Wolf gate. December 1999 of the year - another black page in the history of the Chechen war

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The Argun gorge is one of the largest in the Caucasus gorges, formed by the breakthrough of the turbulent waters of Argun. Today, it is planned to place a ski resort here, and after all, quite recently this area was spilled with the blood of Russian soldiers. Bullets whistled around, glittering in the green thickets of glass sniper sights, as if from under the ground appeared "spirits". At the end of December 1999, the 84 th reconnaissance battalion and special forces were ordered to attack the Wolf Gate, as the entrance to the gorge was called.

Wolf gate. December 1999 of the year - another black page in the history of the Chechen war


The reconnaissance 84 battalion arrived in Chechnya as early as September 1999, it consisted mainly of soldiers with low professional training, only a small part of the battalion included professional officers and contract servicemen. However, it was due to this relatively small group of military battalion losses until December 1999 that year 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 the necessary experience and could competently act even in difficult unforeseen situations. Shortly before the operation in the Argun gorge, the 84 battalion was used as an assault on the Gikalovsky heights. At the time of the assault on the 84, the reconnaissance battalion was a serious force capable of fulfilling its combat mission.

Wolf Gate to the beginning of 2000, 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 collision long before the start of the assault. Numerous camouflaged trenches, carriages dug deep into the ground and shelters, stretch marks — all this was prepared in anticipation of federal troops. At the head of the mountaineers stood Khattab, experienced and battle-hardened, who knew the terrain well and had at his disposal a wide agent network. Many of the participants in the storming of the Wolf Gate are convinced that among the agents of Khattab were individual Russian commanders who received considerable rewards for the transfer of information.

The 84 th battalion together with the special forces detachments were instructed to ascertain the number and location of the militants in this sector. Intelligence was supposed to conduct combat. Near the gorge was the peaceful settlement of Duba-Yurt, which was referred to as “contractual,” which meant that residents maintained neutrality. Federal troops did not have the right to introduce military equipment into the treaty settlements, but in fact the agreement was respected only by the federal command, while local residents actively supported the Khattab forces.

To accomplish the task, the reconnaissance battalion was instructed to occupy the heights above Duba-Yurt to ensure the motorized riflemen’s free approach. The follow-up plan was pretty simple: use the data, drive the militants into the valley, and then destroy them in open areas. For the successful implementation of the plan, the battalion was divided into 3 consolidated groups, each of which consisted of two special forces units and one reconnaissance battalion unit. The attack aircraft with the code name "Aral", led by Senior Lieutenant Aralov, were supposed to act jointly with the intelligence unit "Romashka" under the command of Senior Lieutenant Solovyov. The Baikul assault detachment under the leadership of Senior Lieutenant Baykulov, acted with the SOVA reconnaissance group of the 84 Battalion led by Senior Lieutenant Kalandin. The third squad consisted of the group of Senior Lieutenant Tarasov, codenamed "Taras" and the reconnaissance group "Shark" of Senior Lieutenant Mironov.

It seemed that the operation was thought out to the smallest detail, even the frequency of radio messages was determined unified 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 promotion of the combined groups was supposed to support aviation and artillery. Not far concentrated tank regiment.

Alexander Solovyov, in his interview, admits that he was already at the stage of preparing the operation, he was confronted with the unexplained behavior of the command, namely Lieutenant Colonel Mitroshkin. To this day, it is not clear to him why the commanders were taken to Dubna-Yurt itself for reconnaissance, because the actions were planned to be carried out at heights. Some fragments of phrases transmitted by the major suggest the idea of ​​betrayal in the circles of command. The other party, the other participant, Vladimir Pakov, claims that he knows both the commander of the Zapad group and Lieutenant Colonel Miroshkin and other commanders himself and does not believe in their betrayal. In his opinion, the militants, having at their disposal more sophisticated communication devices, tuned in to the frequency, which is confirmed by the facts of the radio game during the assault.

