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

Chapter 10, Vignette 2 Page 249
the high ground at Loy Baghal Ghar. The Somochak Mujahideen reinforced
their positions near the village. The Zarshakh and Ghaza
Mujahideen moved to cut the LOC of the Soviet force east of the
Torghonday hills. We had encircled the Soviet force in the northeast
sector with about 100 Mujahideen.
The fighting went on against the DRA/Soviet forces throughout
Paghman. We kept the northern Soviet blocking force pinned down,
exchanging fire with the Soviet troops for two nights and three days.
We commanders met and decided to attack and eliminate the Soviet
force on the afternoon of the third day. We launched the attack from
the west while the eastern Mujahideen contained the enemy. Our
progress was slow, however, since we did not have enough support
weapons. We had Kalashnikovs, .303 Enfields; a few RPG-7s and some
60mm mortars with a small stock of ammunition. We needed heavy
machine guns, 82mm mortars and rockets. As we Mujahideen were
closing to the Soviet positions, some 14 Soviet helicopters, including
gunships, arrived over the battlefield and began gun runs against us.
We sustained heavy casualties and broke off the attack. The transport
helicopters landed and began lifting off the Soviet troops and flew
them away to Kabul. We had won the fight, but we suffered 23 KIA
and many others WIA in the three-day battle.
COMMENTARY: The Soviet/DRA force did an effective job initially
in disguising their objective and managing to move their northern
column while eluding Mujahideen surveillance. The northern column
effectively performed a surprise approach march and quietly occupied
necessary terrain. The northern column was organized to block
Mujahideen escape routes and so was lightly equipped. It was
battalion-sized or smaller. It seized and occupied its initial position,
but made no effort to expand that position so that it could achieve
its objective of completely blocking Mujahideen escape routes.
Further, once it disclosed its presence by firing on the litter party, it
made no attempt to seize the initiative, but remained passively in the
defense. Coordination between the northern column and the main
column was lacking since the main column seemed unable or uninterested
in aiding the northern column despite their close proximity.
The Mujahideen reaction was excellent. They quickly took up positions
on commanding high ground overlooking the Soviet positions and
sealed the area, trapping the Soviet force. However, the Mujahideen
lacked long-range heavy weapons, so they could not exploit the advantage
that their dominant terrain gave them. The Soviets were in range