This is a short history of the soviet war in afghanistan. This is the 7th book on the soviet afghan war ive read, and lester grau kept up his reputation with this book for historical investigative detail. Though the soviet soldiers grinned, their leaders frowned. The sovietafghan war by members of the russian general staff, and translated by lester grau and michael gross, is a summary overview of the soviet experience in the afghan invasion and war of the 1980s. The war ends when mikhail gorbachev became leader of the soviet union he wanted the war to end. In his new book, jonathan steele sorts the fact from the fiction. I learned more about the details of this war in a single chapter from this book than i have in all the other books combined. The sovietafghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the soviet army and the democratic republic of afghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mostly in the afghan countryside. The soviet afghan war by members of the russian general staff, and translated by lester grau and michael gross, is a summary overview of the soviet experience in the afghan invasion and war of the 1980s. In short, it shows how the soviets got involved in a war it probably had no. Boozing through the sovietafghan war was more horrifying. In the great gamble, gregory feifer examines the conflict from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground. The soviet union intervened in support of the afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist muslim guerrillas during the afghan war 197892 and remained in. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned.
This is much more a popular style of history, instead of an xs and os discussion of strategy and battles. The sovietafghan war 197989 ebook by gregory fremont. The 10year intervention cost around 15,000 soviet lives, a huge number compared. The 10year intervention cost around 15,000 soviet lives, a. This book, the sovietafghan war 197989, by gregory fermontbarnes, is an entry in osprey publishings essential history series. The soviet invasion had enormous implications on the global stage. The soviets objective was to destroy the mujahideen logistic base situated at zhawar, 3 kilometers from the pakistani border.
The soviet war, at its conclusion, cost more than a million afghan lives, 26,000 soviet soldiers died and more than five million afghans fled the. Soviet aircraft bombing indiscriminantly village after village pummeled into oblivion then overrun by soviet troops the village men who refused to join the afghan army were murdered thousands of civilians killed in soviet atrocities the mujahideen attacked soviet convoys 2,000 soviets died each year the war seemed pointless to the soviet soldiers. This includes but is not limited to afghanistan, kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, mongolia, tajikistan, tibet, turkmenistan, uzbekistan, xinjiang and central asian portions of iran, pakistan and russia, regionspecific topics, and. Sometimes referred to as the soviets version of the vietnam war, the soviet war in afghanistan ended up being a losing battle for the soviet union, and in many ways, accelerated the dissolution of communism in the east. Tracing the arc of the soviets military disillusionment in afghanistan, feifer, who is an. Is the us still supporting pakistan, saudi arabia selling arms to them etc or does it ignore the whole conflict. The war in afghanistan 19791989 has been called the soviet unions vietnam war, a conflict that pitted soviet regulars against a relentless, elusive, and ultimately unbeatable afghan guerrilla force the mujahideen. Projects business global events books fiction newsletters. President trump claimed the soviet union went to war in 1979 to battle terrorists. Sovietafghan war is part of wikiproject central asia, a project to improve all central asiarelated articles. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned dave shunk 26 december 2008 col dave shunk, usaf, ret. Does it stand back and use the billions of dollars of military aid that it would have otherwise.
Tracing the arc of the soviets military disillusionment in afghanistan, feifer, who is an npr reporter in moscow. Dec 22, 2009 the soviet experience, of course, isnt proof that the same fate will befall the united states, which is now more than eight years into its afghan war. The fight was won, but the battle was lost and of course the war would be too. There is a relative lack of studies on the soviet war in afghanistan in english, so this book is a welcome addition. This is a provocative and important book, telling us what the soviet military.
The narrator knows some of the facts of the war and the defeats the u. In the brutal nineyear conflict, an estimated one million civilians were killed, as well as 90,000 mujahideen fighters, 18,000 afghan troops, and 14,500 soviet soldiers. In the war, the soviet army also lost hundreds of aircraft, and billions worth of other military machines. The mujahideen overthrew kabuls regime and won a major victory over moscow. The soviet war in afghanistan, former npr moscow correspondent gregory feifer covers the 19791989 sovietafghan war, primarily from the soviet side, although with some input from the afghan side. In his enlightening and refreshing book, largely based on russian. We aim to produce four documentaries this summer, please help us reach this goal by becoming a patron. The entry of the soviet union into the country caused an.
