530:
542:
some supplies from the north while Grabbe had to bring his supplies through dangerous country. His main problem was bringing artillery shells to batter the fortress. The third assault was set for 16jul. There would be three columns. The largest force would attack New
Akhulgo {east} along a narrow ridge, the second would assault Old Akhulgo {west} and the smallest force would penetrate the Ashitla canyon and swing one way or the other as circumstances permitted. Bombardment lasted from dawn to 2 PM, the troops moved up and the attack began at 5 PM. The eastern column took the first outwork on the ridge and were then confronted by a ditch that they knew nothing about. 600 men were now confined to a small space with cliffs on three sides and a narrow path back. They were only saved by darkness. If the attack had not started so late in the day it is unlikely that any would have survived. The center column penetrated some way into the gorge, drew heavy fire from Old Akhulgo on the left and a shower of rocks from New Akhulgo on the right and was forced to retreat. The western column accomplished nothing at Old Akhulgo. The attack was a total failure. The Russians lost 156 killed and 719 wounded while the defenders lost perhaps 150.
576:. Since most who remained on the rock refused to surrender, the fighting, or slaughter, continued for a week. Each house or cave had to be individually taken. Men were lowered on ropes to search the caves on the cliff side. Mothers killed their children, some flung themselves off cliffs, women and children attacked bayonets with rocks and daggers. Some pretended to surrender and then killed their captors. Tarasevich died this way. More than 1000 corpses were counted and there were 900 prisoners, mostly women, children and old men. By 29 August there was no one alive on the rock but Russians. The 80-day siege cost the Russians 512 killed, 1722 wounded and 694 contused, plus uncounted losses from disease. The Russians searched for Shamil’s body but could not find it. None of the prisoners could or would say where he was.
467:
somewhat comma-shaped and can only be approached easily along a narrow ridge from the village of
Ashitla to the southwest. The eastern one, New Akhulgo, is broader and higher. Between them runs the Ashitla River. At a narrow point in canyon the two hills were connected by a bridge 40 meters above the Ashitla River. South of New Akhulgo and outside the rectangle is the conical Surkhay’s Tower which is taller than the other two and dominates the whole area. In addition to their steepness there were natural and artificial caves and semi-underground houses. The place is a natural fortress whose only weakness is the difficulty of hauling water up from the river.
585:
the river. The next night they descended to the river, built a raft, loaded it with dummies and set it adrift. While the pickets were distracted they went downstream along the river bank and turned south up a ravine. They met a picket and killed the officer but Shamil and his small son were wounded. They returned to the river, bridged it with a plank {sic. Baddeley’s geography does not fit Google Earth.} and headed northwest. Within a year Shamil had re-established his rule in
Chechnya. Grabbe withdrew from the mountains and dismissed his men to winter quarters. Akhulgo was never again inhabited.
546:
position themselves north of
Akhulgo, thus completing the siege. A covered gallery was built with great difficulty toward New Akhulgo to bring up men secretly and safely. Shamil’s position worsened. He was drawing fire from all sides, water could only be gotten by climbing down the rock under fire, there was no wood for cooking, the sun was hot and it was difficult to bury the dead. Negotiations were attempted with no result.
529:
526:
brought up and on 04 jul bombardment began which soon reduced the top to a mass of ruins. The Murids held out, the assaulting parties were withdrawn and the bombardment continued. Seeing no hope the few remaining defenders tried to slip through the
Russian lines. When the final storming party reached the summit they found only a few wounded. The Russian loss on the final day was only 12 killed.
209:
202:
193:
125:
554:
37:
505:, so add 12 days for the Western calendar}. On 25 May they dispersed a group under Shamil himself at Burtunay with little fighting. They then faced the fortified village of Argouani (modern Argvani does not quite fit Baddeley’s description). The place was difficult to attack, but too strong to bypass and there was no time for a siege. On 30–31 May it was blasted open with artillery,
184:
165:
154:
143:
113:
443:
501:} 30 km east. Since Shamil had many supporters to the north the main force was the northern one and the eastern column was used mainly for supplies. Probably to avoid the Avar Koysu canyon the eastern force would go south, then west to Kunzakh, then north to Akhulgo. The march began from Vnezapnaya on 21 May {
549:
Grabbe made the fourth assault on 17 August. The same three columns were used and the result was the same failure. 102 were killed, 162 wounded and 293 contused by thrown rocks and falls. But Shamil had lost a larger share of his men. He raised a white flag and sent his 12-year-old son as hostage The
518:
Shamil was now shut in with about 4000 people, of whom something over 1000 were fighting men (Baddeley does not explain why the women and children were not evacuated). Grabbe had about 6000 Russians and 3500 native militia. Seeing that those on the north bank were in a dangerous position, on 14 June
478:
In 1837 General Fese destroyed the village of
Ashitla and then killed a number of fugitives who had fortified themselves at Old Akhulgo by blasting then with cannon from Surkhay’s Tower. Shamil viewed the ruins of Ashitla and this may have influenced him to improve the fortifications at New Akhulgo.
