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. Counterinsurgency in afghanistan and pakistan, 20012011, describes the lessons learned after ten years of war in afghanistan. Its well written and beautifully descriptive of afghanistan its people and climate. They also contributed to as much as 20 percent of the cases addressed by the militarymedical service in afghanistan. Ketab lwast, a mobile effort to improve youth literacy rates in afghanistan by providing books and reading instruction to children in rural areas. Gefreiter, 901st panzergrenadier training regiment, barenton, august 1944. The book tells the stories of soviet soldiers who took part in the soviet war and occupation of afghanistan. They had underestimated their enemy and lacked the. The hitandrun bloodletting across the wars decade tallied more than. The kite runner by khaled hosseini, a thousand splendid suns by khaled hosseini, and the mountains echoed by khaled hossein.
However, we strongly advise volunteers to practice social distancing as well as postpone any group packing parties or fundraisers. The hidden war by borovik is a very good account of experiences and morale or lack of units during the war, written by what would now be called an embedded. Soviet and mujahideen uniforms, clothing, and equipment in the sovietafghan war, 19791989 schein, zammis on. The christian science monitor is an international news organization that delivers thoughtful, global coverage via its website, weekly magazine, online daily edition, and email newsletters. He was on the ground throughout wwii in the european theater. Boozing through the sovietafghan war was more horrifying than you can imagine. To settle the conflicts that had arisen in afghan society, and to. To hell and back by audie murphy, the most decorated soldier of wwii, is one of the best. The soviet war in afghanistan in pictures, 19791989.
Novels set in afghanistan and pashtunmajority areas in. See more ideas about war, afghanistan war and afghanistan. Communication between the soviet troops and the afghan army during the fight against the mujaheddin in the 19791989 war was very difficult, war veteran general aleksandr chubarov recalls. A russian journalists account of the soviet war in afghanistan. Are there any good books about the sovietafghan war. The soviet withdrawal from afghanistan kalinovsky, artemy m. Sobering, depressing book describing the machiavelian calculations of the politburo resulting in the soviet invasion of afghanistan in 1979. Few people are more respected or better positioned to speak on the soviet invasion of afghanistan than m.
At the time, it was reported that the afghan capital of kabul returned to normal for the first time since bloody antisoviet rioting erupted there, killing more than 300 civilians and an unknown number of soviet and afghan soldiers. Bikes and books in afghanistan american libraries magazine. As a consequence, afghanistan, through officially neutral in the cold war, drew closer to india and the soviet union, which unlike the united states, was willing to sell afghanistan weapons. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned. The intense images of afghanistan s long and distant war photojournalist robert nickelsberg has been documenting afghanistan since 1988. The soviet war in afghanistan was a war initially fought between the forces of the afghanistan government and foreign mercenaries. Powerfully written, wellresourced and wellreferenced, it serves as a large mainstream addition to understanding the political situation of afghanistan. A mujahideen, a captain in the afghan army before deserting, poses with a group of rebels near herat, afghanistan, on february 28, 1980. A soviet soldiers guide to afghanistan when in afghanistan, youll need to follow a few basic rules. Seemingly nothing was left out, except for one thing. Appears in 8 books from 19882000 page 208 afghan resistance with the weaponry of modern guerrilla warfare. The book consists of separate chapters on various aspects of the war, including the experiences of various components of the soviet army.
In 1962, china defeated india in a border war, and as a result, china formed an alliance with pakistan against their common enemy, india. Boozing through the sovietafghan war was more horrifying. William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan the guardian. The soviet war in afghanistan was a war initially fought between the forces of the afghanistan government and afghan assistance fighters, supporter from abroad. The entry of the soviet union into the country caused an immediate increase in the. Novels set in afghanistan and pashtunmajority areas in pakistan. The intense images of afghanistans long and distant war. A retrospective in kabul from his book, a distant war. A novel set in afghanistan challenges the myth of the good occupier.
