Fight at the Wolf Gate
At the end of December 1999, when federal forces blocked Grozny, the Western tactical grouping of troops was preparing for a decisive strike against the militants who settled in the Argun gorge. The entrance to this gorge has long been called the Wolf Gate. The order for the assault on the Wolfgate was given to the 84-th separate reconnaissance battalion and special forces units. The operation began on December 30, and the very next day the reconnaissance company of the 84 battalion was ambushed. As a result, this fight became the bloodiest in his stories, scouts have lost 10 people killed and 29 wounded.
The battalion units were the first to enter 28 September 1999 of Chechnya, for a long time they were supposed to be the eyes and ears of the command of the West group, although the battalion acted not only in the interests of the 3 motorized rifle division, but also of its neighbors. I had to perform the battalion and tasks of special importance. For example, intelligence officers conducted an operation to collect material evidence of the assistance of NATO countries to Chechen separatists. On November 21, the scouts ambushed a group of 5 militants, in full uniform and equipment of one of the NATO countries, subsequently the footage with this uniform was shown on TV and the West for some time stopped supporting the Republic of Ichkeria openly.
For almost two and a half months the battalion fought without loss. The first killed person appeared in the December 10 battalion, when the Basayev headquarters was found by intelligence officers near Chiri-Yurt, Sergeant Mikhail Zosimenko was killed in the ensuing fight, two more intelligence officers were injured. The further the battalion advanced, the more active the resistance from the militants became. Three days before the new year, the battalion was assigned the task - to conduct reconnaissance in battle with the units of the GRU special forces and to establish enemy forces in the area of the settlement of Duba Yurt. This Chechen village stretched right at the entrance to the Argun Gorge - a strategically important point, here the militants under the command of Khattab hoped to detain Russian troops, not to let them go to the southern part of Chechnya.
December 29 was ambushed near Duba-Yurt by one of the battalion reconnaissance groups, immediately came to the aid of Lieutenant Solovyov’s group, the reconnaissance crews managed to retreat, having lost two people wounded, the next day two more groups went off in search of armored vehicles, 1 BMP exploded on the mine, but again there were no dead. Late in the evening on December 30, the scouts entered the Dubai-Yurt area in a battle with superior enemy forces. The scouts managed to capture some small weapons, a large amount of ammunition and mortar. At night, two more groups advanced to this area.
By the morning of December 31 this situation has developed. Two groups of paratroopers and the first reconnaissance companies were operating at the Wolfgate; the 2-I reconnaissance battalion remained in reserve. Around 6 o'clock in the morning came the message that the special forces detachment of GRU Art. Lieutenant Tarasova was ambushed and fighting in the area of one of the heights. As it turned out, the detachment of Tarasov did not go to any height and did not enter the battle. Most likely, the militants entered the radio game on the open frequencies and lured the scouts into ambush.
One way or another, it was decided to send the Special Forces 2 razhedrot to the rescue, which was supposed to pass in a straight line through Duba-Yurt, the village was considered negotiable and the operation’s leadership did not expect to meet the militants there. At the entrance to the village, a group of art. Lieutenant Shlykov came under heavy crossfire by militants who were seated in gardens and buildings on the outskirts. Scouts were shot almost point blank. In a short time, all 3 infantry fighting vehicles were hit, the survivors were able to gain a foothold on the outskirts and fought. A group of Lieutenant Mironov immediately came to their aid, but because of the dense fire, she could not make her way to her own, stopping a hundred meters away. In the morning a thick fog stood over the village, which hindered the operations of artillery and aviationwere afraid to get on their own.
At about 9 in the morning, the battalion commander began to assemble a consolidated detachment from the units at hand. In the evacuation group, in a hurry, they included a repair platoon, a logistics support platoon, telecommunications operators, and reconnaissance patients. The evacuation group was headed by the deputy commander of the battalion for educational work, Saleh Agayev. But even these groups were difficult to assemble, there were people, there were cartridges, but there were no shops, most of the shops were given away to the units that had already gone into battle, half of the AKC-74-U machines had effective 50-100 meters. Nevertheless, the actions of the evacuation group turned out to be quite timely and successful; under the continuous fire of the enemy, the group was able to remove from the battlefield ten wounded and one killed, Salekhov himself carried out two wounded.