The beginning of the operation was scheduled for the evening of December 29, but Solovyov’s detachment had to speak in the morning, as the militants discovered a group of special forces, whom the command decided to assist. The size of the detachment was just 27 people, of whom 16 belonged to the reconnaissance battalion. The group advanced on two infantry fighting vehicles, then the movement continued on foot. It was impossible to move quickly along the foothill areas in full gear. In addition, the militants were attacking solid fire, so they had to hide behind armor and gradually moved towards the forest. It turned out that it was not difficult to find the spetsnaz members trapped in Khattab’s fiery ring, since the group still had communication, but the combined group could only cross the sweep zone and take height after six hours.

Alexander Solovyov recalls that on the approaches to the altitude were minefields established by Russian specialists. And again the major asks a question about why they were not warned about the presence of stretch marks, which only chance had helped to detect. Solovyov’s squad lost two people wounded, while in the assault group one soldier was killed. The task was completed, three wounded Special Forces soldiers were taken to the camp and transferred to the doctors. During transportation, Solovyov’s group lost another soldier who was shot and wounded by a sniper. As soon as the first consolidated group left the area and built, it was again thrown to the rescue of the detachment Zakharov.

December 30 in the middle of the day, all three consolidated groups were made - the operation began. Solovyov and his fighters again had to take the heights left before by order of Colonel Mitroshkin. Already at this stage, the commanders gradually came to understand that the militants were listening to radio communications and are well aware of the assault plan. On the places defined on the map, the attackers were waiting for an ambush. Check terrible guesses confirmed. The second consolidated group, which consisted of "Baykul" and "Owl", at that time was under heavy fire from mortars. Early in the morning, Tarasov’s group was in an ambush and gave signals for help, leading a fierce battle. The command sent the group of senior lieutenant Shlykov to assault on the height 420.1. At this time, consolidated groups were fighting on the direction to the special forces of Tarasov. Militants continued active disinformation on the air as a result of which “Nara”, the so-called Shlykov group, was also ambushed in the center of Duba-Yurt.



Artillery could not provide high-quality cover due to poor visibility. In the village, a Russian column was shot from a grenade launcher, soldiers were knocked out by snipers. The air was filled with cries for help. However, it turned out to be impossible to use aircraft, as the thick sheet of fog covered the Oak-Yurt. “Shark” came out to help Shlykov, but the second column was immediately fired upon entering the village. The scouts dispersed and decided to shoot.

Kombat Vladimir Pakov supported the groups squeezed in the fire of militants. Without waiting for the order of their command, with the tacit consent of Colonel Budanov, they were sent to the place of the battle of the tank with crews 2. According to Solovyov, without the support of technology from the ring, the soldiers could not get out. Apparently, the militants did not expect tanks to appear in the village, so their appearance caused confusion and turned the tide of battle. Six hours of fierce fighting almost destroyed the center of the village.

The first day of the year 84 reconnaissance battalion and special forces burned by enemy fire were counted by counting the losses. The Storming of the Wolf Gate claimed the lives of ten scouts and twenty-nine more were injured. However, after a bloody battle, the command of the reconnaissance battalion was waiting for a new battle, a battle with the investigators of the special department. Only Alexander Solovyov was called in for questioning about eleven times, and, according to him, exerted the strongest psychological pressure. It turned out that there were no official orders for the 29-31 December reconnaissance operation, 1999 did not exist, they were blamed for the direct commanders for the death of people and the failure of the assault. Particularly interested in the candidacy of Pakov, who arbitrarily used tanks and had a decisive influence on the outcome of the battle.

The officers of the special department withdrew from the battalion and special forces location solely out of fear of the possibility of a soldier disrupting, since there was confidence in the generals' treason among the people. Armed soldiers could at any time break the line of the statute and deal with those whom they considered traitors. The investigation did not establish the perpetrators, no one bore responsibility for the death of people.

In the battle for the Wolf gate were killed:
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. Kurbanoliyev;
10. Sergeant V. Sharov.

From the serious injuries received in battle, died private A. Box.

