Soviet-Afghan War

Soviet-Afghan War Afghanistan’s strategic location has made it a historic location of international conflict and intrigue Underdeveloped country with divided, quarrelsome tribes

Soviet-Afghan War In Apr 1978 the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan overthrew the government of Mahammed Daoud Armed resistance to the new Marxist government broke out and the ruling government split into factions The Soviets were concerned about this instability on their southern border and in Dec 1979 they supported a coup

Soviet-Afghan War Soviet units already in Kabul seized control of key sites and additional units crossed the border into Afghanistan and seized important cities The Soviets installed Babrak Karmal as president Babrak Karmal

Soviet-Afghan War The Soviets anticipated a quick collapse of any resistance Afghanistan had just 15 million people compared to the USSR’s 265 million Afghan tribes had little unity The Afghans had only obsolete rifles and equipment left over from World War II Soviet soldier in Afghanistan

Soviet-Afghan War During the first four years of the war, the Soviets held the major urban areas and launched attacks against the mujahideen, the Afghan guerrillas, in remote and often mountainous areas The resistance grew as more than half of the 80,000 soldiers in the Afghan army deserted or joined the mujahideen Many brought their weapons with them

Soviet-Afghan War The mujahideen used classic guerrilla tactics conducting small-scale attacks and ambushing Soviet and government convoys along the roads The mujahideen also benefited from sanctuaries in Pakistan and Iran as bases of support and training Soviet vehicle passing through the mountains in Afghanistan

Soviet-Afghan War Initially the Soviets employed traditional mechanized tactics including division-sized offensives against mujahideen sanctuaries Soon, however, the Soviets realized that the rugged terrain gave the guerrillas numerous advantages The guerrillas had plenty of places to hide and were not confined to using the roads

Soviet-Afghan War Within months the Soviets began changing the structure of their units and their tactics, shifting to decentralized, mobile operations conducted at the battalion task force level Increasingly the Soviets relied on air-transported infantry and their airmobile tactics came to resemble those of the US in Vietnam

Soviet-Afghan War The mujahideen began receiving weapons from the West including mines, recoilless rifles, and small antiaircraft guns Using their small unit tactics and cross border sanctuaries they attacked with little strategic or tactical purpose other than to kill Soviet soldiers The Soviet responded with rocket attacks into Kabul and other important cities and “scorched earth” tactics designed to starve and terrorize the guerrillas into submission The Soviets also used chemicals Still the mujahideen resisted

Soviet-Afghan War By 1984 the Soviets had to choose between a massive increase in forces or a different strategy Reluctant to increase their strength beyond 125,000 to 140,000 soldiers, the Soviets instead shifted their strategy from destroying guerrillas to destroying the infrastructure the guerrillas needed for support

Soviet-Afghan War The Soviets attacked the supply lines from Pakistan, the border areas that provided sanctuary, and villages suspected of sheltering guerrillas They destroyed livestock and crops Attacks on population centers became routine

Soviet-Afghan War The new tactics created a massive amount of refugees 30-50% of the population was estimated to have fled Afghanistan by 1986 Still the Soviets had little control outside the urban centers Sharbat Gula, photographed in Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan, appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1985 and was found 17 years later by the National Geographic photographic team

Soviet-Afghan War Sharbat Gula, the “Afghan Girl,” when she was about 12 and when she was about 30

Soviet-Afghan War In Feb 1986 the US decided to send high-technology weapons to Afghanistan, including the Stinger air defense missile The guerrillas’ success in shooting down Soviet aircraft caused the Soviets to limit helicopter assaults, and in 1987 and 1988 most operations reverted to reliance on mechanized infantry formations The first 340 Stinger missiles fired by Afghan guerrillas brought down 269 Soviet aircraft.

Soviet-Afghan War As the mobility of the Soviets was reduced, they were forced to withdraw from the more remote areas and sought to secure the urban areas This development turned the tide of the battle in favor of the mujahideen who then began using trucks instead of pack animals and roads instead of trails A Soviet soldier in Afghanistan in 1988

Soviet-Afghan War In Nov 1986 Mohammed Najibullah replaced Karmal as president Najibullah adopted a more Islamic public image in an attempt to sway the mujahideen and changed the country’s name from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan to the Republic of Afghanistan in an attempt to appear less Marxist Militarily the Soviets launched air raids against mujahideen bases in Pakistan, dropped thousands of mines along supply routes, and stepped up their attacks on villages

Soviet-Afghan War These last ditch efforts could not change the strategic situation In early 1988 the mujahideen estimated that they controlled 80% of the countryside Fighting a losing war in Afghanistan and facing economic difficulties at home, the Soviets decided to cut their losses In Apr 1988 they signed a peace accord The last Soviet soldier departed Afghanistan on Feb 15, 1989 Soviet convoys leaving Afghanistan

Soviet-Afghan War Legacy of the war The Najibullah government remained faithful to the Soviets and the Afghanis fought a civil war among themselves until Apr 1992 when Najibullah gave up power Rival factions clamored for power leaving Afghanistan politically fractured For the Soviets, the Afghan experience became a defeat akin to the American experience in Vietnam The mujahideen, supported by the US during the war, would later become the enemies of the US

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden helped found the Maktab al-Khadamāt (MAK) which recruited and funded mujahideen to fight the Soviets In 1988, bin Laden split from the MAK and formed a new group comprised of some of the most militant mujahideen that would become the al-Qaeda terrorist group With the US involvement in Desert Storm and its subsequent continued presence in Saudi Arabia, home of the Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, bin Laden became irreconcilably infuriated by the Western influence