From 1979 to 1989 a million soviet troops engaged in a devastating war in afghanistan that claimed 50,000 casualties and the youth and humanity of many tens of thousands more. Are there any good books about the sovietafghan war. A reading list of modern war stories the new york times. Briefing book on the soviet intervention in afghanistan. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden, from the. Short summary of the soviet war in afghanistan synonym. In the 1980s, the cia engineered a covert operation to defeat the soviet army in afghanistan working from a safe haven in pakistan.
He is the author of nine published books on topics such as history, martial arts. Soviet spetsnaz forces took part in the soviet afghan war of 19791989 in afghanistan, usually fighting fast insertionextraction type warfare with helicopters. The name afghanka is an unofficial popular slang term in russian for the uniform, derived from its prolific use during the soviet afghan war they are typically made of cotton. Pakistan was hoping hekmatyar, with all the financial and military assistance he had received, would be able to replace the communist regime in kabul. A selection of books related to the wars in iraq and afghanistan. The isis relationship with masoud and hekmatyar was at the heart of the post soviet pakistani interference in afghanistan and a major cause of the imposed civil war. Reagan, gorbachev and bush at the end of the cold war. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops. Since the 1970s, the cia has engaged in multiple operations in afghanistan.
Soviet combat tactics in afghanistan had help deciphering the russian general staff papers from gress, a soviet migr who served in the soviet army. Discover the best afghan war military history in best sellers. 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. Also check the movie charlie wilsons war for the actual newsreel and documentary footage cut in as the action scenes. The soviet army was driven from afghanistan 30 years ago. Braithwaites book is a fascinating story, not only of politics and war, but about the individuals who served in afghanistan. President reagan had seen an expansion of the reagan doctrine, which aided anti soviet resistance movements. Impressive and convincing telling of the soviet afghan war from the perspective of the russianssoviets involved. An afghanistan war veteran himself, yerin has spent decades collecting war memorabilia for the museum, where soviet rockets and canned beef rations compete for.
This report on the soviet army in afghanistan focuses on morale, discipline, motivation, and cohesion. The first major operation, code named operation cyclone, began in 1979. As a general rule we do not censor any content on the site. Trump was wrong about the soviet war in afghanistan the. Click download or read online button to get back from afghanistan the experiences of soviet afghan war veterans book now. National security archive electronic briefing book, no. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, invasion of afghanistan in late december 1979 by troops from the soviet union.
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. Gregory feifer is an author whose books include the great gamble. The intense images of afghanistan s long and distant war photojournalist robert nickelsberg has been documenting afghanistan since 1988. Life in war, afghanistan in pictures art and design. The sovietafghan war had an important impact in popular culture in the west, due to its scope. Putins russia is repackaging that defeat as a patriotic victory. The main body of the book is about soviet army and air force tactics, operations, and armaments. At the end of the second wave, 5 million afghans left the country and another 800,000 moved somewhere else within its borders. Soviet leaders said the government of afghanistan invited them to assist in a crisis. 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. Sovietafghanistan war every month 19791989 youtube. I would prefer books that arent too dry but are still fairly informative.
In early january 1988, 39 soviet paratroopers were positioned on a cliff overlooking the gardezkhost road in southeastern afghanistan. Jerusalem post informative and well written, sir rodric braithwaites afgantsy is an invaluable book to russians but even more so to americans, who are repeating most of the same mistakes in afghanistan. Realise that i do not know if this is a reliable book, still was the only one ive found about usa intervention on the war. Cias covert afghan war the washington post, july 19, 1992. This research note based on an anthropological fieldwork retraces the life of mamura, an uzbek woman who became a hero among her peers, afghan war veterans. The us has repeatedly misdiagnosed the war in afghanistan. Not only does it give them a summary of afghanistan s colorful geography and history, but it also presents an uptodate picture of where the war is heading and an informed discussion of the range of choice for afghanistan and its allies. After political turmoil occured in afghanistan, the soviets exploited the situation by forming a brand new communist nation, multiple nations. Russian film recalls shame of afghan war by peter finn, the washington post saturday, october 22, 2005. The soviet union, china and angloamerican intelligence in the afghan war library of middle east history. Former soldier, andrew exum, tells us about flawed policy, unhappy outcomes and what could and should have been different. In zinky boys journalist svetlana alexievich gives voice to the tragic history of the afghanistan war. In the great gamble, gregory feifer examines the conflict from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground.
