On August 7, 1999, Chechen rebels of the Basayev and Khatab forces invaded Dagestan and occupied the Botlik region. Soon the Chetchens occupied the many villages of the region, declaring at the same time the "Islamic State of Dagestan".
Soon with the Chechens their goal was to liberate the region from Russia and establish an Islamic government. And they called on all Muslims to become "fighters of the faith" (Mujahideen), proclaiming the "holy war" (jihad) against the "infidels".
Military movements
The Russian authorities were taken by surprise and did not react until the 5th day after the invasion. On August 9, insurgents captured "Donkey's Ears" hill, a treeless hill west of Botlik village . The hill has two peaks, one 1,622.5 m and one 1,361.5 m.
The occupation of the hill allowed the Muslims to control the routes. It wasn't until August 12 that the Russians hit rebel positions on the hill with their artillery's multiple rocket launchers and attack helicopters.
The next day only 63 paratroopers of the 108th Guards Parachute Regiment of the 7th Airborne Assault Division, under Major Sergei Kostin, together with a reconnaissance platoon, moved towards the hill.
It was a suicide mission...
The Russians formed three assault groups with the final objective of capturing the hill. Well before dawn, the Russians surprised the Chechens and captured the lower peak.
"We moved at night. A group of special forces led us... Around 06.00 we opened fire. A fierce exchange of fire took place for about 15 minutes. It was evident that they brought reinforcements... ", reported a Russian paratrooper.
Major Kostin ordered his men and directed the supporting fire of the Russian artillery. But soon the Muslims counterattacked supported by mortar fire. At 09.15 Kostin was wounded but did not leave the battlefield.
The Muslims put particular pressure on the outnumbered Russians, reaching within a breath of their positions. Costin then ordered a counterattack. The Russians charged with yaks against their opponents, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with them. In this way they repelled the attack.
But the Chechens did not give up. One of their missiles even fell into a Russian trench, causing significant casualties. Then they attacked again. Costin organized and executed another counterattack, but soon fell mortally wounded.
"Slowly they were running out of ammunition. We asked over the radio and they sent us in a helicopter. Sub-Commander Captain Chef, took up the matter. The helicopter landed amid grenade explosions. The pilot displayed great heroism. But the commander was wounded again...", said a paratrooper.
Unhooking
In the meantime Cheev had taken command and decided to unhook his men from the deadly hill under the cover of artillery fire.
The paratroopers had fought heroically, but were forced to abandon their positions, leaving behind their major and 10 other colleagues dead. Another 25 paratroopers were injured. Chechen losses could not be calculated but must have been significant.
The Russians attacked again, on August 18, on the hill, but again failed. "A captain was shouting furiously that his untrained men had thrown themselves on this accursed hill...". On August 21 and 22, the Russians launched heavy air raids on the hill.
Only after this did the Muslims abandon it and retreat. Brave Kostin was posthumously honored and named "Hero of the Russian Commonwealth".