The photographs that prevented world war iii while researching a book on the cuban missile crisis, the writer unearthed new spy images that could have changed history. It was the first time since the soviet invasion seven years earlier that a mujahedeen fighter had destroyed the most feared weapon in the soviet arsenal, a hind attack helicopter. Outside jalalabad, afghanistan, 25 years ago this week, an angry young man named abdul wahab quanat recited his prayers, walked onto a farm field near a soviet airfield, raised a stinger missile. Based primarily on an exhaustive analysis of russianlanguage soviet military journals, this book provides a unique, comprehensive analysis of soviet objectives. Encouraged by the missiles effectiveness, andrew eiva, whose federation for american afghan action was a leading stinger lobbyist last year, suggests that a britishmade 81mm mortar, with a range. The end of soviet military occupation, which began in 1979, has left the afghan army more vulnerable to these guerrilla forces, who are fighting the russianinstalled afghan government. The shoulderfired, heatseeking stinger was the stateoftheart man portable air defense system manpads at the time, and it did shoot down a number of soviet aircraft in afghanistan. There were general agreements that future disputes like this had to be avoided, so the missile crisis actually helped improve ussoviet relations. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan and bin laden english. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. Afghan communists the dra were involved in the immediate struggle and a large number of countries supplied the. The islamists were already armed with strela2m missiles which were destroying soviet aircraft from 1980 and on. In gripping detail, he vividly depicts the invasion of a volatile country that no power has ever successfully conquered.
The following is a list of soviet military equipment of world war ii which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. The single best source of information and analysis on the conduct of military operations during the sovietafghan war is the authors own stumbling bear. The willingness of the soviet bloc to supply arms to afghanistan during the past year has given the afghans their first chance to modernize their armed forces since world war ii. World war ii was the deadliest war in history which started in 1939 and ended in 1945. Near herat, afghanistan afghan rebels snipe at sovietheld positions near herat january 11. This is going to be reusing content from my answer to answer to how many men would it have taken for the soviets to win in afghanistan. In addition, the us sold more than 5,000 missiles to saudi arabia. List of soviet aircraft losses during the sovietafghan war. To turn the tide, the us introduced stinger antiaircraft missiles to erode soviet control of the air. For most of 1980 everything was relatively quiet, but then the islamists turned against the soviet troops, then you began supplying them with weapons and political support, so everything. Soon, however, soviet technical and tactical countermeasures largely. En 1986, les moudjahidines commencent a recevoir des missiles solair fim92 stinger, ce qui fait perdre aux russes le controle.
The ussr manufactures 75per cent of the worlds operational surfacetoair missiles, and supplies up to 85per cent of the sams in third world inventories. By the mid1980s, the soviet war in afghanistan had reached something of a stalemate. Soviet union at3 sagger antitank guided missile army. Pakistani territory is used as the base for the afghan guerrillas war against the sovietbacked regime in kabul, and pakistan is the principal conduit of weapons from the c. There are a total of sovietafghan war tanks, vehicles, and artillery 1979 1989 in the military factory. The descriptions of the afghans carrying in the stinger missiles on the backs of pack mules. The world war ii was a phenomenal episode in the sense that two ideologically antipode states, the united states and the. Michael dobbs michael dobbs, author, cold war books. Synopsis provides a detailed analysis of soviet sams.
The ussr entered neighboring afghanistan in 1979, attempting to shore. The stinger missile that made afghanistans history wsj. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan and bin. Operation cyclone a cold war adventure with rick fontain book 2 by. Between july 1945 and november 1962 the united states is known to have conducted 216 atmospheric and underwater nuclear tests. The sovie t afghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guer rilla war agai nst the soviet army and the democratic re public of af ghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mo stly in t he afghan countryside. The rebel raiding party, travelling by motorcycle and horseback, crossed from iran into afghanistans doab valley in a threeday raid. The following is a partial and unofficial list of helicopter and airplane crashes that occurred during the sovietafghan war of 197989. In december 1979, only a few weeks after the us embassy in tehran was overrun, soviet troops intervened in afghanistan. Stanislav petrov, soviet officer who helped avert nuclear. Documents from foreign ministries, and notes and memoranda from british, french, italian and american leaders, ministers, diplomats and military commanders, prove that quite a number of countries were involved in instigating world war ii. Awarded to soviet troops who participated in the ill fated soviet invasion of afghanistan in 1980. If massoud would participate in the stinger roundup, he could earn cash by. Bearden and journalist james risen wrote in their 2004 book, the main enemy.
Repeated so often, the stinger myth has entered political folklore. The russian general staff translated and edited by lester w. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan. This is a junkyard full of soviet tanks left over from the ussrs disastrous war in afghanistan in the 1980s. An afghan mujahideen aims a fim92 stinger missile at. This book examines the design, deployment and combat use of soviet surfacetoair. A mujahedeen fighter fighter aims a stinger missile at a passing airplane in 1988.
