Seizing upon this weakness, nearby holdouts of Kokandi, Bukharan soldiers, and anti-Russian tribes consolidated their forces and marched on the lightly-defended city. The Russian garrison received word of the approaching enemy forces, and prepared for a siege. The commander of the garrison, Baron Shtempel, withdrew his forces from more vulnerable parts of the city to defend Samarkand's citadel; this position was highly defensible, armed with 25 cannon captured from the Bukharans and stocked with provisions for two months.