COMBAT USE: OPERATION “DANUBE” In the spring of 1968, an acute political crisis broke out in seemingly prosperous Czechoslovakia. In Prague, Bratislava, and other cities of Czechoslovakia, riots, pogroms, and attacks on the police began. By August 1968, the situation in

The use of armor fortification in Belgium. Activities of engineer Brialmona. Fortresses of Liege and Namur. The use of armor in other small states. If in the main states of Western Europe armor in the second half of the 80s found itself still relatively limited

During the entire period of service in Afghanistan (almost a year and a half) starting in December 1979. I have heard so many stories of how our paratroopers simply killed civilians that they simply cannot be counted, and I have never heard of our soldiers saving one of the Afghans - among soldiers, such an act would be regarded as aiding the enemies.

Even during the December coup in Kabul, which lasted all night on December 27, 1979, some paratroopers shot at unarmed people they saw on the streets - then, without a shadow of regret, they cheerfully recalled this as funny incidents.

Two months after the entry of troops - February 29, 1980. - The first military operation began in the province of Kunar. The main striking force was the paratroopers of our regiment - 300 soldiers who parachuted from helicopters on a high mountain plateau and went down to restore order. As the participants in that operation told me, order was restored in the following way: food supplies were destroyed in the villages, all livestock were killed; usually, before entering a house, they threw a grenade there, then fired with a fan in all directions - only after that they looked at who was there; all men and even teenagers were immediately shot on the spot. The operation lasted almost two weeks, no one counted how many people were killed then.

What our paratroopers did for the first two years in remote areas of Afghanistan was complete arbitrariness. Since the summer of 1980 The 3rd battalion of our regiment was sent to Kandahar province to patrol the territory. Without fearing anyone, they calmly drove along the roads and desert of Kandahar and could, without any explanation, kill any person they met on their way.

They killed him just like that, with a burst of machine gun fire, without leaving his BMD armor. Kandahar, summer 1981 Photograph taken from things
that killed Afghan.

Here is the most common story that an eyewitness told me. Summer 1981 Kandahar province. Photo - a dead Afghan man and his donkey are lying on the ground. The Afghan man walked his way and led a donkey. The only weapon the Afghan had was a stick, with which he drove the donkey. A column of our paratroopers was traveling along this road. They killed him just like that, with a burst of machine gun fire, without leaving his BMD armor.

The column stopped. One paratrooper came up and cut off the ears of a killed Afghan - as a memory of his military exploits. Then a mine was placed under the Afghan's corpse to kill anyone else who discovered the body. Only this time the idea didn’t work - when the column started moving, someone couldn’t resist and finally fired a burst at the corpse from a machine gun - the mine exploded and tore the Afghan’s body into pieces.

The caravans they encountered were searched, and if weapons were found (and the Afghans almost always had old rifles and shotguns), then they killed all the people who were in the caravan, and even animals. And when the travelers did not have any weapons, then, sometimes, they used a proven trick - during a search, they quietly pulled out a cartridge from their pocket, and, pretending that this cartridge was found in the pocket or in the things of an Afghan, they presented it to the Afghan as evidence his guilt.

Now it was possible to make fun of him: after listening to how the man hotly justified himself, convincing him that the cartridge was not his, they began to beat him, then watched him on his knees begging for mercy, but they beat him again and then shot him. Then they killed the rest of the people who were in the caravan.

In addition to patrolling the territory, paratroopers often ambushed enemies on roads and trails. These “caravan hunters” never found out anything - not even the presence of weapons on the travelers - they simply suddenly shot from cover at everyone who passed in that place, sparing no one, even women and children.

I remember one paratrooper, a participant in the hostilities, was delighted:

I would never have thought that this was possible! We kill everyone in a row - and we are only praised for it and given awards!

The Mystery of the Kabul Mutiny

Two months after the entry of troops into Afghanistan, on February 22-23, 1980, Kabul was rocked by a major anti-government uprising. Everyone who was in Kabul at that time remembered these days well: the streets were filled with crowds of protesting people, they shouted, rioted, and there was shooting throughout the city. This rebellion was not prepared by any opposition forces or foreign intelligence services; it began completely unexpectedly for everyone: both for the Soviet military stationed in Kabul and for the Afghan leadership. This is how Colonel General Viktor Merimsky recalls those events in his memoirs:

"... All the central streets of the city were filled with excited people. The number of demonstrators reached 400 thousand people... Confusion was felt in the Afghan government. Marshal S.L. Sokolov, Army General S.F. Akhromeev and I left our residence for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, where we met with the Minister of Defense of Afghanistan M. Rafi. He could not answer our question about what was happening in the capital...”

