he acted on the left flank, which enabled the machine gunner to ensure the passage of equipment to the Nara group. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Major Sergei Polyakov, deputy battalion commander for weapons, led the first evacuation group. When the group came under fire, he organized the suppression of enemy firing points, the advancement of the evacuation group and covering it with armored vehicles. Fire from personal weapons destroyed a grenade launcher and two enemy shooters. He received a bullet wound and a concussion, but did not leave the battlefield and continued to carry out his assigned task. During the battle, under enemy fire, he carried four wounded and three killed. Only after the last wounded man was evacuated from the battlefield, Major Polyakov led the evacuation group to the command post of the 160th tank tank. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Ensign Alexey Trofimov, foreman of the reconnaissance landing company. He led the evacuation group and moved forward under the cover of an armored group. Before reaching the supposed location of the wounded of the 2nd company, the group came under enemy dagger fire. The group commander, Warrant Officer Trofimov, with clear, skillful actions, organized a perimeter defense and suppression of enemy firing points. The machine gun crew was destroyed by fire from personal weapons and an under-barrel grenade launcher. Having been wounded, Warrant Officer Trofimov continued to evacuate the wounded. Having evacuated the wounded to the command post of the 160th tank regiment, warrant officer Trofimov led the evacuation group and returned to the battlefield. Under enemy crossfire, he continued to evacuate the wounded, while using personal weapons and a grenade launcher, he destroyed a sniper and 3 enemy machine gunners. During the battle, warrant officer Trofimov carried two wounded on himself. The group under his command inflicted great damage on the enemy in manpower. 15 wounded people were evacuated. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Junior Sergeant Dmitry Gafarov, driver-medic of the logistics platoon, during the operation to evacuate the wounded, destroyed one militant with an under-barrel grenade launcher, carried a wounded comrade out from under fire, and provided him with first aid.

...Marat Abulkhanov, the senior battery master of the repair platoon, dismounted from the infantry fighting vehicle, began to cut off and suppress the fire of the militants, thereby giving his comrades the opportunity to pick up the killed and wounded scouts. He carried out two wounded people and helped them get into the BMP. When retreating, he covered his comrades with fire. Seriously wounded. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Junior sergeant, senior mechanic of the repair platoon Stanislav Kulikov, dismounted from the infantry fighting vehicle, began to cut off and suppress the enemy with fire, giving the evacuation group the opportunity to pick up the dead and wounded, and provided it with fire cover. Killed by a sniper. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Junior sergeant, repair platoon driver-motorman Mikhail Sergeev, dismounting from an infantry fighting vehicle under fire, destroyed an enemy machine gunner, took a fire spotter from the 160th tank regiment and the battalion commander out of the fire, thereby saving their lives. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Ensign Sergei Akhmedov, when the group was ambushed, opened aimed fire at the enemy. He carried out a seriously wounded soldier. Covered the group's retreat. Provided medical care to the wounded. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Sergei Galanov, the driver of the logistics platoon, destroyed two militants and a sniper with targeted fire. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Vyacheslav Balaykin, driver of the logistics platoon, personally destroyed three bandits in battle. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Fyodor Baskakov, a reconnaissance machine gunner, destroyed up to five bandits in battle. He pulled out his wounded comrade from under fire. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Alexey Borovkov, a reconnaissance machine gunner, walked on the left flank of the group under the cover of armor. He destroyed an enemy group with a shot from a grenade launcher. He fired under sniper fire, holding back the advance of the militants. He was wounded in the legs, but did not leave the battlefield, but fired, giving the company the opportunity to pass through a dangerous area and reach the wounded for their evacuation. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private Vladimir Vitkalov, a driver-electrician of a communications platoon, came under enemy fire from an ambush, was wounded, but continued to fire. Destroyed a sniper and several militants. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private Vladimir Golovin, logistics platoon driver, private. Participated in the evacuation of the dead and wounded under enemy fire. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Alexander Derevyankin, senior refueling driver, personally destroyed two bandits in battle. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Alexander Eliseev, machine gunner-reconnaissance company. Moving forward with a grenade launcher, he came under dagger fire, but managed to destroy the enemy machine-gun crew and two bandits with the grenade launcher. He pulled a wounded comrade out from under fire to a safe place. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Alexey Ivanov personally destroyed two bandits. Suppressed the firing point. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Yuri Ivlev, senior driver of an armored personnel carrier of a reconnaissance company. He came under dagger fire, but used an RPG to destroy the enemy’s machine gun, which provided passage for the removal of wounded comrades. In total, he destroyed five bandits in this battle. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Alexander Isachenko, driver of the logistics platoon. He came under fire from an ambush and was wounded, but killed three bandits. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private Gennady Kondratenko, driver-radio telegraph operator of the reconnaissance landing company. Was part of the support group and artillery fire spotter. When a spotter major as part of an armored group came under heavy fire, Private Kondratenko competently covered him and he accurately fired at the enemy’s firing points. An RPG destroyed a machine gun crew, was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Alexey Korotkov, driver of an armored personnel carrier of a reconnaissance company. At the beginning of the battle, without losing composure, he opened fire on the enemy. Using an RPG, he destroyed a sniper's nest, did not allow the enemy to bypass the group on the right, and covered the removal of the wounded with fire. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

