The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen ... - Tribal Analysis Center

CHAPTER 6
BLOCKING ENEMY LINES OF COMMUNICATIONS
The war was a contest by both sides to control the other's logistics.
The Soviets used aerial bombing, scatterable mines, crop burnings and
assaults on rural villages to drive the rural population into exile or into
the cities. Their objective was to deprive the guerrilla of his source of
food, shelter and rest.
The Soviet lines of communication (LOC) was a double-lane highway
network which wound through the Hindu Kush Mountains—some of the
most inhospitable terrain on earth. Mujahideen constantly cut the road
and ambushed convoys carrying material from the Soviet Union. The
Soviet presence depended on its ability to keep the roads open. Much of
the Soviet combat in Afghanistan was a fight for control of the road network.
Soviet security of the Eastern LOC required 26 battalions manning
199 outposts, patrolling the LOCs or escorting convoys. The moreopen
Western LOC required three battalions. More than three-fourths of
Afghanistan
Chapter 6
Incidents