Artyom borovik captures the experience and the personality of the afghanistan war that the soviets unwillfully got bogged down in through the 80s. The book is written between two tours of the country in 1987 and 1989 and it gives a fascinating insight into the operations and tactics of the soviet army and mujaheddin fighters. Im hesitant to include or read any books written by westerners about afghanistan because i am sick of the romanticization of afghanistan and all things afghans, but i recognize that there are a few good, honest reads out there. A russian journalists account of the soviet war in afghanistan borovik, artyom on. 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 soviet war in afghanistan was a nineyear period involving the soviet forces and the mujahideen insurgents that were fighting to overthrow afghanistan s marxist peoples democratic party of afghanistan pdpa government. Though there are several things this book is, there are also things it is not. She begins reading books to the local women, and teaches one of waheeds sons to read and write. Cassidy, author of the new, critically acclaimed book, war, will, and warlords. 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. 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.
Soviet invasion of afghanistan questia online library. In 1979, the soviets had illsuited uniforms and inferior fighting tactics, and found it impossible to defeat the popular afghan guerrilla army. A former soviet army soldier who went missing in action in 1980 during the soviet invasion of afghanistan has been found alive almost. The american outpost at bande sardeh, in ghazni province, afghanistan, lies within the confines of what was once a much larger soviet army position. The kite runner by khaled hosseini, one bullet away. A complete analysis of the soviet intervention in afghanistan in late 1979 must wait until enough time passes for that event to be evaluated in terms of longrange soviet military and political objectives. From 16thcentury mughal rulers, to daring victorian spies and todays taliban, the travel writer and historian picks his favourites from a rich. The making of a marine officer by nathaniel fick, war by sebastian. Mad dog mattis once famously said it was fun to shoot taliban fighters. What are some good books about the experiences of soldiers. The russians in afghanistan, 197989 and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle. The book speaks of the illusion the soviet union created, the indoctrination the youth and the people were subjected to and the one can write about the beautiful things about this life with a certain ease, but to sit face to face with. The result is an emerging antisoviet alliance the united states, china, pakistan, egypt, and saudi arabia that. The soviet intervention in afghanistan by alfred l.
Two hundred years of british, russian and american occupation loyn, david on. Without proper equipment and training, the afghanistan government was unable to resist the foreign mercenaries, eventually seeking the aid of the soviet union. The first official deployment of the soviet army into the kingdom of afghanistan began dec. As far as i know, as of today march 2017 there are very few illustrated books on this subject of soviet uniforms and mujahideen clothes and gear used during the soviet intervention in afghanistan between 1979 and 1989 basicallu a few booklets by osprey publishing, which were published during the conflict with little information about what was happening on the ground, thus these books are a bit out of date and incomplete. Messianic terrorism, tribal conflicts, and the failures of great powers. In this second part of a twopart interview by government book talk blog editor michele bartram, col. It is not a higher level capturing of the causes of the afghan war. The sovietafghan war 197989 ebook by gregory fremont. Soviet and mujahideen uniforms, clothing, and equipment in.
Discover librarianselected research resources on soviet invasion of afghanistan from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. Also lacking was more detail on the mujahideen perspective on the war. Two hundred years of british, russian and american occupation. Peter tomsen has crafted an immense project with the wars of afghanistan. The war cannot now be won in 18 months, but the administration is hoping that in this period more troops, more money and better strategy will demonstrate, both in afghanistan and at home, that the. Parallels the two associated press journalists shot in afghanistan shared a gift for finding the humanity in war zones. The 3 grau books listed are the best on the military aspects of the war, each chapter a perfect scenario. Russia in afghanistan 1979 to 1989 part 1 of 3 youtube.
Soviet war in afghanistan simple english wikipedia, the. Soviet soldier missing since 1980 found in afghanistan cnn. It follows that countrys disintegration amid the brutality and savagery of the resistance, and reprisals over the next decade until the soviet withdrawal, leaving behind chaos and ruin. This book will inform the readers on every aspect of soviet operations inside afghanistan, from logistical and medical issues, to largescale motorized infantry tactics. Most afghans cant read, but their book trade is booming the. Soviet and mujahideen uniforms, clothing, and equipment in the sovietafghan war, 19791989. At a time when book publishers in many countries are struggling, over the last three years those in afghanistan have been.
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