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

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

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Page 54 The O<strong>the</strong>r Side of <strong>the</strong> Mounta<strong>in</strong>: <strong>Mujahideen</strong> <strong>Tactics</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Soviet</strong>-<strong>Afghan</strong> <strong>War</strong><br />

The convoy was hemmed <strong>in</strong> by <strong>the</strong> village of Morad Beg, so <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Soviet</strong>s had difficulty maneuver<strong>in</strong>g armored vehicles forward to<br />

fire <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> ambush site. S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> object of <strong>the</strong> ambush was to<br />

destroy vehicles, it made sense to hit <strong>the</strong> head of <strong>the</strong> convoy. If <strong>the</strong><br />

object had been to capture weapons, <strong>the</strong>n an attack on <strong>the</strong> middle<br />

or end of <strong>the</strong> convoy would have been better. Available terra<strong>in</strong> kept<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>Mujahideen</strong> ambush compact—which is not what <strong>the</strong>y prefer.<br />

This is closer to a Western-style ambush. After <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>itial fir<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

<strong>the</strong> ambush turned <strong>in</strong>to a desultory, protracted snip<strong>in</strong>g exercise<br />

which was more like an afternoon's recreation for <strong>the</strong> ambushers<br />

than decisive combat.

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