The reason that served as the impetus for such a violent protest by the townspeople was never clarified. Only after 28 years did I manage to find out the whole background of those events. As it turned out, the mutiny was provoked by the reckless behavior of our paratroopers.

It all started with the fact that on February 22, 1980, in Kabul, senior lieutenant Alexander Vovk, a senior Komsomol instructor in the political department of the 103rd Airborne Division, was killed in broad daylight.

The story of Vovk’s death was told to me by the first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuri Nozdryakov. This happened near the Green Market, where Vovk arrived in a UAZ along with the head of the air defense of the 103rd Airborne Division, Colonel Yuri Dvugroshev. They were not performing any task, but, most likely, they just wanted to buy something at the market. They were in the car when suddenly one shot was fired - the bullet hit Vovk. Dvugroshev and the soldier-driver did not even understand where the shots were coming from and quickly left the place. However, Vovk’s wound turned out to be fatal, and he died almost immediately.

And then something happened that shook the whole city. Having learned about the death of their comrade in arms, a group of officers and warrant officers of the 357th Parachute Regiment, led by the deputy regiment commander, Major Vitaly Zababurin, got into armored personnel carriers and went to the scene of the incident to confront the local residents. But, having arrived at the scene of the incident, they did not bother themselves with finding the culprit, but in the heat of the moment decided to simply punish everyone who was there. Moving along the street, they began to smash and destroy everything in their path: they threw grenades at houses, fired from machine guns and machine guns on armored personnel carriers. Dozens of innocent people fell under the hot hand of the officers.

The massacre ended, but news of the bloody pogrom quickly spread throughout the city. Thousands of indignant citizens began to flood the streets of Kabul, and riots began. At this time I was on the territory of the government residence, behind the high stone wall of the Palace of the Peoples. I will never forget that wild howl of the crowd, instilling fear that made my blood run cold. The feeling was the most terrible...

The rebellion was suppressed within two days. Hundreds of Kabul residents died. However, the real instigators of those riots, who massacred innocent people, remained in the shadows.

Three thousand civilians in one punitive operation

At the end of December 1980 Two sergeants from the 3rd battalion of our regiment came to our guardhouse (it was in the Palace of the Peoples, in Kabul). By that time, the 3rd battalion had been stationed near Kandahar for six months and was constantly participating in combat operations. Everyone who was in the guardhouse at that time, including myself, listened carefully to their stories about how they were fighting. It was from them that I first learned about this major military operation, and heard this figure - about 3,000 Afghans killed in one day.

In addition, this information was confirmed by Viktor Marochkin, who served as a driver mechanic in the 70th brigade stationed near Kandahar (it was there that the 3rd battalion of our 317th parachute regiment was included). He said that the entire 70th brigade took part in that combat operation. The operation proceeded as follows.

In the second half of December 1980, the settlement of Sutian (40 km southwest of Kandahar) was surrounded in a semi-ring. They stood like that for about three days. By this time, artillery and Grad multiple rocket launchers had been brought up.

December 20 The operation began: the populated area was hit by Grad and artillery. After the first salvos, everything was plunged into a continuous cloud of dust. The shelling of the populated area continued almost continuously. Residents ran from their houses into the field to escape the shell explosions. But there they began to shoot them from machine guns, BMD guns, four “Shilkas” (self-propelled guns with four combined large-caliber machine guns) fired non-stop, almost all the soldiers fired from their machine guns, killing everyone: including women and children.

After the shelling, the brigade entered Sutian, and the remaining residents were killed there. When the military operation ended, the entire ground around was strewn with corpses of people. We counted about 3000 (three thousand) corpses.

End of publication about the memories of a reconnaissance paratrooper Valeria Marchenko () , now a holder of two Orders of the Red Star and the Order of the Red Banner of the Republic of Afghanistan, a reserve lieutenant colonel who served in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989.

Part 3. “DUSHMAN TRAP”

An air squad of two pairs of helicopters - combat Mi-24 and general support - Mi-8, with a capture group of the 80th separate reconnaissance company of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division on board, hugging the ground, was heading south. Moving to the left of the Kabul-Kandahar highway, the helicopters glided like shadows near the villages of Chaharasiab and Dehi-Kalan, circled the Safedsang peak and, passing over the muddy waters of Logar, turned onto the snowy Spingar.

The powerful ridge impressed the scouts with the peaks of eternal snow, covering the subtropics of Nangarhar with the leaden sheen of ominous gorges. All around were villages abandoned by farmers, destroyed by Amin’s aviation during the Saur Revolution, which spared neither our own nor others, as well as ours, which also did not stand on ceremony when Soviet troops cleared the floodplain of the Logar River. There is a war lurking here!

