Air and artillery bombings On 22 December 1994, at 5 am, the shelling of Grozny began, but only on 24 December did the Russian troops begin to drop leaflets from airplanes with explanations for the population. During these shelling and bombings, according to some reports (the Memorial Society, human rights activist S. Kovalev), several thousand civilians died and were injured. Aviation began the assault from the airfields of
Yeysk,
Krymsk,
Mozdok and
Budyonnovsk. Due to adverse weather conditions, the effectiveness of aviation operations was low. Simultaneously with the start of air strikes, artillery opened fire. On the morning of 31 December, the United Group of Federal Forces entered Grozny. The so-called "New Year's assault on Grozny" began.
New Year's Eve assault Citizens of the city woke up at 5 am
Moscow Time on
New Year's Eve to a Russian
bombardment.
Bombs and
shells hit
oil tanks on the western side of the city, creating heavy black smoke. The Oil Institute, in the center of the city, was also set ablaze after coming under aerial bombardment, creating more smoke.
Pamphlets urging the Chechens to
surrender were air-dropped. Early in December, the Russian
defense minister, General
Pavel Grachev boasted he could seize Grozny in two hours with just one
airborne regiment. Before the battle, Grachev said: It is not a question of an assault in the classic sense of the word. What does an
assault on a city mean? It means the use of
all the forces and weapons in the country's arsenal. It primarily means heavy rocket preparation lasting several hours. It means heavy bombing raids on the whole city with the aim of disabling 60% of the defenders and de-moralizing the rest. :Staging area – in the foothills 3–5 km beyond "Severny" (northern) airfield on the northern outskirts of
Grozny :Objective – "Severny" airfield and
Maskhadov's "Presidential Palace" :Approach route – Altayskaya street to Staropromishlovskoye highway to Mayakovskogo street (for 131st MR Br); Khmel'nitzkogo to Pervomayskaya to Ordzhonikidze streets (81st Gd MR Regt.), with the two units converging in the Palace/Railway station area of the east Zavodskoy Rayon (Industrial Suburb) ::81st Guards Motor-Rifle Petrokov Regiment (1st and 2nd battalions, Guards Subcolonels Perepelkin and Shilovsky commanding), 90th Guards Tank Division (Commander Colonel Yaroslavetz, Chief of Staff Colonel Burlakov) :::3rd battalion, 6th Guards Tank Regiment, Commander Guards Major Zakhryapin ::::7th tank company – Commander Guards Senior Lieutenant Kovdrya ::::8th tank company – Commander Guards Captain Vechkanov ::::9th tank company – Commander Guards Captain Batretdinov :::Personnel and equipment: 157 officers and 1,174 enlisted personnel, 96
BMPs, 2
BREM-1 recovery vehicles, 4 pontoon vehicles, 5
BRM-1Ks, 4
BRDM-2s, 31
T-80BV tanks, 4
Tunguska SP AA vehicles, and 24 guns. With the invasion of Afghanistan, the regiment was at half-strength, and lacked riflemen. One third of their officers and half of enlisted personnel were reserve with little training for the operation. ::elements of the 131st Motor-Rifle Krasnodar Brigade (1st and 2nd battalions) (Colonel Savin) :::Personnel and equipment: 1,469 officers and enlisted personnel, 42 BMPs, 20 tanks and 16 guns ::276th Motor-Rifle Regiment (Colonel Bunin) :::Personnel and equipment: 1,297 officers and enlisted, 73 BMPs, 31 tanks, 24 guns • "Group West" (Запад) – commanded by General :Objectives – M-29 highway approach to the city, "Lenin Park", and Grozny Railway Central Station :Approach route – Industrialnaya street into Mayakovskogo street ::693rd Motor-Rifle Regiment ::503rd Motor-Rifle Regiment ::237th Parachute Regiment • "Group North-East" (Северо-Восток) – commanded by General
Lev Rokhlin :Objective – Central Hospital Complex :Approach route – Petropavlovskoye highway ::255th Guards Motor-Rifle Regiment ::74th Independent Motor-Rifle Brigade ::33rd Motor-Rifle Regiment • "Group East" (Восток) – commanded by Major General
Nikolai Staskov :Objectives –
Grozny Airport and covering R-305/R-306 highway junctions :Approach routes – Gudermesskaya street and Khankal'skaya street ::129th Guards Motor-Rifle Leningrad Regiment ::133rd Guards Independent Tank Battalion ::98th Guards Parachute Regiment
Russian advance The Russian
armored columns invading Grozny on 31 December 1994, were amalgamated from various army units, including untrained
conscripted soldiers. The force's columns aimed to provide blunt
firepower, hoping to intimidate the Chechens through the sheer scale of the armored operation. However, all
armored and mechanized units were under-staffed and under-trained. Although the Russian forces enjoyed
air superiority, weather kept the Russians from using their precision-guided munitions effectively. Advancing troops were supported only by
Mi-24 attack helicopters, with the Group East losing five vehicles alone due to a friendly-fire incident by Russian air. The previous day, the
Russian Air Force bombed nearby villagers, including those anti-Dudayev and pro-Russian. Simultaneously, Moscow made the implausible claim that Chechens blew up buildings in Grozny to simulate bomb-damage by Russian warplanes. From the ground, the assaulting troops were supported by hundreds of artillery pieces positioned on the hills near Grozny, including