541:
The
Russian lines were now shortened and they were relieved of fire from Surkhay’s Tower. The works were brought closer and new batteries set up. On 12 July, 3500 reinforcements arrived. Grabbe now had 10,092 Russians and the native militia. Both sides were semi-besieged in that Shamil could bring
584:
Shamil’s second wife
Djavarat was killed during the siege and his sister Fatima threw herself off a cliff. On the night of 21/22aug, before New Akhulgo was abandoned, Shamil with his pregnant first wife Fatimat, their young son Khazi Mahommed and a few followers lowered themselves to a cave above
509:
and the inhabitants slaughtered. The
Russians lost 146 killed and 500 wounded and the mountaineers perhaps 2000. They now had the problem of crossing the Andi Koysu and contacting the supply column that was waiting on the Betli plateau south of Akhulgo. They captured one of the destroyed bridges,
675:
Blanch says he was 8 years old (Lesley Blanch, "The Sabres of
Paradise", 1960, pages 481 and 368). Jamalu'd-din or Djemmal-Eddin was sent to Petersburg and educated as a Russian officer. In 1855 he was exchanged for two captive Georgian princesses. He could not re-adapt to mountain ways and died
564:
The fifth assault began on 21 August and again failed. The next morning the attack was renewed. The Russians met almost no resistance and gained possession of New Akhulgo. They found large numbers of fugitives scaling the opposite cliff or still climbing down to reach the bridge to Old Akhulgo.
545:
A whole month was spent improving the Russian position with only 100 men lost, but sanitary conditions were bad and the Russian force dwindled to 6000. Grabbe realized that Shamil was receiving supplies and re-enforcements from the north so on 04aug two battalions managed to cross the river and
525:
At dawn on 29 jun cannon opened up on Surkhay’s Tower with little effect. The assault began at 9 AM. They got almost to the top but could go no further. The attack was called off at dusk with a loss of 300 men (36 killed), but the Murids had lost a larger share of their men. Heavier guns were
466:
was killed in 1832. Akhulgo is about 5 km west. At Akhulgo the Andi Koysu flows east, then north, east, south and east, forming a rectangle. Inside the rectangle are two steep hills several hundred feet above the river. The western one, Old Akhulgo, is narrow and runs north-south. It is
510:
rebuilt it with roof beams from the nearby village, crossed with some of their men and made contact with the supply column. On 11 June they repaired the bridge at Chirkata and on 12 June occupied the ruins of Ashilta less than a kilometer southwest of Akhulgo, thus beginning the siege.
715:
Did Shamil abandon his men? Did they fight on to let their chief escape? Since New Akhulgo was not evacuated during the night, did the defense collapse when the defenders realized that their leader had gone? Neither Baddeley nor Gammer attempt to answer these fundamental
706:- according to Baddeley. Blanch has Djavarat and her infant child killed by a Russian sharpshooter on the second descent down the cliff. She also places the log bridge before the dummies and has Shamil go upstream. Gammer does not give a proper account of the escape.
739:
Jaques T. Akhulgo, 1839 // Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century, Vol. 1—3 (англ.) / Forew. by D. E. Showalter. — Westport, Connecticut; London: Greenwood Press, 2007. — Vol. 1. — P. 21. — ISBN
565:
Tarasevich’s column entered the gorge, climbed up and captured the bridge and reached the top of Old Akhulgo before the garrison could stop them. The two days' fighting cost the Russians 150 killed and 494 wounded. Among those killed was the Georgian
519:
he withdrew them to the south bank, which was a mistake. On the night of 18–19 June, the Murids occupied Ashitla without being noticed. Had they been more aggressive they might have accomplished something, but they were driven off the next morning.
752:/ V. M. Mukhanov // Ankylosis - Bank. - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2005. - P. 580. - (Great Russian Encyclopedia: / editor-in-chief Yu. S. Osipov; 2004-2017, v. 2). — ISBN 5-85270-330-3.
434:. General Pavel Grabbe besieged Imam Shamil in the rock-fortress of Akhulgo. After 80 days the rock was taken and most of the defenders were killed, but Shamil managed to escape.
286:
694:
Consolidated Reports on Losses of Troops Stationed in the Caucasus during the Wars in the Caucasian Mountains, with Persia, with Turkey, and in Transcaspia, 1801–1885
817:
306:
279:
812:
797:
689:Сборник сведений о потерях Кавказских войск во время войн Кавказско-горской, персидских, турецких и в Закаспийском крае. 1801–1885 гг.
272:
550:
next day General Pullo was admitted to the rock for discussions, but it became clear that Shamil did not intend to surrender.
264:
502:
635:
This was apparently the same Surkhay who almost drew his dagger during the meeting between Shamil and Klugenau in 1837.
