Battle of Dargo (1845)

Dargo Campaign
	Part of the Murid War
	; Battle of Dargo, painting by Franz Roubaud
Date	31 May – 21 July 1845
Location	Dargo, Chechnya, North Caucasia
Result	North Caucasian victory Full results The goal of campaign was to defeat Shamil's troops, take Dargo,—his residence,—and gain a foothold there.; The Russians managed to take Dargo for some time, but were forced to leave it and return back to the controlled zone through Chechen territory due to attacks costing supplies, which were also lost in the mountain gorges.; The forces of Vorontsov (the leader of campaign) were saved from a rout thanks to Freitag's detachment. This called "a Pyrrhic victory" ["Россия в Кавказской войне", Zvezda, 2, St. Petersburg, 1997].;
Belligerents
Caucasian Imamate	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Imam Shamil; Soib-Mulla †; Eldar Aukh †; Isa Gendergen; Talkhig of Shali; Hadji Murad; Baysangur of Benoa;	Mikhail Vorontsov; Kluki von Klugenau; D. V. Passek †; V. M. Viktorov †; R. K. Freitag; A. N. Lüders; A. I. Baryatinsky;
Strength
5,000	9,050 in action • 7,490 infantrymen; • 1,218 cavalrymen; • 342 gunners; 18,000 in total
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Vorontsov's forces:; 4 generals, 186 officers, c. 4,000 soldiers; Freitag's rescue detachment:; 14 killed and 70 wounded men

42°57′00″N 46°13′59″E / 42.95°N 46.233°E / 42.95; 46.233

The Battle(s) of Dargo or Dargo Campaign (Russian: Даргинский поход, romanized: Darginskiy pokhod) of 1845 was a series of military actions during the Murid War, the eastern phase of the Caucasus War of 1817–1864. During the campaign, Mikhail Vorontsov penetrated too deeply into enemy country, was surrounded, and partially fought his way out with heavy losses and was rescued by General R. K. Freitag.

The campaign exposed the difficulties posed in moving a large army through a forested region. With heavy supplies and many wounded, the army became strung out when it was attacked from both sides, while the front and rear could not protect each other. Once discipline is not maintained, a faster group bunched up with the men ahead, causing them to lose contact with the men to the rear, resulting in isolated groups to be attacked.