The narrative translates and comments on the soviet general staff study of how a superpower fought and lost. The book consists of separate chapters on various aspects of the war, including the experiences of various components of the soviet army. To quote from ospreys web page, each essential histories book studies the origins, politics, fighting and repercussions of one major war or theatre of war, from both military and civilian perspectives. Oct 28, 2015 the photos, starting in 1988, span afghanistans immediate post soviet era, the agonizing civil war of the 1990s, the period of taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, the u. Oct 10, 2006 the afghan civil war despite the geneva accords and the withdrawal of soviet forces, civil war continued in afghanistan as the mujahadeen continued to fight the government of soviet backed najibullah. The shoulderfired, heatseeking missile supplied to the afghan resistance by the cia during the soviet invasion of afghanistan, is capable of bringing down lowflying planes and helicopters. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden from the soviet invasion to september 10, 2001 by. The afghan civil war despite the geneva accords and the withdrawal of soviet forces, civil war continued in afghanistan as the mujahadeen continued. The sovietafghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the. Based primarily on an exhaustive analysis of russianlanguage soviet military journals, this book provides a unique, comprehensive analysis of soviet objectives. The hitandrun bloodletting across the war s decade tallied more than.
Sovietafghanistan war overview history of war in the. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. In the sovietafghan war the russian general staff takes a close critical look at the soviet militarys disappointing performance in that war in an effort to better understand what happened and why and what lessons should be taken from it. Near the end of the sovietafghan war in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, the radical mujaheddin heavily funded by the cia and saudi arabia kill moderate afghans by the thousands. The sovietafghan war was as bloody a nose as the ussr had ever experienced, mirroring the us failure in vietnam twenty years earlier. Dostum stayed in exile until december 1979, when the soviet 40th red army. The soviet afghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the soviet army and the democratic republic of afghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mostly in the afghan countryside. The photos, starting in 1988, span afghanistans immediate postsoviet era, the agonizing civil war of the 1990s, the period of taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, the u. Lester grau and michael gresss expert english translation of the general staffs study offers the very. The soviet union intervened in support of the afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist muslim guerrillas during the afghan war 197892 and remained in afghanistan until midfebruary 1989. The documents presented here shed light on the most important moments in the history of the soviet war in afghanistan the afghan government s requests for assistance, the soviet union s initial refusal of troops, the reversal of this policy by a small group of the politburo and the soviet decision to invade. Braithwaite draws comparisons with the vietnam war. The soviet invasion of its neighbour afghanistan in december 1979 sparked a bloody nineyear conflict in that country until soviet forces withdrew in 198889, dooming the communist afghanistan government to defeat at the hands of the mujahideen, the afghan popular resistance backed by the usa and other powers.
The soviet afghan war how a superpower fought and lost. The rationale for the decision was article 4 of the sovietafghan treaty of friendship, good neighborhood and cooperation of december 5, 1978, article 51 of the. Rashid dostum, an uzbek afghan warlord who has played a complex role in the wars that have wracked afghanistan since 1978. Soviet war in afghanistan simple english wikipedia, the. General staff papers from gress, a soviet migr who served in the soviet army. The intense images of afghanistans long and distant war. The soviet invasion led to a civil war and western aid for the afghan resistance. In gripping detail, he vividly depicts the invasion of a volatile country that no power has ever successfully conquered. The main body of the book is about soviet army and air force tactics. The afghanistan war and the breakdown of the soviet union. The single best source of information and analysis on the conduct of military operations during the sovietafghan war is the authors own stumbling bear. The soviet war in afghanistan was a grueling debacle that has striking lessons for the twentyfirst century. The scene sums up much of the folly of the soviet war in afghanistan. The soviet war in afghanistan was a war initially fought between the forces of the afghanistan government and afghan assistance fighters, supporter from abroad.
Over 15,000 soviet troops got killed in afghanistan from 1979 until 1989. The military hierarchy denied the enlisted men legal access to drink, yet fighting a highstress and in the early years, at least officially unacknowledged. Known also as the soviet unions vietnam war it too was a war of technology and power against a hardened and adaptive guerilla militia know as the mujahedeen people doing. The primary subject of the study is the soviet 40th army, which invaded afghanistan to prevent the fall of a friendly government in kabul, then stayed on to battle a relentless. Aug 18, 2009 the soviet war in afghanistan 19791989 is something nobody in russia likes to recall now unless they have to. The hitandrun bloodletting across the wars decade tallied more than. Without proper equipment and training, the afghanistan government was unable to resist the foreign mercenaries, eventually seeking the aid of the soviet union. Even after the soviet army left afghanistan, civil war continued in afghanistan.
