At dawn, we were able to establish visual reconnaissance. We discovered signs of enemy activity and called artillery fire in on the area and also shot it up with fire from the utes machine gun and AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher. However, the enemy knew the terrain well and was well versed in the art of camouflage. Therefore, the rounds mainly impacted on the ground and effects of the fire were minimal.
With the approach of darkness, we were ordered to come down from the mountain and rejoin the regiment. We travelled on to our base camp, but later learned from agent intelligence that during the time of our action, enemy losses were up to 30 KIA or WIA in that region.
Frunze Commentary: This vignette shows that thorough coordination is necessary when functioning under unusual conditions (night combat, conduct of fire above and between friendly forces). The commander used a variety of means to deceive the enemy (the reconnaissance sweep in the opposite direction, the secret conduct of the commanders’ reconnaissance). The unit also made mistakes. There was insufficient consideration given to the impact of terrain on the combat approach by the subunits, which led to the unforeseen jockeying about to cross the dry river bed. Further, reconnaissance of the march route and mine detecting were poorly done.
Editor’s Commentary: The Soviet infantry carried some incredible weights. Carrying a 58-pound heavy machine gun, its tripod and ammunition up a hill at night is a challenge. The AGS-17 and 82mm mortar are not any easier. How the commander expected his infantry to cut off the enemy escape route, when the nimble mujahideen already had an uphill advantage, is questionable. Airlanded blocking forces seems to be an answer to cutting off escape routes.
The Soviets adopted bounding overwatch in this vignette and apparently throughout the Afghanistan War. Bounding overwatch was not in the European battle book since it slowed down movement tempo. However, bounding overwatch is essential when moving over rough terrain or when your enemy is not totally occupied with your artillery and air strikes.
In this vignette and others, the Soviets had no problem assigning a staff officer as a temporary commander. Here, the recon platoon was attached to a MRC and the battalion chief of staff was put in field command. This was a normal field practice and does not necessarily mean that they were having problems with the regular company commander.
As the vignette demonstrates, mine clearing in mountains is a difficult proposition – particularly against some of the non-metallic mines. Soviet equipment was frequently not up to the job. The Soviet Army lost 1,995 KIA and 1,191 vehicles to mines during the course of the Afghanistan War.
From the entire book, it is apparent that Soviet forces were spread very thin. Vignette 14 required a battalion each from three different regiments from a division spread over 400 kilometers. They could not assemble a single regiment, which would have been more effective, since they had to secure bases and LOCs. Vignette 18 required an understrength battalion to conduct a 500 kilometer road march on BMPs prior to entering combat. Operation “Magistral’” (Vignette 17) pulled most of a division out of the northeast part of Afghanistan to combine with part of another division, but there are indications that KGB border troops came south into Afghanistan to help hold the area during the division’s absence. The Soviets did not commit sufficient force to win the war. They committed forces to bolster the Marxist-Leninist government of Afghanistan and hoped that they could buy enough time for the Afghan government to build up its own forces to fight its own war.
This is not to say that the Soviets did not try to win the war militarily. The 40th Army was much larger that the Afghan Peoples Army and Afghan government security forces and was reinforced by Air Force units and reserves located just across the Amudarya (Oxus) river in the Soviet Union. The Soviets controlled the country and were able to effectively intervene at any point in Afghanistan at any time they desired. However, such intervention was effective only as long as they remained in the area. They could not conquer the country. General Secretary Gorbachev directed that the military achieve victory in 1985 and casualty figures on both sides reflect this effort. This effort failed and Gorbachev finally decided that the Soviet Union must withdraw with dignity from Afghanistan.
Why did the Soviets fail to achieve military victory in Afghanistan? First, they were unable to seal the border with Pakistan and Iran to prevent the mujahideen resupply of their forces. Second, they were unable to bring enough force into the country due to public opinion (particularly in the third world) and their inability to provide the logistic support necessary with a larger force. Third, Afghanistan is a country of strong beliefs and traditions and the population opposed the Soviets and the hostile communist ideology of the government of Afghanistan. The communist ideology directly attacked the ethnic structure, community structure and religious beliefs of the people and the people violently rejected this ideology. Fourth, the Soviets had little respect for the people of Afghanistan. They used the Afghan Peoples Army, Sarandoy, the Khad and the local militias (“Defenders of the Revolution”) as cannon fodder. These demoralized and inefficient forces regained some of their lost respectability only when the Soviets left. Further, the Soviets conducted indiscriminate air and artillery attacks against the rural population in order to force them out of the countryside in order to dry up the mujahideen supply lines. Finally, the Soviets were reluctant to accept the casualties necessary for such a victory and tried to substitute fire power for infantry close combat.
What is equally apparent from the book is that the Soviet Union failed to maintain adequate personnel strength within its units. The battalion in Vignette 18 is short an entire company. The regiment in Vignette 19 is short two battalions and each battalion is short one company. Even these companies are at one-third strength. Granted, this regiment was returning from hard fighting during operation “Magistral’”, but the personnel strength of the regiment is less than that of a full-strength battalion. These are skeleton figures. A MRR should have 2,315 men. An MRB should have 455 men. An MRC should have 103 men. An MRP should have 28 men. Soviet forces were badly understrength and Afghan forces were in even worse shape. Other sources describe the significant Soviet problems with disease which cut into units’ present-for-duty strength in Afghanistan. From 1/4 to 1/3 of a unit’s strength was normally sick with hepatitis, typhus, malaria, amoebic dysentery, and meningitis. Guard, details and LOC security cut further into the strength. Units were filled twice a year from the spring and fall draft call-ups. Conscripts sent to the Turkestan Military District had 6–12 month’s training before going to Afghanistan for the rest of their service. Further, military districts and Groups of Forces were levied for troops twice annually. These levies were quite significant. Yet, the unit strengths are appallingly low. Apparently, units need to be filled well in excess of 100% in some regions of the world if one hopes to field a reasonable fighting force.
Next: Chapter 3: The Application of Tactical Air Assaults
Footnotes
1. An assault group is a platoon or company-size detachment temporarily created for blocking and destroying a single strong point or permanent structure(s) during an assault. An assault group typically consists of motorized rifle forces, engineers, and flamethrower operators. An assault detachment is normally battalion-sized and also has armor or direct-fire artillery attached (ed.). [return]