The scouts who were in trouble provided great assistance 3 tank from the tank regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Budanov. 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 order. Budanov allocated him tanks with officer crews, without wasting time coordinating 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 were killed and 29 injured, later in April another member of this battle died in the hospital. After the battle, the battalion was taken out to be reformed, and a few days later the investigators of the military prosecutor’s office began investigating the operation that led to such losses. All officers of the battalion were interrogated. The investigation of this battle ended in nothing, the perpetrators were not established.
The battalion units were the first to enter 28 September 1999 of Chechnya, for a long time they were supposed to be the eyes and ears of the command of the West group, although the battalion acted not only in the interests of the 3 motorized rifle division, but also of its neighbors. I had to perform the battalion and tasks of special importance. For example, intelligence officers conducted an operation to collect material evidence of the assistance of NATO countries to Chechen separatists. On November 21, the scouts ambushed a group of 5 militants, in full uniform and equipment of one of the NATO countries, subsequently the footage with this uniform was shown on TV and the West for some time stopped supporting the Republic of Ichkeria openly.
For almost two and a half months the battalion fought without loss. The first killed person appeared in the December 10 battalion, when the Basayev headquarters was found by intelligence officers near Chiri-Yurt, Sergeant Mikhail Zosimenko was killed in the ensuing fight, two more intelligence officers were injured. The further the battalion advanced, the more active the resistance from the militants became. Three days before the new year, the battalion was assigned the task - to conduct reconnaissance in battle with the units of the GRU special forces and to establish enemy forces in the area of the settlement of Duba Yurt. This Chechen village stretched right at the entrance to the Argun Gorge - a strategically important point, here the militants under the command of Khattab hoped to detain Russian troops, not to let them go to the southern part of Chechnya.
December 29 was ambushed near Duba-Yurt by one of the battalion reconnaissance groups, immediately came to the aid of Lieutenant Solovyov’s group, the reconnaissance crews managed to retreat, having lost two people wounded, the next day two more groups went off in search of armored vehicles, 1 BMP exploded on the mine, but again there were no dead. Late in the evening on December 30, the scouts entered the Dubai-Yurt area in a battle with superior enemy forces. The scouts managed to capture some small weapons, a large amount of ammunition and mortar. At night, two more groups advanced to this area.
By the morning of December 31 this situation has developed. Two groups of paratroopers and the first reconnaissance companies were operating at the Wolfgate; the 2-I reconnaissance battalion remained in reserve. Around 6 o'clock in the morning came the message that the special forces detachment of GRU Art. Lieutenant Tarasova was ambushed and fighting in the area of one of the heights. As it turned out, the detachment of Tarasov did not go to any height and did not enter the battle. Most likely, the militants entered the radio game on the open frequencies and lured the scouts into ambush.
One way or another, it was decided to send the Special Forces 2 razhedrot to the rescue, which was supposed to pass in a straight line through Duba-Yurt, the village was considered negotiable and the operation’s leadership did not expect to meet the militants there. At the entrance to the village, a group of art. Lieutenant Shlykov came under heavy crossfire by militants who were seated in gardens and buildings on the outskirts. Scouts were shot almost point blank. In a short time, all 3 infantry fighting vehicles were hit, the survivors were able to gain a foothold on the outskirts and fought. A group of Lieutenant Mironov immediately came to their aid, but because of the dense fire, she could not make her way to her own, stopping a hundred meters away. In the morning a thick fog stood over the village, which hindered the operations of artillery and aviationwere afraid to get on their own.
At about 9 in the morning, the battalion commander began to assemble a consolidated detachment from the units at hand. In the evacuation group, in a hurry, they included a repair platoon, a logistics support platoon, telecommunications operators, and reconnaissance patients. The evacuation group was headed by the deputy commander of the battalion for educational work, Saleh Agayev. But even these groups were difficult to assemble, there were people, there were cartridges, but there were no shops, most of the shops were given away to the units that had already gone into battle, half of the AKC-74-U machines had effective 50-100 meters. Nevertheless, the actions of the evacuation group turned out to be quite timely and successful; under the continuous fire of the enemy, the group was able to remove from the battlefield ten wounded and one killed, Salekhov himself carried out two wounded.
The scouts who were in trouble provided great assistance 3 tank from the tank regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Budanov. 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 order. Budanov allocated him tanks with officer crews, without wasting time coordinating 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 were killed and 29 injured, later in April another member of this battle died in the hospital. After the battle, the battalion was taken out to be reformed, and a few days later the investigators of the military prosecutor’s office began investigating the operation that led to such losses. All officers of the battalion were interrogated. The investigation of this battle ended in nothing, the perpetrators were not established.
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