During the assault, the courage of the Russian privates and officers showed up, but the operation was obviously unsuccessful. Detachments engaged in battle with the enemy, outnumbered in weapons and technical equipment. The leadership stagnation in decision making also played a sad role. In some cases, assistance to groups killed under fire was not provided for fear of being punished for unauthorized actions, orders were not given in time. The question of the awareness of the militants about all the actions of the Russian groups was raised already in the first days of the battle; even the reason for such awareness was revealed - the availability of the radio frequency. However, the problem was not resolved. In the attempts to blame the death of the fighters of direct commanders, the fear of top management for their own well-being is also especially visible. Against the background of what happened, it is not surprising that the majority of participants in hostilities to this day consider the tragedy that has taken place in the gorge of Argun as a betrayal.
Secrets of the Chechen war. Wolf Gate (Russia, REN TV) 2010 year

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17 comments
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  1. andrey903
    +18
    April 5 2012 09: 35
    For this and for similar actions, Colonel Budanov (the real Hero of Russia) was first imprisoned and then killed
    1. oiuy
      +8
      April 5 2012 10: 31
      "The investigation has not established the perpetrators, no one was held responsible for the death of people."
      and this is the traditional answer in such situations! So is the State Department again or is the CIA to blame? or who ? or your own sheep in colonel and general’s pants? And then people from the USSR are surprised: why is the youth so badly unwilling to join the army? ... yes, because nobody wants to be cannon fodder today, just!
  2. +23
    April 5 2012 09: 37
    In our memory and in the memory of our descendants, not lies and betrayal should remain, but examples of the feat of our soldiers and officers. Enemies and traitors will always be where without them, and the names of our heroes are often "forgotten".
    I will try to fill this gap with an excerpt from the combat report based on the results of the battle

    The personnel of the units participating in the battle showed massive courage and heroism, not letting go of their enemy many times greater in numbers.
    The commander of the 2 pdb guards. Lt. Col. Evtyukhin Mark Nikolaevich, having been injured, skillfully managed the battle, did not leave the captured line, personally evacuated the wounded guards. Sergeant Suponinsky A.A., who later preferred to fight alongside the battalion commander to the last cartridge, defending him and seeing how he died.
    Deputy commander of 2 Major Dostalov A.V., having received the command of the battalion commander, despite the strongest militant fire, broke through the encirclement ring with personnel of the 3 platoon 4 battalion and went to strengthen the 6 battalion.
    The commander of the reconnaissance platoon Guards. Senior Lieutenant A.V. Vorobyov, having shown personal courage and resourcefulness, destroyed the field commander Idris.
    Commander of self-propelled artillery batteries guards. Captain Romanov V.V., who was the senior of the group of artillery spotters, after losing both legs as a result of a mine explosion, continued to adjust the artillery fire.
    Commander 6 Molodov S.G. while capturing a well-fortified stronghold of the militants, having been injured during the evacuation of the wounded, he continued to control the company.
    Guards Private Vladykin E.A., seeing the torment of the wounded in conditions of severe cold, tried to make a sortie behind sleeping bags for them, but was captured by militants and severely beaten. Having received a blow with the butt of an assault rifle in the head, he lost consciousness (the militants considered him dead). Waking up from the cold half-dressed, he managed to return his machine gun and go to the location of his troops. Having shown restraint, composure, fidelity to military duty, not one of the paratrooper soldiers succumbed to the provocations of militants, who repeatedly called for them to lay down their arms and surrender in exchange for life.
    Each of the guardsmen made a unique decision for themselves - to prevent the militants from breaking through, realizing that this could lead to irreparable consequences, since behind them were command posts, artillery firing positions, settlements liberated from bandits.