... Private Sergei Kostrikin, driver of the logistics platoon. Suppressed enemy firing points and destroyed the machine gun crew. With his courageous actions, he ensured that the group's mission was accomplished. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Andrei Kotlov, reconnaissance machine gunner. Covered the group's retreat. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Mikhail Kurzin, reconnaissance reconnaissance company. When the group came under heavy fire, he immediately returned fire and gave his comrades the opportunity to take up defensive positions. Suppressed the fire of two machine gun crews. He covered the group's retreat and was the last to leave. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

... Private Dmitry Makhrov, the driver of the logistics platoon, was wounded in the battle, but killed two militants. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Private Alexey Mosalev, driver-vulcanizer of the repair platoon. Under targeted fire from a sniper, he carried out two seriously wounded soldiers, thereby saving their lives. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Vladimir Rumyantsev, senior reconnaissance officer of the reconnaissance company. When the group was ambushed, he quickly reacted, lay down, returned fire and killed four bandits. He assisted a wounded comrade and covered the group’s retreat with fire. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Yuri Ryazhin, driver-radio telegraph operator of the reconnaissance landing company. Destroyed an enemy grenade launcher. Covered with fire the retreat of the main group and the removal of the wounded. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Alexey Savin, driver of the logistics platoon. Participated in the evacuation of the dead and wounded under enemy fire. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Alexey Chervyakov, reconnaissance reconnaissance company. He saw our wounded man on the road - he crawled up and pulled him out to a safe place under enemy fire. Covered his comrades with fire. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Ilya Shustov, driver of the logistics platoon, destroyed the enemy machine gun crew. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Junior Sergeant Konstantin Vasilenko, reconnaissance reconnaissance company. Under enemy dagger fire, without losing composure, he destroyed the machine gun crew, which allowed the group to take up defensive positions. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Sergeant Sergei Anisimov, medical instructor of the battalion first-aid post. While evacuating the wounded S. Orlov, he came under sniper fire. He hid it in a safe place and re-entered the battle. Destroyed a bandit with an RPG-18 “Fly”. He pulled the wounded man out from under the fire and treated him emergency assistance. Personally carried out three wounded and treated medical care nine wounded soldiers. He remained voluntarily in the cover group. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Sergei Sergei Aukin, commander of the battalion communications platoon. He killed two bandits with a machine gun. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Sergeant Dzomtsoev, driver of the logistics platoon. He came under heavy fire from an ambush, did not lose his head, was wounded, and killed three bandits in the battle. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Junior Sergeant Sergei Sizov, repair foreman. Under heavy enemy fire, he suppressed the fire and cut off the advancing bandits, which made it possible to collect his dead and wounded comrades. While covering the group's retreat, he was seriously wounded. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Junior Sergeant Nikolai Shumachev, driver of the logistics platoon. When the group was ambushed, he personally destroyed three bandits. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Sergeant Vladimir Shchetinin, driver-fitter of the repair platoon. In battle - operator-gunner. By suppressing firing points, it gave the landing force the opportunity to collect dead and wounded comrades. While retreating from the shelling zone, he was hit by an RPG. The car caught fire. While trying to leave the burning infantry fighting vehicle, he was killed by a sniper. Order of Courage posthumously.

...Senior warrant officer Igor Klimovich, commander of the logistics platoon. As the evacuation group approached their ambushed comrades, they were fired upon from houses on the outskirts, but did not become confused, dispersed and fought. He took two soldiers and crawled along the ditch to the bandits’ flank. He killed two bandits with a grenade. He gave the group the opportunity to pass through the shelled area and approach the wounded comrades and begin their evacuation. Covered the group's retreat and was the last to leave the battle. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Senior Warrant Officer Ivan Kuznetsov. Fired at superior enemy forces. With skillful and brave actions he ensured the escape of wounded scouts who were ambushed. Personally destroyed two enemy machine gunners. He was seriously wounded, but continued to fight. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Senior Sergeant Andrey Yolkin. When the group was ambushed, well-aimed fire suppressed enemy fire. Injured. Destroyed several bandits. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...On December 31, the senior reconnaissance patrol, senior lieutenant Bernatsky, conducted reconnaissance at an altitude of 558.2. An enemy stronghold was discovered at the height. Senior Lieutenant Bernatsky made a decision: with a sudden throw, destroy the enemy and occupy the heights. The attack was successful. In the battle, the group of senior lieutenant Bernatsky destroyed several militants.

