On the left flank, the Russians had a river, on the right — a dense forest, where the Lezgin cavalry and Chechen infantry stood.

Hand-to-hand fighting in the village continued, but the thicket of the scales leaned in favor of the Russians, the Chechens retreated under their onslaught.

[8] The defenders were forced to leave the village, but about a hundred Chechens, cut off from the forest, settled in three adjacent houses and did not want to give up.

The Sackleys were cordoned off by a triple line of skirmishers lying on the ground, behind the wattle fences and behind the trees.

No one dared to appear in front of the enemy: with a right eye, a directed bullet punished the careless … Gunners from the Brimmer team drove a light gun, the shot pierced through all three houses, but the cannonballs were a danger to the attackers from the other side, so the fire had to stop.

[9] Volkhovsky felt sorry for the brave people, he ordered the translator, the old Mozdok Cossack Atarshchikov, who was with us, to offer them to lay down their arms, promising in this case, on behalf of the chief commander, not only life, but also the right to be exchanged for Russian prisoners, which opened up hope for them someday to return to their families.

Those who were sitting in the houses listened to the proposal, consulted for several minutes, then a half-naked Chechen, blackened from the smoke, came out, made a short speech and – shots flashed from all the loopholes.

The answer consisted in the following words: – We do not want mercy; we ask the Russians for one favor, let them let our families know that we died, as we lived, not submitting to someone else's powerThen the houses were set on fire.

[10] Officer Fyodor Tornau recalled:[11] The final act of the bloody drama played out; night covered the stage.

Is there no place on earth for everyone, regardless of language and faith?In 1832, the poet Alexander Polezhaev, who, in the ranks of the Moscow Infantry Regiment, also took part in the assault on the village, dedicated his poem to the village of Germenchuk — «Germenchug Cemetery»:[12] … Perhaps in the battle she revived She is the motherland’s abusive spirit And again called for revenge Hidden in the ashes of Germenchug…