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

CHAPTER 11
DEFENDING BASE CAMPS
Although guerrilla forces would like to retain the initiative and
never have to defend, there are times when the guerrilla force must
defend. The guerrilla can conduct a mobile defense or a positional
defense. Guerrilla mobile defenses are usually rear-guard actions
designed to preserve the main force or draw the attacker into a
prepared ambush. Guerrilla positional defenses are normally associated
with the defense of a pass, bridge, populated area, base camp or
supply depot. The odds are stacked against the defending guerrilla.
The attacker has the initiative, armored vehicles, air power, the
preponderance of artillery and overwhelming firepower. The guerrilla
tries to match this through use of terrain and prepared defenses.
In the Soviet-Afghan war, the Mujahideen spent a great deal of
time and energy in the defense. Mujahideen defense was associated
with Mujahideen logistics. Early in the war, Mujahideen logistics
requirements were primarily concerned with ammunition resupply
and medical evacuation of the wounded. The rural population willingly
provided food and shelter to the Mujahideen, since the
Mujahideen were mostly local residents. The Soviets decided to attack
Mujahideen logistics by forcing the rural population off of their farms
into refugee camps in Pakistan and Iran or into the cities of
Afghanistan. They did this by bombing and attacking villages, scattering
mines across the countryside, destroying crops, killing livestock,
poisoning wells and destroying irrigation systems. The
Mujahideen, accustomed to living off the good will of the rural population,
were now forced to transport rations as well as ammunition
from Pakistan and Iran into Afghanistan. The Mujahideen created a
series of supply depots and forward supply points to provision their
forces. These depots and supply points had to be defended. The
Mujahideen also controlled key passes, which forced the Soviets and
DRA to either withdraw cut-off forces or resupply them by air. The
Mujahideen defended these key passes zealously.