The battle at altitude 776 (Chechen war) - the clash of the 6th PDR (parachute company) of the 2nd battalion of the 104th regiment of the Airborne Forces with a large group of militants led by Khattab from February 29 to March 1, 2000.
Versions
It is worth noting that a lot of different versions of what happened, various investigations and so on are associated with this battle. It is still not known for certain how everything happened. Both the number of militants and the words of Captain Romanov vary. Calling fire on yourself or screaming into the radio that the paratroopers have betrayed. In this article, the main emphasis is on the official version about the battle at a height of 776. True or false - we will never know.
Background
Chechnya The final 3rd phase of the military operation of the federal forces to combat gangs. A large group of militants, numbering more than 3,000, was blocked in the Shatoi district. In February, from the 22nd to the 29th, battles for Chatoy took place. Being surrounded, the Wahhabis attempted to break out of it. The attempt ended with the release of two gangs led by Ruslan Galaev and Khattab. On February 28, the 6th landing company of the 104th regiment was sent to the height of the East Cord. Subsequently, this will lead to an event such as a battle at an altitude of 776.
Chronology
On February 26, the 104th regiment was given the task of relocating to the right heights and creating a screen.
By the morning of the 27th, the 2nd battalion receives instructions to advance to the Ulus-Kert region and block this region by height.
02/28/2000, the 6th PDR was given the order of Colonel Melentyev: to occupy the height of the East Cord. Commander Molodov sends a group of 12 to reconnaissance, while with the main forces he remains at a height of 776. It was decided to build a strong point.
At 12 o’clock the next day, the reconnaissance group enters the battle with a detachment of militants. This forces her to retreat to Molodov’s positions.
At 16.00 the same day, the battle began at an altitude of 776. On March 1, at 7 a.m., the battle was over. 84 paratroopers were killed.
Before the fight
Expecting to return to the location of the unit in the evening, Mark Yevtyukhin, acting as the battalion commander, decides to go on a march-throw with Major Molodov, who recently arrived in the unit and has just begun to be mastered.
One of the mistakes of such a historical event as the battle at the height of 776 (the second Chechen war) was that the company set off on a march without any preliminary reconnaissance of the area. The soldiers left the location of the unit with everything necessary for the arrangement of the camp.
On the way, the company stretched out very much. The vanguard of the group was the intelligence department of Lieutenant Vorobyov. They walked a kilometer from the main detachment. According to Yevtyukhin’s calculations, with such speed, the fighters should have arrived at a height of 776 only by late at night.
After the company arrived at the appointed place, it was decided to establish a strong point, and send reconnaissance towards the desired height.
When the soldiers took the battle at a height of 776, the firing points and positions were not yet properly equipped.
During the battle
02/29/2000, 11 a.m. Scouts of Lieutenant Vorobyov reported on a group of militants. With the help of several salvos of artillery on the tip of spotter Romanov, it turned out to destroy the enemy.
When the intelligence department began to move further, someone hooked on a banner. Later it turned out that the wounded was a senior sergeant Medvedev. To clarify what happened, Molodov takes several fighters and advances to the group. When the soldiers get to the place, shelling begins. Vorobyov, who was wounded in the neck by a sniper of militants, calls a strong point and reports that they are under fire from snipers.
When the Wahhabis become more and more and the fire is denser, the reconnaissance group begins to retreat to positions at a height, to the place that will be the last for many fighters - a height of 776. Photos after the battle show that the 6th company was not ready for so many fighters .
Meanwhile, the march was not over yet, and most of the fighters only climbed to a height, not knowing anything about what was happening.
Small digression
The 2nd battalion, which included the 6th company, always stood in the so-called blocks, so the paratroopers simply did not have the experience of marching exits, such as, for example, the soldiers of the 1st battalion, who often raided the mountains.
While Colonel Sergei Baran found out about Medvedkov’s wound, he requested an order to go down to the foot of the mountain and provide medical assistance, for which he received the “go-ahead”. With reserve soldiers and the medrota commander Knyazhishche, he advanced to Selmentauzen. He also requested help from the 1st company, which was nearby, but received a refusal (according to Colonel Baran), since according to the reports of Yevtyukhin everything was under control. Alexei Vorobyov reported on the enemy, advancing "waves" of 50-70 people.
