Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan first appeared in December 1979. It was then that the military leaders of the USSR made an official decision to send troops to this Asian country in order to maintain a friendly political regime. Initially, it was stated that the troops plan to stay on this earth for no more than one year. But the plan failed. Everything turned into a protracted war with numerous losses. In this article we will talk about the last major military conflict in which the military personnel of the Soviet Union took part. In this article we will talk about losses, provide statistics on wounded and missing soldiers and officers.
Troop entry
The first day when Soviet troops appeared in Afghanistan is considered to be December 25, 1979. The first in the territory of the Asian country was sent the 781th reconnaissance battalion of the 108th motorized rifle division. In parallel, the transfer of airborne units to the airfields of Bagram and Kabul began.
On the same day, Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan suffered their first losses, not even having time to engage in hostilities. In the Kabul area, a Soviet Il-76 plane crashed. According to official figures, on board were 37 passengers and 10 crew members. They all died. The aircraft also transported two Ural vehicles that were loaded with ammunition, as well as one tanker.
The airborne deployment of troops took place at an accelerated pace. The planes were previously transferred to the territory of the Turkestan military district, from where they received orders to cross the Soviet-Afghan border at 15:00 Moscow time. Airplanes arrived in Bagram already in the dark; moreover, snowfall began. Il-76 aircraft flew to the airfield one after another with an interval of only a few minutes. Finally, it became clear that one of the aircraft did not arrive at its destination. At the same time, he took off from the Mary airfield in Turkmenistan.
When interviewing the crews of other aircraft, it turned out that one of them saw a strange flash when approaching at the left heading. On December 30, a crash site was discovered. It turned out that 36 kilometers from Kabul, the Il-76 hit a crest of a rock, breaking in half. However, he deviated from the pre-approved approach scheme. Everyone on board died. At that time, it was the largest plane crash in Afghanistan with the participation of aircraft of this type. January 1, a search operation discovered part of the fuselage with the bodies of the pilots. The rest with paratroopers, weapons and equipment collapsed into the inaccessible gorge. It was possible to discover it only in 2005. So the account was opened for the losses of Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan.
Storming Amin's Palace
In fact, the first full-scale operation carried out by Soviet troops in Afghanistan was the assault on Amin’s palace. Its result was the capture of the Taj Beck Palace, located in Kabul, and the liquidation of the head of the country's revolutionary council, Hafizullah Amina. The KGB forces and units of the Soviet army conducted a special operation on December 27, two days after the troops were deployed in Afghanistan.
Amin was an Afghan politician who came to power in the country on September 16, 1979, having ousted his predecessor, Nur Mohammad Taraki. While under arrest, Taraki was killed, officers strangled him with pillows. Once at the head of Afghanistan, Amin continued political repression against supporters of the former regime and conservative clergy, which began under Taraki.
It is noteworthy that he was one of the first in favor of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. In December, two attempts were made on him. On the morning of December 27, they tried to poison him. Amin survived, but on the same day he was shot dead during the storming of the palace.
Soviet troops and special services carried out this operation to put Babrak Karmal at the head of the country. In fact, he was the head of the puppet government, which was completely controlled by the USSR. This was the first high-profile action carried out by our troops on the territory of this country.
First fight
Officially, the first battle of Soviet soldiers in the war in Afghanistan took place on January 9, 1980. He was preceded by a rebellion, which in early January was raised by the artillery regiment of the Afghan army. Under the control of military units that did not obey the government, the city of Nakhrin, located in Baghlan province, turned out to be. During the uprising, Soviet officers were shot: Lieutenant Colonel Kalamurzin and Major Zdorovenko, another translator was Gaziev.
Soviet troops received orders to regain control of Nakhrin at the request of the Afghan leadership and for the sake of saving the possibly surviving Soviet troops.
Motorized rifles advanced to the city from the west and north. It was planned that after the seizure of the settlement itself, they would occupy the approaches to the military town in order to disarm the rebels blocked in it.
Having advanced from the barracks, a convoy of Soviet troops collided with hundreds of horsemen who blocked their path after four kilometers. It was possible to scatter them after helicopters appeared in the sky.
The second column initially went to the city of Ishakchi, where it was attacked by rebels from cannons. After the attack, the Mujahideen retreated to the mountains, losing 50 people dead and two guns. A few hours later, motorized riflemen were ambushed in the area of Shehdzhalal pass. The battle was fleeting. It was possible to kill 15 Afghans, after which the blockage of stones obstructing the passage was dismantled. The Russians met with fierce resistance in all settlements, literally on each pass.
By the evening of January 9, the military town in Nakhrin was blocked. The next day, the barracks were attacked with the help of infantry fighting vehicles with the support of helicopters.
