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Osprey Essential Histories #75
Războiul Sovieto-Afgan 1979-1989
In 1979, Uniunea Sovietica, condusa de Leonid Brejnev, trimitea in Afganistan trupe menite sa sprijine acest stat satelit al sau. Pana in momentul retragerii URSS, aproape 15 000 de sovietici si mai mult de un milion de afgani au fost ucisi. Ceea ce sovieticii intentionasera sa fie o operatie militara limitata, de stabilizare, s-a transformat intr-un razboi lung si sfasietor impotriva mujahedinilor, care luptau cu arme moderne si tehnici neconventionale. Instruiti si echipati pentru un razboi cu NATO, sovieticii ripostau cu arme de foc conventionale si raiduri devastatoare in teritoriile ocupate de unitatile de gherila. In cele din urma, au fost nevoiti sa renunte la un conflict costisitor. Aceasta carte, in care veti gasi harti politice si strategice detaliate, este o relatare fascinanta despre unul dintre cele mai sangeroase confruntari din secolul al XX-lea.
93 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 12, 2024
One of the most essential histories from Osprey Publishing, the Soviet-Afghan War was a significant event in the Cold War and partially contributed its end. This book provides the background and different perspectives of both sides, making it a great read for military history enthusiasts.
December 16, 2016
Well written, lots of pretty maps and diagrams and photos. A solid short intro text. Seems like the Russians really goofed this one up.
October 31, 2019
This is a good introduction to a complicated war, one that is arguably the most important conflict of the era since it helped destroy the Soviet Union and led to the rise of the Taliban. I liked the concentration on training and tactics in the conflict, and the lack either Cold War era hawk rhetoric or apologies for radical Islam. Instead you get a cold, unflinching portrayal of a remorseless war.
September 14, 2021
If you watched the 2021 fall of Kabul to the Taliban, and traced the history of Afghanistan from this late Soviet Period to today- you might be forgiven for thinking that the CIA pouring weapons in to the most violent virulent Muslim part of the Afghani population was a glaring mistake of epic proportions. Gregory Fremont Barnes' book, written in 2012 explains why this transfer occurred, and why it seemed such a good idea at the time. Fremont- Barnes, a Scholar of the region and Defense Analyst, explains how the Soviets invaded to prop up a Communist regime in Crisis- as the Taraki regime of the DRA (Democratic Republic of Afghanistan) tried to hold its "revolution" together. We may not remember that the Afghani Soviet style Communist party was in a civil war of it's own with two factions Khalq- a Pushtun Leninist party, and Parchem, a more pragmatic National branch vying for power and purging each other. When the Soviets next door in Soviet Central Asia Turkmenistan and Tajikistan began to get nervous about the shaky entity on their border- invasion seemed to best route. The Soviets poured 120,000 soldiers in with all kinds of Cold War gear- and yet soon found themselves tied down in a costly insurgency- fighting a foe very skilled at small unit operations and guerrilla tactics. They left ten years later- leaving Afghanistan to the Mujahideen Warlords with the American supplied arms - who promptly fell into a costly civil war - from which the Taliban emerged as a Islamic Non-Warlord Entity- promising an Islamic Stability - if not full governance. An unintended consequence of policies started in a Cold War environment developing out of the morass of violent intentions....
Fremont Barnes reminds us why it seemed a great idea to purchase copious amounts of older Soviet weapons from all over the "Free" world and try and add to the Mujahideen potency. I recall Mossad being the only dissenting western Secret Service - happy to sell arms captured in 1967, 1973, and in Lebanon in 1982- but constantly pointing out the many and obvious ties between Muslim terrorist bands like Lashkar E Taiba and Al -Quaida with Pakistans' ISI , and the Mujahideen. When charming folks like Osama Bin Laden came with his Arab forces to join the "Muj"- few thought it might have larger repercussions - this was a small Insurgency war not unlike others the CIA had managed "successfully" like Laos and Cambodia. The mixed impotence and violent impulses of the DRA government as it actually tried to get rural Afghanistan to collectivise and attempt an command economy- cried out for an insurgency- even if they were also the only promoters of Women's or Minority rights. We see how by 1989, the DRA had failed to win any "Hearts and Minds"- and the Soviets had rightfully decided propping them up was not worth the effort and dribble of constant casualties. They left Najibullah , the winner of the Communists internal struggle "in Charge"- and drove and flew back to the USSR, itself about to disintegrate. Najibullah's government fell pretty soon after...