Even in the evening, the militants continued the assault, as a result of which Colonel Baran received an order: to collect all combat-ready fighters of the 1st company and to come to the rescue to the 6th company blocked at a height. There are three versions of what happened after.
Firstly, the detachment was ordered not to interfere in the battle and to retreat, which is absolutely pointless. Secondly, when they contacted Yevtyukhin by radio, he said that no support was needed. Thirdly, the fighters were pressed by dense (this happened later - on the morning of March 1) enemy fire and could not break through. They only got it on March 2nd. This is a battle at an altitude of 776.
What happened directly at the height?
The rest of the day the attack did not stop. There were short breaks when the militants carried the wounded away. At such intervals, mortar and sniper fire was fired at the positions of the paratroopers.
From the night, from about 23.20, the assault intensified. Thanks to spotter Romanov, more than 1000 volleys of regimental artillery were fired on militants.
Even then, the battle at an altitude of 776, the battle of 104 parachute regiment, which will forever remain in the history of the country, claimed the lives of more than thirty soldiers.
By the morning of the next day, about 3-5 hours, the assault had subsided a bit, although the Wahhabis continued to attack in groups. Then Yevtyukhin contacted Major A. Dostovalov and asked for help. He was one and a half kilometers from the battle zone. The major and his group immediately reacted, reached the company’s positions, extending the defense for several hours.
The next attack was the most massive. The militants did not bend down. They came so close that a melee ensued at one of the lines. In the future, the militants will find the remains of narcotic substances on the battlefield.
When the militants were a few steps from the stronghold, Yevtyukhin decided to call fire on himself.
In the morning of that day, the 6th company will never get in touch again.
Comment
Fight at an altitude of 776, unofficial version. There should be a digression. According to some versions, allegedly the last words of Yevtyukhin were: "You betrayed us." And this is not a word about the request of artillery fire on themselves. And no attempts were made to at least somehow help the dying company. However, it is worth noting that such means as aviation and regimental artillery could not be used in the conditions in which the battle took place at an altitude of 776, for reasons of being able to get on their own and due to poor visibility. And the scatter of shells of regimental artillery is fraught with falling into the positions of their fighters at such ranges and areas such as height 776. The battle of company 6 was supposed to be supported by the first company, but it was ambushed (another version) and under massive enemy fire by the river Abazulogol. Even with the support of self-propelled, regimental artillery and helicopters, fighters of the first company were able to break through enemy fire only in the morning of the next day.
Thus, only on March 2, a cover group of 80 (from the 1st company) people and an evacuation group of 50 (4th company) were able to break through to the positions.
Battle Results
The height was taken by militants. Vorobyov personally killed one of the militant commanders, Irdis. Of the entire composition of the company of 90 fighters, six were left alive. According to various estimates, the total number of militants, including the rear, mortar crews, amounted to about 2000. 350 - 600 Mujahideen were killed during the time when the battle lasted at a height of 776.
Fight: interesting facts
Lieutenant Kozhemyakin ordered the fighters Porshnev and Suponinsky to jump into the cliff. They jumped and the next day went to their own.
Komarov and Khristolyubov were in the platoon, which only climbed the mountain.
Eugene Vladykin entered into hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, received a blow with a butt and lost consciousness. Then he woke up and went out to his own. Private Tymoshenko was stunned and wounded.
When one of the soldiers escaped, Senior Lieutenant Sotnikov took 3 soldiers and went in search of. The detachment returned to the stronghold of the 1st battalion and gave the fugitive. By this time, the battle was already in full swing.
Later it became known that the 6th company opposed the best Mujahideen division, which included professional mercenaries from Arab countries.
Assigned Ranks
So there was a battle of fighters against 19-20 year old boys - a fight at a height of 776. The Pskov region is the birthplace of heroes who showed courage and stopped the fighters at the cost of their lives. They completed to the end the task that was set.
Hero of Russia - 22 people (21 - posthumously)
Order of Courage - 68 (63 - posthumously)
You can safely say: that feat is not forgotten. Until now, the requests “height 776”, “photo after the battle”, “6th company” remain very popular.