rocket artillery batteries such as the
BM-27 Uragan and
BM-21 Grad. The Plan: Four Russian armored columns were ordered to move in a sudden and co-ordinated attack, and, after defeating all defenders, were to meet at the
Presidential Palace in the center of the city. The key to the plan was all four columns reaching the center of the city simultaneously. However, the 19th Motorized Rifle Division (MRD) was late arriving to the group West, commanded by
Major General Ivan Babichev, and the bloated column could barely move, with disputed reports of friendly artillery fire. In the east, units of Major General Vadim Orlov's 104th
Airborne Division did not join the 129th MRR from the
Leningrad Military District after they moved on Grozny and were subsequently hit by friendly artillery fire, the 129th Regiment was badly demoralised and retreated the next day without accomplishing much.
Lieutenant General Lev Rokhlin's forces of the 8th
Corps from the city of
Volgograd (
formerly Stalingrad) attacked the Chechens from the north. Following their plan, the Chechen command concentrated most of their regular forces against the Russian Main Assault Force commanded by Lieutenant General
Anatoly Kvashnin. The MAF comprised the 131st Separate Motor Rifle
Brigade and the 81st Guards Motor Rifle
Regiment from the city of
Samara. The 131st brigade's job was to move into the city from the north at dawn toward the train station. On the brigade's left flank, the 81st regiment drove down Pervomaiskaya Street.
Pervomaiskaya Ulitsa (Street) One of the two assault groups of the 81st regiment drove toward Pervomaiskaya Street, stretching along the road for a mile. They were delayed while the advanced detachment removed demolition-charges at the River Neftyanka bridge along their route. The first casualty was a
T-72 tank attached to the reconnaissance platoon at the crossroads of the Mayakovskogo and Khmel'nitzkogo streets just before the Pervomaiskaya street, with the gunner and driver killed from multiple RPG hits and internal ammunition detonation; the commander survived. Small-arms fire was also received, and one of the
reconnaissance vehicles was disabled. Another was attacked from the school building at the start of Pervomaiskaya Street, while a third reconnaissance vehicle was abandoned. As the reconnaissance platoon retreated into the column, the troopers were confused because they were followed by a truck, and there was hesitation to fire on it because Russian troopers were ordered only to return fire. However, the truck was approaching the leading tank platoon at high speed, so it was destroyed by the accompanying
Tunguska. The huge detonation indicated it was a
suicide truck bomb. Accompanying artillery fired into the area around the school building for about 45 minutes, and all incoming fire ceased. At 2 pm, the leading assault group reached the Mayakovskogo street objective. However, while the first echelon was conducting artillery fire, the 1st echelon vehicles (81st Gd MR Regt.) were stationary, and this caused the leading vehicles of the second echelon (2nd Bn., 131st IMR Br.) to mingle with them due to lack of coordination. This lack of experience, including by the individual vehicle drivers, caused a considerable traffic jam at the Mayakovskogo and Khmelnitzkogo intersection for much of an hour. However, that intersection represented the objective for the first day of operation, and both battalion commanders prepared their command for a defensive over-night position. Suddenly, Pulikovsky ordered them to resume the advance. Captain Arkhangelov, 81st Regiment's deputy for training with the 1st Company, 1st Motor Rifle Battalion, reported call-sign "Mramor" ordering them to advance into the city. In retrospect, some field troopers thought this call sign belonged to General
Leonti Shevtsov, Chief of Staff of the Combined Group of Forces in the Chechen Republic. At this point, the advance guard of the "North" Group reached their 'first day of operation' objective, and the columns of the two battalions of the 81st Guards Motor-Rifle Regiment arranged into a defensive position. Supporting artillery was tasked with firing into citizen defenders. The Russians had no operational plan for an advance that day. After the order from "Mramor" came to continue the advance toward the Presidential Palace, the advancing column quickly formed during the lingering confusion from the Mayakovskogo and Khmelnitzkogo intersection fiasco. The elements of 1st battalion departed first, but, with them, elements of the 2nd battalion and some vehicles from supporting sub-units. Meanwhile, more vehicles arrived in the intersection, mostly stray detachments left to guard the route earlier including single vehicles recovered from break-downs. The traffic jam was exacerbated by the elements of the 255th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment arriving as the second echelon of the "North" Group. This supported the decision for the first echelon to re-commence movement. The 255th proceeded to the Central Hospital Complex east of the Central Railway.
