The Battle of the Irtysh, also called the Battle of Omsk, was a decisive military engagement fought between the Khanate of Sibir and the Tsardom of Russia, and saw the death of Russian General Yermak Timofeyevich and the reconquest of Sibir by Kuchum Khan.

Prelude With the onset and worsening of the food shortage, Yermak's people had now entered a time of famine. Kuchum, knowing this, set a trap.Naumov, I. V., & Collins, David Norman (2006). The History of Siberia. London: Routledge. p. 157. The most common account is that Kuchum purposely leaked information to Yermak, in which it was claimed that Bukharan merchants from Central Asia, traveling with large amounts of food, were being prevented from moving by Kuchum's men.Haywood, A. J. (2010). Siberia: A Cultural History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199754182. In August 1584, Yermak set out with a band of men to free the traders. Finding the reports to be false, Yermak ordered a return to Qashliq.Curtin, Jeremiah (1906). The Mongols: A History. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 11. Whether because of an ongoing storm or because the men were tired from rowing upstream,Semyenov, Yuri (1944). The Conquest of Siberia. Translated by E. W. Dickes. London: G. Routledge & Sons, Ltd. p. 84. Yermak's force stopped on a small island formed by two branches of the Irtysh and set up camp on the night of August 4–5, 1584. Convinced that the river offered protection, Yermak's men fell asleep with no guard.

Battle Kuchum, however, had been following Yermak's party and was lying in wait. Kuchum's forces forded the river around midnight; their approach was hidden by the loudness of the storm and the dark of night.Wright, G. Frederick (1902). Asiatic Russia. New York: McClure, Phillips & Co. p. 131. Kuchum's Tatars were upon Yermak's men so quickly that they could not use either their guns or weapons, and a slaughter ensued. In the ensuing chaos, it is reported that all but three men on the Russian side were killed, including Yermak.Wright, G. Frederick (1902). Asiatic Russia. New York: McClure, Phillips & Co. p. 131. Legend has it that after fighting through the invadersLanders, Brian (2010). Empires Apart: A History of American and Russian Imperialism. New York: Pegasus Books. and being wounded in the arm by a knife,Tolstoi, Dmitri (1901). The Conquest of Siberia by the Russians. St. Petersburg: Imperial Russian Historical Society. p. 49. Yermak, finding that their boats had been washed away in the storm, attempted to cross the river. Due to the weight of the armor gifted to him by the Tsar, Yermak sank to the bottom and drowned. At least one survivor, unburdened by such heavy armor, was able to flee across the river and return to Qashliq with news of Yermak's death.

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