As a result of this military operation, there were two losses in the list of Soviet soldiers serving in Afghanistan. As many people were injured. From the Afghan side there were about a hundred dead. The commander of the rebel regiment was detained, all weapons were seized from the local population.
Fighting
Soviet theorists and employees of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, who studied the history of the Afghan war, divided the entire period of the troops in the territory of this Asian country into four parts.
- From December 1979 to February 1980, the Soviet troops were deployed and deployed in garrisons.
- From March 1980 to April 1985 - conducting active and large-scale hostilities, work to strengthen and radically reorganize the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
- From April 1985 to January 1987 - the transition from directly active actions to support the Afghan troops with the help of Soviet aviation, combat engineer units and artillery. At the same time, individual units continue to fight the transportation of large quantities of weapons and ammunition that come from abroad. During this period, a partial withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan begins.
- From January 1987 to February 1989, Soviet soldiers participated in the policy of national reconciliation, while continuing to support Afghan troops. Preparation and final withdrawal of the Soviet army from the territory of the republic.
Summary
The withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from Afghanistan was completed on February 15, 1989. This operation was commanded by Lieutenant General Boris Gromov. According to official information, he was the last to cross the Amu Darya River, located on the border, saying that not a single Soviet soldier was left behind him.
It is worth noting that this statement was not true. In the republic, there were still units of border guards who covered the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. They crossed the border only in the evening of February 15. Some military units, as well as the border troops, performed border protection tasks until April 1989. In addition, there were still servicemen in the country who were captured by the Mujahideen, as well as those who voluntarily went over to their side, continuing to fight.
Gromov summed up the peculiar results of the Soviet-Afghan war in his book entitled "Limited contingent." He, as the last commander of the 40th Army, refused to admit that she was defeated. The general insisted that Soviet troops had triumphed in Afghanistan. Gromov noted that, unlike the Americans in Vietnam, they managed to freely enter the territory of the republic in 1979, fulfill their tasks, and then return in an organized manner. Summing up, he insisted that the 40th Army did everything that it considered necessary, and the Dushmans who opposed it did only what they could.
In addition, Gromov notes that until May 1986, when a partial withdrawal of the army began, the Mujahideen were not able to capture a single large city, nor were they able to carry out any truly large-scale operations.
At the same time, it must be recognized that the general’s private opinion that the 40th Army was not tasked with military victory is in conflict with the assessments of many other officers who were directly related to this conflict. For example, Major General Nikitenko, who was the deputy chief of operations for the headquarters of the 40th Army in the mid-80s, claimed that the USSR had the ultimate goal of strengthening the power of the current Afghan government and finally crushing opposition resistance. No matter what efforts the Soviet troops made, the number of Mujahideen was growing every year. At the peak of the Soviet presence in 1986, they controlled about 70% of the country's territory.
Colonel-General Merimsky, who served as deputy chief of the operational group of the Ministry of Defense, said that the leadership of Afghanistan, in fact, suffered a crushing defeat in the confrontation with the rebels for their own people. The authorities failed to stabilize the situation in the country, even despite powerful military units of up to three hundred thousand people, taking into account not only the army, but also the police and state security officers.
It is known that many of our officers called this war "sheep", since the Mujahideen used a rather bloodthirsty method of overcoming minefields and border barriers, which were installed by Soviet specialists. In front of their troops, they drove out herds of goats or sheep, which "paved" the path among the landmines and mines, undermining them.
After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the situation on the border with the republic worsened significantly. The territory of the USSR was constantly subjected to shelling, attempts were made to penetrate the Soviet Union. In 1989 alone, about 250 such cross-border incidents were recorded. The border guards themselves were regularly subjected to armed attacks, Soviet territory was mined.
Losses of Soviet troops
Accurate figures on the number of Soviet soldiers and officers killed in Afghanistan were first published after the end of the war. These data were presented in the newspaper Pravda on August 17. In the last few days of 1979, when troops were just brought in, the number of Soviet soldiers killed in Afghanistan was 86. Then the numbers increase every year, reaching its peak in 1984.
In 1980, among the killed Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan were 1,484 people, the next year - 1,298 military, and in 1982 - 1948. In the 83rd there was a decline compared to the previous year - 1,448 people died, but already 1984 became the most tragic for the Soviet troops in the entire history of this conflict. The army lost 2,343 soldiers and officers killed.
Since 1985, the numbers have been steadily decreasing:
- 1985 - 1868 killed;
- 1986 - 1333 killed;
- 1987 - 1215 killed;
- 1988 - 759 killed;
- 1989 - 53 killed.
