The Invasion of Afghanistan: 10 Years of War and Humiliating Defeats for the Soviet Army

In early 1989, the USSR was withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, marking the end of an invasion that had begun almost 10 years earlier. This withdrawal represented not only a military defeat, but also a significant erosion of the great power image that the Soviets had at that time. The defeat in Afghanistan, to which is added the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, as well as the precarious state of the economy, ultimately led to the de facto breakup of the USSR

The Soviets were drawn into a protracted war in which they never stood a chance of victory. Waging a war on the hostile territory of an occupied state drained the Russian economy.

But how was it possible that a military colossus of the caliber of the Soviets had to retreat in disgrace, considering the fact that the Afghans had practically no army? We will try to answer this question by analyzing the events, as well as the contribution that the American intervention, as well as that of other countries, had. We will also analyze how the withdrawal from Afghanistan dealt a coup de grace to the USSR, an already failed state.

Why did the Russians enter Afghanistan?

The causes of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan are complex and have their origins in the 19th century. Thus, during that period, Tsarist Russia, in full expansion, was in direct competition with Great Britain for the control of this region. It was what historians later called ‘The Great Game’. Afghanistan’s nickname of ‘cemetery of empires’ also dates from that period, considering the repeated failures of the British, who wanted to extend their domination from India.

A year before the 1979 invasion, the USSR and Afghanistan had concluded a friendship treaty, by which the two sides agreed to provide each other with military and economic assistance. Afghanistan borders Russia, the latter considering the area to be of the utmost strategic importance for its national security, but also the gateway to Asia.

In 1978, a coup d’état takes place in Afghanistan, orchestrated by the Marxist party led by Nur Muhammad Taraki, who becomes the head of state. He would later come into conflict with Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin, who wanted a less friendly foreign policy towards the Soviets.

It was basically the moment when the Russians make the decision to enter Afghanistan, most historians believe that this was basically an attempt by the Soviets to penetrate the Persian Gulf, so that they could access the oil resources there and increase their influence in the Muslim world.

There is hard evidence that the Russians honestly believed they would enjoy support from the Afghan population, which by no means happened. In fact, it was a ploy by the US Secret Service to induce them to have this false idea.

The American government had not forgotten the Soviet involvement in the recently ended Vietnam War and wanted to pay Russia in the same currency. What followed was virtually beyond the control of both sides, as no one had considered the religious factor, which would play a key role in what followed, shaping the world’s political and military scene to this day.

Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan, 1988 (photo: Alamy / Profimedia)

10 years of war and humiliating defeats for the Russian army

On December 27, 1979, the Russian army entered Afghanistan and occupied the capital Kabul, as well as the main cities in the country. From the outset, strategic situational assessment errors as well as tactical mistakes made their presence felt. In Afghanistan there is a tribal structure of society, which the Soviets never managed to change. Russian troops were joined by the Afghan army, which remained loyal to the Soviet-controlled government.

From the beginning, the Russians had major difficulties in organizing their supply lines. Thus, they occupy the main urban agglomerations and establish military bases throughout Afghanistan. But, taken as a whole, this did not mean much, as these centers of Soviet occupation looked like islands in a totally hostile territory. Military bases had to be constantly supplied, which the Russian army could only do with great difficulty and heavy losses.

In terms of topography, Afghanistan is a predominantly mountainous country. Through these mountains, the Russians had to move military supply convoys, which became an easy target for the poorly armed Afghan fighters, but who knew the terrain perfectly and used it successfully. Of course, the foreign aid that the Afghans have benefited from should not be underestimated either. First of all, the USA, but also countries such as Pakistan or Great Britain, provided both modern weaponry and military advisers to the Afghans transformed into mujahedeen. Strictly literary, from the point of view of the Islamic religion, the term designates a person who has engaged in jihad or holy war.

Casualties on both sides have skyrocketed, and civilians in Russia are beginning to resent the growing number of Russian soldiers returning home in the ‘Black Tulips’, the name given to the AN-12s by Afghanistan veterans , with which the bodies of the fallen were transported to the country. In good Soviet tradition, the Kremlin will try to hide the losses suffered, but without much success. The sinister name ‘Black Tulip’ given to the planes will be famous thanks to a song composed by Alexandr Rozenbaum, a song that will become a true anthem of Afghanistan veterans.

Fully aware of the American military aid that the Mujahideen receive, the Soviets try to somehow restore the balance and use heavy weapons more and more, which have an increased capacity of destruction. The climax was reached when they began to use cluster bombs, weapons prohibited by international law, precisely because of the effects they had on the combatants.

For years the fights followed the same template. The Russians declared a province ‘liberated’, after which, shortly after, their troops were attacked by Afghan fighters who had initially hid in the face of superior firepower. The Afghan civilian population suffered the most, but gradually the war effort began to ruin the Soviet economy, which had been hit hard in 1986 and by the huge effort to clean up the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

It is the moment when Gorbachev decides that he is obliged to sacrifice the image of the Russian army and begins the steps for a withdrawal from Afghanistan. However, three years would pass until, in February 1989, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan, leaving behind a country destroyed in every way.

Soviet helicopter shot down in Afghanistan (photo: Archive Collection / Alamy / Alamy / Profimedia)

Aftermath of the war in Afghanistan and why it was so important to subsequent history

Officially, the Soviets declared a number of approximately 15 thousand soldiers lost during the ten years of war and more than 50 thousand wounded. Most likely, the real number is much higher, with Russia wanting to hide its losses, as it always has. On the other hand, it is much more difficult to put forward a figure, a rough estimate being about 100 thousand deceased Afghan combatants and up to 2 million civilians.

Military analysts drew the necessary conclusions, noting that the Russians failed to manage the huge advantage they had in terms of firepower in a conflict with poorly equipped and trained guerrillas. At the same time, using an army of recruits, they often had poor training, which translated, on the battlefield, into low combat power and mistakes that generated unjustified losses. The deplorable state of the Russian army will be confirmed, a few years later, by the invasion of Chechnya.

After the Soviet withdrawal, years of civil war followed for Afghanistan. The adverse effects of the fact that the American secret services armed and trained the Afghan fighters, will be seen later. Many Mujahideen became radicalized and became what we now call the Taliban. The fact that one of the mujahedin leaders trained by the Americans was Osama Bin Laden is a conclusive example of this. The Americans created and trained a military force that they themselves would later face, with ill effects so well known.

On the other hand, for the Russians, the invasion of Afghanistan is seen by many people as the element that tipped the balance in favor of the breakup of the USSR. In Russian collective memory, this war remains an open wound, with veterans testifying to a sense of betrayal and abandonment by the Russian state.

Sources:

– Rodric Braithwaite, Afghans: The Russians in Afghanistan, 1979–89.

– Gregory Feifer, The Great Gamble: The Soviet war in Afghanistan

– Mark Galeotti, Afghanistan: the Soviet Union’s Last War.

– Oleg Novinkov, Afghan boomerang.

– Gregory Fremont-Barnes, The Soviet-Afghan War 1979-1989

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