Overview
 Understand the involvement and the political/military impact of
the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979
 Define how the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan influenced the
development and employment of military aviation
Note: Additional Source: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/russia_invasion_afghanistan.htm
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
 In 1979 Afghanistan was on the eve of a civil
war.
 The prime minister, Hazifullah Amin,
wanted to “modernize” Afghanistan. This
outraged the majority of those in
Afghanistan as a strong traditional Muslim
belief was common in the country.
 Fearing Amin was growing too brutal,
Afghan President Nur Mohammad Taraki
flies to Moscow to convince them to pull
support from Amin….however
 Thousands of Muslim leaders were arrested
while many fled the capital to the
mountains to escape Amin's police.
Taraki
Amin
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
 Thousands of Afghanistan Muslims
joined the Mujahdeen - a guerilla force on
a holy mission for Allah.
 The Mujahdeen declared a jihad - a holy
war - on the supporters of Amin.
 In December of 1979, the Soviet Union,
claiming they had been invited by the
Amin government to help stabilize the
nation, invaded Afghanistan.
 The Soviets claimed that their task was to
support the legitimate Amin government
and that the Mujahdeen were no more
than terrorists.
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
 On December 27th, 1979, Amin was shot
by the Russians and he was replaced by
Babrak Kamal. His position as head of the
Afghan government depended entirely on
the fact that he needed Russian military
support to keep him in power.
 Many Afghan soldiers deserted to the
Mujahdeen and the Kamal government
needed 85,000 Russian soldiers to keep
him in power.
 The Mujahdeen shifted their jihad to
both the Kamal government and their
Soviet backers
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
 Soon after their entry into Afghanistan,
the Soviets imposed military and social
reforms that fractured the indigenous
population.
 The Soviets implemented economic
measures that worsened conditions for
the poor, and tried to curb ethnic
uprisings by mass arrests, torture,
executions of dissidents and aerial
bombardments.
 According to Amnesty International,
some 1 million Afghans died during this
period, with more than 8,000 people were
executed after being put on trial between
1980 and 1988
Note: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/asia/afghanistan/soviet.html
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
 Fearing the spread of Soviet Marxist
ideology in Afghanistan and a southward
Soviet movement toward the oil-rich
Persian Gulf, the United States decided to
aid the Mujahedeen.
 US Congressman Charlie Wilson lead the
push for US military aid. He used his
position in Congress to bully a reluctant
CIA to accept and spend hundreds of
millions of dollars to fuel the anti-Soviet
jihad. The Saudi government was
matching what he raised from Congress
almost dollar for dollar
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
 Soviet’s now faced significant problems in
Afghanistan:
 High-tech equipment covertly supplied
from the U.S.
 Difficult Terrain that favored the
Mujahadeen
 Mujahadeen leaders were former
Afghanistan Army officers trained by the
Soviets
 The result was that the Soviet’s could not
mass their military power against the
guerillas, hence they withdrew to garrison
outposts, relying upon airpower to
conduct operations in the field
 114 aircraft and 338 helicopters are lost by
the Soviets during their occupation
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
 Mikhail Gorbachev took Russia out of the
Afghanistan fiasco when he realized what
many Russian leaders had been too
scared to admit in public - that Russia
could not win the war and the cost of
maintaining such a vast force in
Afghanistan was crippling Russia's
already weak economy.
 In May 1988 the Soviets begin
withdrawing from Afghanistan. By
February 15, 1989, the last Soviet troops
departed on schedule from Afghanistan
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
 Soviet Lesson Learned
 Support of local population in any military
occupation is absolutely critical to success,
even when it is in your backyard and a
section of your population share a similar
culture
 Terrain, terrain, terrain
 Need to know your enemy and train
accordingly
 Impact to the development and evolution
of military aviation
 With the introduction of portable surface
to air missiles, in this case the Stinger
Missile, any individual with very little
training can shoot-down an aircraft
 Another entry in the debate if aircraft can
hold territory without the introduction of
land forces
Sound
Familiar?