The MOUT Homepage Afghanistan Site

"Urban combat is difficult for the urban guerrilla and the regular force. Throughout the war, the Soviets and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) forces were never able to completely control Kandarhar and Herat. Finally, the Soviets dealt with the Herat guerrillas by bombing 75% of the city into rubble. That still failed to stop the urban guerrilla. The DRA had more success in controlling the capital city of Kabul - but still were unable to stop the rocket attacks and guerrilla actions. On the other hand, surviving urban guerrillas are harder to find to interview. The urban guerrilla must be anonymous and ruthless to survive. The Soviets and DRA devoted a great deal of effort to finding and eliminating the urban guerrilla."

Urban combat related excerpts from The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War:

Ambushes at the Mamur Hotel
Yet Another Ambush at the Mamur Hotel
Kidnapping a Soviet Adviser
Four Urban Bomb Attacks
Incident at Qala-e Jabar
Afshar Ambush
Remote-control Attack on a Convoy in the Suburbs
Attack on the Ministry of Defense
Alcohol Can be Deadly
Raid on Balahessar Fortress
Raid on the Kabul Metropolitan Bus Transportation Authority
Weapons Raid in Charikar
Night Raid on a City Outpost
Raid on the Kandahar Communications Center
Attack on KHAD Headquarters
Raid on 15th Division Garrison
A Shelling Attack Turns Bad
A New Years Present for the Soviets

Urban combat related excerpts from The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan:

An Airborne Battalion Searches Sherkhankhel Village
Searching a Populated Area in the Charikar Valley
Combing the City of Bamian and its Outlying Towns During the Course of a Raid
Sweeping Villages With Afghani and Soviet Sub-units
Blocking and Sweeping an Inhabited Region
Blocking the Enemy in an Area of Villages and then Destroying Them During the Sweep
Assault on the Outskirts of Herat
Storming Spinakalacha Village
Tactical Air Assaults in Nangarhar and Laghman Provinces
Organizing a Security Outpost in the Suburbs of Kabul
Repelling a Raid on a Security Post (SPETSNAZ)
Securing a Base Camp
LOC Security
Convoy Security and Combat in the Village of Daulatabad
Convoy Escort and Battle Near Maliykhel'
The Frunze Military Academy's Conclusion on Soviet Tactical Operations in Afghanistan

The out-of-print U.S. Department of Defense publication by Lester Grau - The Bear Went Over the Mountain - can now be purchased through Frank Cass Publishers. "The Bear" is not a history of the Soviet-Afghan war - but rather a series of snapshots of combat as seen by platoon, company, and battalion commanders - as well as military advisers. An intimate look at counterinsurgency with its moments of heady excitement and terror.

The Bear Went Over the Mountain Book Review

Soviet-Afghan War Related Articles, Images, and Links:

Afghanistan Revisted (Parameters)
Night Stalkers and Mean Streets: Afghan Urban Guerrillas (FMSO)
War, Peace and Security Guide Afghanistan Page (Canadian Forces College)
The Soviet War in Afghanistan: History and Harbinger of Future War (FMSO)
Artillery and Counterinsurgency: The Soviet Experience in Afghanistan (FMSO)
Road Warriors of the Hindu Kush: The Battle for Lines of Communication During the Soviet-Afghan War
Mine Warfare and Counterinsurgency: The Russian View (FMSO)
Underground Combat: Stereophonic Blasting, Tunnel Rats and the Soviet-Aghan War (FMSO - Subterranean operations)
Handling the Wounded in a Counter-Guerrilla War: The Soviet/Russian Experience in Afghanistan and Chechnya (FMSO)
Medical Support in a Counter-Guerrilla War: Epidemiological Lessons Learned in the Soviet-Afghan War (FMSO)
Soviet Air Power: Tactics and Weapons used in Afghanistan (Airpower)
The War in Afghanistan (Airpower)
The Caucasus and Central Asia: Russian Intervention and International Responses
Tremor on the Volcano: Afghanistan in Early 1979 (Lemar Aftaab Magazine)
Soviet-Afghan War Images (Vladimir Grigoriev, St. Petersburg, Russia)
Afghanistan War (Russian site)
Afghanistan Photo Gallery (Afghan Web)
Silent Soldier (Online book)
The Bear Trap (Online book)
Stumbling Bear: Soviet Military Performance in Afghanistan (Book Review)

Afghanistan Related Links:

Afghan Politics
Whither the Taliban? (FMSO)
The Taliban's Cheque Book Campaign - Autumn 1998
Afghanistan: The Forgotten Crisis (REFWORLD - 1996)
Afghanistan: The Forgotten Crisis - Update (REFWORLD)
Yahoo News: Afghanistan Links
Afghan News Service
Fielding's DangerFinder - Afghanistan
Afghanistan Today (Afghan Army, maps, war, history and more)
Living in a Minefield: An MSF Report on the Mine Problem in Afghanistan (Medecins Sans Fontieres)
Afghanistan (Compton's Encyclopedia Online)
WashingtonPost.com: Afghanistan
A Brief History of the War in Afghanistan
1919 - The Third Afghan War: An Introduction
The Great Game (Topical discussions of Afghanistan and Pakistan - 19th Century to the present)
Afghanistan (WWW Virtual Library - numerous links)
Afghan Network (Afghani site - links)
Taliban Online
Jamiat-e-Islami Webpage
The Afghanistan Liberation Organization
Social Nationalist Afghan Party
How the Tabilan Took Power (New York Times article)
Helping Hand (1997 Newsweek article on the Taliban)
Hanging Fire (Tabilan - Civil War)
A Show of Force (Tabilan - Iran)
The Tabilan and Afghanistan (U.S. Institute of Peace)
Center for Afghanistan Studies (University of Nebraska)
Afghanistan as a Rentier State Model: Lessons from the Collapse
The Fall of Mazar (Afgani.com's Country Corner)
The Siege of Herat (1837-1838)

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