On December 4-6, 1864, a hundred Ural Cossacks under the command of Esaul V. R. Serova took a heroic battle against more than ten thousand army of Khan Mulla-Alimkul, near Ikan (20 versts from Turkestan). The detachment sent to conduct reconnaissance collided with the forces of Khan Mulla-Alimkula, hundreds of times superior. Realizing that the enemy's detection of the detachment was inevitable, Vasily Rodionovich Serov ordered to retreat a little back - to the small gully he had noticed earlier. Having passed no more than half a mile back, the detachment was instantly surrounded by huge swarms of Kokand residents, who at first approached a hundred with “quiet silence,” and then, with a wild cry, began to attack. Ordering the Cossacks not to waste shots and let the enemy get closer, Serov then waved his hand, and the surrounding hills echoed with the sound of a furious volley from rifles and a unicorn. The Kokand people were taken aback by the rebuff they received and with significant damage retreated in disorder and confusion.
The Cossack Terenty Tolkachev, who was standing next to the gun, commanded by the Chief Fireworker of Sins, happily lifted his rifle into the air after a well-aimed hit at one of the leaders of the Kokand, who was galloping in front of his horsemen right on the gun. He fell backwards from his horse, arms outstretched wide. Among the Cossacks, this was considered a successful shot - it means that the bullet hit right in the head … A second, a volley of grapeshot from a unicorn into the very midst of the enemy, thundered the Kokand people to flight. Seeing the disorder and confusion among the enemy's cavalry, rushing back, crushing his own wounded, he shouted: - Eka vatarba (turmoil) has begun! After a while, the Kokand people with renewed rage and shouts “Alla-Illa!”Again undertook an assault and received an even more crushing blow. In order to prevent the enemy from determining the true size of his detachment, V. R. Serov ordered to move the unicorn from one face to another. Buckshot hit the very thick of the enemy, causing him huge damage. The accurate shooting, for which the Cossacks are famous, struck first of all the Kokand commanders, and at a considerable distance, which caused the Kokand hordes to be disorganized and retreated. Having suffered significant losses and being discouraged by the harshness of the Cossacks' rebuff, Alimkul (then he did not yet know that there were only a hundred of them) ordered his troops to withdraw and make fires. The combat gun crews and falconet shooters were instructed to fire at the Cossacks all night, not giving them the opportunity to improve the fortifications or even rest a little. Rest, let alone sleep, was out of the question. A grenade whizzed through the air, and the first explosion killed three horses at once. The cannonade, which did not stop all night, began, from which the horses and camels, huddled in the middle of the ravine, mostly suffered. Only a few Cossacks who held them back were wounded. Under cover of night, the sarbazes repeatedly tried to crawl unnoticed to the location of the detachment and attack the Cossacks. But the natural qualities of the Cossacks: keen hearing and keen eyesight, along with combat experience (many of the Urals were in the service for more than 15 years, had previously fought with the Kokand people, the enemy's night sorties. Despite the exhausting night cannonade and night firefight, without rest and food, nobody did not lose heart. The clear orders of the commander of the detachment Serov and the centurion Abramichev, thanks to which the hundred took the position chosen in advance and successfully repelled the first massive attacks of the enemy - even the newcomers strengthened their confidence in their superiority over the enemy, no matter how cruel and numerous he was. At night, after the eighth shot from the unicorn, his wheel broke. The Sin fireworks showed ingenuity, immediately commanding the rest of the gunners: - Come on, guys, let's get the wheels from under the ammunition boxes. The Ural Cossacks Terenty Tolkachev and Platon Dobrinin, allocated to help the artillerymen, helped the artillerymen to remove the wheels and fit them to the cannon. However, since the wheel hubs were larger than the axles of the gun, the fireworks ordered: - Tie the ropes to the unicorn! Now the wheels of the gun could not spin when moving and the centurion Abramichev sent two more Cossacks at the disposal of Grekhov: Vasily Kazantsev and Kuzma Bizyanov. On their strong backs and arms, the Ural Cossacks helped the gunners move the unicorn. Esaul Serov selected the most intelligent and dashing Cossacks, his favorites, to help the artillerymen, realizing with bitterness that the most well-aimed arrows and gunners of the enemy would certainly try to hit the gun and the combat crew around it. One of his favorites was Terenty Tolkachev. All the Cossacks respected him for his ingenuity, speed and amazing accuracy of shooting. Even with a smoothbore gun, he could, on a bet, remove a mallard from a flock at a height of 100 meters. When a hundred were armed with rifled weapons, Terenty's joy knew no bounds. - With such and such a weapon, the Cossack is a hundred times rich! - he came up with a saying while staying in Turkestan, polishing his favorite rifle by the fire in the bivouac. The morning brought relief: now the Cossacks saw the enemy as in the palm of their hand and could keep him at a distance, striking individual daring horsemen with well-aimed shots, who from time to time tried to jump up to 100 yards to the location of the Ural hundred. The crowds of these not tired riders on their small, lean horses, in tall malachai, were armed with long pikes and guns. Some of them wore the armor and mail of their ancestors and brandished curved sabers. Along with smooth-bore weapons, those who were richer had English and Belgian rifles, as well as revolvers. From Ikan's side, more and more cavalry and foot units of the Kokand people arrived.
