Afghan guerrilla warfare : in the words of the Mujahideen fighters / Ali Ahmad Jalali, Lester W. Grau ; introduction by John E. Rhodes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jalali, Ali Ahmad.

Contributor:

Grau, Lester W.

John Penman Wood Library Fund.

Standardized Title:

Other side of the mountain

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Guerrilla warfare.

History.

Afghanistan--History--Soviet occupation, 1979-1989.

Afghanistan.

Guerrilla warfare--Afghanistan--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

xxii, 419 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm

Other Title:

Afghan guerilla warfare

Place of Publication:

St. Paul, MN : MBI Pub. Co., 2001.

Summary:

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, few experts believed the fledgling Mujahideen resistance movement had a chance of withstanding the modern, mechanized onslaught of the Soviet Army. But somehow, the Mujahideen prevailed against a larger and decisively better-equipped foe. No one predicted the Soviet Union would withdraw in defeat in 1989.

How did the Mujahideen do it? Afghan Guerrilla Warfare: In the Words of the Mujahideen Fighters explores this question and more. With more than 100 firsthand reports from Mujahideen combat veterans and maps illustrating locations and disposition of forces, this book is a tactical look at a decentralized army of foot-mobile guerrillas as they wage war against a superior force.

Author Ali Ahmad Jalali is a former Afghan Army Colonel schooled in military science in the United States and Britain. He joined the Mujahideen in 1980 and served as the top military planner on the directing staff of the Islamic Unity of Afghan Mujahideen. Lester W. Grau, a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army and graduate of the U.S. Army Russian Institute, is a leading source on Russian and Soviet tactics and operations, and author of a book on Soviet tactics in Afghanistan. These experts provide unique insight to each battle in after-action commentary, examining the tactical strengths and weaknesses of each force.

Experience Mujahideen ambushes, raids, shelling attacks, fights against heliborne insertions, attacks on Soviet strong points, and urban combat in this rare look at the Soviet-Afghan conflict. If you think superior numbers and firepower means overwhelming your enemy, think again.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Ambushes 3

