Geok Tepe,
Gökdepe or
Gokdepe, is a former fortress of the
TurkmensThe Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, northern Iraq and in northeastern Iran...
, in
TurkmenistanRepublic of Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic...
, in the oasis of Ahal, on the Transcaspian railway, 28 miles north-west of Ashgabat.
Gökdepe is the Russian version of the Turkic name meaning ‘Blue Hill’ from the Turkmen gök ‘blue’ and depe ‘hill’ or ‘summit’
In December 1880, Geok Tepe was attacked by 6,000
RussiansThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
under General
Mikhail SkobelevMikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Dressed in white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White...
against 25,000 defenders.
Discussion
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Geok Tepe,
Gökdepe or
Gokdepe, is a former fortress of the
TurkmensThe Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, northern Iraq and in northeastern Iran...
, in
TurkmenistanRepublic of Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic...
, in the oasis of Ahal, on the Transcaspian railway, 28 miles north-west of Ashgabat.
Gökdepe is the Russian version of the Turkic name meaning ‘Blue Hill’ from the Turkmen gök ‘blue’ and depe ‘hill’ or ‘summit’
History
In December 1880, Geok Tepe was attacked by 6,000
RussiansThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
under General
Mikhail SkobelevMikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Dressed in white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White...
against 25,000 defenders. The siege of Geok Tepe lasted twenty-three days, after which the city was taken by storm. Although they encountered heavy resistance, Russian forces were eventually able to break in by digging a tunnel underneath a portion of the wall, then detonating a mine underneath the wall. On January 12 (24), 1881, the mine was detonated. Once the fortress was breached, the Russian troops stormed in. Several hundred defenders were killed in the initial explosion, and many more were killed in the fighting that ensued. Eventually, the defenders, along with the 40,000 civilians inside the fortress, fled across the desert, pursued by General Skobelev's cavalry. Around 8,000 Turkmen soldiers and civilians were killed in their flight, along with an additional 6,500 that were killed inside the fortress. Russian casualties were only 398 killed and 669 wounded.
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