It finally became clear that this was the army of Alimkul, which, together with Sadyk's gangs, numbered from 10 to 12 thousand people. Only later will Lieutenant Colonel Zhemchuzhnikov be informed of the data received from the inhabitants of Ikan: that the total number of Mulla-Alimkul's troops, drawn on December 5 to the outskirts of Ikan, was about 20 thousand. Serov ordered not to waste ammunition and shoot only mainly according to the artillery calculations of the enemy and the military leaders, who stood out among the rest of the horsemen with rich clothes, painted turbans, expensive harnesses and saddles of horses. In the morning, the enemy shelling (Alimkul had 3 guns and about 10 falconets) intensified. And if at night there were only four shell-shocked among the Cossacks, then by noon on December 5 several people died from buckshot and bullets. The first of the Cossacks to die was Prokofy Romanov (early in the morning of December 5).
Most of the horses and camels were killed and the Cossacks, under continuous enemy fire, dragged them to the sides of the beam to protect the rest from shell fragments and grenades. Meanwhile, from afar across the steppe, the movement of enemy cavalry in a northern direction became noticeable. The Cossacks began to look with hope in the direction of the Turkestan road, hoping that this movement may be connected with the approach of aid from Turkestan. Despite the fact that the night attack by the troops of Alimkul, who surrounded the hundred of Serov, was unexpected and swift, the esaul managed to send a postman to Turkestan with the news that the hundred had taken a battle with superior enemy forces. Only later did it become clear that the messenger had not made it to the garrison. Experienced Esaul Serov did not send a second postman, proceeding from the fact that the strong sound of the night cannonade was to be heard in the city, and Lieutenant Colonel Zhemchuzhnikov had already taken steps to rescue the Cossacks from the encirclement. Only will the detachment, which came to the aid of the Urals with the hordes that moved towards it, to Turkestan, cope?
Soon the distant rumble of an artillery shot was heard. The Cossacks even stopped firing for a while, trying to hear any sound carried by a light breeze from the north through the crackle of the sarbaz rifle fire. Sotnik Abramichev raised his hand, urging all the soldiers to freeze for a minute. In the short silence that followed, several more shots were heard from the direction of Turkestan. Their sounds were so barely perceptible that it could be assumed that the battle was going on somewhere on the outskirts of Turkestan. Maybe the Kokand people are already attacking a small garrison? From this thought alone, an icy cold seized the soul … But the Cossack Bartholomew Konovalov, famous for his sensitive hearing, exclaimed in a whisper:
- Chu, be quiet!, - and pulled Pavel Mizinov, who coughed up with a deep pulmonary cough. He moved to the other side of the beam and lay down on the bedclothes next to Nikon Loskutov, who gave him a few puffs from his pipe. Religion (they observed the old rite) did not allow the Ural Cossacks to smoke, so they only allowed themselves to do so during the campaigns. Approaching their native lands, they got rid of the remains of tobacco and broke pipes … From the direction of the Turkestan direction, new distant sounds of shots were heard. - Hey, brothers, the firing is closer! By God closer! - This detachment is coming! - the sergeant Panfil Zarshchikov, a veteran of the Crimean War, authoritatively supported him. - Your honor, - the sergeant Krikov turned to Abramichev, - from the direction of Turkestan you can hear the sounds of an approaching battle … - I hear, I hear! Joy gripped the Cossacks, many began to be baptized: truly, glory to the saints - after all, the next day, December 6, was supposed to be the feast of Nicholas the Wonderworker! Nicholas the saint … The Ural Cossacks were Old Believers and sacredly believed in the Lord … Ever since the Battle of Poltava, in which the Ural Cossack regiment participated, Peter the First bestowed the Yaik Cossacks “with a cross and a beard forever, forever” - he allowed them to preserve the old rituals and wear beards … He bestowed it on them for the victory of the brave Ural Cossack Ryzhechka, who put down in a duel before the battle a two-meter tall Swedish combatant, clad in steel armor …