...On the night of December 30 to 31, the 2nd reconnaissance group under the command of Senior Lieutenant Solovyov carried out a combat mission to conduct reconnaissance of the infantry advance route at altitude. While conducting reconnaissance, a reconnaissance group under his command destroyed a Ural with weapons and ammunition, discovered strongholds, and destroyed a group of militants and an enemy BMP-2. In the battle in square 6462, Senior Lieutenant Solovyov captured LNG-9. Skillful actions ensured safe passage for infantry units and obtained samples of enemy uniforms and weapons. The group left the reconnaissance area without losses. Presented to the Order of Courage.

...Senior Sergeant Pyotr Erokhin, deputy commander of a reconnaissance platoon. I was in the group of Lieutenant Klyandin on December 30th on reconnaissance at around 950.8, commanding a patrol group, and discovered a machine gunner. Acting boldly, he destroyed one militant personally and three in the group... On the night of December 31st, we reached a height and took up a perimeter defense. In the period from 3 to 4 o'clock they were discovered by the enemy. During the battle, he was on the flank of the group and destroyed a machine gun crew. On the 31st at 15:00, when the group was going to help the special forces, I was in the cover group. Destroyed the enemy grenade launcher, thereby preventing the enemy from pursuing the group. Presented to the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd class with the image of swords.

... Corporal Anton Shirinsky, radiotelegraph operator-intelligence officer. On December 30, at night at an altitude of 950.8, during observation, I discovered a shooter with a night sight and destroyed him silent weapon. On December 31, at an altitude of 950.8, when the group was ambushed, he ensured the evacuation of the crew from a damaged BMP-2 under enemy fire. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

... Corporal Igor Sidorov, sniper. On December 30, when approaching altitude 950.8, the battle began. Risking his life, he took the lead and destroyed three bandits - the crew of the anti-aircraft gun, which ensured progress without losses. Nominated for the Zhukov Medal.

...Private Mikhail Meshkov, reconnaissance machine gunner of a reconnaissance landing company. On the night of December 30-31, I was in the group of Lieutenant Klyandin at an altitude of 647.1, which took up a perimeter defense. In the period from 3 to 4 o'clock the group was discovered and took the fight. He discovered an outflanking enemy and destroyed two firing points, thereby preventing encirclement. At height 647, he destroyed two firing points, which prevented the encirclement of the reconnaissance group. On December 31 at 15:00, when the group went to the aid of a special forces detachment that was surrounded, carried out a wounded man under fire and destroyed an enemy shooter. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Junior Sergeant Yuri Kurilov, a reconnaissance machine gunner, on December 31 at an altitude of 558.0, as part of a patrol squad, was one of the first to see the militants, entered the battle and destroyed three bandits. Covered the group during the retreat. He destroyed the machine gun crew and gave the group the opportunity to escape the encirclement. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Roman Oborotov, deputy. platoon commander of a reconnaissance company. He acted in the group of Lieutenant Klyandin. At an altitude of 647.1 we took up a perimeter defense, when the battle began between 3 and 4 a.m. and destroyed the enemy’s lead group. Nominated for the medal "For Courage".

...Private Alexei Snopov, radiotelegraph operator, sniper. He acted in the group of Lieutenant Klyandin. On the night of December 31st, he destroyed three bandits using the SVD (Dragunov sniper rifle - author). On December 31 at 15:00, while helping a special forces group get out of encirclement, he destroyed a shooter from the enemy’s lead group. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Artur Fenichev, intelligence officer. In the group of Lieutenant Klyandin. On the night of December 31st, the group reached a height of 647.1 and took up a perimeter defense. He was on the left flank, destroyed an enemy group, and carried out a wounded man under fire. Nominated for the Zhukov Medal.

...Sergeant Yuri Kiryanov, machine gunner-reconnaissance company. In the group of Lieutenant Klyandin. He was on the right flank and destroyed a grenade launcher crew in battle. He carried out a wounded man under fire. Destroyed an enemy shooter. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

...Private Yuri Aleksandrovsky, radiotelegraph operator-reconnaissance officer of the RDR, on December 31, at an altitude of 558.8, was with Solovyov’s group in a perimeter defense. Ensured the withdrawal of the reconnaissance group and the removal of the wounded. Nominated for the Suvorov medal.

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. Planned placement here today ski resort, but just recently this area was watered with blood 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 workers. 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 enter treaty settlements military equipment, however, 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. For successful implementation According to 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. He cares today It is not clear 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-battle with investigators from 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;

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 the group 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 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. Managed to capture several units 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 award sheets for the reconnaissance soldiers who died that day, an army-like, skimpy picture emerges of the heaviest battle, in which 10 were killed and 29 reconnaissance officers 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 battle before last minute fired from a cannon and a BMP machine gun, helping to evacuate 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 firing 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 Agayev 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 beginning of September, the division headquarters received a directive from the chief General Staff The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the creation of an operational-tactical group of the 3rd motorized rifle division, indicating the states. On September 11, the division commander conveyed to the involved units the order to be sent to the area of ​​​​the counter-terrorist operation. The first units loaded into trains and moved to the North Caucasus on September 12. On September 13, the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion with an updated staff of personnel and equipment left for the Caucasus.