Dzerzhinsky and Ordzhonikidze squares From the Mayakovskogo and Khmelnitzkogo intersection, the 1st battalion advanced toward the Dzerzhinskogo square via Dzerzhinskogo Street. They also used parallel streets in an attempt to reduce congestion in the column. Point elements reached the railway station just after noon. This column included the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion with Colonel Perepelkin commanding. They were joined by the 4th company from the 2nd battalion plus the 7th tank company. At Dzerzhinskogo square, the 7th tank company was tasked with guarding the bridge from Krasnikh Frontovikov street. This column included about 40
BMPs, 9 to 12 tanks (including several 'strays') and at least one
anti-aircraft vehicle. From there, the column attempted to reach the Ordzhonikidze square, but came under intense fire from the Chechens. Colonel Yaroslavtzev, commanding the 81st Regiment, ordered all units to return to the Dzerzhinskogo square before sundown. All units in the Ordzhonikidze square received fire from all types of weapons from different directions, disabling several vehicles including tanks. The regimental and battalion radio signals were 'jammed', so the two battalion commanders in the square drove around to deploy their vehicles and coordinate defensive fire. As the Russian point vehicles reached the Presidential Palace, they were ambushed by heavy fire from Chechen
small arms and
rockets from roofs and basements along the street. The Chechen
ambush funneled the Russian armored columns, then the RPG gunners disabled the first and last vehicles in the line to trap the rest of the battalions in the middle. Relatively useless in
urban combat compared to dismounted fighters, Russian tanks were unable to elevate their cannons high enough to engage the top floors of many buildings, or low enough to fire into the basements. The brigade's deputy commander for training, Colonel Stankevich, took command of the largest group of the regiment's survivors after the bulk of the unit's armor was destroyed in the street; joined by some paratroopers, they eventually fought back to Russian lines. After obliterating most of the 81st, the Chechens foraged the Russians for weapons and ammunition. By the evening, the Russians gathered in the center of Grozny around the city's main marketplace, then moved toward the main train station.
Central Railway Station Mid-afternoon, the first battalion of the 131st MRB occupied the train station. Because of the radio black-out, they were unaware of the 81st MRR's situation. They separated from the second battalion from the freight station to the west, and from the third battalion on the outskirts of the city. The unit parked their tanks and
armored personnel carriers around the station to wait for orders, around which time Ali "Lambada" Adayev, who was the Chechen commander opposing Russian
Colonel Ivan Alekseevich Savin prior to the encounter and was worried about bloodshed on both sides, extended a desperate plea to Savin (nicknamed Alik by Adayev in the brief communication), proposing a negotiation for Savin to "withdraw his men and come to him as a guest", an offer which the latter had no choice but to reject due to having insufficient permission to call a ceasefire. Sometime after, a Russian communications officer heard the words
"Welcome to Hell" on his headset. Shortly after, Chechen defenders in the depot buildings, the post office, and the five-story building surrounding the station opened devastating
automatic and
anti-tank fire. The surviving Russian troopers took cover inside the station, then the Chechens completed their ambush by setting it on fire. Colonel Savin radioed for help and
artillery fire, but help never arrived. Most
distress calls from the 131st went unanswered. The second and third battalions of the brigade responded to the call for help, but were caught in layered ambushes before reaching the station. Both battalions were ordered to stay away from the Presidential Palace; this added to the trouble as the armored columns turned into alleyways, only to be destroyed by more of the layered ambushes.
