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

Page 312 The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War
it was already cut up by irrigation ditches, so there was always a
place to fight from. We did not leave the bunkers since we were pinned
by all the aviation ordnance. Usually, the Soviets would deploy tanks
along the edge of the green zone and, after the heavy artillery
bombardment and tank fires, they would send infantry (usually
DRA) into the green zone with instructions to collect our weapons
since everyone in the impact area would be dead. The infantry would
move out confidently and the Mujahideen would come out of their
bunkers. The Mujahideen would inflict heavy losses on the infantry
and capture many of these ill-trained DRA recruits. We sent the prisoners
north through the mountains and then, by circuitous routes,
south into Pakistan. We had built a veritable fortress around the base
at Chaharqulba. Some Mujahideen would defend the bases, while
others would range further afield to provide maneuver and depth to
the battlefield. It was very hard to move tanks into the green zone.
The Soviets would try to push tanks into the area to get close to the
Mujahideen, but the terrain channelized their movement and made
them vulnerable.
The Soviets and DRA moved from two directions against the
Mujahideen but were met with constant resistance from Mujahideen
fighting positions. Soviet tanks came from the Zhare Dashta and
stayed on the plain west of the green zone as they crept toward our
base at Chaharqulba. It took them a week of fighting to cover the six
kilometers to our base. All of their tanks were sandbagged against
our RPGs, so we were having difficulty stopping them. Finally, we
Mujahideen commanders went to Naqib and said that we are outnumbered
and should leave the base. Naqib said that this is their
last battle and will decide the contest between them and us. They've
tried to conquer the base for years and this is their last throw. If we
leave, we will never get in again. If we stop them, then they will not
return. We replied that the RPGs were not working against sandbagged
tanks. Naqib took an RPG and strode out to the forward
positions to kill a tank. We commanders stopped him and promised
to fight to the end.
Heavy fighting continued throughout that day, but we stopped the
enemy and they withdrew to Ta'bils—some kilometers to the south.
We pursued them to Ta'bils, engaging the enemy in the streets,
killing many of them. The Mujahideen then withdrew to
Chaharqulba before dawn. The following days, the enemy mounted a
three-pronged attack from Ta'bils in southwest, from Baba Valisaheb
in the southeast and from Jelawor in the northwest. They employed