As a result, the number of Soviet soldiers and officers who died in Afghanistan amounted to 13,835 people. Then the data grew every year. At the beginning of 1999, taking into account the irretrievable losses, which included those killed, who died in incidents, from illnesses and wounds, as well as missing persons, 15,031 people were considered dead. The greatest losses were in the composition of the Soviet army - 14 427 dead Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. Among the losses were 576 KGB officers. 514 of them were soldiers of the border troops, 28 employees of the Ministry of the Interior.
The number of Soviet soldiers killed in Afghanistan was astonishing, especially when you consider that individual researchers gave completely different numbers. They were significantly higher than official statistics. According to a study by the General Staff conducted under the leadership of Professor Valentin Aleksandrovich Runov, it is claimed that the irretrievable casualties of the 40th Army amounted to about 26 thousand people. According to estimates, only in 1984 the number of Soviet soldiers killed in Afghanistan was approximately 4400 troops.
To realize the scale of the Afghan tragedy, sanitary losses must be considered. During the ten years of the military conflict, more than 53.5 thousand soldiers and officers were shell-shocked, wounded, or injured. More than 415 thousand fell ill. Moreover, more than 115 thousand were affected by infectious hepatitis, more than 31 thousand with typhoid fever, and over 140 thousand with other diseases.
More than eleven thousand soldiers were dismissed from the ranks of the Soviet army for health reasons. The vast majority as a result were recognized as disabled. In addition, the lists of dead Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan, which are given by official structures, do not include those who died from illnesses and wounds in hospitals in the territory of the Soviet Union.
Moreover, the total number of the Soviet contingent is currently unknown. It is believed that from 80 to 104 thousand military personnel were present in the territory of the Asian republic. Soviet troops supported the Afghan army, whose strength is estimated at 50-130 thousand people. Afghans lost about 18 thousand killed.
According to the Soviet command, the Mujahideen had about 25 thousand soldiers and officers in 1980. By 1988, about 140,000 were already fighting on the side of the jihadists. According to independent experts, the total number of mujahideen could reach 400,000 during the war in Afghanistan. From 75 to 90 thousand opponents were killed.
Soviet society was categorically against the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. In 1980, academician Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was sent into exile for public anti-war statements.
Until 1987, the death of Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan was not advertised in any way; they tried not to spread this. Zinc coffins came to different cities throughout the vast country, people were buried semi-officially. About how many Soviet soldiers died in the war in Afghanistan, it was not accepted to report publicly. In particular, in cemeteries on monuments it was forbidden to indicate the place of death of a soldier or officer.
Only in 1988, in a closed appeal of the Central Committee of the CPSU addressed to all communists, some aspects of the state of affairs were highlighted. In fact, this was the first official statement by the authorities to participate in the Civil War in the territory of another state. At the same time, information was published on how many Soviet soldiers died in Afghanistan, as well as on costs. Five billion rubles were allocated annually for the needs of the army from the USSR budget.
It is believed that the last Soviet soldier killed in Afghanistan is Komsomolets Igor Lyakhovich. He is a native of Donetsk, a graduate of the electrical technical college in Rostov. At 18, he was drafted into the army, this happened in 1987. Already in November of that year he was sent to Afghanistan. The guy was a sapper with the rank of Private Guard, later a shooter in a reconnaissance company.
He was killed on February 7, 1989 in the Salang Pass area near the village of Kalatak. For three days his body was taken to an infantry fighting vehicle, only after that they managed to load it in a helicopter to send to the Soviet Union.
He was buried with military honors in the central cemetery of Donetsk.
Soviet prisoners of war
Separately, it is necessary to mention the captured Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. According to official statistics, 417 people went missing or were captured during the conflict. 130 of them were liberated before the Soviet army was withdrawn from the country. At the same time, the conditions for the release of Soviet prisoners of war were not stipulated in the 1988 Geneva Agreements. Negotiations on the rescue of captured Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan continued after February 1989. The government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and Pakistan participated as intermediaries in them.
In November, two soldiers were handed over to Soviet representatives in Peshawar, Pakistan - Valery Prokopchuk and Andrei Lopukh - in exchange for eight militants who were previously arrested.
The fate of the remaining prisoners evolved differently. 8 people were recruited by the Mujahideen, 21 are considered “defectors”, more than a hundred were killed as a result.
The uprising of Soviet troops in the Pakistani Badaber camp located near Peshawar received wide resonance. It happened in April 1985. A group of Soviet and Afghan prisoners of war tried to free themselves from prison by staging a rebellion. It is known that at least 14 Soviet soldiers and officers and about 40 Afghans participated in the uprising. They were opposed by three hundred Mujahideen and several dozen foreign instructors. Almost all prisoners died in an unequal battle. At the same time, they eliminated from 100 to 120 Mujahideen, as well as up to 90 Pakistani soldiers, killed six foreign military instructors.