At the time of dispatch, the professional training of the battalion's conscript soldiers left much to be desired. Some of the soldiers and sergeants had already left in the summer; they were replaced by untrained green boys who, at best, had shot several times at the shooting range and had not yet mastered the material part of the battalion’s military equipment. Some young mechanics-drivers of combat vehicles did not know which way to approach the equipment, let alone drive a car in difficult conditions. I had to show everything as I went. As the convoy moved to the battalion's loading station, several vehicles broke down; they urgently had to be replaced with serviceable ones from the division's tank units, whose equipment was not lost during the Caucasian mission and which, according to the staff of their reconnaissance units, had the same special vehicles.

A few days before loading, combat coordination of the reconnaissance battalion was carried out, during which additional equipment, weapons, personnel and supplies were completed. The battalion’s financiers also arrived in the “fields.” All monetary debts of the state to officers and contract soldiers up to and including August were paid, as in other parts of the division that were leaving for an unknown war...

From the first days of hostilities in Chechnya, the battalion fought boldly and decisively. The officers acquired the necessary experience, the conscript boys hardened and matured in the heat of Chechen combat everyday life. As a result, the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion became a formidable force, capable of effectively resisting the professional mercenaries of gangs.

From September to December 1999, the battalion performed specific tasks as a reconnaissance unit as part of the West grouping. During the first two months of hostilities in 84 orbs there were no losses of personnel, and all assigned tasks were carried out competently, for which the battalion was respected by the command of the group. The commander of the West group, Lieutenant General Vladimir Shamanov, demanded that the scouts be used only for their intended purpose, and not as assault groups or guards for any military officials.

In addition, having seen the deplorable standard weapons of the reconnaissance units with which they had to carry out combat missions, the commander of the group ordered to provide snipers in excess of the staff SVD rifles, PKM machine guns, automatic grenade launchers AGS-17 and, until now, unprecedented in the 84 orb, special small arms NRS-2 (scout shooting knife) and PSS (special self-loading pistol), which according to the staff were intended only for GRU units. At first, there weren’t enough sleeping bags for all the scouts, and Shamanov also helped here - every soldier and officer in the reconnaissance units received a “sleeping bag.”

In December, combat units of the West group approached the Chechen capital, the city of Grozny, to which gang units flocked from all directions. The assault on the city by federal troops was obvious to everyone. The group's troops were ordered to capture the dominant Gikalovsky heights, which were of strategic importance for the subsequent attack on Grozny.

Already in the first Chechen war, the Gikalovsky Heights were a well-fortified area, which our troops stormed, suffering losses. In the second campaign, engineering structures at the heights grew even more, like tentacles giant octopus. New rifle cells, trenches and communication passages were dug, old ones were reconstructed, turning into impregnable fortresses. The heights loomed over the Russian troops, bristling with scattered everywhere heavy machine guns, built into concrete for stability, camouflaged mortars and sniper rifles.

The deputy commander of the group, who acted as General Vladimir Shamanov during his treatment in a military hospital, set the task for the personnel of 84 orb: to carry out search activities at an altitude of 398.3, when an enemy is detected, destroy him, organize a perimeter defense at the height and hold it until approach motorized riflemen of the 752nd regiment of the 3rd motorized rifle division. At the same time, the group’s headquarters did not have accurate information about the concentration of large forces of militants. At this height, according to headquarters officers, the defense was held by small detachments of militants of up to 30 people. The nature of the upcoming task was stated in general terms, but was not described in detail. It was decided to use the scouts as assault groups and perform tasks unusual for them.

The assault on the heights was assigned to two groups with a total of 29 people. The first group was commanded by the deputy commander of the reconnaissance landing company for educational work, Captain Andrei Seredin, the second was the commander of the reconnaissance landing platoon of the same company, senior lieutenant Alexander Solovyov.

Both groups left simultaneously on the evening of December 10, 1999, passing the outermost position of the 752nd platoon in front of the Gikalovsky Heights motorized rifle regiment. From an officer of a motorized rifle unit, the scouts learned that at an altitude of 398.3 there were enemy mortars that fired at them every night, and the number of militants there exceeded 60 people.

The distance from the forward positions of motorized rifles to mark 398.3 was approximately 2–4 kilometers. An armored reconnaissance group of one unit remained at the location of the motorized rifle platoon in case of evacuation of both groups and to provide support with machine gun fire.

