Battle of Dargo (1845)

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42°57′00″N 46°13′59″E / 42.95°N 46.233°E / 42.95; 46.233

Dargo Campaign
Part of the Caucasian War
Battle of Dargo, painting by Franz Roubaud
Date 31 May – 21 July 1845 Location Dargo, Chechnya, North Caucasia Result North Caucasian victory
Belligerents
Caucasian Imamate	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Imam Shamil Soib-Mulla † Eldar Aukh † Isa Gendergen Talkhig of Shali Hadji Murad Baysangur of Benoa	Mikhail Vorontsov Kluki von Klugenau D. V. Passek † V. M. Viktorov † R. K. Freitag A. N. Lüders A. I. Baryatinsky
Strength
Unknown	~18,000 overall[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	3 generals, 195 officers, and 3,433 privates killed or wounded; 3 guns[1] 7,000+ killed according to Officer N. I. Gorchakov[2]

The Battle(s) of Dargo or Dargo Campaign (Russian: Даргинский поход, romanized: Darginskiy pokhod) of 1845 was a series of military actions during the Murid War, the eastern phase of the Caucasus War of 1817–1864. During the campaign, Mikhail Vorontsov penetrated too deeply into enemy country, was surrounded, and partially fought his way out with heavy losses and was rescued by General R. K. Freitag.

The campaign exposed the difficulties posed in moving a large army through a forested region. With heavy supplies and many wounded, the army became strung out when it was attacked from both sides, while the front and rear could not protect each other. Once discipline is not maintained, a faster group bunched up with the men ahead, causing them to lose contact with the men to the rear, resulting in isolated groups to be attacked.