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The Siege of Geok Tepe or The Battle of Geok Tepe was a siege by the Imperial Russian army against the Turkmen fort of Geok Tepe in 1880–1881. ==History== Throughout 1853–1868, the Russians moved south and occupied most of what was later called Russian Central Asia. The area they did not yet occupy was approximately modern Turkmenistan. In 1869, they built Krasnovodsk on the east side of the Caspian sea. In 1879, they moved east and tried to take Geok Tepe. After bombarding the fort with artillery, the Russian forces tried to take the fort by storm. The more numerous Turkomans drove them back. The Russians retreated and had difficulty holding off their pursuers. They retreated back across the desert toward Krasnovodsk. It is said〔Peter Hopkirk,'The Great Game",1994,page 389〕 that this was the worst Russian defeat in Central Asia since 1717. A second Russian expedition to take the fort was sent with more men and equipment, including 20,000 camels for transport. In December 1880, Geok Tepe was besieged by 7,100 Russians under General Mikhail Skobelev. The defenders of Geok Tepe numbered 25,000, which included the civilian Turkmen population. Learning a lesson from the previous expedition, Skolobev decided to besiege the fort instead of attempting direct assault.〔 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 12 (24) January 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. As the Russians poured into the fort, the defenders, along with the civilians inside the fortress, fled across the desert, pursued by General Skobelev's cavalry.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Geok Tepe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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