War: Soviet-Afghan War.
Here for the Soviet Afghanistan war, you war junkies, I am here to give you your daily fix. Alright let’s get this steam rolling, trigger warning. Alright, let’s remember one thing from the beginning, the Soviet’s were communist, they were not our friend, however, the afghans were also not our friends and we gave them weapons, and by we I mean the US.
This conflict began in 1979 when the Afghani prime minister’s followers killed the Afghan president, a pro-soviet, and the Prime Minister asked the USSR for support to put down rebellions. Of course, the Soviets did not trust the Prime Minister, Hafizullah Amin, who became the president. The Soviets hatched Operation Storm-333. 24 members from Alfa Group, 30 operators from a KGB called Zenith, 87 troops from 345 Airborne Regiment. They stormed the Tajbeg Palace. At least 700 KGB troops were able to infiltrate the palace, kill at least 200 Afghani guards and the president along with his son. The soviets were able to install Barbrak Karmal.
At the end of December of 1979 after the overthrowing of Amin, Soviet forces entered the country on December 27, 1979. 1,800 tanks, 80,000 soldiers and 2,000 AFVs entered Afghanistan.
The soviets when they first entered the country came into combat from various groups. Having entered in two land routes and by air, they were able to seize urban centers, military bases and strategic installations. It just so happen that Soviet troop presence did not pacify the nation, and it actually caused an increase in patriotism for the Afghans.
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With increasing insurgency and unable quell uprisings, the President of Afghanistan told the Soviet army to increase the fighting. And thus the Soviets were drawn into fighting against urban uprisings, tribal armies, and sometimes traitor Afghan Army units, from December 1979 to February 1980 during the occupation.
So the sad part was how the fighting was. Well, quite frankly, all fighting is depressing, but when I mean sad, I mean a bit repetitive to the US fighting in Afghanistan, guerrilla warfare and hit and run tactics. Also, yes MGS V: TPP, no Big Boss wasn’t there wrecking **** , goddammit guys, attention please, we’re here in reality.
The Soviets held the main axis of communication and the cities, and by now the Soviets had established their positions and were preparing their forces for offensives against the guerilla movements which intensified after Soviet occupation. Demonstrations against the occupation and the Karmal Government led to three days of rioting, during which Afghan Army units mutinied when ordered to fire on civilians. Soviet armor and helicopter gunships forced to move in and kill hundreds. Remember, the soviet military was brutal but if one disobeyed orders, he was punished for it.
Soviet troops took on the Mujahedeen in multi-divisional offensive into enemy territory. From 1980-1985, the Soviets had 9 offensive against the insurgents. The first three offensive, called Panjsher offensive, were in September 1980, the second in October 1980 and the third in March 3, 1981, which were small scale offensive and the Mujahedeen did not have the strength to fight against the Soviets and blended in with the population in the Panjsher valley by the mujahedeen Ahmad Shah Massoud.
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On March 1981, 15 months into the invasion had the Soviets deciding to increase occupation from 75,000 to 120,000 strong. There were problems faced as the south military districts could only provide conscript with a theoretical 3 month call up period, after which they to recede into reserve division. It’s something interesting to note that ethnic Russian soldiers were also needed, as Muslim divisions were not trusted by military high command due to religious sentiments.
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At first, the Soviets believe they did not have to get too involved in the fighting and that the local Afghanistan military and that the Soviets would assist them in different roles. But with a high desertion rate and unwillingness to fight, the Soviets soon realized that they were getting their hands dirty.
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The Soviets had three strategies to attack the Mujahedeen, the first being intimidation, airborne attacks as well as armored ground attacks to destroy villages, livestock and crops in trouble areas. The Soviets would bomb villages that were near sites of guerrilla attacks on Soviet convoys or known to support resistance groups. Local peoples were forced to either flee their homes or die as daily Soviet attacks made it impossible to live in these areas. By forcing the people of Afghanistan to flee their homes, the Soviets hoped to deprive the guerillas of resources and safe havens. In short, burn them all.
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The second strategy, which frankly didn’t work, was the use of spies to join the rebels, getting information and bribing them from continuing to fight. The third and final strategy was to go into guerilla territory in search and destroy missions hoping to disrupt their activity. This was the Vietnam for the Soviet Union.
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After a long period of offensives which never really showed any real advances, centering around the cities of Kandahar, Herat and Ghazni, Soviets launch the largest offensive in the war in the Panjshir valley, a mujaheddin stronghold. Soviet positions, after a swift advance, couldn't be held as continuous mujahidin harassment caused the 108th motor rifle regiment to be decimated. Soviets evacuated the valley in September, only for other unsuccessful offensives to be repeated.
By 1985 the Mujahedeen had formed an alliance in Pakistan, see they were not organized together and basically separate groups fighting against the Soviets. Due to the technological superiority of the Soviets and the Hind, which was capable of wiping out entire ambushes. So the US gave them Stinger missiles, which were devastating because of high heat exhaust given out by the MI-24 Hind that made it easy to lock on for the Stinger. Also Bin Laden fought in the war.
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Heavy opposition to the soviets had begun to demoralize the Soviets as well as the guerrilla tactics and lack of a clear winner. So by 1985, the war was a total burden on the failing Soviet economy, and Gorbachev could not make it any bright and thus announced to be transferring more combat responsibilities to the local Afghanistan government and begin pulling troops. Does this remind anyone of anything, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan for the US?
Now with general change to Soviet foreign policies, mass movements of troops back into the USSR showed it was willing to negotiate with the west. If anyone is interested in a Russian movie of a battle in the final days of the war, I would recommend the movie 9th Battalion, but, a warning, in the battle of hill 3234 which was part of Operation Magistral, which the film is loosely based on, 39 Soviet soldiers held the line against at least 300 mujahedeen. This is a scene from the movie, and in it only one survives the attack. It's a good movie, I recommend.
Operation Magistral, was the last operation the Soviets participated before pulling out. The operation was to open and clear a road from Gardez to Khost that which was blocked and guarded by Mujahedeen forces and local tribes for months in the attempts to deliver supplies to the population and Afghan government troops the city of the Pakistan border. 20,000 Soviet troops and 8,000 Afghani troops cleared against at least 20,000 mujahedeen and estimates range that the Soviets killed at least 200 of the mujahedeen while only suffering 24 killed troops.
Last Soviet troops withdrawn from Afghanistan, ending the Soviet-Afghan war but not in any way resolving internal Afghan conflict. Afghanistan goes on to see decades of civil war, in which the Najibullah government was toppled in 1992, the Taliban takes power in 1996, until ousted by the UN in after 9/11 when the US invades Afghanistan, which I’ll cover later on, both the afghan civil war and the US invasion of Afghan. Oh also, before I forget, there was a lot of ****** up **** that both sides did in the war. The soviets bombed civilian cities, the mujahedeen cut up prisoners and sent them back in trucks. Both sides did awful things to one another.
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