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Originally Posted by Dean The Soviets did lose the war. They were unable to take the initiative anywhere outside of their bases, and the mujahadeen were able to move anywhere at anytime. |
Particularly, Mujahadeen moved around as civilians or shepherds...
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There were many places in Afghanistan that never fell to the Soviets in spite of repeated attacks (Panjashir Valley (sp?) and the Wakhan Corridor). When it became apparent that the Soviet Army could not do more than they had already accomplished, the Soviet leadership (quite rightly) pulled them out.
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Soviets won battles of Panjshir, but weren't able to establish loyal administration there, i.e. to stabilize their conquers politically.
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Unfortunately, the Soviet Army was doomed to failure due to the fact that it was an army that was designed from the individual private up to the General Staff to repel invaders along long fronts. As such they were heavily mechanized which made them very dependent on the roads, (which the rebels owned) and any movement into the mountains away from the roads was deadly. The Afghan conflict could not be fought or won by such an army, and I think that the Kremlin showed breathtaking stupidity in ordering their army in. From what I have heard, the only units that did well were special forces units, and that was because they were the only ones who were able ot fight in the mountains without mechanized support. At least the Americans in Vietnam were able to better adapt to the situation, and their effective use of helicopters gave them an advantage in mobility that the Red Army in Afghanistan could not even dream of. In fact, the Mujahedeen, most of whom were on foot, seemed to be far more mobile than the fully mechanized Soviet Army. Pretty sad, really.
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If we take a look into history, we see that none army ever entered the war, being ready for it. The solutions, both tactical and technological, always have been find, developed and implemented during war. So was also with Soviet Army in Afghanistan.
What comes to mobility of Mujahadeen, they did not always move only by foot. They used horses, camels and even Toyota jeeps, but their main strength was knowing the area. They knew all the paths, caves, ways. Soviets didn't, because no mountain paths and caves were showed on their maps. Only main roads were there, but they were not used by Mujahadeens... at least not in their `combat` gear, only as civilians...