832:
758:
367:
802:
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822:
320:
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807:
379:
337:
300:
361:
325:
373:
331:
42:
594:
506:
427:
349:
128:
74:
729:
645:
401:
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173:
458:
which flows northeast. All three flow in canyons. About 5 km south is the village of
573:
490:
389:
343:
147:
749:
463:
423:
118:
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613:
791:
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419:
296:
169:
46:
28:
158:
553:
455:
431:
196:
36:
208:
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124:
687:
451:
773:
760:
657:
Moshe Gammer,'Muslim Resistance to the Tsar', 1994, chapter 10 or Kindle@2329
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743:
498:
70:
494:
744:
Description of the military operations of 1839 in Northern Dagestan
557:
Defenders escape from New Akhulgo to Old Akhulgo across the bridge
552:
528:
459:
442:
441:
644:
One of those who distinguished themselves during the assault was
666:
Baddeley's 'narrow ridge' is hard to find on the available maps.
268:
497:) 45 km north of Akhulgo and one from Temir-Khan-Shura {
450:
About 75 km west of the Caspian Sea the east-flowing
489:
The plan was to attack Akhulgo in two columns, one from
533:
Illustration a panoramic painting storm Akhulgo, by
259:900 prisoners mostly women, children and old men
696:]. Tiflis: Liberman Typography. p. 47.
648:who two years later killed Lermontov in a duel.
454:joins the north-flowing Avar Koysu to form the
21:
746:. Colonel Milyutin D. A. St. Petersburg. 1850.
280:
94:Successful escape from Akhulgo by Imam Shamil
8:
418:took place in June–August 1839 during the
287:
273:
265:
35:
18:
308:Russian conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan
606:
7:
734:The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus
818:Sieges involving the Russian Empire
14:
207:
200:
191:
182:
163:
152:
141:
123:
111:
16:1839 siege during the Murid War
1:
368:Battle of the Valerik River
849:
813:Battles involving Chechnya
798:1839 in the Russian Empire
321:Battle of Khankala (1807)
316:
253:Heavy losses from disease
229:
216:
134:
104:
52:
34:
26:
688:
385:Battle of Gordali (1852)
60:12 June – 22 August 1839
686:Gizetti, Anton (1901).
579:
558:
538:
523:Surkhay's Tower taken:
447:
446:Russian map of Akhulgo
380:Battle of Dargo (1845)
135:Commanders and leaders
750:Akhulgo assault, 1839
556:
532:
445:
338:Assault on Germenchuk
230:Casualties and losses
476:The 1837 expedition:
302:Russo-Circassian War
250:Total: 1,722 wounded
245:91 officers wounded
770: /
503:all dates old style
362:Siege of Lazarevsky
326:Battle of Dadi-yurt
238:669 soldiers killed
833:August 1839 events
740:978-0-313-33537-2.
676:within three years
625:Штурм Ахульго 1839
614:Штурм Ахульго 1839
559:
539:
448:
374:Battle of Ichkeria
332:Battle of Khunzakh
236:25 officers killed
212:Akhberdil Mohammed
43:panoramic painting
803:Conflicts in 1839
774:42.777°N 46.742°E
595:Battle of Argvani
428:Caucasian Imamate
411:
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356:Siege of Akhoulgo
350:Battle of Argvani
263:
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247:1,631 men wounded
241:Total: 694 killed
205:Alibek Khiriyasul
188:Alexander Wrangel
129:Caucasian Imamate
100:
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75:Caucasian Imamate
840:
828:July 1839 events
823:June 1839 events
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646:Nikolai Martynov
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416:Siege of Akhulgo
402:Battle of Qbaada
396:Battle of Ghunib
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22:Siege of Akhulgo
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580:Shamil's escape
574:Prince of Guria
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491:Fort Vnezapnaya
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390:Nazran uprising
344:Battle of Gimry
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88:Russian victory
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779:42.777; 46.742
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730:J. F. Baddeley
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562:Final Assault:
515:
512:
507:taken by storm
472:
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464:Ghazi Muhammad
439:
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424:Russian Empire
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808:Caucasian War
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570:David Gurieli
568:
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547:
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536:
535:Franz Roubaud
531:
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483:for details.
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420:Caucasian War
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297:Caucasian War
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257:1,000 killed
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170:David Gurieli
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47:Franz Roubaud
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29:Caucasian War
25:
20:
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422:between the
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355:
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175:
159:Pavel Grabbe
105:Belligerents
27:Part of the
777: /
572:, the last
456:Sulak River
197:Imam Shamil
792:Categories
765:46°44′31″E
762:42°46′37″N
601:References
487:The march:
452:Andi Koysu
716:questions
514:The siege
481:Murid War
438:Geography
69:Akhulgo,
589:See also
499:Buynaksk
493:(modern
426:and the
217:Strength
71:Dagestan
65:Location
724:Sources
495:Endirey
471:Buildup
430:led by
222:~13,500
176:†
736:, 1908
567:cornet
462:where
432:Shamil
404:(1864)
398:(1859)
392:(1858)
376:(1842)
370:(1840)
364:(1840)
358:(1839)
352:(1839)
346:(1832)
340:(1832)
334:(1830)
328:(1819)
172:
116:
82:Result
692:[
537:1891.
460:Gimry
225:5,000
479:See
414:The
57:Date
45:by
794::
732:,
73:,
41:A
288:e
281:t
274:v
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