This volume is written at the operational level of war. A firsthand account of the most extraordinary battle in the afghan war by. They got sucked into afghanistan much as the united states got sucked into vietnam, without clearly thinking. The ussr entered neighboring afghanistan in 1979, attempting to shore up the. The soviet afghanistan war was fought between afghanistan rebels called the mujahideen and the soviet supported afghanistan government. Soviet war in afghanistan newspaper archives newspaperarchive. A riveting account as seen through the eyes of the men who fought in the war, the great. The sovietafghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war.
The soviet war in afghanistan reprint by gregory feifer isbn. The soviet war in afghanistan 19791989 is something nobody in russia likes to recall now unless they have to. Lester grau and michael gresss expert english translation of the general staffs study offers the very first publication in any language of this important and illuminating work. He first tried to increase soviet troops to end the war quickly. The entry of the soviet union into the country caused an immediate increase in the presence of foreign. The battles of zhawar were fought during the sovietafghan war between soviet army units, and their allies of the democratic republic of afghanistan against afghan mujahideen groups. The united states supported the afghanistan rebels in order to try and overthrow the communist government and to prevent the spread of communism. Same old mistakes in new afghan war world news the. The author also draws many analogies between the soviet afghan war and the ongoing war led by the united states. Dec 19, 2006 soviet afghan war impression duration. By 1988 gorbachev realized the war was costing soviet troops and hurting their economy.
Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned 16. Sep 04, 2015 when i was interviewing veterans of the sovietafghan war for my doctorate, many and horrifying were the accounts of parties fueled by aftershave, rosewater, and rubbing alcohol. The sovietafghan war had an important impact in popular culture in the west, due to its scope, and the great number of countries involved. When i was interviewing veterans of the sovietafghan war for my doctorate, many and horrifying were the accounts of parties fueled by aftershave, rosewater, and rubbing alcohol. How a superpower fought and lost modern war studies by the. The soviet war in afghanistan was a war initially fought between the forces of the afghanistan government and foreign mercenaries. Same old mistakes in new afghan war world news the guardian. Around a million afghan men, women and children died in the war.
Their job was to protect the soldiers below, who were trying to open. If there is a book that really covers the afghan war from the beginning to now, ive missed it. Aug 04, 2014 in the brutal nineyear conflict, an estimated one million civilians were killed, as well as 90,000 mujahideen fighters, 18,000 afghan troops, and 14,500 soviet soldiers. He got the shot down and taken prisoner part right, but if his antique mig23 had. Sovietafghanistan war overview history of war in the 20th. The soviet invasion of neighbouring afghanistan in december 1979 sparked a bloody nineyear conflict with the mujahideen until soviet forces withdrew in 198889, dooming the communist afghanistan government to defeat by afghan popular resistance backed by the usa and other powers. Based primarily on an exhaustive analysis of russianlanguage soviet military journals, this book provides a unique. Introduction the sovietafghan war spanned nine years from late 1979 to early 1989 encompassing the terms of two soviet premiers and two united states presidents. This book, the soviet afghan war 197989, by gregory fermontbarnes, is an entry in osprey publishings essential history series. Without proper equipment and training, the afghanistan government was unable to resist the opposition,called the mujahedeen, eventually seeking the aid of the soviet union. The soviet experience, of course, isnt proof that the same fate will befall the united states, which is now more than eight years into its afghan war.
The russianukrainian film the 9th company, for example, became a blockbuster in the former ussr earning millions of dollars and also representing a new trend in russia in which some domestic films are drawing russian audiences away from hollywood staples. Their major offensives, acording to feifer, never delivered a strategic victory, though they tended to prevail in individual battles depicted in the stories of several soviet officers and soldiers. The soviet war in afghanistan in pictures, 19791989. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan. How a superpower fought and lost modern war studies by the russian general staff, lester w. Every one of the pakistanbased afghan mujahideen leaders who became.
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