It is believed that Soviet troops were introduced into the territory of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) at the request of the then government. Trying to insure against the appearance of hostile forces on its borders, the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee decided to meet its neighbors and in December 1979 to introduce a limited contingent of its troops into the republic. Initially, no one in the USSR counted on long years of opposition, but they had to fight for 10 whole years.
Mujahideen (rebels) fought with government troops and units of the Soviet Army - the so-called Afghans and other foreigners who joined the armed forces and received special training in the territory of neighboring Pakistan. Their sponsors were the United States, along with some Middle Eastern countries. With their help, Mujahideen armed, equipped, provided financial support. This operation was called the Cyclone.
Prologue
In December 1987, one of the parts of the DRA government forces was blocked in the border town of Pakistan, Host (Paktiya province). After the Soviet soldiers left these places, the local troops were unable to withstand the strong onslaught of the well-armed and trained Mujahideen gangs. As a result, they not only lost control of the Host-Gardez road, but were also blocked in the Host itself. The command of the 40th Army decided to help the encircled allies by delivering air weapons, ammunition and food. Subsequently, the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces decided to carry out the military operation "Magistral" to release the Host and the adjacent road.
It should be noted that this operation was carried out brilliantly. Even before the New Year, both the city and the highway were taken under the control of our troops, and on December 30, 1987, the first supply columns appeared on the road.
Component of the “Highway”
Fight at an altitude of 3234 (1988) was one of the components of the operation "Highway". The fact is that in this mountainous area this road was the only link connecting the region with large land, therefore it was intensely guarded.
Exposed roadblocks and other types of sentinel guards were constantly subjected to massive shelling and attacks by the Mujahideen. The battle for height 3234 described below became the most famous in Russia. First of all, thanks to the film "9 companies", shot by F. Bondarchuk.
Sample timeline of events
The battle at an altitude of 3234 took place a few kilometers southwest from the middle of the Khost - Gardez road. The 9th parachute company of the 345th regiment, consisting of 39 men, led by senior lieutenant Sergei Tkachev, was sent to defend it. As a reinforcement was a heavy machine gun with a crew led by Senior Sergeant V. Alexandrov.
In many ways, the battle for the height of 3234 was won thanks to the work carried out: for a short time, trenches, dugouts, communications were dug, sections of the enemy’s likely approach were mined, and a minefield was in the south.
The start of the battle. First attack
So, in the early morning of January 7, a defensive battle was launched at an altitude of 3234. Without any reconnaissance, which is called, abruptly, the rebels launched the first attack, during which they immediately tried to shoot down the guard established here and open their way to the road. However, they miscalculated. Strong engineering structures built by the paratroopers and the rendered resistance did not leave any chances for the transience of the battle. The Mujahideen realized that this nut was too strong for them.
New wave of offensive
At 15.30 the battle at altitude 3234 continued with shelling, which used grenade launchers, mortars, recoilless guns. It was noticed even a few dozen rocket explosions. Under the guise of shelling, the Mujahideen were able to undetected to approach the positions of the company at 200 meters and go on the attack from two sides at the same time. However, our fighters were able to fight back. Mujahideen had to retreat.
However, the respite was short-lived. Regrouping and receiving reinforcements, they continued the battle for a height of 3234 (photo below). It started already at 16.30 and was more difficult. Mujahideen began to use walkie-talkies to coordinate the attack. In some areas it came to hand-to-hand fights. The battle lasted about an hour. As a result, the attackers, having lost about a dozen and a half killed and about three dozen wounded, were forced to roll back, not getting close to our positions a centimeter.
From our side, the first losses also appeared. Both in armament and in personnel. In particular, the Utes heavy machine gun was completely disabled. The commander of the calculation of ml. Sergeant V. Alexandrov. During this attack, the Mujahideen concentrated the fire of all their grenade launchers on his positions - he very much interfered with the attackers. After the machine gun was completely defeated, the commander ordered the soldiers of the calculation to retreat inside the defense, and he remained in masonry, covering the defense site. At the end of the battle, the found body of Vyacheslav Alexandrov turned out to be wounded, but the soldier’s hands still held tight the machine gun from which he was fired. The defenders witnessed the death of the machine gunner. Subsequently, many of them said that what had had a tremendous psychological impact on them.
Second attack
Sensing a weakening of the fire, the Mujahideen continued in less than an hour the battle was at an altitude of 3234. The 9th company continued its defense. This time, a section defended by a platoon of Art. Lieutenant Sergey Rozhkov. They managed to replace the lost heavy machine gun with the connection of regimental artillery allocated to help the defending paratroopers. Fire adjuster Ivan Babenko was able to build her work so competently that the Mujahideen once again had to roll back from the positions of the defenders without a slap. During this attack, Anatoly Kuznetsov died.
Third attack
The long and stubborn resistance of our paratroopers drove the Dushmans into a rage. After a short break, at 19.10 local time, the battle for the height of 3234 (photo one of the episodes taken from the film by F. Bondarchuk) was continued by a massive machine-gun and grenade launcher fire. The new attack turned out to be psychological - the mujahideen went to full height, regardless of the losses. However, among the paratroopers, such a trick caused only smirks on tired faces. The third battle at altitude 3234 was repelled with heavy losses for the attackers.