From this place, with the onset of darkness, we moved into the night along the southern slope. The climb was long and protracted, the groups walked in a ledge, in a checkerboard pattern. The route was chosen according to the map, trying to move through the groves to the indicated height. Three oil well torches more than 12 meters high were burning on the slope. The entire area in front of the burning well was illuminated so that a thread could be seen on the ground. Reconnaissance groups found themselves in the illuminated area, while the militants were on the dark side. The enemy was so confident in the inaccessibility of the Gikalovsky heights that the guards and observers slept peacefully, not expecting a night visit from the scouts.

Reconnaissance groups began to bypass the torch area from the southwestern side. Making their way through numerous militant communication passages, Captain Seredin’s reconnaissance group came across a military outpost of bandits, who at first mistook the scouts for their own, sleepily asking for a cigarette. In response, shots were fired at the “spirits”. And at this time the heights came to life.

The barrage of bullets was so dense that the scouts could not raise their heads at first. The militants fired at the group from three dominant sides. Machine guns and mortars started working. Bullets and mortar shots, like a disturbed swarm of wasps, lifted the veil of the night's calm. At first, the “spirits” fired at random, trying to find the uninvited guests by return shots. Then the fan of bullets began to fall more orderly, snatching the silhouettes of our guys from the darkness.

Captain Seredin decided to retreat. But the scouts had already been discovered by militants who were planning to flank the group. The “spirits” had not yet discovered the location of the second detachment, so they went to full height, anticipating quick reprisals against the feds.

An artillery gunner officer assigned to reconnaissance patrol No. 1 from a motorized rifle regiment radioed for artillery fire at the bandits’ positions. The shells landed at a dangerous distance, 300–400 meters before our fighters, providing a retreat for the group.

Artillery explosions drowned out the heart-rending cries of “Allahu Akbar” and the choice Russian obscenities of the militants. As it turned out later, the defense of the Gikalov Heights, in addition to the Chechens and Arabs, was held by the Slavic brothers, Ukrainian mercenaries.

The commander of reconnaissance group No. 2, senior lieutenant Soloviev, gave the order to his men to take the fight, covering the retreat of the neighboring group. Senior radiotelegraph operator-reconnaissance Mikhail Zosimenko, ensuring the withdrawal of group No. 1, was fatally wounded in the head. Senior Lieutenant Alexander Solovyov, who happened to be nearby, risked own life, under a hail of bullets, Zosimenko shouldered himself and ran at full speed to the oil tank. Behind the tank there were already his soldiers, who were pouring machine guns all around, creating a dense fire for their comrades to escape.

The “spirits” were already pushing the scouts from the flanks, not paying attention to the artillery fire. Senior Sergeant Dmitry Sergeev, noticing the militants’ trap that was deadly for them, stood up to his full height and fired a machine gun from his hip until he was wounded in the head. The second bullet destroyed the machine gun, which became useless in battle, like a club at long distances.

The groups moved back in rolls, one at a time. The wounded soldiers were dragged on raincoats, forgetting about fear and fatigue. The “spirits” followed on their heels. And when it seemed that the scouts could not escape the pursuit, an armored personnel carrier of an armored group emerged from the fog below. Opening on the move with indiscriminate machine-gun fire on the heights, the combat vehicle under the command of the reconnaissance platoon commander, Senior Lieutenant Gennady Bernatsky, with its appearance forced the militants to retreat back and evacuate the reconnaissance groups of the battalion.

On this day there was the first death since the beginning of the Chechen fighting in the 84th reconnaissance battalion. Without regaining consciousness, Private Mikhail Zosimenko died from his wounds at the 752nd Medical Rifle Station. For the first time, the battalion served as an assault group instead of motorized rifle units, as a result of which the reconnaissance losses in this night battle amounted to four wounded and one killed.

The next day, the group headquarters again planned reconnaissance of height 398.3. This time the militants showed vigilance. On the approaches to the height, the group was fired upon with all types of weapons from the same trenches and rifle cells that had been opened the day before by the battalion's scouts. After a radio report to the deputy commander of the reconnaissance battalion, Major Pakov, about intense enemy fire, the group was ordered to return to the original area.

All subsequent days, until December 17, companies of the 84th orb, as part of several combat groups, stormed the heights with marks 398.3 and 367.6, opening strongholds and firing points of the militants, ensuring the approach of the units of the 752nd infantry regiment to these lines. The battalion's losses from December 13 to 17 amounted to seven wounded (1 officer, 6 soldiers).

The fighting on the Gikalovsky Heights was fierce. Neither side wanted to give in to each other. The engineering structures of the “spirits” snaked along all the slopes of the heights, which the artillery of the Russian troops could not penetrate. The approaches to the heights were shot at by bandits day and night. The enemy had no intention of leaving here, believing in the inaccessibility of his fortress. And the reconnaissance groups of the battalion, this time together with units of the motorized rifle regiment, again and again rose to the heights.

For personal courage, heroism and skillful leadership of the battle during the mastery of the height with mark 367.6, the commander of the 2nd reconnaissance company of the battalion, senior lieutenant Alexander Khamitov, was awarded the title of Hero of Russia. All the battalion fighters who stormed the Gikalovsky Heights were also awarded state awards.