The insidious and cunning Sultan Sadyk was in disarray: it was impossible to stop the advance of the detachment of "Uruses" who were stubbornly going to the rescue of the Urals. Their reunification and the appearance of fresh cavalry among the Cossacks would lead to the final demoralization of Alimkul's troops. And as soon as one detachment of Kokands takes flight, the Cossacks will drive them day and night. This experienced enemy knew how the Ural Cossacks were able to pursue in the steppe. They will neither eat nor sleep, but constantly pursue the enemy, because they know the law of the steppes well - on the shoulders of the enemy it is ten times easier to drive.
If you give him only a couple of hours to breathe, he will regroup his forces and “resist”. Then it's all down the drain! And then Sadyk came up with another insidious trick: he bypassed a detachment of Russians, moreover, in the immediate vicinity of it - at the distance of a weapon shot (so that they could see his cavalry) and moved to Turkestan. Then he sent a messenger to Alimkul and asked to send another five thousand horsemen for the same maneuver in the direction of Turkestan. This maneuver, according to his plan, was to make the Russian detachment think that the Kokand people had already defeated Serov's hundred and moved to take the city. Indeed, the Russians turned back and followed him to Turkestan, not reaching any three or four miles to their comrades surrounded by the enemy. So, the trick of Sultan Sadyk succeeded: the detachment of Second Lieutenant Sukorko rushed to the defense of Turkestan, never reaching the hundreds of Ural Cossacks who were surrounded. The sounds of shots began to fade away and died down altogether. The spark of hope that was kindled in the souls of the Urals began to fade away. What happened to the detachment that came to the rescue? Is it really broken? The sounds of shots coming from the direction of Turkestan were not heard at all. For some time, the shelling of hundreds of Serov by the Kokands also stopped. A horseman with a white rag in his hand rushed across the steppe at full speed straight to the position of the Urals.
Having reached the impromptu parapet erected by the Cossacks, the messenger handed the centurion Abramichev a note in the Tatar language with the seal of Mulla-Alimkul. The scout Akhmet began to translate the text of the note to the esaulu V. R. Serov, however, he said loudly: - Read aloud, let all the Cossacks hear! Mulla-Alimkul's message (then this note was handed over to the commandant of Turkestan) read: “Where are you going to leave me now? The detachment expelled from Azret (as the Kokand people called Turkestan) were defeated and driven back. Out of a thousand (this once again confirms that Alimkul was not sure of the exact number of Cossacks who opposed him - author's note), your squad will not be left! Surrender and embrace our faith! I will not offend anyone …”Esaul was silent, slightly bowing his gray head. A throbbing artery was clearly visible on his high forehead, red with exertion. It became clear that there was nowhere to wait for help. It remained to fight to the end. Each of the Cossacks who stood around Akhmet, who was reading the letter, suddenly realized that death was inevitable. Death became as tangible and inevitable as their choice was firm and unshakable: death for Faith, Tsar and Fatherland! The short silence that reigned after Akhmet's reading of the last sentence of Alimkul's message was broken by the cold voice of Pavel Mizinov, who reloaded his rifle and exhaled resolutely:
- I don’t like it! Oh, you don't like it, brothers! “Our heads will cost dearly for the basurmans,” the sergeant Alexander Zheleznov, the most authoritative of the Cossacks with his remarkable strength and military prowess, echoed him, “Oh, they will pay dearly! - Eh, let's set a karachun (we will arrange a massacre) Alimkulu! All the Cossacks hummed enthusiastically, loading their guns and preparing to respond with fire to the shameful proposals of the enemy. Esaul Serov got up from his seat, and everyone was quiet for a minute: - Thank you, Cossacks! I did not expect any other answer from you! You see how you scared Alimkul: instead of a hundred, he imagines a thousand! The Cossacks laughed. The nervous tension was relieved. Vasily Rodionovich took off his hat and, repeatedly overshadowing himself with the sign of the cross, began to read "Our Father …". He was echoed by the voices of his comrades in arms, merging into a single chorus of low baritones and bass, rolling quietly over the surrounding hills and hills, rising in streams of steam to the frosty sky sparkling from the myriad of small snowflakes. Warmongers, from generation to generation who walked along the sharp edge of their fate between life and death, the Cossacks were perhaps more religious than anyone else. Ask anyone who has gone through a similar path at least once - and they will confirm to you: nothing develops religious feelings like war …
The bright winter sun, unexpectedly emerging from behind the clouds, illuminated the surrounding hills, giving the Orthodox a good sign. Despair or doubt had no place in their souls. Everyone made this choice for themselves a long time ago … Having made a prayer and hoisting a hat on his head, centurion Abramichev straightened his sword belt and shouted in a commanding voice: “A hundred, in places! Go to battle! At Abramichev's command, the hundred fired a friendly salvo towards the enemy. Many of the most remote horsemen of Alimkul, who drove around at a shot distance, fell from their horses. Mulla-Alimkul, having received a refusal from the Urals to surrender and seeing that they continued to resist, went into a rage. On the advice of Sultan Sadyk, he ordered to weave shields from reeds and brushwood and, tying them to two-wheeled carts, “tackle” to the fortification of the Cossacks. Behind each of these shields, up to a hundred sarbazes could go in single file, avoiding well-aimed shots from the Urals. Approaching a distance of up to a hundred yards to the gully in which Serov's hundred sat down, they rushed to the attack, but invariably met the volley fire of the Urals and fled.
The quickly approaching twilight played into the hands of the Kokand people. Peering intently into the dank darkness of the night, the Cossacks awaited an assault from the enemy, encouraged by the daytime success of Sultan Sadyk's cunning maneuver. If the congregations of Alimkul had decided on such an assault, they would undoubtedly have crushed a handful of Ural brave men in number … The frost grew stronger and the snow that fell late in the evening somewhat improved visibility at nighttime: in the snow, the enemy's movements were distinguishable at a distance of more than a mile and the Cossacks could determine the direction ahead of time the next blow of the enemy.
The Urals had not eaten or slept for two days, and the cartridges were already coming to an end. It was necessary to do something, to sit still and wait for the ammunition to run out completely - it was tantamount to suicide. Esaul Serov made the only correct decision, which experienced Cossacks insisted on - to send messengers to Turkestan in order to find out the situation there and call a new detachment for help, and in the morning - to make a breakthrough from the encirclement towards the Turkestan unit. The cavalier (originally from the nobility) Andrei Borisov himself expressed this idea to Abramichev and volunteered to deliver the dispatch of Esaul Serov to Turkestan. Having combat experience for more than 11 years (both against the Kokand people and in the Crimea, he already had the Order of St. George of the first degree), he volunteered the right to first go to the garrison alone on foot. Paying tribute to his courage, the esaul Serov, nevertheless, decided to send him on horseback, accompanied by two or three more people, in order to act with certainty and certainly deliver the dispatch to Turkestan. Borisov, along with Pavel Mizinov, Bartholomew Konovalov and Kirghiz Akhmet, appeared before the captain and centurion Abramichev. Vasily Rodionovich examined their equipment and fixed his gaze on the pale and thin face of Mizinov:
- You, brother, are more needed here, and besides, you are not healthy. Do not exact, my dear, - he refused to send him with Borisov's people. Serov was happy for this courageous Cossack, who, after being awarded the rank of centurion, was then demoted for self-righteousness and revelry. Now he proved himself well in the campaign, encouraged the Cossacks with his word and skillful actions in battle, cemented a hundred with his presence. He really was needed here, and not in a desperate sortie of daredevils who volunteered to break through to Turkestan … After all, Andrei Borisov and his people were going almost certain death …
- Well, Cossacks, - he turned to the others, including Akhmet, who has already proved his loyalty many times by deed and blood, - you know what you are doing, you also know our customs - we only send hunters on such assignments … Your honor, everyone volunteered out of their own desire, - answered Andrey Borisov, looking around the rest of his comrades-in-arms. - So your task will be to bypass the enemy on horseback with the right side and along the mountains - to get into Turkestan. Deliver the dispatch and this note (message from Mulla-Alimkul) to the commandant and call for reinforcements to our detachment. If we don't wait for help in the morning, in any case we will break out of the encirclement along the Turkestan road. Pass it on! - Yes, your honor! - the gentleman Borisov answered him and saluted him. Putting their rifles over their sheepskin coats, he and Konovalov were about to jump into the saddles when the esaul and the centurion took them out of their holsters and handed them their revolvers: - It won't hurt! With God! Serov said firmly and patted Andrei Borisov on the shoulder. In one fell swoop, the messengers jumped into the saddles and disappeared into the darkness of the night - after Akhmet. Less than half an hour later, shots rang out from the side where the Cossacks galloped … after a while they returned. As it turned out, in one and a half versts they stumbled upon an enemy picket (fortunately, Akhmet was galloping ahead) and, having fired a shot at him, turned back into a hundred. Despite the failure, Andrei Borisov again began to insist to go alone on foot, but Serov listened to Akhmet's advice and ordered to go on horseback to the left of the enemy's position. And so they did. Instead of Bartholomew Konovalov, the dashing Cossack Akim Chernov rode with Borisov and Akhmet, the best rider in a hundred, who more than once distinguished himself in night sorties and the capture of languages. The newly started snowfall was very welcome. The scouts hugged their comrades again, crossed themselves and disappeared into the snowy darkness. In the dawn clearing early the next morning, the Cossacks saw that the enemy already had about 20 mantelets (piles) and shields of reed and brushwood tied up overnight. They were placed on different sides of the hundreds of positions, which indicated that the enemy had finally decided on a simultaneous assault on the strengthening of the Urals.
The situation was more than critical. Wishing to prolong the time as much as possible, Esaul Serov decided to start negotiations with the enemy. Having warned the Cossacks, he stepped forward a few steps and waved his hand at the enemy, making it clear that he wanted to enter into negotiations. From the enemy side, a Kokand man came out with a gun. To Serov's surprise, he spoke pure Russian, even without a special accent. For a long time he did not agree to put the weapon on the ground, referring to the fact that it did not interfere with him. Nevertheless, the captain convinced him that it was not customary to negotiate. In response to the desire expressed by Serov to speak personally with Mulla-Alimkul, the parliamentarian said that “he is the sovereign, and he cannot go far from his line …”. At the same time, the Kokandets offered the Esaul himself to go to the location of Alimkul's troops and advised him to surrender at his mercy, giving the most flattering promises. In the meantime, the mantelets and shields began to roll up to the strengthening of the Urals, and the esaul reproached the Kokand that during the negotiations, an offensive was never made. The Cossacks, getting ready to shoot at the enemy, shouted to the Esaul Serov: - Your Honor, leave quickly, now we will shoot! After that, he returned to position. About two hours of time were won. Only later will Vasily Rodionovich understand that it was these two hours that saved the lives of those Cossacks from the Ural hundreds who survived after the three-day Ikan battle.