    http://www.sbnt.ru/analitika/chechen/argun/
  3. +10
    April 5 2012 09: 40
    "... the fear of top management for their own well-being."
    Is this not the reason for the many misfortunes that befell Russia and its army at the turn of the century?
    Perhaps one of the measures preventing the "creeping" of unworthy people to high positions would be the strictest responsibility of the commanders - chiefs for the selection and placement of personnel, naturally, with the appropriate authority. Created a "team" capable of performing tasks - well done, recruited "thieves", stupid - sorry, move over.
  4. dmitriy2012
    +19
    April 5 2012 10: 03
    Eternal memory to the guys !!!! let the earth rest in peace for them !!!!
  5. Georg Shep
    +14
    April 5 2012 10: 25
    Glory to the Russian heroes!
  6. vostok
    +8
    April 5 2012 10: 31
    History always repeats itself, we will step on the rake more than once. ETERNAL MEMORY OF THE DEFENDERS OF OUR MOTHERLAND !!!
  7. Dust
    +7
    April 5 2012 11: 36
    It is terrible to read such articles - monstrous mistakes, and even frank betrayal, and, most importantly, the guilty are not punished and no one is guaranteed from repeating the same!
  8. Indigo
    +6
    April 5 2012 13: 58
    And so the answer to the question is - Serdyukov did everything right, dispersing the fuck ... that whole system, where one could not find the culprit, and for rewarding - so whole crowds of rebels and builders of summer cottages with general epaulets. The team is a small connection and everything is visible and clear - who is who. It was not for nothing that the GDP said that they could not find a legally capable union for conducting an operation in Chechnya. He gave carte blanche to Serdyukov to disperse this general’s kahal ...
    1. beech
      +1
      April 5 2012 16: 06
      I basically agree with you, but having broken the old system and the training system, they have not yet created a new system
    2. Dust
      +4
      April 5 2012 16: 10
      Nothing is right - and now you will not find anyone, if that!
      Only now nobody will be found because of a simple physical absence - before there were problems with the choice, and now the problem is that there is nobody to choose from! Here is such a difference ...
      The army was in front of Chechnya for many years, the majority simply survived - it’s clear that when the opportunity arose, there were scoundrels who sold their comrades, but at least there was someone to sell ...
      Time has passed, almost all the Chechen heroes have been led - well, do you think that it’s not the scoundrels who tried? They never hang Heroes with Georges for a while, and don’t offend themselves financially ...
    3. Ruspatriot
      0
      2 December 2013 18: 39
      Serdyukov generally rag .. he does not stand close with real officers, not to mention the Minister of Defense ... he needs to be shot for helping the Jews break up the army and make a detachment of units
  9. serezha.fedotoff2013
    0
    April 5 2012 17: 01
    Serdyukov, for all his shortcomings, is a much more competent minister of defense than Grachev, Rodionov, Sergeyev, Ivanov, who did nothing at all to increase combat effectiveness
    1. Brother Sarych
      +3
      April 5 2012 18: 05
      In terms of theft, it’s hard to find him equal!
    2. Dust
      +2
      April 5 2012 18: 51
      Don't write nonsense, huh? Especially about what you don’t know!
      Rodionov incompetent? And how long did he stay at his post? And why did they leave him? Bother to remember!
      In what conditions was Sergeyev the minister? The time was completely different ...
      Philo-sucker Ivanov did not shine even in particularly impudent financial frauds - and thanks for that, thank you very much - I didn’t really lean on reforms, although I did it too well ...
      There are also more rumors about Grachev, the more he gave them good ground with his "simplicity" ...
      The field-maker, however, is a clear enemy, a pest by its nature, who has found helpers like Makarov and has almost completely cleaned up the army from professionals in entire military branches ...
    3. 0
      April 10 2013 20: 28
      how many on the conscience of Serdyukov the so-called reorganized but essentially dispersed brigades of regiments and divisions are not paper but military units, how many officers and contractors dismissed from the Armed Forces? how much money has been stolen from the army? and how much you don’t want to use the mat, such as it is necessary to put it on the wall without trial.
  10. YARY
    +7
    April 5 2012 23: 49
    At headquarters, intelligence officers have officers, the conclusion is that the officers betray. Ordinary-pay for it with their life and blood.
    Conclusion-in the headquarters there should not be anyone who has not fought "in the line of fire."
    Rotation - served in the company, visited the battle (and more than once) and the headquarters, and staff in the company to the checked officers for combat training, the battle will decide everything.
    Are you sorry for Khloptsev? Yes, I don’t have words to describe what you feel from this, there are no such words.
    Must remember
  11. 16
    16
    0
    April 7 2012 21: 52
    there were a lot of such errors !!!!!!!!!! their price is the death of fighters !!!!!!!
  12. Ruspatriot
    0
    2 December 2013 18: 41
    It’s a pity there is no real General Rokhlin .. here he could become the best minister of defense ... he did not sit in offices and fought, unlike generals' rats of traitors and thieves ...

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