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had. On
September 4 they crossed the mountains near Bamy with only two weeks of supplies and marched southeast through deserted villages. By September 8 he was 13 miles from Denghil Tepe, as the fortress of Geok Tepe was called. Next morning he surrounded the place and began a bombardment. The fort held 15000 defenders and 5000 women and children, densely packed. The bombardment was terrible because they were using explosive shells instead of cannonballs. A standard practice was to leave one side of a siege line open so that the women and children could flee and that demoralized soldiers could run away to be cut down by cavalry. At 3pm the main force joined Lomakin's advance guard. At about 4pm the Tekkes sent negotiators. Both women and envoys were driven back into the fort. At 5pm Lomakin ordered a storm even though he had only 1400 infantry and had not brought scaling ladders. Instead of concentrating his soldiers at one point he spread them out in a thin line which was cut down before reaching the wall. The few Russians who crossed the first wall were stopped by the second wall.Thousands of Turkmen jumped from the walls and attacked the Russians. When the Russians retreated they were followed by a mob of Tekkes who were only stopped by artillery. During the battle, a cannonball hit the Turkmen commander Berdi Murad Khan and he lost his life. The Turkmen repelled the Russian troops, but the death of Murad Khan prevented the victory from being celebrated enthusiastically. At nightfall the Russians drew off and formed a defensive. Tekke cavalry followed and threatened but did nothing serious. By September 19 they were again south of the Kopet Dagh. On September 29 General Tergukasov reached Chat to replace Lazarev and Lomakin and learned of the disaster. By the end of October the whole force was back at Chikishlyar except for some outposts. By the end of the year most of the troops were back on the west side of the Caspian.
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away when confronted by a larger and better managed force. He was accused of preferring a bloody victory to something slow and sure, but it is also true that he had to act quickly because he had not brought enough supplies. He was accused of moving too quickly because he knew that he would soon be replaced by
Lazarev's successor. His decision to abandon Lazarev's plan for a large supply dump restricted his freedom of movement. The Tekkes were partly responsible for the slaughter since they put so many people in one place. Perhaps they did not fully understand explosive artillery shells. Also, it is easier to defeat an enemy in pieces. A bloody defeat of the western Tekkes might have demoralized the eastern Tekkes, while if they had escaped they could have joined their fellows to the east and been much more formidable.
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1107:. The distance was 344 km to the mountain pass and then 117 km southeast along the oasis to Geok Tepe. Because Chikishlyar was a beach and not a harbor, landing supplies was slow. The place was unhealthy and this was the worst time of the year to march in the desert. It was difficult to find enough water and fodder for such a large force. One of the civilians who supported the army was a Mademoiselle Pauline who accompanied the troops all the way to Akhal and earned 4000 rubles during the campaign.
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The
Russians lost 445 killed and wounded, about a third of the attacking infantry, and the Tekkes about 2000 dead and 2000 wounded. Almost all the camels died. Lomakin was blamed not only for his incompetent attack but for the needless slaughter of an enemy who would probably have surrendered or run
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They moved out in groups between June 18 and August 11. Near the end of July
Lazerev grew ill. He insisted on following the troops and died at Chat in late August. Lomakin took command as the senior officer. Instead of building Lazarev's supply base, Lomakin decided to push on with the 3800 men he
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was given command, replacing the unsuccessful
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and establish a large supply base in the mountain valley of Khoja Kale before crossing the Kopet Dagh to conquer Akhal and possibly
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Charles Thomas Marvin, The Eye-Witnesses’ Account of the disastrous
Russian Campaign against the Akhal Tekke Turkomans, 1880
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1072:. On their north side streams ran down from the mountains forming the Akhal Oasis which, in the broadest sense, ran from
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fortress, but mismanaged the attack and was forced to retreat. The next year, this was reversed by
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1080:. The Tekke Turkomans who lived here were one of the few Turkoman tribes who practiced
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About half the population of the tribe sheltered in the fortress; about 20,000 people
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on the east and the ill-defined
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The Kopet Dagh
Mountains run from Ashkabad northwest toward Krasnovodsk.
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was the main event in the 1879 Russian expedition against the
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Russian
Central Asia, 1867-1917: A Study in Colonial Rule
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in 1873 the Turkoman desert nomads remained independent.
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53:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
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16:Battle between the Russian Empire and Turkmens
1160:For similar nineteenth-century disasters see
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128:introducing citations to additional sources
1252:. University of California Press. pp.
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254:Russian invasion of Turkmenistan repelled
84:Learn how and when to remove this message
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118:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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405:Russian conquest of Kokand
194:Battle of Geok Tepe (1879)
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1044:After Russia subdued the
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813:First Battle of Geok Tepe
494:Russian conquest of Khiva
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1040:Geography and background
1028:Turkmen campaign of 1879
213:Battle of Geok Tepe 1879
39:This article includes a
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1174:1842 retreat from Kabul
68:more precise citations.
1319:History of colonialism
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295:Berdi Murad Khan
290:Commanders and leaders
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693:Taymanuly's rebellion
341:Casualties and losses
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1166:Battle of Isandlwana
1030:Blue = Russian fort.
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643:Kenesary's Rebellion
124:improve this article
1197: /
1056:was bounded by the
840:Battle of Geok Tepe
271:Akhal Teke Turkmens
21:Battle of Geok Tepe
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1046:Emirate of Bukhara
776:Alexandrovsky fort
666:Punitive campaigns
629:Datuly's rebellion
41:list of references
1151:Russian Turkestan
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141: –
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135:Find sources:
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113:single source
109:This article
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74:December 2022
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1258:. Retrieved
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351:~200 killed
336:3,800 troops
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265:Belligerents
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239:Turkmenistan
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60:Please help
52:
1324:Colonialism
1204: /
1082:agriculture
1074:Kazil Arbat
1058:Caspian Sea
822:during the
817:Akhal Tekke
791: [
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709: [
706:Khan Ordasy
697: [
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559:Istaravshan
550: [
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412:Itchan Kala
66:introducing
1288:Categories
1266:Geok tepe.
1260:18 October
1192:57°58′04″E
1189:38°10′02″N
1136:Accounting
1076:to beyond
1062:Oxus River
766:Mangyshlak
478:2nd Kokand
464:1st Kokand
150:newspapers
1066:Kopet Dag
936:Geok Tepe
832:Geok Tepe
649:Akmolinsk
603:Zerabulak
597:Samarkand
547:Sarybulak
522:3rd Khiva
515:2nd Khiva
501:1st Khiva
436:Uzynagash
235:Geok Tepe
120:talk page
1145:See also
862:Ashgabat
820:Turkmens
744:Orenburg
451:Tashkent
441:Shymkent
328:Strength
230:Location
199:Part of
1217:Sources
1088:Buildup
1078:Askabad
1003:Bukhara
922:Pandjeh
894:ishlyar
800:Andijan
781:Chagrai
761:Panjdeh
718:Tastobe
585:Jizzakh
424:Khujand
308:†
299:†
164:scholar
62:improve
1172:, and
964:Kazil-
876:Krasno
281:
246:Result
166:
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1097:Atrek
1017:Khiva
966:Arvat
878:vodsk
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609:Kitab
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171:JSTOR
157:books
47:, or
1262:2015
1105:Merv
1099:and
980:Chat
950:Bami
908:Merv
892:Chik
811:The
788:Marv
446:Ican
222:Date
143:news
1256:–40
126:by
1290::
1264:.
1254:38
1228:^
1168:,
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842:.
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793:ru
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