Some Adult themes and graphic violence descriptions make this a book best read by the Junior Reader over about 13/14 years of age. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this is a good but not great resource. The Gamer does get at least two sample scenarios the Mujahideen ambush of a Soviet supply Column, and the Soviet "Sweep" of a suspected Muj hideout village, and other content that will aid in developing Team Yankee/Bold Action/Battlegroup Modern games. The Modeler gets a good palette setting from the Colour and b/w pictures that are strewn throughout the book, and some diorama ideas- but will probably need more coverage. The Military Enthusiast gets a good survey history of the war, with some details- but largely an introductory work that beckons the reader to learn more elsewhere. The elements of 2012 triumphalism make this book a bit dated, but its still a good basic resource on the struggle at the end of the Cold War. Readers/Gamers of the period will find it enlightening but not authoritative and will want to read more on the subject.
Fremont Barnes reminds us why it seemed a great idea to purchase copious amounts of older Soviet weapons from all over the "Free" world and try and add to the Mujahideen potency. I recall Mossad being the only dissenting western Secret Service - happy to sell arms captured in 1967, 1973, and in Lebanon in 1982- but constantly pointing out the many and obvious ties between Muslim terrorist bands like Lashkar E Taiba and Al -Quaida with Pakistans' ISI , and the Mujahideen. When charming folks like Osama Bin Laden came with his Arab forces to join the "Muj"- few thought it might have larger repercussions - this was a small Insurgency war not unlike others the CIA had managed "successfully" like Laos and Cambodia. The mixed impotence and violent impulses of the DRA government as it actually tried to get rural Afghanistan to collectivise and attempt an command economy- cried out for an insurgency- even if they were also the only promoters of Women's or Minority rights. We see how by 1989, the DRA had failed to win any "Hearts and Minds"- and the Soviets had rightfully decided propping them up was not worth the effort and dribble of constant casualties. They left Najibullah , the winner of the Communists internal struggle "in Charge"- and drove and flew back to the USSR, itself about to disintegrate. Najibullah's government fell pretty soon after...
Some Adult themes and graphic violence descriptions make this a book best read by the Junior Reader over about 13/14 years of age. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this is a good but not great resource. The Gamer does get at least two sample scenarios the Mujahideen ambush of a Soviet supply Column, and the Soviet "Sweep" of a suspected Muj hideout village, and other content that will aid in developing Team Yankee/Bold Action/Battlegroup Modern games. The Modeler gets a good palette setting from the Colour and b/w pictures that are strewn throughout the book, and some diorama ideas- but will probably need more coverage. The Military Enthusiast gets a good survey history of the war, with some details- but largely an introductory work that beckons the reader to learn more elsewhere. The elements of 2012 triumphalism make this book a bit dated, but its still a good basic resource on the struggle at the end of the Cold War. Readers/Gamers of the period will find it enlightening but not authoritative and will want to read more on the subject.
November 23, 2025
This war was devastating, yet rarely discussed. It has few equals that can compare to its destructiveness, with a third of the population fleeing, million dead, economy totally ruined, leaving a legacy till this day where the people of Afghanistan barely manage to stand on their feet.
The internal political crisis in Afghanistan, culminating in a officers coup who were ideologically communist. The soviets were hesitant, they wanted to maintain Afghanistan as a friendly nation, preferably an satellite if possible, considering its strategic location and all the investments it made for 50 years. Even worse, if the country would collapse, many afghans may flee to the Soviet Union, and possibly spreading Islamist ideology that might threaten its muslim republics.
Their intervention was to be short term, they didnt intend to stay for long, attested by their small force send of 100 thousand (US send 500k to Vietnam in comparison. They were also very reluctant, they didnt want to intervene at all, but when the Afghan Communist government began enforcing such drastic reforms, and were so heavy handed in their repression to anyone who was against them, it caused them worry that its collapse would lead to an Islamic republic.
The Afghan Communists were completely beyond reason. They were so obsessed with fulfilling ideological goals, such as women’s emancipation, abolishment of feudalism, land redistribution, and other progressive policies, that it shocked much of the country who was very traditional and hierarchical society that werent keen on abandoning their way of life. When people started resisting these reforms of emancipation and redistribution, the government showed zero toleration, even shocking the Soviets. Eventually the civil war between traditionalist Afghans and the Communists became so dangerous considering the governments unpopularity that the Soviets intervened.
