The siege of Akhulgo (1839) was a siege during the Murid War in the Caucasus. General 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.
Geography
About 75 km west of the Caspian Sea the east-flowing Andi Koysu joins the north-flowing Avar Koysu to form the Sulak River which flows northeast. All three flow in canyons. About 5 km south is the village of Gimry where Ghazi Muhammad 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 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.
Buildup
The 1837 expedition: 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. See Murid War for details.
The march: The plan was to attack Akhulgo in two columns, one from Fort Vnezapnaya (modern Endirey) 45 km north of Akhulgo and one from Temir-Khan-Shura { Buynaksk} 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 { all dates old style, 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, taken by storm 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, 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.
The siege
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 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.
Surkhay's Tower taken: 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 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.