Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War - Bennett Park Raiders

Page 88 The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War
COMMENTARY: Throughout the war, Soviet and DRA forces were reluctant
to respond aggressively to Mujahideen night attacks. Unless the
Soviet and DRA forces had planned and rehearsed a counter-attack
drill, they rarely left the relative safety of their prepared positions to
deal with Mujahideen night attacks. This encouraged the Mujahideen
to harass the enemy continuously at night and to attack the weakest
points of their defenses. Often, the Mujahideen boldly attacked areas
adjacent to large forces. These security posts were out of supporting
range of other posts, so the DRA refusal to react to the attack practically
handed the outpost to the Mujahideen.
However, the Mujahideen could not fully exploit their enemy's
reluctance to fight at night to achieve decisive tactical results. The
Mujahideen could not readily penetrate the heavily-mined zones
surrounding Soviet and DRA positions. As long as the Soviet/DRA
forces felt no serious threat from isolated Mujahideen night attacks,
they preferred to respond by artillery fire instead of risking stumbling
into an ambush. The Soviet and DRA response came in the form of
well-planned major cordon and search operations in those areas where
the Mujahideen had gained an upper hand.