Some prisoners of war were released in 1983 by the efforts of Russian emigrants in the United States. These were mainly those who wished to stay in the West - about thirty people. Three of them later returned to the USSR, when the Prosecutor General's Office made an official statement that they would not be prosecuted, having received the status of former prisoners of war.
In some cases, Soviet soldiers voluntarily sided with the Mujahideen, then to fight against the Soviet army. In 2017, reporters reported Soviet soldiers remaining in Afghanistan. About them wrote the British edition of The Daily Telegraph. Former Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan deserted or captured, later converted to Islam, fought on the side of the Mujahideen against their yesterday’s comrades.
The form
The set of field uniforms of Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan received the slang term "Afghan". It existed in the winter and summer versions. Over time, due to poor supply, it began to be used as everyday.
In the photo of Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan, you can carefully examine what it was like. The set of summer uniforms included a field jacket, straight-cut trousers and a cap, nicknamed among the soldiers "Panama."
The winter set consisted of a warmed field jacket, warmed trousers and a faux fur hat for soldiers. Officers, long-term servicemen, and warrant officers wore hats made of cygie. It is in this form that almost all Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan are in the photo of that time.
Feats
During the years of the conflict, Soviet troops carried out many dangerous special operations. Among the main feats of Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan, the large-scale operation "Mountains-80", which was carried out to clean up the territory from the rebels, is noted. The campaign was led by Colonel Valery Harichev.
His name on the pages of the Afghan war left Lieutenant Colonel Valery Uhabov. He was ordered to occupy a small bridgehead in the rear of the enemy. The Soviet border guards restrained superior enemy forces all night, held out until the morning, but reinforcements never came. A scout sent with a report was killed. Uhabov made a desperate attempt to break out of his entourage. It ended successfully, but the officer himself was mortally wounded.
Repeatedly in combat reports met Salang Pass. The main road of life passed through it at an altitude of almost four thousand meters above sea level, along which Soviet troops received ammunition and fuel, transported the wounded and killed. This route was so dangerous that for each successful passage of the drivers it was awarded the medal "For Military Merit". Mujahideen constantly organized ambushes in the area of the pass. It was especially dangerous to hit the driver on a fuel truck, when the whole car could explode from one bullet. In November 1986, a terrible tragedy occurred, when 176 soldiers suffocated from exhaust gases.
Private Maltsev in Salang managed to save Afghan children. When he left the next tunnel, a lorry full of bags full of about 20 adults and children was rushing towards him. The Soviet soldier sharply turned to the side, crashed into rock at full speed. He himself died, but the peaceful Afghans remained safe and sound. At this place, a monument was erected to a Soviet soldier in Afghanistan. Several generations of residents of the surrounding villages and villages are still taking care of him.
The posthumous title of a hero of the Soviet Union was received by paratrooper Alexander Mironenko. He received orders to conduct reconnaissance and provide ground cover for flying helicopters that were supposed to transport the wounded. A group of three soldiers led by Mironenko, landing, immediately rushed down, a support group rushed after them. Suddenly, a new retreat order followed. By that time it was too late. Mironenko was surrounded with his comrades, firing back to the last bullet. When their corpses were discovered by colleagues, they were horrified. All four were stripped, their legs were shot, and all their bodies were stabbed with knives.
Often, Mi-8 helicopters were used to rescue military personnel in Afghanistan. Often, “turntables,” as they were used in everyday life, came at the last minute, helping out soldiers and officers who were surrounded. Dushmans strongly hated for this helicopter pilots, who could hardly counter anything. Major Vasily Shcherbakov distinguished himself in his helicopter when he saved the crew of captain Kopchikov. The Mujahideen had already cut off his wrecked car with knives, while the Soviet detachment that had been surrounded was shot to the end. Shcherbakov on the Mi-8 made several covering attacks, and then he suddenly landed, at the last moment taking the wounded Kopchikov. It is worth recognizing that there were many such cases in the war.
Monuments to heroes
Today, commemorative signs and memorial plaques dedicated to the Afghan warriors are found in almost every city in Russia.
There is a famous memorial in Minsk - its official name is the Island of Courage and Sorrow. It is dedicated to 30 thousand Belarusians who took part in the Afghan war. Of these, 789 people died. The complex is located on the Svisloch River in the center of the capital of the Union State. The people call it the "Island of Tears."
In Moscow, a monument to soldiers-internationalists was erected in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill. The monument is a 4-meter bronze figure of a Soviet soldier in camouflage uniform and with a helmet in his hands. He stands on a cliff of rock, looking steadily into the distance. The soldier is placed on a red granite pedestal, on which a bas-relief with a battle scene is placed. The monument was unveiled in 2004 on the 25th anniversary of the introduction of Soviet troops in Afghanistan.