The Ural Cossacks met with heavy fire the approach of the enemy's shields to their positions. In response, the enemy conducted incessant and rather accurate shooting, preventing the gunners from moving the unicorn cannon from front to back. Four times the Kokands rushed from behind the mantelets to the attack, but the volley fire of the Cossacks again and again forced them to retreat to their shelters. All the horses of the Cossacks were finally killed by artillery fire and enemy shots. The victims grew exponentially: by noon, 3 police officers, 33 Cossacks and 1 furshtat were killed, 4 artillerymen and several Cossacks were wounded. Death was everywhere. She was in the eyes of the plaintively wheezing horses, she was on the foreheads of the seriously wounded Cossacks writhing in pain at the bottom of the gully. Despite the merciless fire of the enemy, as well as a large number of killed and wounded, the heroic actions of several Cossacks: sergeant Alexander Zheleznov, Vasily Ryazanov and Pavel Mizinov - supported the fighting spirit of the soldiers. Being a well-aimed shooter, Vasily Ryazanov “shot” one after another the leaders of the Kokand groups, who were trying to storm the fortifications of the Urals. Yes, he did it with jokes and arguing with his comrades: first for a piece of bacon, then for a bottle of first-rate. Pavel Mizinov, under fire, dug out bags of cartridges from the rubble and carried them around, encouraging their comrades with a cheerful song and jokes. Having dragged the seriously wounded fireworks: Grekhov and Ognivov from the gun, and seeing that other gunners were also wounded, Terenty Tolkachev, having learned how to load a gun and aim with his own mind, began to fire with the help of his comrades: the Cossacks Platon Dobrinin, Vasily Kazantsev and … The very first shot, hitting the midst of the advancing enemy, smashed the inflated mantelet closest of all and wounded the crowd of the enemy, who was hiding behind an impromptu shelter of brushwood. At the same time, the mantelet caught fire, and all those advancing and standing in cover fled. The Ognivov fireworks, who could not believe their eyes, hastily tied up the artillerymen, climbed onto the parapet and, standing up to his full height, waving his hat, shouted: -Horay-ah-ah! Kick them off! Come on, Terenty, give it some more! Ay, well done!
The Cossacks perked up, and Terenty Tolkachev, meanwhile, aiming a little higher, sent a second charge in pursuit of the fleeing Kokand people. So a brave handful of Ural Cossacks held out for about an hour. At about one o'clock in the afternoon, it became clear that with such a strong fire from the enemy's artillery, by evening there would be no one left from the detachment. Esaul Serov ordered to rivet the unicorn cannon, break the guns left over from the killed Cossacks, and prepare for a breakthrough along the Turkestan road. - Brothers, Cossacks! - he turned before the breakthrough to the remnants of his hundred (under the gun, including the wounded, there were about sixty people), - we will not shame the glory of Russian weapons! On Nicholas - today - Nicholas the Wonderworker is with us! Having made a prayer, the Ural Cossacks prepared for the attack. The mighty voice of the centurion Abramichev, as if nothing had happened, famously rang out in the frosty air: - Hundred-ah, settle for the first or second! Build a column in two! Esaul ordered to shoot only from the knee, aiming. Move in short dashes … The first numbers - they shoot, the second numbers run a hundred fathoms, on their knees - and load their guns. Then the first numbers, under their cover, make a dash … The only surviving police officer, Alexander Zheleznov, of a heroic physique with a thick smoky mustache and a thick beard, took off his short fur coat and, attaching a bayonet to the barrel of the rifle, raised it high above his head, shouting: - C God, Orthodox! Two deaths cannot happen, but one cannot be avoided! Let's give karachun (massacre) to the Basurmans! Shouting: "Hurray!" the Ural Cossacks unanimously rushed to the attack … The retreat lasted until 4 pm.
The hundred immediately fell under enemy cross-fire. However, the coordinated actions of the Cossacks, covering each other's movements with well-aimed shooting, still left the hope that some of the soldiers would be able to get to their own. In any case, they came out from under the destructive artillery fire. Here, in the open, they could somehow use the advantages of their rifled weapons, keeping the enemy at a respectful distance. It turned out that some of the horsemen of Alimkul were also armed with rifles, and soon, having taken aim, they began to strike one after the other the Cossacks, who were moving in an alluvial column along the road. The Urals to the last helped their wounded comrades to move along the road, supporting them and firing back and forth. Nobody left or betrayed their comrades. An unspoken ancient law concerning the responsibility of everyone for the cowardice or betrayal of one of the soldiers, adopted at one time without any changes by the Cossacks from the Golden Horde, said: “If one or two out of ten flees, then all are killed. If all ten are running, and not a hundred others are running, then everyone is killed … On the contrary, if one or two boldly enter the battle, and ten do not follow them, then they are also killed … And, finally, if one out of ten is captured, and other comrades do not release him, then they are also killed …"
In front of the eyes of the Cossacks, their comrades who had fallen dead and seriously wounded, who remained on the road, were subjected to inhuman outrages by a cruel enemy. The Kokand people chopped them down with sabers, stabbed them with lances and cut off their heads. Among the relatively cowardly Kokand tribe, it was considered the highest military valor to bring the head of the Urus, for which a generous reward was paid from the treasury of Mulla-Alimkul. For the head of a Cossack, the reward was five times more than usual! And each time the selfish owner of such an ominous trophy was rewarded with a bullet mark by other Cossacks, tightly gripping the rifle, saying goodbye to the deceased friend: - Farewell, comrade! Throwing away their outer clothing, the Cossacks marched under enemy fire for almost 8 miles. Cavalry raids from behind the hills on both sides of the road alternated with Alimkul's repeated attempts to block the movement of the Ural column. Then the mighty Zheleznov, well-aimed Tolkachev, Mizinov, Ryazanov and others, who covered the retreat of the main group (with the wounded), moved forward and, scattering in a chain, made a gap in the enemy's screen with sharp, well-aimed fire, forcing him to lose dozens of corpses and retreat.