Borovik, foreign editor of the soviet weekly ogonyok, spent a month with soviet troops in afghanistan near the end of the 19791988 war. Born in the 1960s in southern uzbekistan, into the muslim faith, mamura was a komsomol and volunteered for afghanistan, where she served in particular as an army censor. The intense images of afghanistans long and distant war. The report examines major factors that negatively affect. 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. How a superpower fought and lost is a professional study of the drawnout conflict. William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan books. 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. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned. 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 best books on understanding the war in afghanistan. Download back from afghanistan the experiences of soviet afghan war veterans or read online books in pdf, epub, tuebl, and mobi format. The sovietafghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the. The soviet war in afghanistan was a grueling debacle that has striking lessons for the twentyfirst century.
The taliban indoctrinates kids with jihadist textbooks. Russia reimagines afghan war failure to victory the washington post. Afghan migration after the soviet invasion, continued a civil war that erupted after the soviet withdrawal created new refugees. Most world leaders recognized the massive troop movement as an invasion. On december 25, 1979, the 40th army of the union of soviet socialist republics ussr arrived at afghanistan s kabul airport. Andrew exum recommends the best books for understanding the war in afghanistan. It was a program to arm and finance the mujahideen fighters in afghanistan prior to and during the military intervention by the ussr. A retrospective in kabul from his book, a distant war. A specially equipped c141 starlifter transport carrying william casey touched down at a military air base south of islamabad in october 1984 for a secret visit by the cia director to plan strategy for the war against soviet forces in afghanistan. During the last years of the cold war, the soviet union sent some of its most elite troops to unfamiliar lands in central asia to fight a vaguely defined. Back from afghanistan the experiences of soviet afghan war.
As the washington post reported in 2002, the united states had spent millions of dollars beginning in the 1980s to produce and disseminate anti soviet textbooks for afghan schoolchildren. The only content we will consider removing is spam, slanderous attacks on other members, or extremely offensive content eg. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned dave shunk. Understanding war in afghanistan is an excellent book for journeyman students of afghanistan. Their most famous operation, operation storm333, was executed on 27 december 1979 which saw soviet special forces storming the tajbeg palace in afghanistan and killing afghan president hafizullah amin and his 200 personal guards. Life in war is probably the only book about afghanistan that isnt just filled with images of conflict. Throughout the cold war, the united states and the soviet union competed for power and influence in different areas of the world. The war in afghanistan 19791989 has been called the soviet unions vietnam war. Red army quits 1989 last soviet troops leave, but civil war continues as.
Soviet afghan war part of the cold war and the continuous afghanistan conflict mujahideen fighters in the kunar province of afghanistan in 1987 date december 24, 1979 february 15, 1989 9 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day location afghanistan result mujahideen victory soviet failure to quell the afghan mujahideen insurgency geneva accord 1988 withdrawal of soviet forces from. Twentyfive years ago, on christmas eve, soviet troops marched into afghanistan with the aim of restoring order in a few months. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Brit to come out of the first afghan war with her reputation enhanced. This article covers the afghan history between the talibans conquest of kabul and their establishing of the islamic emirate of afghanistan on 27 september 1996, and the u. Im interested in history especiall military history and am looking to expand my library. We will not remove any content for bad language alone, or for being critical of a book. Ghost wars, his account of conflict in afghanistan from the 1979 soviet invasion to the eve of 911, earned him a pulitzer prize, his second. Exclusive prose with his unfolds personal experiences brigadier mohammad yousaf was born in 1937 and took his commission as an infantry officer into the frontier defence force regiment of the pakistan army ff6. Afghanistan had recently undergone a communist revolution. A muslim woman officer in the soviet army during the. The soviet unions invasion of afghanistan began a brutal, decadelong guerilla war that killed up to two million afghans. It is based on interviews with former members of the soviet armed forces in afghanistan, interviews with afghan reistnnce leaders and former officers, and a literature search. 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 vietnam by tamarov is a photographic record of one soldiers tour in the war, mainly personal images but some great pictures of equipment. The soviet withdrawal from afghanistan 1989 national security. The soviet afghan war how a superpower fought and lost 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. She became a legend, albeit not for her military deeds, but thanks to. Soviet voices from the afghanistan war by svetlana alexievich, the sovietafghan war. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The book consists of separate chapters on various aspects of the war, including the experiences of various components of the soviet army. Best books about the soviet invasion of afghanistan. On the first day of the soviet withdrawal from afghanistan in may 1988, an afghan soldier hands a flag to a departing soviet soldier in kabul. If youre a senior military official or a politician and go to war in afghanistan without reading this book, you are grossly negligent.
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