Battle of Grozny (August 1996)

Battle of Grozny Operation Jihad / Zero Option
Part of First Chechen War
Date August 6–20, 1996 Location Grozny, Chechnya 43°19′N 45°41′E / 43.31°N 45.69°E / 43.31; 45.69Coordinates: 43°19′N 45°41′E / 43.31°N 45.69°E / 43.31; 45.69 Result Decisive Chechen victory Khasav-Yurt Accord
Belligerents
Russian Federation Chechen Republic	Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Commanders and leaders
Konstantin Pulikovsky Doku Zavgayev Various field commanders	Aslan Maskhadov Shamil Basayev Various field commanders, including Khattab, Ruslan Gelayev, Doku Umarov and Akhmed Zakayev
Strength
Initially 12,000(6,000 - 7,000 inside Grozny, mostly MVD servicemen)	Initially 1,300–3,000 (most probably around 1,500), up to 7,000 afterwards
Casualties and losses
Officially 494 killed, 182 missing, 1,407 wounded(federal forces only, not counting the Chechen police force, which disintegrated) 18 tanks destroyed 69 IFVs/APCs destroyed 3 helicopters destroyed	Uncertain
Estimated 2,000 or more civilians killed

Decisive Chechen victory

In the Battle of Grozny of August 1996 (also known as Operation Jihad or Operation Zero Option), Chechen rebels regained and then kept control of Chechnya's capital Grozny in a surprise raid. The Russian Federation had conquered the city during the Battle of Grozny (1994–1995) and posted a large garrison of federal and republican Ministry of the Interior (MVD) troops in the city. The much smaller rebel force infiltrated Grozny and either routed the MVD forces or split them into many pockets of resistance. Chechen separatists then beat back the Russian Ground Forces units that had been sent to eject the rebels and rescue their own trapped forces. The final result was a ceasefire that effectively ended the First Chechen War of 1994–1996.

In July 1996, the Russian leadership abandoned the uneasy peace process in Chechnya and resumed large-scale military operations. Between July 9 and July 16, 1996, Russian forces attacked separatist bases in the foothills and mountains in the south of the Chechen Republic. On July 20, Russian forces launched a large-scale campaign to pacify the southern highlands, moving most of their combat troops there. On August 6, the very day of the rebel offensive, Russian forces began a major operation in the village of Alkhan-Yurt by moving 1,500 paramilitary Internal Troops and pro-Moscow Chechen policemen of Doku Zavgayev's government out of Grozny.

Chechen units attacking Grozny consisted of 1,300–3,000 fighters (initially, Russian media reported that only 250 fighters had entered the city). The Russian garrison inside the city consisted of some 12,000 troops. To overcome the Russian numerical superiority, Chechen chief of staff Aslan Maskhadov employed infiltration tactics. Using their intimate knowledge of the city, Chechen units entered Grozny and avoided the network of Russian checkpoints and other positions in a carefully planned and highly coordinated rapid advance before attacking or blocking targets deep in Moscow-controlled territory. Their main objectives were the command and control assets at the military airfield at Khankala and the militarised Severny Airport (Grozny Airport), along with the headquarters of the FSB and GRU security and military intelligence services. They also blocked roads and took up strategic positions on the approaches to the city. According to Chechen commander Tourpal Ali-Kaimov, 1,500 Chechen fighters infiltrated the city, of which 47 were killed during the initial attack.

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