Having received a through wound in the shoulder and a concussion in the arm, the Cossack Platon Dobrinin (one of those who helped the artillerymen) walked all the way, leaning on the shoulder of the esaul, at the same time covering him from enemy bullets on the right side. And the reckless driver and skillful shooter Terenty Tolkachev, despite several wounds, covered the captain on the left, accurately and deftly hitting every rider who approached them from the surrounding hills closer than two hundred yards. Vasily Ryazanov, who was wounded in the leg during the march, fell, but, hastily bandaging his shattered leg with the help of his comrades, he jumped up again, and walked the rest of the way to the end, accurately shooting back from the enemy raids. When breaking through another barrier on the road to Turkestan in the distance, Mulla-Alimkul himself appeared on the hill on a white argamak. Vasily Ryazanov contrived and from his knee, taking careful aim, knocked out the horse under Alimkul. Meanwhile, the column of the Urals, at first built by the centurion Abramichev three times, noticeably thinned and soon they stretched out in a chain (lava) several hundred yards long. Sometimes individual men at arms and chain mail of the Kokand cavalry managed to fly into the middle of the chain, where the esaul walked and other Cossacks led the wounded comrades under the arms. However, each time the Kokand residents paid dearly for such attacks - being shot at point-blank by the Cossacks. Sometimes it came to hand-to-hand combat, in which the Cossacks threw off the horsemen from the horses, deftly grasping their lances and harness, or chopped off their limbs with sharp sabers. In one of these raids, Pavel Mizinov bent down to pick up the fallen ramrod, and the thrown pike, piercing his left shoulder, nailed him to the ground. Overcoming the pain, he nevertheless jumped to his feet and ran to his comrades, who helped to pull the lance out of his shoulder. They walked, overcoming wounds and fatigue. Everyone realized that while he was with his comrades, they would support and cover him with fire. But as soon as he fell or separated from his own - inevitable death awaited him immediately.
The Kokand riders chose a new destructive tactic: they brought sarbazes with guns behind their backs and dropped them in the immediate vicinity along the course of the Uralians' chain. Those, lying in the snow, shot the Cossacks almost point-blank. The bloody trail, which stretched along the route of the Cossack hundreds, became wider … The brave centurion Abramichev, who did not want to take off the officer's greatcoat and hat, was wounded first in the temple, but continued to walk in the first ranks of the Cossacks, arm in arm with Zheleznov. After that, a bullet hit him in the side, but he, tightening his torn shirt, gushing blood, continued to walk. When the bullets hit both of his legs at once, he fell to the ground and shouted to the Cossacks: - Hurry up your head, I can't go! He raised himself on his elbows, but, struck down by the last bullets, fell from powerlessness on his face into the snow. Unable to help him in any way, Esaul Serov and other Cossacks said goodbye to him as if he were dead, saying: -Forgive us, for Christ's sake … It was already getting dark. All the Cossacks in blood, wounded two or three times, continued to march, surpassing all the limits of human capabilities. They walked more and more slowly: a large number of wounded, who could still be dragged on oneself, and numerous wounds in the legs, made it impossible to walk faster. Those who could hold weapons picked up bags of cartridges and broke the guns of their fallen comrades, continuously firing back from the enemy cavalry. There were still more than 8 miles to Turkestan. Still hoping that help from the garrison would still come, Esaul Serov, nevertheless, was already considering the possibility of fixing himself in the dilapidated fortress of Tynashak, which is half way to Turkestan. Lieutenant Colonel Zhemchuzhnikov, giving him an order to make a reconnaissance, mentioned this fortress as a possible refuge in case a hundred stumble upon significant enemy forces … Suddenly, in front, from the direction of Turkestan, shots were heard. The Cossacks stopped and fell silent, listening intently to the twilight silence of the night, interrupted by the clatter of the guns of the Kokand cavalry. The whistle of bullets over the heads of the Uralites became less frequent, and because of the hill in the direction of Turkestan, the booming shots of the Russian detachment, making their way to their aid, again thundered. Soon the crowds of Kokand residents from the city side rushed away and soldiers running towards them appeared on the hillock. Above the surrounding hills, the native echoed: - Hooray-ah!
