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Part of the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Date 28 November 1987 - January 1988
Location Paktia Province, Afghanistan
Result Indecisive Soviet/DRA victory
Belligerents
Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union,
Flag of Afghanistan Democratic Republic of Afghanistan		 Mujahideen
Commanders
Boris Gromov Jalaluddin Haqqani
Strength
DRA: 8,000,
USSR: 20,000 Troops		 9,000 - 20,000
Casualties and losses
USSR: 24 Killed, 56 Wounded [1] 150 - 300 Killed[2]

Operation Magistral was a Soviet Army military operation during the Soviet war in Afghanistan that began in late November 1987 and ended in early January 1988. The Soviet war in Afghanistan, also known as the Soviet-Afghan War or just the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, was a nine-year conflict involving Paktia ( پکتيا) is one of the thirty-four Provinces of Afghanistan, in the east of the country Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a Soviet -backed government in Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992. A Mujahid (Arabic ar مجاهد, literally "struggler" is a Muslim involved in a Jihad, id est fighting in a war or Boris Vsevolodovich Gromov (Бори́с Все́володович Гро́мов (born November 7, 1943 in Saratov, Russia) prominent military Jalaluddin Haqqani ( Pashto: (January 12th 1950-October 9th 2008 was a Pashtun military leader known for his involvement in fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a Soviet -backed government in Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Soviet war in Afghanistan, also known as the Soviet-Afghan War or just the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, was a nine-year conflict involving Events in November All Saints' Day (formerly All Hallows Day a Christian holy day is celebrated on November 1, the day after Halloween

Contents

The early operation

The operation was launched to open the road from Gardez to Khost that had been blocked by Mujahideen forces and a local tribe for several months, in order to deliver supplies to the population and Afghan government troops in the besieged city on the Pakistan border. Gardēz is the capital of the Paktiā province of Afghanistan. Khost or Khowst ( خوست, Persian: خوست - Xowst) is a town in eastern Afghanistan. A Mujahid (Arabic ar مجاهد, literally "struggler" is a Muslim involved in a Jihad, id est fighting in a war or The Siege of Khost: during the nine-year Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s the town of Khost was besieged for more than eleven years The Federally Administered Tribal Areas ( FATA) in Pakistan are areas outside the four provinces bordering Afghanistan, comprising a region

The offensive was carried out by the 108th and 201st motorized divisions of the Soviet 40th Army, the 103rd Guards Airborne division, the 345th airborne regiment and the 56th airborne brigade, and several Spetsnaz units. The Russian Airborne Troops or VDV (from "Vozdushno-Desantnye Vojska" Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска = ВДВ Russian special purpose regiments or Spetsnaz, Specnaz (Войска спец иального наз начения ( спецназ The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan provided troops from its 8th, 11th, 12th, 14th and 25th infantry divisions and from the 15th tank brigade. The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a Soviet -backed government in Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992.

The ground offensive began after weeks of failed negotiations with the Jadran tribe and Mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, who had numerous bases in the region and hoped that Khost would eventually fall into their hands which would allow them to proclaim the first territorial stronghold in Afghanistan independent of the pro-Kremlin regime in Kabul. Jalaluddin Haqqani ( Pashto: (January 12th 1950-October 9th 2008 was a Pashtun military leader known for his involvement in fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan View01jpg|thumb|right|250px|Remains of the Kolomna Kremlin]] Kremlin (Кремль Kreml) is the Russian word for "fortress" "citadel" or "castle" } Kābul ( Persian and Pashto: کابل, IPA:) is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with

Special units of the 40th Army conducted a massive propaganda campaign using radio broadcasts and distributing thousands of leaflets, calling on the Jadran tribe to retreat and the local population to leave the area.