During the battles for the dominant heights, the enemy’s defenses were broken by the courage, dedication and fortitude of our troops.
In the second half of December 1999, Orb 84 changed its direction of action. From the Gikalovsky Heights it was transferred towards the Argun Gorge near Duba-Yurt.

...The year 2000 was approaching. The most tragic year in the history of the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion...

The Chechen village of Duba-Yurt is located at the entrance to the strategically important point of Chechnya - the Argun Gorge. “Wolf Gate,” as this area was called, was considered by the militants to be padlocked. Here, militants under the leadership of Khattab were preparing for protracted and bloody battles with the federals in order to prevent them from entering the southern regions of the republic.

84 Orb received from the group command the task of jointly with army special forces units to determine the enemy’s forces and means in this part of mountainous Chechnya.

All combined arms units of the West group (245 motorized rifle regiments, 752 motorized rifle regiments, 15 motorized rifle regiments, 126 motorized rifle regiments) carried out an attack on the Chechen capital. At the disposal of the group commander on south direction There were 138 Motorized Rifle Brigade, 136 Orb 19 Motorized Rifle Division, Special Forces from the Leningrad Military District with the area of ​​responsibility Urus-Martan - Goyskoye - Starye Atagi. They carried out the task of reaching the heights from the western side. 160 TP, 84 ORB and 664 OSN were supposed to capture and hold the heights east of Duba-Yurt.

Duba-Yurt was a “negotiated” village, that is, the elders assured the group’s command that the residents were not helping the bandits and did not allow them into the village. At the same time, they were allowed to have their own rural self-defense units to protect the village from militants. Respectively fighting 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.

The headquarters of the group assigned the task to the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion to capture the dominant heights above Duba-Yurt for the subsequent advancement and consolidation of motorized rifle units assigned to the 160th tank regiment. For these purposes, consolidated assault detachments were formed with interconnection with the 664 special forces of the GRU. Each detachment, which consisted of two special forces groups, was assigned a reconnaissance group of the 84th battalion. There were three combined groups, which consisted of 6 special forces groups and 3 reconnaissance battalion groups. All combined detachments were commanded by officers of the 664th Special Forces Detachment.

Senior Lieutenant Aralov was appointed commander of the first assault detachment "Aral", and the reconnaissance group of Senior Lieutenant Solovyov "Romashka" was assigned to him. The commander of the second assault detachment "Baykul" was Senior Lieutenant Baykulov, he was assigned the group of Senior Lieutenant Klyandin "Owl". The third group "Taras" was commanded by Senior Lieutenant Tarasov, he was assigned the group "Shark" of Lieutenant Mironov from the reconnaissance battalion. For the convenience of coordinating the actions of the groups, the management of the operation determined the same radio frequencies.

The assault detachments were tasked with capturing the heights to the left of the “Wolf Gate”, which overlooked one ridge, entering the height and holding it until the arrival of units of the 160th Tank Regiment from the southern outskirts of Duba-Yurt in cooperation with the regiment’s artillery and army aviation. On the left bank of the Argun, units of the 138th motorized rifle brigade and the 136th separate reconnaissance battalion operated with similar tasks.

The operation was planned for the evening of December 29. However, on this day it did not begin, since the group of the 664th special forces detachment, which had been operating in this direction since December 27, was discovered by militants, and the command decided to first provide assistance to the surrounded special forces.
A group of senior lieutenant Alexander Solovyov “Romashka” on two BRM-1s of 16 people and a special forces group of 12 people were sent to help. The general management of the evacuation was carried out by the commander of the 664th special forces unit, Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin.

When approaching the height at which the special forces were fighting, the scouts came under heavy crossfire from small arms and grenade launchers from militants. Dismounting from combat vehicles and hiding behind armor, the combined detachment began to enter the forest. With the help of communications, they quickly discovered the presence of blocked special forces soldiers, but it was not possible to free them from encirclement - all approaches to them were shot through.
Only six hours later the scouts reached the heights. The “spirits”, taking the dead and wounded, retreated. By that time, the special forces had one killed and three wounded, and the scouts had two wounded. After the evacuation of the special forces detachment, Senior Lieutenant Solovyov’s group was ordered to return to the battalion’s location.

On December 30, the head of reconnaissance of the West group clarified the tasks of the prepared combined assault detachments. The radio frequencies for joint actions were not changed, although, according to Alexander Solovyov, on December 29, the militants tried to play a radio game with him and indicated false coordinates of the location of the special forces.

At 12.30, almost simultaneously, each along its own route, the combined detachments “Aral” with “Romashka” and “Baykul” with “Owl” began to advance. The "Shark" group was sent to the outskirts of the cement plant at the location of 84 orbs for rest. At night she conducted reconnaissance. The Taras group was the last to leave. Motorized rifle units advanced behind the assault detachments.

