Babrak karmal, a banner leader, and hafizullah amin were elected deputy prime ministers. In 1919 afghanistan signed the treaty of rawalpindi, which ended the third angloafghan war and marks afghanistans official date of independence. The united states was, thus, deeply interested in whether the soviet union would succeed in establishing a communist government loyal to moscow in afghanistan. The united states wants all nations in the region to be free and to be independent. The leaders of the new government insisted that they were not controlled by the soviet. Starting with the saur revolution military coup, an almost continuous series of armed conflicts has dominated and afflicted afghanistan. We saved the world because communism met its grave here in afghanistan. As midnight approached, the soviets organized a massive military airlift into kabul, involving an estimated 280 transport aircraft and three divisions of almost 8,500 men each. Soviet troops in afghanistan, pin by paolo marzioli. Afghanistan 1979 the war that changed the world youtube. Sometimes referred to as the soviets version of the vietnam war, the soviet war in afghanistan ended up being a losing battle for the soviet union, and in many ways, accelerated the dissolution of communism in the east.
The afghan war was one of the decisive events in the final,terminal phase of the cold war. Before the invasion of afghanistan, soviet army and intelligence services had previous. 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. At that time, the soviet union and the united states were engaged in the cold war, a global competition for the fealty of other nations. 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. Afghanistans history is replete with wars and other violent conflicts, including most. Mujahideen fechters in the kunar province o afghanistan in 1987. In 1973, while the king was on an official overseas visit, daoud khan launched a bloodless coup and became the first president of afghanistan, abolishing the monarchy. Baumann when on 2425 december 1979 soviet forces invaded afghanistan, they intended to conduct a. The first official deployment of the soviet army into the kingdom of afghanistan began dec. The december 1979 soviet invasion of afghanistan was clearly a major turning point in the. The soviet war in afghanistan, also known as the sovietafghan war or just the soviet invasion of afghanistan, was a nineyear conflict involving soviet forces supporting the marxist peoples democratic party of afghanistan pdpa government against the mujahideen resistance.
Strategy, military operations, and issues for congress congressional research service 1 overview unlike the war in iraq, which, many argue, has entered its endstate, the war in afghanistan where the security situation has deteriorated and no comprehensive political outcome is. Reassessing soviet motives for invading afghanistan. But a newly published cable underscores moscows fear that afghanistan would switch loyalties to the west. The taliban, which rose from the ashes of afghanistan s post soviet civil war, provides alqaeda sanctuary for operations. Lessons from afghanistans history for the current transition and. The afghanistan war and the breakdown of the soviet union. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops. Yet the war affected the two states very differently, and the aim of this chapter is briefly to identify some of the more important of these effects, together with two particularly important lessons of the war. Understanding war in afghanistan is an excellent book for journeyman students of afghanistan.
Afghanistan was a repetition of history, this time accompanied by an army approaching 120,000 men and weapons that could destroy an. The sovietafghan war began in 1979 and ended in 1989. Report on events in afghanistan on 2728 december 1979. On december 12, 1979, the soviet politburo met and voted to intervene in the struggle for power in afghanistan. Yet in soviet doctrine development this experience clearly gave way to an emphasis on the great conventional campaigns of the red army against the germans. President trump claimed the soviet union went to war in 1979 to battle terrorists. The war in afghanistan had a major impact on domestic politics in the soviet union. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. Existing explanations attribute the breakdown of the soviet union to the reformist leadership of gorbachev, andor. 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. In late december 1979, soviet airborne forces and ground troops invaded afghanistan. A lowflying afghan helicopter gunship in snowcapped valley along salang highway provides cover for a soviet convoy sending food and fuel to. Civil society reacted to the intervention by marginalizing the afghan veterans.
On december 25, 1979, soviet troops entered afghanistan, beginning what would be called the soviet vietnam, a 10year war with no clear victor. It was one of the key factors in the delegitimization of communist party rule. 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. Soviets take over in afghanistan in an attempt to stabilize the turbulent political situation in afghanistan, the soviet union sends 75,000 troops to enforce the installation of babrak karmal as. Soviet war in afghanistan simple english wikipedia, the. Afghanistan expert amin saikal concludes in modern afghanistan. We argue that the war in afghanistan was a key factor, though not the. Soviet union enjoyed friendly relations with the afghan monarchy despite its growing.