Capture of the Satukandav pass

The Satukandav pass, 30 km east of Gardez, was the main passage between Kabul and Khost. Here the Mujahideen placed their main blocking position, concentrating their forces and digging in anti-aircraft guns and other heavy weapons. To defend the approaches of the Satukandav, the Mujahideen deployed ten BM-12 multiple rocket launchers, placed ZGU-1[3] anti-aircraft guns on every height. They had a plentiful supply of DShK machine guns, 75 and 82 mm recoilless rifles and RPG-7 anti-tank rocket launchers. The DShK 1938 ( ДШК, for Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, 'Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Calibre' A recoilless gun or recoilless rifle (RCL is a lightweight form of Weapon that allows the firing of a heavier projectile than would be practical with a recoiling The RPG-7 (РПГ-7 is a widely-produced portable shoulder-launched, Anti-tank Rocket propelled grenade weapon They also mined the opening of the pass to a depth of three kilometers, boasting that this position was impregnable[4]. A land mine is an Explosive device designed to be placed on or in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or the Proximity of a vehicle person

Following the failure of the negotiations, an attack was launched on November 28. In order to discover the enemy positions, Gromov ordered that dummy paratroopers be dropped near the pass. A dummy round is a round of Ammunition that is completely Inert, i When the Mujahideen opened fire, Soviet reconnaissance aircraft were able to pinpoint their positions and direct airstrikes against them. Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information This was followed by a four-hour artillery barrage. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine A barrage' is a line or barrier of exploding Artillery shells, created by the co-ordinated targeting of a large number of Guns firing continuously

The first ground attack was carried out on November 29 by a motorized rifle regiment. The attack quickly bogged down under heavy fire and Mujahideen counter-attacks, and the Soviet force withdrew after suffering severe casualties[5].

On Gromov's orders, a new attack was launched on December 1, this time with an airborne battalion, and a battalion of Afghan Army commandos. The Military of Afghanistan is composed of the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Air Corps (formerly the Afghan Air Force and scattered In Military science, the term commando can refer to an individual a Military unit, or a raiding style of military operation. These units succeeded in capturing the high ground above the pass. The Mujahideen, threatened with encirclement, beat a hasty retreat, abandoning most of their heavy weapons and equipment[6].

Relief of Khost

The Soviet forces then launched several airborne attacks, though they were limited in this by the Mujahideen use of Stinger missiles. The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable Infrared homing Surface-to-air missile developed in the United States and used by all the U In a night attack, an airborne brigade was flown by helicopter to capture Mirujan, at the southern end of the mountains on the Gardez-Khost road. Simultaneously, another brigade was airlifted into Khost and staged a breakout to rejoin the main force.

The Mujahideen, having lost control of the pass, realized that a conventional defense would only entail more losses for them, and they withdrew their main units from the path of the Soviet offensive. Beforehand, they laid mines on the road, and maintained a constant long-range fire with 107 mm rockets. Rocket artillery is a type of Artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars. They also sprang ambushes on Soviet units that ventured too far fom the main force. In one such ambush, 44 Soviet paratroopers were killed. [7]

Despite this, the Soviet armoured columns made a slow but regular progress, entering Khost on December 30. [7] Soviet and DRA outposts were maintained to keep the Gardez-Khost road open, but were withdrawn at the end of January.

Aftermath

Operation Magistral was a success for the Soviet army, but occurred too late in the war to have any lasting effect. When the main Soviet force had withdrawn, Mujahideen groups cut off Khost once again, as they had done since 1981.

In April 1988, by signing the Geneva Accords the Soviet Union became committed to withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan. The Geneva Accords, known formally as the agreements on the settlement of the situation relating to Afghanistan, were signed on 14 April 1988 between Afghanistan

Cultural depictions

Some of the events of the operation were used for the plot of the movie 9th Company. The Truth About 9th Company documentary computer game is dedicated to the Battle for Hill 3234 taken place during the operation Magistral. The Truth About 9th Company is the first Russian documentary Computer game which was officially launched on 18 February 2008. A personal computer Game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a Video game played on a Personal computer, rather Battle for Hill 3234 was a defensive battle fought by the Soviet paratroopers in Afghanistan in 1988 against the much larger Afghan rebel force

References

  1. ^ Марковский, Виктор (2000). Жаркое небо Афганистана. Техника - Молодежи. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher.
  2. ^ Westermann, Edward B. (01-06-1997). The limits of Soviet Airpower: The Bear Versus the Mujahideen. Thesis. Defense Technical Information Center. The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC is a repository of scientific and technical documents for the United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.
  3. ^ ZGU-1 is the "mountain" version of the ZPU-1. Mountain guns are Artillery pieces designed for use during Mountain combat. The ZPU-4 is a towed quadruple barreled Anti-aircraft gun based on the Soviet KPV 14
  4. ^ Grau, p. 60
  5. ^ Grau p. 63
  6. ^ Grau p. 64.
  7. ^ a b Isby, p. 47

Further reading

External links

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