All members in good standing are free to post here. Soviet accounting and the fact that the ussr was a command economy makes a straightforward comparison difficult, however. A guerrilla soldier aims a stinger missile at passing aircraft near a remote rebel base in the safed koh mountains february 10, 1988 in afghanistan. A muslim woman officer in the soviet army during the sovietafghan war. After the limited test ban treaty between the united states and the soviet union in 1963, nuclear testing went underground. A threat for south asian peace azhar javed siddiqui. During the last years of the cold war, the soviet union sent some of its most elite troops to unfamiliar lands in central asia to fight a vaguely defined. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by the miniatures page. Coll is the author of four books, including on the grand trunk road and the taking of getty oil. A 44yearold lieutenant colonel in the soviet air defense forces, he was a few hours into his shift as the duty officer at serpukhov15, the secret. In a terrorists hands, a heatseeking stinger could bring down a lowflying. A soviet soldier smokes a cigarette at a checkpoint of the soviet military airport in kabul on february 10, 1989 as the other one forbids pictures. It uses an mclos manual command to line of sight guidance system. The afghan war lasted until 1989, cost one million lives out of a total population of million and produced five million afghan refugees.
The fim92 stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surfacetoair missile developed in the united states and entered into service in 1981. Malyutka at3 sagger antitank guided missile military. The event panicked the soviet ranks, changed the course of the war. In total, at least 333 helicopters and 118 jets crashed during the war. February 2011 number of civilians killed since the 2001 invasion hit record levels in 2010, afghanistan rights monitor reports. The first soviet troops entered afghanistan on december 25, 1979. The at2 swatter antitank guided missile, which was introduced by the soviet union in 1960, is one of the earliest of the first generation antitank missiles. Fim92 stinger missile target shooting livefire duration. In the great gamble, gregory feifer examines the conflict from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground. Kuperman like much cold war history, the landmark 1986 decision by the united states to arm the afghan mujahedin1 with stinger antiaircraft missilespurportedly the first time americanmade weapons were supplied to kill soviet troopshas been distorted by opposing political. Missiles flow into syria, risk falling into hands of al.
The missiles would be installed in cuba and would neutralize u. Lester grau and michael gresss expert english translation of the general staffs study offers the very. The sovietafghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups as well as smaller maoist. In contrast to this wellexecuted military operation extending soviet power toward the indian ocean, the united states seemed to be beset with. The 9k111 fagot missile system was developed by the tula kbp design bureau for instrument building. One of terrorisms most feared weapons, the shoulderfired antiaircraft missile, has begun to flow into warravaged syria in numbers that alarm the west because they may fall into the hands of. Day in 1979 the soviet union decided to try their hand at genocide in afghanistan. According to soviet figures, in 19871988, only 35 aircraft and 63 helicopters were destroyed by all causes. Iranians captured stinger missiles from afghan guerrillas. Stanislav petrov, the soviet officer whose calm under pressure saved the world from an atomic war, has been confirmed dead at 77. The marxist leader of the country, hafizullah amin. Soviet medal for the afghan war to a warriorinternationalist.
Fim92 stinger in the soviet war in afghanistan duration. The authors research leads to some surprising conclusions. The missile forced soviet generals to change air assault tactics. The photographs that prevented world war iii history. Stinger missile in september 1986 was a turning point in the war is disputed. How the cia send stinger missiles in afghanistan to fight soviets. The sovietafghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the soviet army and the democratic republic of afghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mostly in the afghan countryside. Book 2 of 3 in the a rick fontain cold war novel series. The sovietafghan war involved more than the soviets and mujahideen resistance. What was the hit ratio of stinger missiles during the.
Selig harrison rejects such figures, quoting a russian general who claims the united states greatly exaggerated soviet and afghan aircraft losses during the war. The image of afghan resistance fighters shouldering stinger missiles and shooting down soviet aircraft became an icon of the latter years of the cold war era. List of soviet union military equipment of world war ii. The soviet war in afghanistan was a grueling debacle that has striking lessons for the twentyfirst century. The neardecadelong war saw the soviet military fail to put down the mujahideen insurgency leading to a global military embarrassment for the occupiers. How accurate and successful were stinger missles during. Forces, delta force, and the afghan mujahideen fighting the invading soviet goliath. Books on nuclear weapons, missiles and the cold war.
Although age and the enduring reputation of the american tow, not to mention todays newer and more capable atgms, have diminished its status considerably, it remains a stubborn secondgeneration system with a halfcentury. Sovietafghan war tanks, vehicles, and artillery 1979 1989. Michael dobbs is a cold war historian and author of six months in 1945 and one minute to midnight. How the cia send stinger missiles in afghanistan to fight. Fim92 stinger in the soviet war in afghanistan youtube.
The operator guides the missile to its target using a joystick control. T he soviet invasion of afghanistan in december 1979 appeared to many at that time as a sign of mounting soviet strength, perhaps even as a milestone in a shift in the relative balance of power between the united states and the ussr. Fim 92 stinger missile game changer weapon of soviet. The stinger missile and us intervention in afghanistan jstor.
Soviet and afghanistan government forces, utilizing their dominance of the skies, for six years have inflicted terrible punishment on the afghan mujahedin rebels and their civilian supporters. Their primary task was to support the afghan military in its fight against the islamists. The stinger was first fired in 1986, and no more soviet aircraft were shot down in 1986 an. The at3 sagger antitank guided missile was used by the north vietnamese army during the vietnam war, by the egyptian army during the 1973 yom kippur war, and the iraqi army during the iraniraq war of the 1980s and the persian gulf war of 19901991. President karzai makes first official state visit to russia by an afghan leader since the end of the soviet invasion in 1989.
Two soviet army soldiers emerge from an afghan shop in downtown kabul on april 24, 1988. A few months after the exchange of spies in germany, the soviet premier nikita khrushchev proposed the idea of u. The taliban so far seem to have refrained from selling their missiles in. During the cold war the soviet 9k11 malyutka russian. A supersonic missile, it would reach speeds of 770 ms about 1700 mph.
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