Badge of distinction for hats "For the cause under Icahn on December 4, 5 and 6, 1864"
The Cossacks, who supported each other, began to cross and embrace. Tears flowed down their cheeks … Help arrived just in time. The Cossacks weakened so much that, having reunited with a detachment of lieutenants Sukorko and Stepanov, they could not go further on their own. A day later, on December 8, Mulla Alimkul withdrew from the camp in Ikana and left with his army to Syr Darya. Taking with him the Ikan aksakal and all the residents with their belongings, he set fire to their sakli. Local residents who survived in the village (including the father of the Ikan aksakal and his wife) said that the number of Alimkul's army was over 20,000 people and that in a battle with a hundred of Serov's esaul, the Kokands lost 90 main commanders and more than 2,000 infantry and cavalry. How many were wounded among the enemy of the Urals is unknown. The subtle plan of Mulla-Alimkul: to secretly get to Turkestan and, capturing it, to cut off the advanced detachments of the Russians who were in Chemkent, was crossed out by the resilience of the Ural hundreds that stood in his way. He silently rode on a chestnut horse, bitterly remembering his beloved white argamak, left in Ikana, and did not listen to the flattering words of Sultan Sadyk about the strength of the countless army of Mulla Alimkul and about new deceptive plans to attack the “Uruses”. Lies and deceit, robbery and bribery, cruelty and violence paved his way. And despite all this, and the presence of a large army, he did not feel safe. He was afraid of death. Two days ago, he felt her icy breath so tangibly when his beloved horse collapsed under him from the bullet of a Russian Cossack. He, the ruler of the Kokand Khanate, surrounded by a huge retinue of selected horsemen, could he have been killed like an ordinary sarbaz or horseman, whose corpses were strewn with the steppe near Ikan? Who are these Russian Cossacks? Fiend of the shaitan! What is their strength? From childhood he was brought up on the indisputable truth, which the Kokand rulers and sages whispered to him: whoever has strength and wealth has power! And how to understand the words of the captured Urus, who, on his order, did not begin to kill, but was brought to Mulla-Alimkul for interrogation … All wounded, the Cossack could not stand, but hung on the hands of the Sarbaz, who could hardly hold him. On the offer to surrender and accept the Mohammedan faith, he spat a blood clot on the snow of the Turkestan road trampled by horses. And then, involuntarily filled with respect for the bleeding “Urus”, Mulla-Alimkul dismounted, came closer to him and asked:
- Why do you believe in your god so much. After all, God is one? What is your strength? The translator bent down to the Cossack, who was already losing strength, who whispered: - God is not in power, but in truth! Mulla-Alimkul continued to drive in thoughtfulness along the boundless steppe, which began to plunge into a golden-pink sunset, thinking over the words of “Urus”. He thought that if thousands of his soldiers could not defeat a hundred “Russian Cossacks,” then what would happen if thousands of Russians appeared?
* * *
On the fourth day, a detachment was sent to collect the corpses of the Ural Cossacks. They were all beheaded and mutilated. The bodies of the disfigured by the Kokand people were taken to Turkestan, where they were buried in the cemetery. And only 34 years later, in 1898, a man was found who applied diligence and diligence to perpetuate the memory of the heroes of the Ican case by building a chapel made of baked bricks over the mass grave.