From the commanding heights it was not difficult for the militants to observe the accumulation of our troops in front of Duba-Yurt.

The combined detachment, which included the group of senior lieutenant Solovyov "Romashka", carried out the task of capturing the heights, which they had already taken on December 29 when rescuing the special forces.

The groups reached intermediate heights without surprises. Upon reaching the end points, the assault groups came under heavy fire from small arms, mortars and anti-aircraft guns. The anti-aircraft installation of the “spirits” worked blindly along the gorge in which “Baykul” and “Sova” were located. The scouts changed their route and moved up a steep slope so that they would not be hit by anti-aircraft fire.

Meanwhile, the Aral groups with the Sova 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.

Without having time to gain a foothold at the height and organize a defense, the scouts came under machine gun fire from the enemy. Having sent forward a group led by Senior Lieutenant Bernatsky to suppress the fire of the “spirits,” the reconnaissance group commander began to conduct reconnaissance of the area.

“Owl” and “Baykul” are located a little lower. "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...

The date is December 31, 1999. Somewhere the tables were already set for the New Year, and here, in the deadly Argun Gorge, the scouts were preparing to either win or die...

At 4 o’clock in the morning, the group’s headquarters received information that a special forces detachment of senior lieutenant Tarasov, which 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.

“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.

A hundred meters before Duba-Yurt, the Nara column stopped. The group commander, having contacted the operation command, asked for confirmation of his actions in conditions of limited visibility of the area. The answer came: “Continue driving.”

As it became known later, the Taras group did not go to the indicated area, getting confused in the search for heights. No environmental signals on command post They did not transfer the groups. It was impossible to identify the voice. Obviously, the militants prepared disinformation on air in advance.
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. The soldiers headed to the nearest brick house, hoping to find shelter there. One could not count on protection behind the armor of the BMP-2. They were consistently disabled by enemy grenade launchers.

The crews of the combat vehicles remained inside and continued to fight. The senior operator of the lead vehicle, Sergeant Viktor Ryakhovsky, took the gunner’s place during the shelling. 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.

The radio air was filled with calls for help, the sounds of battle, and the cries of the wounded.

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. And we were all lying next to the first damaged vehicle.

The fire was so dense that the bullets scattered wires over the road. Our second “bekha” 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.

The situation was such that I didn’t think anything - I just fired from a machine gun. The gun of the second car jammed, and the boys of the third car were still shooting.

Two guys are dragging Sanka Korobka - a direct hit from a sniper in the head, his whole face is covered in blood, I help drag him. I look - there is a hole in the collar from a bullet. I looked at his face - he has no eyes! The bullet hit the back of the head and came out of the eye.”

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. The anti-aircraft installation of the “spirits”, which had been silent all night, spoke again. I had to call the air force and request fire artillery battalion, which stood 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 partially suppressed the firing points of the “spirits”, but did not create barrage fire and soon stopped firing.

And below, in Duba-Yurt, the bloody massacre continued. Acting commander of the reconnaissance battalion, Major Vladimir Pakov, who at that time was at the command post of the 160th tank regiment, decides to pull the Nara out of the battle with the forces of his battalion.

The group's command tried to use aviation to suppress enemy firing points in the village and on the adjacent heights. Thick and dense fog in Duba-Yurt makes the use of aviation fatal for the scouts located in the village - helicopters and attack aircraft could catch the surrounded scouts with their NURS. The chief of artillery of the 160th tank regiment also could not fire on the southern outskirts of the village, believing that the scattering of fragments within a radius of 400 meters could be disastrous for our soldiers located in the open area.

Simultaneously with the advance of the “Akula” group to the aid of the “Nara” scouts at the location of 84 orbs, new evacuation groups are being prepared from among the remaining personnel of the battalion; two tanks with officer crews have moved from the 160th regiment to Duba-Yurt. Later, another tank with officers went with the last evacuation group of the reconnaissance battalion.

Lieutenant Mironov’s group flew into the village in one breath, having managed to notice that the residents of Duba-Yurt had already poured out of their houses and crowded at the entrance to it. It was visible how the lead vehicle of the Nara group was burning in front with a torch and the other two were standing motionless with the bodies of our killed soldiers blackening in the snow. There were three hundred meters left before them. At this time, militants opened fire on the second column.

Dismounting from the armor and hiding behind the aft landing hatches, Lieutenant Mironov's scouts continued to move.

Lieutenant Mironov contacted the battalion commander on the radio and said that he would not be able to break through to the aid of Nara, he had wounded and killed. Major Pakov ordered Mironov to stop, gain a foothold in the courtyards and wait for reinforcements.