The afghanistan war and the breakdown of the soviet union rafael reuveny and aseem prakash1 abstract. 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. The united states supported the afghanistan rebels in order to try and overthrow the communist government and to prevent the spread of communism. In 1979, the soviet union decided to try its luck in afghanistan, long a target of russian foreign policy.
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. Nur mohammad taraki was elected president of the revolutionary council, prime minister of the country, and secretarygeneral of the combined pdpa. Afghanistan had, therefore, good relations with both cold war enemies. Historiography sovietafghan war flashcards quizlet. The entry of soviet forces in afghanistan in december 1979 prompted its cold war rivals, the united states, pakistan, saudi arabia and china to support rebels fighting against the sovietbacked democratic republic of afghanistan. See more ideas about afghanistan, afghanistan war and war. The period after the soviet withdrawal shows the potential and limitations of. A chronology of key events in the history of afghanistan, from the mid1800s to the present day. On december 24, 1979, the soviet union invades afghanistan, under the pretext of upholding the sovietafghan friendship treaty of 1978. On a per capita basis, afghanistan received more soviet development aid than any other country.
To help bring a quick victory, the resulting escalation of troops to pacify the region leads to the bloodiest year of the war. The democratic republic of afghanistan was the government of afghanistan between 1978 and 1992 recognised by 8 countries. Corps and army field manual fm 324, counterinsurgency. Afghanistan had been in a state of almost constant war for 20 years even before the us invaded. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden, from the soviet invas ion. It was both ideologically close to and economically dependent on the soviet union, and was a major belligerent of the afghan civil war. 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. In afghanistan, the war produced a multilayered destructuring of politics, economy, and society, in ways which remain massively. The thawing of the cold war continued under the new u. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, invasion of afghanistan in late december 1979 by troops from the soviet union. Politbiuro report on afghanistan seventeen moments in. The soviet war in afghanistan in pictures, 19791989. The soviet war in afghanistan was a war initially fought between the forces of the afghanistan government and afghan assistance fighters, supporter from abroad.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading ghost wars. The soviet army, counterinsurgency, and the afghan war. Afghanistan afghanistan civil war, communist phase 197892. The breakdown of the soviet union surprised most scholars of international relations, comparative politics, and soviet politics. Gorbachev had announced his plans to withdraw from afghanistan and he pulled back soviet aid to its allies in the developing world. It also brought an abrupt end to the era of detente between the united states and the soviet union that began during the nixon years. In 1979, a year after a coup, the soviet army invaded afghanistan to support its communist. The written recorded history of the land presently constituting afghanistan can be traced back to around 500 bce when the area was under the achaemenid. A sovietoccupied afghanistan threatens both iran and pakistan and is a steppingstone to possible control over much of the worlds oil supplies. If the soviets are encouraged in this invasion by eventual success, and if they. The soviet war in afghanistan was a nineyear period involving the soviet forces and the mujahideen insurgents that were fighting to overthrow afghanistans marxist peoples democratic party of afghanistan pdpa government.
The documents presented below provide an insight into some of the most important aspects of the soviet decision making on the afghan war from the. The kite runner warsaw pact world 7 soviet army afghanistan war military history military gear red army cold war. New soviet leader mikhail gorbachev publicly states that he wants to end the war in afghanistan. Sometimes referred to as the soviet s version of the vietnam war, the soviet war in afghanistan ended up being a losing battle for the soviet union, and in many ways, accelerated the dissolution of communism in the east. The soviet union supported the government while the rebels found support from a variety of sources including the. The afghanistan conflict is a series of wars that has been fought in afghanistan since 1978. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan. Understanding war in afghanistan ndu press national defense. The entry of the soviet union into the country caused an.
The army was demoralized as a result of being perceived as an invader. In the interwar period, afghanistan again was a balancing point between two. The seemingly endless civil war in afghanistan resulted in thousands of soviet dead and untold monetary costs. The war in afghanistan is the longest war in us history. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned. This article is a compilation of lessons learned from the russian afghan war 1979. Some of the most important documents on the soviet war in afghanistan were published in the english translation in the cold war international history project bulletin, no. Not only does it give them a summary of afghanistans 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. Sovietafghanistan war timeline history of war in the. The documents presented here shed light on the most important moments in the history of the soviet war in afghanistan the afghan government s requests for assistance, the soviet union s initial refusal of troops, the reversal of this policy by a small group of the politburo and the soviet decision to invade. Many historians believe that in the end, the soviet war in afghanistan was key in destroying one of the cold war worlds two superpowers. The sovietafghan 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.
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