Their intervention was a fiasco. The Soviets werent prepared at all, it was all rushed, they committed half heartedly as they were still doubting whether it was a good idea, and they had no clear goal or leadership. Their initial goal was to buy time for the government until it trained its forces and can take over to stabilise the country itself. But this didnt happen considering the lack of legitimacy and unpopularity of the government. The Soviets didnt adjust to guerrilla warfare tactics, they kept using primarily orthodox military doctrine, which was meant to deal with opposing armies in frontal warfare. But this was not a conventional war, which made their army not effective at all, especially considering its small size for such a large country (size of France). They kept using extremely punishing tactics, where they showed no mercy or didnt try to collaborate with the locals, instead clearing them out of areas to prevent the mujahideen from using them as a base, in turn creating a new source of mujahideen fighters. Furthermore, their leadership was either ill or on his death bed, leaving no decision making and a clear goal for the army there. Eventually Gorbachev decided to withdraw from the war, starting the process to end this unclear unguided unpopular conflict.
The worst thing about it all, it could have been avoided. If the initial communist government didnt reform so fast but started consolidate and take a pragmatic stance. If the Soviets werent so half hearted and committed fully to this war. If they werent so harsh and heavy handed but tried to win the hearts and minds of the people. If they adopted anti guerrilla warfare tactics, which were easily applicable. This whole thing could have been avoided, or at least much less destructive, instead of leading to where we are today.
The internal political crisis in Afghanistan, culminating in a officers coup who were ideologically communist. The soviets were hesitant, they wanted to maintain Afghanistan as a friendly nation, preferably an satellite if possible, considering its strategic location and all the investments it made for 50 years. Even worse, if the country would collapse, many afghans may flee to the Soviet Union, and possibly spreading Islamist ideology that might threaten its muslim republics.
Their intervention was to be short term, they didnt intend to stay for long, attested by their small force send of 100 thousand (US send 500k to Vietnam in comparison. They were also very reluctant, they didnt want to intervene at all, but when the Afghan Communist government began enforcing such drastic reforms, and were so heavy handed in their repression to anyone who was against them, it caused them worry that its collapse would lead to an Islamic republic.
The Afghan Communists were completely beyond reason. They were so obsessed with fulfilling ideological goals, such as women’s emancipation, abolishment of feudalism, land redistribution, and other progressive policies, that it shocked much of the country who was very traditional and hierarchical society that werent keen on abandoning their way of life. When people started resisting these reforms of emancipation and redistribution, the government showed zero toleration, even shocking the Soviets. Eventually the civil war between traditionalist Afghans and the Communists became so dangerous considering the governments unpopularity that the Soviets intervened.
Their intervention was a fiasco. The Soviets werent prepared at all, it was all rushed, they committed half heartedly as they were still doubting whether it was a good idea, and they had no clear goal or leadership. Their initial goal was to buy time for the government until it trained its forces and can take over to stabilise the country itself. But this didnt happen considering the lack of legitimacy and unpopularity of the government. The Soviets didnt adjust to guerrilla warfare tactics, they kept using primarily orthodox military doctrine, which was meant to deal with opposing armies in frontal warfare. But this was not a conventional war, which made their army not effective at all, especially considering its small size for such a large country (size of France). They kept using extremely punishing tactics, where they showed no mercy or didnt try to collaborate with the locals, instead clearing them out of areas to prevent the mujahideen from using them as a base, in turn creating a new source of mujahideen fighters. Furthermore, their leadership was either ill or on his death bed, leaving no decision making and a clear goal for the army there. Eventually Gorbachev decided to withdraw from the war, starting the process to end this unclear unguided unpopular conflict.
The worst thing about it all, it could have been avoided. If the initial communist government didnt reform so fast but started consolidate and take a pragmatic stance. If the Soviets werent so half hearted and committed fully to this war. If they werent so harsh and heavy handed but tried to win the hearts and minds of the people. If they adopted anti guerrilla warfare tactics, which were easily applicable. This whole thing could have been avoided, or at least much less destructive, instead of leading to where we are today.
May 23, 2013
An eighteen year civil war (ten of which involved the Soviets) packed into 91 pages... difficult at best to put everything in so small a space. I liked it, though - - I didn't find it boring... and it gave me a good overview of what happened. If I want more details - I'll find a 300+ page book on it - but for right now - this book did it for me. I wish it talked a little more about the capture of Kabul by the Taliban in 1996 - - but again - 91 pages isn't much space. I highly recommend this book if you want a crash course.
February 15, 2016
A decent primer on this important conflict that in many ways decided the Cold War and that frames the last decade for the US, particularly it's wars abroad. Due to the length of the conflict, the shortness of space and the irregular nature of the war, this is not a blow-by-blow recounting, but it is a helpful overview.
July 1, 2018
It's definitely better than their book about The Thirty Years War, but it's still not an incredible book.