Vignette 1 Ambushes at the Mamur Hotel 5

Vignette 2 Yet Another Ambush at the Mamur Hotel 9

Vignette 3 Ambush South of the Tangi Waghjan Gorge 13

Vignette 4 Ambush at Kanday 17

Vignette 5 Ambush on the Jalalabad-Asadabad Road 21

Vignette 6 No-Pula Ambush 23

Vignette 7 Two Convoys in the Kill Zone 27

Vignette 8 Ambush Near Abdullah-e Burj 31

Vignette 9 Deh-Khwaja Ambush 35

Vignette 10 Duranay Ambush 39

Vignette 11 Kandahar Ambushes 43

Vignette 12 Ambush at Qala-e Haidar 49

Vignette 13 Ambush at the Sadre Azam Hill 53

Vignette 14 Ambush at Mazar Creek 55

Vignette 15 Ambush at Qafus Tangay 59

Vignette 16 Sisay Ambush 63

Chapter 2 Raids 69

Vignette 1 Raid on the Totumdara Security Post 71

Vignette 2 Chamtala Raid 73

Vignette 3 Raid on Bagrami District Headquarters 76

Vignette 4 Attack on the Tsawkey Security Outposts 77

Vignette 5 Raid on Pul-e Charkhi Radio Transmitter Station 81

Vignette 6 Raid from Cheltan on Outposts in the Kabul Suburbs 87

Vignette 7 Raid on Mahipar Outposts 89

Vignette 8 Raid on Lataband Security Outposts 93

Vignette 9 Raid on Outposts at Wreshmin Gorge 97

Vignette 10 Raid on the Bridge Post in Alingar 101

Chapter 3 Shelling Attacks 105

Vignette 1 A Shelling Attack Turns Bad 107

Vignette 2 A New Years Present for the Soviets 113

Chapter 4 Attacking a Strong Point 117

Vignette 1 Taking Alingar District Capital 119

Vignette 2 The Battle for Panjwayee 123

Vignette 3 Attack on the Bodyalay Garrison 127

Vignette 4 Attack on Sorubay 129

Vignette 5 Storming Gula'i 132

Vignette 6 Destruction of the Bagh-e Mumtaz Brigade 135

Chapter 5 Mine Warfare 139

Vignette 1 Mujahideen Demolition Methods 141

Vignette 2 Mining attacks near Mehtar Lam 143

Chapter 6 Blocking Enemy Lines of Communication 147

Vignette 1 Carving up Regiments on the Approach to Wazi 149

Vignette 2 Blocking the Paghman Highway 153

Vignette 3 Road Block at Estalef 157

Vignette 4 Defense of a River Line and Road Block at Sayad 161

Vignette 5 The Defense Against the Soviet Operation "Magistral" 165

Vignette 6 Operation Gashey (Arrow in Pushto) 175

Vignette 6a The Battle for the Khairokhel Post 189

Vignette 6b The Battle for Spina Thana Base 193

Chapter 7 Siege Warfare 197

Vignette 1 Failed Siege at Urgun 199

Vignette 2 Dehrawud Offensive 205

Chapter 8 Defending Against Raids 211

Vignette 1 Soviet Raid on Mujahideen Hideout at Sayghani 213

Vignette 2 Battle for Alishang District Center 217

Vignette 3 Vision in the Bar Kot Valley 219

Vignette 4 Surprised by the Soviets in the Dara-e Nur 223

Chapter 9 Fighting Heliborne Insertions 227

Vignette 1 Soviet Heliborne Raid Achieves Surprise 229

Vignette 2 Soviet raid on Kanda 233

Vignette 3 Air Assault on Maro Stronghold 237

Chapter 10 Defending Against a Cordon and Search 241

Vignette 1 Battle of Baraki Barak 243

Vignette 2 Defending Against An Offensive in Paghman 247

Vignette 3 Battle for Kama 251

Vignette 4 Defending against a Cordon and Search Operation in Parwan 257

Vignette 5 Last Stand on the Islands Opposite Gerdi Kats 263

Chapter 11 Defending Base Camps 267

Vignette 1 Soviet Offensive through Surkh Rud 269

Vignette 2 Defending Surkhab Base Camp 273

Vignette 3 Fall of Surkhab Base Camp 277

Vignette 4 Loss of the Tor Ghar Base Camp 281

Vignette 5 Battles for Sharafat Koh Mountain Fortress 285

Vignette 6 Qala-e Naw Base Camp Defense 297

Vignette 7 Defending the Suburbs of Kandahar 301

Vignette 8 Defending the Malajat 305

Vignette 9 Battle for Chaharqulba Village 311

Vignette 10 Zhawar One 317

Vignette 11 Zhawar Two 323

Vignette 12 Krer One 327

Vignette 13 Krer Two 331

Vignette 14 The Fall of Chaghni Base Camp 335

Chapter 12 Counterambushes 341

Vignette 1 Caught in a Soviet Ambush 343

Vignette 2 Ambushed at Farza 347

Vignette 3 Blasting out of an Ambush 349

Vignette 4 Caught in a DRA Ambush 350

Vignette 5 Ambushed on the High Plain 351

Chapter 13 Fighting in an Encirclement 355

Vignette 1 A trip to the "Governor's House" goes bad 356

Vignette 2 The Battle for Musa Qaleh 359

Vignette 3 Escape from the Arghanday Encirclement 363

Chapter 14 Urban Combat 365

Vignette 1 Kidnaping a Soviet Adviser 366

Vignette 2 Four Urban Bomb Attacks 368

Vignette 3 Incident at Qala-e Jabar 371

Vignette 4 Afshar Ambush 373

Vignette 5 Remote-control Attack on a Convoy in the Suburbs 377

Vignette 6 Attack on the Ministry of Defense 379

Vignette 7 Alcohol Can Be Deadly 382

Vignette 8 Raid on Balahessar Fortress 383

Vignette 9 Raid on the Kabul Metropolitan Bus Transportation Authority 385

Vignette 10 Weapons raid in Charikar 387

Vignette 11 Night raid on a city outpost 389

Vignette 12 Raid on Kandahar Communications Center 391

Vignette 13 Attack on KHAD Headquarters 393

Vignette 14 Raid on the 15th Division Garrison 396.

Notes:

Includes index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the John Penman Wood Library Fund.

ISBN:

0760313229

9780760313220

OCLC:

48770866