Kirjahaku

After a declaration of independence and the seizure military assets located in the self-proclaimed Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen influence in the Northern Caucuses region was rapidly growing. By the 1994 Russian leadership became very concerned about the situation when, in addition to the other issues, Dzhokhar Dudaev de-facto took control of the oil and gas pipelines. After a series of unsuccessful attempts by Yeltsyn and his government to reshuffle the situation it was decided to go for a limited armed action targeted upon the overthrow Dudaev at the hands of Russian-sponsored opposition. The opposition eventually failed and a large military operation by Russian forces was launched on 9 December 1994.From the first days, Russian troops, totally unprepared for the tough resistance encountered found themselves in a bloody fight against Dudaev's well-trained and well-armed militants. Grozny was the major objective as the Russian command considered that taking over the city would break Chechen resistance at once. To pave the way to the city the Russians had to secure Khankala airfield as it was the major aerial hub of the area. The Fight for Khankala became the first major engagement between Russian and Chechen forces.On 30 December 1994, Russian forces received orders to enter Grozny and take control of key objectives, eliminating the opposition. In the second half of 31 December, Russian armored convoys started to enter the city from four directions, what was to come next became the most horrible night in modern Russian military history.Battle for Grozny, Volume 1 is based on the numerous little known publications and veteran accounts from both sides, extensive pictorial and video footage, and focuses upon the reconstruction of events that happened prior to and during the New Year of 1994-1995.

The New Year assault on Grozny by Russian forces was the most famous and controversial action of the 1st Chechen War. Entering Grozny from four directions, Russian troops with poor knowledge of the city and totally unprepared found themselves trapped, isolated and annihilated by numerous Chechen detachments. Unfortunately, due to the complexity and chaotic nature of the events, almost no official documentation exists. The reconstruction of the assault has been created from numerous veteran accounts, research publications, and video footage. Battle for Grozny is the first attempt to present a complete picture to the English-speaking audience.At first, the resistance offered by Chechens on 31 December 1994 had been relatively moderate and sporadic. All Russian forces besides the Group West managed to reach their objectives way before the planned timeline. The 131st Separate Motor-Rifle Brigade received a controversial order to move towards the railway station. With no knowledge of Grozny and never having trained for urban combat, the Brigade moved in and reached the station by noon, meeting the 81st Motor-Rifle Regiment. In the late afternoon, Chechens started to hammer Russian forces from multiple directions, knocking out the armor one by one. Trying to organize defensive lines, both units were suffering heavy casualties while all relief efforts were completely blocked by Chechens. During the night and the next day most of the Russian units left Grozny with disastrous losses in men and materiel. On the morning of 1 January, Russian aviation mistakenly attacked the positions of the 129th Motor-Rifle Regiment with devastating results - making it the worst friendly fire incident of the entire war. The only Group that managed to hold their positions was that of General Lev Rokhlin, who skillfully organized the defenses of the city hospital and cannery plant, leaving a narrow corridor for reinforcements.Battle for Grozny, Volume 2, is based on numerous little-known publications, veterans' accounts from both sides, extensive pictorial and video footage, and focuses on the reconstruction of the events that happened over two days of a New Year.