The first to appear were two T-64s. Apparently, the militants did not expect the tanks to appear here, and their fire began to weaken for some time. The T-64s fired several salvos at the nearby hills, from where enemy fire was visible, and slowly headed towards the damaged column of the first group. Hiding behind armor, several scouts of Lieutenant Mironov headed towards the building where the wounded soldiers of the Nara group lay. The remaining soldiers of the "Shark" group, taking advantage of the calm, ran forward and took refuge in a ditch.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kuklev:

“I gathered everyone who remained. Almost everything combat vehicles, remaining in the battalion reserve, had any serious malfunctions with weapons or communications. What remained in the battalion is not considered combat personnel, although these people knew how to shoot. Half of the soldiers remaining in the battalion have AKS-74 U assault rifles, effective at a distance of up to 50–60 meters, and two magazines. The artillery spotter, the commander of an artillery division of a tank regiment, went with me. Everyone who remained in the battalion’s position at that time was sent to the rescue of the scouts who were ambushed.”

Meanwhile, in Duba-Yurt the battle continued. The militants pinched the last vehicle of the Akula group with BelAZ trucks, intending to cut off the escape route. The mechanic-driver, private Eldar Kurbanaliev, and the junior sergeant, the driver-motor operator of the repair platoon, Mikhail Sergeev, who served as the operator of the BRM-1 K during the battle, were killed.

The scouts of the Nara and Shark groups found themselves in a bag of fire. Having loaded the wounded onto the armor, the tanks went to the command post of the 160th regiment. After unloading the wounded, without even replenishing their ammunition, the tanks again went to Duba-Yurt.

The evacuation group led by Lieutenant Colonel Kuklev was met with fire by the militants.

The foreman of the reconnaissance landing company, senior warrant officer Alexei Trofimov, who participated in this battle as part of the evacuation group:

“We were walking in a group of three infantry fighting vehicles, mine was in the center. The militants spotted us from the road and started shooting at us. They entered the village, jumped off the armor and, hiding behind it, reached the wall of the mosque. I can feel from the situation: the boys, the second company, were simply brought here as targets at the shooting range.

A bulldozer crawled from the tankers, which was supposed to hook the equipment. He was fired upon. The fire was such that they knocked out the tap dance. They shot from right and left. We extinguished distant firing points, but in reality they were sitting, as it turned out, 25 meters away!

I saw the first wounded man. They covered it with armor and took the BMP on board. Eight wounded people were gathered into the car. When they pulled out the wounded, the driver and machine gunner in my group were wounded in the legs. One guy was from a repair platoon: he didn’t take off his bulletproof vest - a bullet entered his side and traveled there, in his body. And we threw it off to make it easier.

My BMP was hit like this: with a grenade under the bottom, in the power rods. And the BMP rolled back. I severely bruised my knee from a rupture under the armor, and a shrapnel hit my shin.
All the wounded who could move were dragged into another infantry fighting vehicle, 6–7 people. The wounded were taken out by conveyor belt - one batch, then another... In total, they made two flights. The first batch was taken to the regiment's command post, where the doctors were already waiting for us.

We return to Duba-Yurt. On the BMP I was alone with the driver; there was no gunner. I fly to the wall near the mosque, turn around and begin loading the wounded. The full BMP was wounded.

I sat down in the turret behind the gunner, turned around, checked the weapon - the cannon and machine gun were jammed. I heard the “spirits” shouting: “Khan to the Russians!” I shout to the mechanic: “Get back!” I poke my head out of the tower - and just next to it, a house collapsed from a rocket hit. The guys retreat back under the cover of smoke.
I hear a rumble, turn my head - there are three tanks behind me. We walked between the tanks, and the guys walked away along the ditch.

I drove the second batch of wounded directly to the emergency room of the medical battalion. At 16.45 I was at the cars with doctors. The sun had already begun to set, and it was a sunny day.”

In Duba-Yurt the battle lasted for more than six hours. Finally, the surviving infantry fighting vehicles fired several smoke grenades towards the village. A smoke screen slowly enveloped the battlefield. Under the cover of smoke, the remnants of the scouts with the wounded under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Kuklev emerged from the bloody nightmare.

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, Private Alexander Korobka, a participant in the battle in Duba-Yurt from the Nara group, died in the hospital.

The exchange of dead took place a few days later.

We continue to publish materials about the first Chechen war, details tragic events and the heroism of Russian soldiers.
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 to storm the Wolf Gate was given to the 84th separate reconnaissance battalion and special forces 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.

The battalion units were the first to enter the territory of Chechnya on September 28, 1999, on for a long time they were supposed 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.

On December 29, one of the reconnaissance groups of the battalion was ambushed near Duba-Yurt, 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 on 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 Dubai-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. Behind 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.

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;
3. Private V. Serov;
4. Sergeant A. Zakhvatov;
5. Private N. Adamov;
6. Sergeant V. Ryakhovsky;
7. Sergeant S. Yaskevich;
8. Private S. Voronin;
9. Private E. Kurbanoliev;
10. Sergeant V. Sharov.

Private A. Korobke died from severe injuries received in battle.

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. 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.