December 24, 2019
Din motive ideologice, URSS a invadat în 1979 Afganistanul, o țară extrem de săracă din inima Asiei centrale, cam de două ori și jumătate mai mare decât România. Din nefericire pentru cei peste jumătate de milion de soldați sovietici care vor ajunge în Afganistan în cei 9 ani cât a durat războiul, această țară stâncoasă avea și are o tristă faimă de a fi „cimitirul imperiilor”, numeroase super-puteri găsindu-și înfrângerea în munții și deșertul de acolo. Prost concepută, slab aprovizionată și lipsită de motivație ideologică, invazia și efortul sovietic s-a împotmolit într-o serie de conflicte locale, la nivel de regiment și batalion, cu luptătorii de gueriilă locali, temuții mujahedini.
Deja o axiomă, cartea este construită pe șablonul editurii militare Osprey, deci ne oferă elementele standard pe care am ajuns să le cunoaștem foarte bine: per total este un text introductiv excelent pentru acest subiect, fiind și un excelent punct de plecare pentru cei care... etc etc. Fotografiile sunt din păcate alb-negru, iar hărțile sunt mai limitate de această dată. Pe lângă enumerarea celor patru etape ale războiului, autorul ne mai prezintă și fragmente din memoriile unui veteran sovietic dar și ale unui jurnalist de război, precum și o scurtă prezntare rurală a Afganistanului. Stilul autorului este destul de accesibil și curgător, informațiile transmise fiind destul de nepărtinitoare. Deci, o carte Osprey bună.
Deja o axiomă, cartea este construită pe șablonul editurii militare Osprey, deci ne oferă elementele standard pe care am ajuns să le cunoaștem foarte bine: per total este un text introductiv excelent pentru acest subiect, fiind și un excelent punct de plecare pentru cei care... etc etc. Fotografiile sunt din păcate alb-negru, iar hărțile sunt mai limitate de această dată. Pe lângă enumerarea celor patru etape ale războiului, autorul ne mai prezintă și fragmente din memoriile unui veteran sovietic dar și ale unui jurnalist de război, precum și o scurtă prezntare rurală a Afganistanului. Stilul autorului este destul de accesibil și curgător, informațiile transmise fiind destul de nepărtinitoare. Deci, o carte Osprey bună.
July 6, 2025
On the third last page, Gregory Fremont-Barnes claims that "the damage and suffering inflicted on Afghanistan [by the Soviet Union] exceeds that meted out by the Germans on the Soviets between 1941 and 1945."
Unfortunately, the author could not resist hiding his anti-Soviet bias and completely upended his entire book, calling pretty much every other claim made throughout into question. There is no question that the Soviets behaved barbarically in Afghanistan. There is no question that several million deaths are attributable solely to actions taken by the USSR. That does not give someone license to engage in such disgusting historical revisionism as to say that it superseded the killing of between 20 and 30 million Soviet citizens by the Nazis and their Axis allies on the Eastern Front.
Aside from the sour note this book ended on, it is a relatively decent account of the war, although not particularly great or even good, just decent. A major highlight is the stunning photographs that accompany the passages, although their captions are often scarcely related to their contents, and repetitive at times.
Unfortunately, the author could not resist hiding his anti-Soviet bias and completely upended his entire book, calling pretty much every other claim made throughout into question. There is no question that the Soviets behaved barbarically in Afghanistan. There is no question that several million deaths are attributable solely to actions taken by the USSR. That does not give someone license to engage in such disgusting historical revisionism as to say that it superseded the killing of between 20 and 30 million Soviet citizens by the Nazis and their Axis allies on the Eastern Front.
Aside from the sour note this book ended on, it is a relatively decent account of the war, although not particularly great or even good, just decent. A major highlight is the stunning photographs that accompany the passages, although their captions are often scarcely related to their contents, and repetitive at times.
August 13, 2021
Excellent!
November 21, 2021
Good, short. Doesn't cover everything I thought it would, but that's no surprise
September 10, 2024
Little focus on the military actions. Tries to give an all around view of both the war and Afghanistan istelf, sometimes repetitive.
October 14, 2018
Well-written summary of the Soviet-Afghan relations and 1979-89 invasion... Also provides the sui generis characteristics of the Afghan people, country and geography that create the proper conditions for resistance against the foreign invaders since Alexander, Mongols, Persians, Britons and finally Russians, as well as the Americans and other potential invaders... The inside maps and photographs are also well-selected.
March 29, 2013
A general overview of the Soviet War effort in Afghanistan and what went wrong with it, which was nearly everything. It is covering a large subject in a small amount of pages so it is of necessity generalize but provides a good first look at what happened and why.
March 27, 2017
Fairly poor for Osprey to be honest. The pictures were excellent, the information not so much, just felt like it needed more.
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