Seeking to crush these forces (which Kaufamnn correctly suspected of being supported by the Bukharans in violation of the earlier peace treaty),[1] Kaufmann organized an army and marched on the Bukharan-controlled city of Samarkand, which he successfully captured in 1868.[2] However, the capture of the city did not cause the end of the fighting, and so Kaufmann chose to pursue a force of retreating Bukarans to the city of Bukhara, leaving a small garrison of 685 men to hold Samarkand.[1][3] This garrison force was not entirely combat ready, and many of the men Kaufmann left behind were either wounded or non-combatants.[1]