Summary of the New Year's Eve battle The New Year's Eve battle was devastating for the Russians; the first Russian armored column lost 105 of their 120 tanks and armored personnel carriers. The entire first battalion of the Maikop Brigade, more than half of the 81st Regiment plus hundreds of men from the remaining units, were dead. A high-ranking
Russian General Staff officer said "
On January 2nd, we lost contact with our forward units." According to
Maskhadov, some 400 Russian tanks and APCs were destroyed. Russian General
Aleksandr Galkin reported 225 armored vehicles as unrepairable battle losses during the first month and a half of the invasion, including 62 tanks. Most of the
Russian 'Special Forces' surrendered to the Chechens "after wandering about hopelessly for three days without food, let alone any clear idea of what they were supposed to do." After more captured Russian troopers were shown on television programming, the mothers of some went to
Grozny to negotiate the release of their sons. Those negotiations took place in the center of the city without involving Russian government agents and while under Russian artillery bombardment; some of the prisoners were released on the promise they would never fight the Chechens again. Unknown to the Russians and prior to the New Year invasion, Chechen President
Dzhokhar Dudayev moved his
headquarters to
Shali, 25 kilometers south of Grozny. The Russian forces pulled back, abandoning many troopers.
Morale dropped so low, units of the
Interior Ministry and
OMON forces outside town departed without orders.
Operations in the Grozny area after the New Year’s Eve battle In the first days of January, Chechen forces not dealing with the remnants of the destroyed Russian units counterattacked against General Rokhlin's army group of some 5,000 menwho were now hastily entrenched in the north as the only organized Russian forces in Grozny at the time, unsuccessfully trying to drive it from the city. There were a handful of further Chechen, but none successful. On 4 and 5 January, the Chechens began retreating to villages south of Grozny with whatever combat vehicles they had at their disposal. These convoys were bombed by Russian air attacks. Though the Chechens were on the retreat, they still controlled much of the center of the city. Reinforcements from both sides arrived, including Chechen volunteers from the villages outside of Grozny and
Russian Naval Infantry. The Russians proceeded to bombard Grozny with artillery, tank, and rocket fire as the rest of the battle centered on new tactics in which the Russians proceeded to destroy the city block by block.
White phosphorus rounds and
fuel-air explosive Shmel rockets were used by the Russian forces. They would then send in small groups of men sometimes spearheaded by
special forces, making effective use of sniper teams. Two long weeks of costly bitter fighting ensued as the Russians moved to take the Presidential Palace.
Presidential Palace , January 1995 On 7 January, which is
Christmas for
East Orthodox Christians, the Russians concentrated their assault on the
Chechen Presidential Palace, a large, concrete structure built in
Soviet times as the local Chechen
Communist party headquarters, including a
blast shelter underneath. It was defended by 350 Chechen full-time fighters and an estimated 150 part-time militiamen. Before midnight, the Chechen command left the Palace in three groups, Maskhadov being among the last to leave. These groups retreated to a hospital on the south side of the
Sunzha river, while Russian
helicopters flew over the city calling on Chechens to surrender with no effect.
Southern Grozny For the next two days, the Russians lulled their bombardment to collect the dead and wounded in the streets. Russian president
Boris Yeltsin prematurely declared that the "military stage of the operation" was over. General
Lev Rokhlin, the commander of the unit that seized the palace was offered to be decorated with the order of the
Hero of the Russian Federation, but he refused saying he saw nothing glorious in "fighting a war on my own land." After losing so many men when taking the northern part of Grozny, the Russians concentrated their artillery heavily on the southern half, firing over 30,000 shells each day. For a time being there was no close combat, with the Chechens using mainly
sniper rifles. After blowing up most of the bridges the Chechens used the
Sunzha river as a newly established
front line as all but the southern part of Grozny was now in the Russian control. The city, however, was not completely sealed off until 22 February 1995, and the Chechens routinely resupplied their forces through the corridor from
Shali. Eventually, Russians advanced within 200 meters of
Maskhadov's HQ. Though he threw all his available forces against them, including the remaining three tanks, he could not manage to stop the offensive. It was at this point that they decided to move to abandon the positions along the
Sunzha and retreat to the third line of defense along the mountain ridges that skirt Grozny.
Southern outskirts and mopping-up On 25 January 1995, the Chechen leader
Dzhokhar Dudayev said that no more Russian
prisoners of war would be released until a ceasefire was signed. On 8 February, a
truce was announced and most of the remaining Chechen forces, including all heavy equipment, withdrew from the devastated city. They moved their headquarters to the town of Novogroznensk, the first of several temporary capitals to follow. On 13 February 1995, Russian and Chechen forces reached another ceasefire agreement limiting the use of heavy weapons, covering the use of aviation, artillery and mortars (however, the Russians returned to the large-scale artillery and aviation attacks in Chechnya a week later on 21 February). As the end of February approached,
Shamil Basayev and his men were reduced to using small-scale
hit-and-run tactics until they too finally pulled out by 6 March. ==Casualties==