Afghanistan, a mountain country located in Central Asia, is in a battleground. There are countless regimes that have fallen here in history, so it is called the tomb of the empire. Today we share the famous Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in history.
Why did the Soviet Union insist on attacking Afghanistan in the first place
Afghanistan is located at the intersection of West Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia. It is a Central Asian country. It communicates East and West, connects Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia. It is historically known as the “key” to the South Asian continent. It is economically backward but has a strategic position. Very important.
The Soviet Union inherited the mantle of Tsarist Russia and also inherited its strategic intention to control the Indian Ocean southward. Afghanistan has always been the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union before the 1970s. After the 1970s, Afghanistan began to focus on economic development and turned to the West politically.
The Soviet Union launched three consecutive coups in Afghanistan. As a result, Afghanistan remained pro-Western and became increasingly disobedient. In 1979, the Soviet Union decided to send troops directly to control Afghanistan. The reasons are nothing more than the following:
- Afghanistan’s position is important and cannot be lost;
- It is the concrete implementation of the strategy of controlling the Indian Ocean south;
- The Soviet Union has a strong military force and has the ability to attack Afghanistan;
- He is overconfident in his strength, and he is generally dizzy.
The Soviet Union ended up in the quagmire of war
The war started very smoothly. The Soviet Union sent special forces to assassinate Amin, the ruler of Afghanistan, and the pro-Western government was overthrown. Then it dispatched about 100,000 troops to fully attack Afghanistan.
The ten-year war in Afghanistan broke out. The end result of the war was that the Soviet Union was deeply trapped in the Afghan People’s War and could not extricate itself until it was dragged to death. Its flagrant attack on a sovereign country also made the people of the world see the Soviet Union clearly.
It is said that the country was gone after the last group of Soviet fighters who returned home. The war in Afghanistan was also an important reason for the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
What made the superpower Soviet Union slowly drain the blood in Afghanistan
First, there are many tribes in Afghanistan and there are frequent frictions. The long-term war has trained the Afghans to be unruly and rebellious. They are brave and not afraid of death. Many people grew up in the flames of war and were born to fight. The Soviet army in World War II Although the level of equipment has improved by leaps and bounds after the end, the tactics, morale, and training are in a state of decline. The average age of soldiers is 20 years old, and the quality of individual soldiers is low, which has reduced the Soviet equipment advantage.
Second, the Afghans gave full play to the terrain and home advantage. Afghanistan is located on the west side of the Pamirs. More than 80% of them are mountains and plateaus.
The rest are deserts and there are many mountain valleys. This kind of place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Soviet Union’s powerful mechanization It is difficult for the troops to play a role, and it is often the case that the armored troops cannot win two legs.
The Afghans often use the canyon area to ambush, causing heavy losses to the Soviet army.
Third, Afghanistan has received a large amount of material support from outside, which is also one of the reasons why it can compete with the Soviet Union. Among them, there are many stinger missiles, rockets, advanced sniper rifles and other equipment, which are very suitable for fighting guerrillas. It can be said that Afghan guerrillas have never Worrying about supplies, the Soviet army often has shortages of supplies.
Due to the long supply distance, the supply line is often attacked, and lack of food and clothing often occurs. Some soldiers even ate canned beef produced during World War II. Heavy vehicles were short of fuel.
Often unable to perform tasks. In the latter part of the war, many Soviet officers and soldiers suffered from health problems and mental illnesses. They had no desire for victory.
No matter how the war ended, being able to go home alive was victory.
Fourth, the Soviet Union fell politically and diplomatically. For the Soviet Union, the war was an unjust war. The officers and soldiers fought for unknown reasons. The international community sent a large number of reporters to Afghanistan to report on the war
. In fact, they were supervising the actions of the Soviet army. The Western society carried out a strong public opinion offensive against the Soviet Union, politics and diplomacy. The defeat on the Soviet Union completely lost face.
