12/25/2023 0 Comments *list 3 examples of the cold war Why was the afghan war called the Vietnam of the Soviet UnionThe long-term impact of the invasion and subsequent war was profound. READ MORE: Why the Soviet Union Invaded Afghanistanįifteen thousand Soviet soldiers were killed. Subsequently, the SALT II arms treaty was shelved and the U.S. It was the first Soviet military expedition beyond the Eastern bloc since World War II and marked the end of a period of improving relations (known as détente) in the Cold War. The last Soviet soldier crossed back across the border on February 15, 1989. Demoralized and with no victory in sight, Soviet forces started withdrawing in 1988. New Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev decided it was time to get out. The Stingers allowed the mujahidin to shoot down Soviet planes and helicopters on a regular basis. shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. The tide of the war turned with the 1987 introduction of U.S. The fighters used whatever weapons they could grab from the Soviets or were given by the United States. They would attack or raid quickly, then disappear into the mountains, causing great destruction without pitched battles. The mujahidin employed guerrilla tactics against the Soviets. Resistance fighters, called mujahidin, saw the Christian or atheist Soviets controlling Afghanistan as a defilement of Islam as well as of their traditional culture. The Soviets, however, were met with fierce resistance when they ventured out of their strongholds into the countryside. On December 27, Babrak Karmal, exiled leader of the Parcham faction of the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), was installed as Afghanistan’s new head of government, and Soviet ground forces entered Afghanistan from the north. Elements of the Afghan army loyal to Hafizullah Amin put up a fierce, but brief resistance. Within a few days, the Soviets had secured Kabul, deploying a special assault unit against Tajberg Palace. On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978.Īs midnight approached, the Soviets organized a massive military airlift into Kabul, involving an estimated 280 transport aircraft and three divisions of almost 8,500 men each.
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