Review

General - Pages : 96 | Images : 99 b/w photos, 27 colour profiles, 7 b/w maps, 1 colour map, 19 tables

From the publisher, 

In December 1979 the USSR’s 40th Army crossed the border into Afghanistan. Special forces troops – the infamous GRU Spetsnaz – and KGB agents had already entered the country and in a fierce gun battle assassinated Afghanistan’s President Hafizullah Amin in Tajbeg Palace so that he could be replaced by rival Babrak Karmal. The official explanation provided to officers, non-commissioned officers, and other ranks of the Soviet Armed Forces was that they were carrying out an ‘international duty’ in Afghanistan. What exactly that was, none of the participants knew. The reasoning of Brezhnev’s Politburo was that their intervention would bring stability to a country slipping into anarchy as its government failed to deal with political conflict within its own ranks and widespread armed rebellion outside the major urban centres. Thus began the Soviet military intervention that was to last for nearly ten years.

The Soviet War in Afghanistan 1979–1989 provides a detailed order of battle for the Soviet ground and air forces deployed to Afghanistan – officially referred to as ‘The Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces in Afghanistan’ – and a detailed account of every operation undertaken there by the Soviet Armed Forces from December 1979 until February 1989. The work provides details of all the involved units, their combat losses and estimates of Mujahidin losses. This work does not shy away from the commonplace atrocities committed against the Afghan population.

Contents

Abbreviations and acronyms

Editorial note

Introduction 

1. Afghan and Soviet Armed forces
   
2. Afghan opposition forces
3. 1979-80
4. 1981
5. 1982
6. 1983
7. 1984
8. 1985
9. 1986
10. 1987
11. 1988-89
12. conclusions

 bibliography

notes

about the author

 Review

‘Editorial note’ and ‘Introduction’ lay the ground work for a promising read on the Soviet Afghan war 1979-1989, but that is all. There is some analysis in chapters 1 and 2, this is limited and at a rather generic level with a few tables of ORBAT – ‘order of battle’ to show regiment or formation, base, and equipment; and for the Afghan opposition forces, there is a list of the various groups and a sentence or two as to make up and affiliation, not much else. There is some discussion of foreign aid to the Afghans and how this was controlled by ISI in Pakistan, with all arms being distributed based on favour, not need or merit to sustain the war effort. Amongst the rather dry descriptions, there are some interesting snippets, like the soldiers who die from alcohol poisoning, poor weapon discipline, or being captured alive only to stop living soon after.

Then it is into the book proper, and that consists of a brief introduction to the year, thereafter it is a paragraph or two of how, where, and how many soldiers died, and in which fashion. “Four offices of the Soviet Army, including another lieutenant colonel, who was a military adviser, and one KGB officer, were killed on 13 February 1980 when rebels shot down a Mi-24 attach helicopter of the 1st Helicopter Squadron, 292nd Separate Helicopter Regiment near the city o Jalalabad. One officer of the 177th MRR, 108th MRD, was killed the same day in a gith in the Salang Pass.” P. 23. And, page 68, “In September 1987, the Soviet Air Force bombed several villages in Badakhsan Province. Seventeen Afghan civilians, including five women and seven children, plus one Mujahid were killed, an unknown number of people were wounded.

At about the same time Soviet aircraft conducted strikes on three villages located in Wardak and Ghanzi Provinces. Seven Afghan civilians – three women and four children – were killed, and 45 more, also including women and children , were wounded, one woman later died.”

Which is rather specific and demonstrates the knowledge the subject has of the subject, but there is no analysis or discussion of the incident. Some incidents come in for greater description, but by and large, that is the tone and nature of the book. It got so I was skim reading the paragraphs, then skipping chapters, looking for the discussion of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, 1979-1989, which was the conclusion. If you’re read ‘The bear went over the mountain’, then this is very similar.

In some regards, the book is detailed, but equally vague, for example page 35 where the author is describing a Soviet operation, “The offensive officially lasted for two and half weeks, but these units and formations advanced for two months and reportedly eliminated all enemy groups in the Panshir Valley. Either 117 or around 1,000 officers and men were killed in action and up to 2,000 more were wounded.” I have no way of verifying the numbers involved, but there is a bit of difference between 117 and 1000 and it would be handy to know the correct figure.

The author recounts a few war crimes and massacres, but these are only a few paragraphs in length, give a very general picture of what may have happened, and lack context.

The value of the book lies in the images and colour plates with description (about a paragraph). There are a few maps throughout the book, these show a moment in time, and it is unclear how these relate to the text. There are no interviews or first person accounts. There is a great image of BTR 70, page 81, which has been up-armoured with side skirts between the wheels, and a BTR-D, page 28, re-armed with the chain gun from an Mi-24. Also., there are images of the TOS in service in Afghanistan that I’ve not seen elsewhere.

In good faith, I am unable to recommend this book to anyone looking to understand or learn about the Soviet war in Afghanistan, which is a disappointment as it is a truly interesting misadventure by the Soviets.

take your amphib to a landlocked country...

BTR 70 up-armoured

BTR-D up gunned

Camp life for the Soviets.

A typical page

There is enough in this map to write a book, but you get a paragraph.

colour plate I

Colour plate II