Battle of Aldy

The Battle of Aldy, also known as the Battle of the Sunzha River was a failed military expedition launched by the Russian Empire with the aim of capturing Sheikh Mansur, who, through his speeches and teachings had gained a wide following the North Caucasus, especially in his hometown Aldy. His teachings on Jihad ("Gazavat"^[a]) and his idea of the unification of the North Caucasian tribes under a single Islamic state concerned the Russian administration, who, as a result, sent a 3,000 strong force under Nikolai de Pieri in order to capture him.

Battle of Aldy
Part of Sheikh Mansur Movement
Date 6th – 7th July 1785 Location Aldy forest, Chechnya (Modern–day Grozny, Chechen Republic, Russia) Result Major Chechen victory Rise of Mansur's insurgency Destruction of Pieri's detachment Destruction of Alkhan–Yurt and Aldy
Belligerents
Mansur's fighters	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Sheikh Mansur Osman–Hajji	Organizer of the Campaign: Pavel Potemkin Commanders of the Campaign: Nikolai de Pieri † Sergei Komarsky † Ivan Kazin (WIA) Other Notable leaders: Vasily Tomara Pyotr Bagration (POW)
Units involved
Chechen fighters from Aldy and Alkhan–Yurt	Tomsk Infantry Regiment 2 Grenadier Companies Astrakhan Infantry Regiment Kabardian Jaeger Regiment 2 Battalions 100s of Cavalry Cossack Detachments Artillery
Strength
At least 500+	2,000 2 cannons
Casualties and losses
Total Casualties: 300 100 KIA 200 WIA	Total Casualties: 1,000+ 745 KIA[b] 162 POW[c] Hundreds WIA 2 cannons

The Russian force was led by Colonel Nikolai de Pieri. It was approximately 3,000 men strong and had 6 cannons. The detachment arrived in the Chechen village Aldy on July 6, 1785, which it captured after a short skirmish with Chechen fighters. The Russians burnt the village down and began retreating to the Sunzha River, where, in the forest of Aldy, it was ambushed by Mansur's fighters, and as a result, the detachment was destroyed and dispersed. In total, 745 soldiers, including Pieri himself and several other commanders were killed and 162 captured. Additionally, hundreds of soldiers were wounded, and the detachment lost both of its cannons.^[d] According to Sheikh Mansur, the Chechen side only suffered approximately 100 killed and 200 wounded.
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