Battle for Height 776

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The Battle for Height 776, part of the larger Battle of Ulus-Kert, was an engagement in the Second Chechen War that took place during fighting for control of the Argun River gorge in the highland Shatoysky District of central Chechnya, between the villages of Ulus-Kert and Selmentausen.

In late February 2000, the Russian military attempted to surround and destroy a large Chechen separatist force (including many foreign fighters) withdrawing from the Chechen capital Grozny to Shatoy and Vedeno in the southern mountains of Chechnya following the 1999–2000 siege and capture of Grozny and the rebel main force's breakout from the city earlier that month.[3] On 29 February 2000, just hours after Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev had assured his government that the Chechen War was over,[4][5] an isolated Russian force based around a company of paratroopers of the 76th Airborne Division from the city of Pskov found itself cut off by a retreating Chechen column led by Ibn Al-Khattab,[6] commander of foreign fighters in Chechnya. After heavy close-quarters overnight fighting, Russian positions on the hill were overrun and most of the soldiers were killed.

Uncertainty continues to surround many aspects of the engagement, including the number of combatants, casualties, how much artillery support and close air support was provided, and even how long the battle lasted.