The Battle of the Sunja (or Sunzha) was a battle between the Russian Empire and Chechen forces of Sheikh Mansur in 1785. The Russian troops under command of Colonel De Pieri were surrounded and defeated by the forces of Sheikh Mansur. De Pieri and some 300-600 Russians and Cossacks were killed, with several hundred more taken captive, several hundred injured and the remainder of the Russian forces fleeing through the woods, chased by Chechen fighters.