Fifth attack
The last attack on that day, the fifth in a row, began shortly before midnight, at 23.10. She is considered the most fierce. Apparently, the attackers had certain changes in command, since this time the Mujahideen prepared more carefully. Having cleared the passages in the minefield, as well as using the explored dead spaces, they were able to get to the positions of our paratroopers by less than 50 meters. In some areas, opponents could even throw grenades. However, this still did not help them. The last rebel attack that day, like all the previous ones, was repelled with heavy losses for the attacking side.
Last attack
The last, twelfth attack began at 3 a.m. on January 8. According to the prevailing situation, she was the most critical. Not only did the enemy already begin to appear in certain areas of the territory occupied by the paratroopers, so our fighters almost ran out of ammunition. The officers had already decided to call the regimental artillery fire on themselves. However, this was not required.
The rescue
Salvation came just in time. Like in the movies. The reconnaissance platoon that came to the rescue of the paratroopers, led by senior lieutenant Alexei Smirnov, immediately went into battle and literally swept the Mujahideen bursting into our positions, and the attack, organized after this, together with the defending paratroopers, threw the enemy far away.
The arrived reinforcements, which also delivered ammunition so needed by the paratroopers, as well as the increased fire of the regimental artillery, decided the outcome of the whole battle. Realizing, finally, that taking the height and getting the way they needed would not work, the dushmans began to move away.
The end of the battle
From this moment, the battle at altitude 3234 could be considered completed. Feeling the change in the disposition of forces was not in their favor, the rebels, having gathered their dead and wounded, stopped their offensive actions.
According to some reports, support for the Mujahideen came even from the official armed forces of Pakistan. In particular, in the neighboring valley, which was about 40 km from a height of 3234, several helicopters constantly arrived throughout the battle. They brought reinforcements and ammunition to the territory of Afghanistan, taking back the dead and wounded. Near the end of the battle, the scouts were able to find a helipad. It was hit from the multiple launch rocket launcher Smerch. The hit was almost one hundred percent. All helicopters on it were destroyed or damaged. The losses of the rebels were very sensitive. The latter fact also had a positive effect on the outcome of the battle.
A great help to the defending paratroopers was provided by a howitzer artillery battery, consisting of three D-30 howitzers and three Akatsiya self-propelled guns. In total, gunners fired about 600 shots. The senior lieutenant Ivan Babenko, who was in the ranks of the paratroopers, at the most critical moments of the battle managed to set fire in such a way that the shells falling close to the positions of our fighters damaged only the advancing Mujahideen. Gunners fired about 600 shots at the rebel positions.
Everything happening on the battlefield was closely watched by the nearby command, led by the commander of the 40th Army, Lieutenant General Boris Gromov. About all the ups and downs of the battle he was personally reported to him by the commander of 345 OPDP, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel V. Vostrotin.
To the outcome of the battle
The heroes of this day were the paratroopers - 9 companies. The battle for the height of 3234 they won, as they say, outright. Having defended their positions, the guys became real heroes not only of the Soviet Army, but also of the army of the Republic of Afghanistan. The fight for the height of 3234 entered many textbooks as an example of competent tactical actions and courage.
Indeed, 39 paratroopers with the support of regimental artillery not only survived against 200 (according to some sources, 400) Mujahideen for more than 12 hours, having suffered minimal losses, but also forced the latter to retreat.
Yes Yes exactly. In the film "9 companies" the battle for the height of 3234, missing, to put it mildly, is not shown quite reliably. However, we will not judge this too strictly. This is still a movie. In the film, only one person survived. In fact, only 6 people died, 28 people received various injuries, 9 of which were severe.
All paratroopers of the 9th company for the battle at an altitude of 3234 were awarded military awards - the orders of the Red Star and the Battle Red Banner. The commander of the heavy machine gun calculation, junior sergeant V.A. Aleksandrov and Private A.A. Melnikov were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumous).
All Mujahideen attacking the height of 3234 were dressed in black uniforms with black-red-yellow stripes on their sleeves - a distinctive mark of the Black Stork detachment. According to the encyclopedia, a unit of Pakistani fighter saboteurs was hiding under this name. It was created in 1979 to counter the Soviet troops introduced into Afghanistan. At different times, it was led by Amir Khattab, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Osama Bin Laden. By the way, the latter also entered the battle at an altitude of 3234 (photo of the event - in the article) and was even wounded.
According to other sources, people who committed serious crimes before Allah were hidden under this name. These include murders, theft, etc. Atonement in these cases was permitted only with one's own blood. During the Afghan war, Europeans were seen among the members of this unit. Most often, they moved on Isuzu jeeps, in the back of which they installed a heavy machine gun.
Epilogue
February 15, 1989 the last Soviet soldier left the territory of the DRA. However, this did not bring rest to the long-suffering people of the neighboring state. Despite the many operations carried out, the civil war did not stop there. However, this is another story.