Battle of Zerabulak

The battle on the Zerabulak heights is the decisive battle of the Russian army under the command of General Kaufman with the army of the Bukhara emir Muzaffar, which took place in June 1868, on the slopes of the Zera-tau mountain range, between Samarkand and Bukhara. It ended with the defeat of the Bukhara army, and the transition of the Bukhara Emirate to vassal dependence on the Russian Empire.

Battle of Zerabulak
Part of Russian conquest of Central Asia

Nikolay Karazin. Battle on Zerabulak Heights
Date14 June 1868
Location
Zera-tau ridge, Bukhara (now Uzbekistan)
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
 Russia Bukhara
Commanders and leaders
Konstantin Kaufmann Emir Muzaffar
Strength
2 000 soldiers; 14 guns, 6 rocket launchers 30 000
Casualties and losses
from 38[1][2] to 63 wounded and killed from 3 500 to 10 000 killed and wounded[3]}

Battle

After the capture of Samarkand in May 1868 by General Kaufman, in order to finally defeat the Bukharians, a campaign was undertaken in the direction of Bukhara.

In the meantime, it became known that a large Bukhara army was gathering at the Zerabulak heights, located about half the way from Samarkand to Bukhara. According to intelligence, there were about 30,000 people in it. Having received such news, General Kaufman, leaving a small garrison in Samarkand, decided to advance with the main forces to meet the enemy.

On the night of June 14, 1868, the Russian detachment approached the Zerabulak heights. At their feet stood the Bukhara infantry, behind it, on a hill - 14 guns and a mass of cavalry. The battle began at 4 am. Colonel Alexander Pistolkors, who commanded the vanguard, led his soldiers to attack the enemy's left flank. At the same time, the Cossacks moved, and the artillery began firing buckshot at the enemy infantry. The people of Bukhara, not expecting such pressure, wavered and ran. The Cossacks rushed in pursuit, but the Bukhara infantry, as soon as it emerged from the grapple fire, again lined up and began to retreat in an orderly manner, firing back and defending itself according to all the rules. Nevertheless, the entire hollow along which they retreated was covered with the bodies of Bukhara soldiers.

On the right flank, a battalion of 280 Russian infantrymen who had gone into hand-to-hand combat was unexpectedly surrounded by the Bukharians: enemy infantry was pressing in front, and cavalry came in from the rear. There was no way to help them, but, suddenly rushing into a bayonet attack, Russian soldiers overturned the enemy and got rid of the encirclement themselves, losing only 17 people wounded.

The entire Bukhara army gradually began to retreat, at first in order, and then - throwing weapons and ammunition. By 10 o'clock in the morning everything was over, the heights were cleared of the enemy. Among the trophies of General Kaufman's detachment was an artillery gun and 40 pack boxes with shells.

References
  1. Pierce 1960, p. 26.
  2. Marvin 1881, p. 401.
  3. Керсновский 1993, pp. 281–304.

Works cited
  • Pierce, Richard A. (1960). Russian Central Asia, 1867-1917: A Study in Colonial Rule. University of California Press.
  • Marvin, Charles (1881). Merv: The Queen of the World; and the Scourge of the Man-stealing Turcomans. With an Exposition of the Khorassan Question. W.H. Allen.
  • Керсновский, Антон Антонович (1993). История русской армии в четырёх томах: От взятия Парижа до покорения Средней Азии, 1814-1881г.г. / [ред. В. Копцова]. T. 2 [History of the Russian Army. T.2. From the capture of Paris to the conquest of Central Asia in 1814 - 1881] (in Russian). Moscow: Голос.

General references
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