“Oh-oh-oh,” the scouts perked up, “Sikaram Peak!” Soaring to a height of 4,745 meters above sea level, it occupied a dominant position over the peaks of the Jalalabad “greenery”, as if announcing to strangers: don’t meddle here - you’ll die. It was in these picturesque mountains that the saddle of the Payvar Pass fit into, perhaps one of the few through which the caravan routes of the Great Silk Road led from Pakistan to neighboring Afghanistan.

Descending from the ridges into the sun-scorched Tobaga steppe, which is closer to Kabul, they scattered to the vilayets of Nangarhar, Ghazni, and Logar. It was on the fertile lands of Logar, covered with greenery, that armed opposition units were hiding, controlling the Kabul-Ghazni-Kandahar highway. Dushmans from the ethnic group of Tajiks, who spoke the Persian dialect of Farsi-Kabuli, and the Hazaras who joined them, whose lifestyle consisted not in a tribal way of life, like that of the Pashtuns, but in a settled way of life - in villages historically tied to their ancestral territories.

Dushmans furiously attacked transport columns of Soviet troops that supplied material supplies to the garrisons of Gardez, Kandahar, Shindant, burning them along with the accompanying personnel. Combat operations of a limited contingent in the spring and summer of 1980, in part, reduced enemy activity, certain sections of the road were taken under control, but the enemy did not give up his aspirations, continuing to attack KamAZ columns.

The entire length of the route was littered with mines and land mines. Sappers did not detect them with probes, and their faithful assistants - mine-detecting dogs - did not smell dangerous traps. The dushmans wrapped the “Italian” (TS-50) in cellophane and doused it with kerosene, diesel fuel, and oils. People and equipment were dying! Logar, Gardez, Ghazni... The most dangerous areas for marches of Soviet and government troops.

In the fall of 1980, the leadership of the Afghan opposition admitted to its patrons, the US State Department, that it was weakening its influence on the central provinces of the country. On the one hand, the Dushman formations suffered losses in manpower in battles with a limited contingent, on the other hand, they lacked weapons and ammunition. The American CIA office in Pakistan responded quickly to this signal. The leaders of opposition parties who had combat detachments on the territory of Afghanistan were supplied with weapons by caravan method.

First of all, weapons went to the Dushman detachments, which retained their combat potential in operations with Soviet troops. Its acquisition was carried out by leaders of opposition parties and field commanders using funds deposited in bank accounts in Pakistan. Military equipment, ammunition, communications equipment, and medicines were also purchased with money received from smuggling opium and heroin. Through Pakistan it arrived at the ports of the Indian Ocean, where it was sold to dealers in international drug trafficking and by sea and ocean to all continents of modern civilization.

The well-functioning system of supplying drugs to Pakistan and weapons back included many players for whom the presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan turned into an attractive business. Some of them pursued political ambitions, trampling districts and provinces under their control, others played out commercial interests, trading in smuggled goods: carpets, stones, lapis lazuli, precious metals. Heroin and opium are sacred! And no matter what platform the games were played on - political, religious, economic, the forces of the Afghan opposition made profits, dividends! Their involvement in the fight against Soviet troops was a damn profitable project! Huge amounts of money from American taxpayers went towards its implementation! Thus, the “punching” of caravan routes across the border with Pakistan in the activities of many forces, including the Afghan resistance, was of particular importance.

The command of the 40th Army recorded the strengthening of the Dushman detachments due to the supply of weapons from Pakistan. Having assessed the danger to the Karmal regime and its own troops, it decided to put up a barrier to the movement of means of warfare to Afghanistan using the method of caravan escorts. Lieutenant General Boris Ivanovich Tkach, who took command of the 40th Army in September 1980, entrusted this task to reconnaissance units of a limited contingent.

The reconnaissance of the Airborne Forces in Afghanistan was ordered to carry out special tasks to combat caravans in cooperation with army aviation. By the decision of the army commander, we, the reconnaissance officers of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division, were assigned a zone of active measures to intercept or destroy caravans, which included the territory of the vilayets of Nangarhar, Kabul and Logar.

Logar - al-jihad Bab (gate of jihad) - this is the name of the province translated from Farsi-Kabuli, which by the end of 1980 had become a strategic corridor for the Afghan opposition in the supply of weapons to Afghanistan. Its territory is convenient for moving goods along secret paths and gorges. The eastern districts of the province border with Pakistan, supporting the mountainous subtropics of Nangarhar, while the western districts adjoin the central province of Kabul. From north to south, the beautiful landscape is crossed by a river with the same name - Logar. Along its banks a long chain of villages stretches, immersed in the greenery of fruit trees.

Lieutenant Colonel Skrynnikov, the head of intelligence of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division, received information about the “spiritual” postings through the tenuous channels of the “gereushny” intelligence of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, the intelligence service of the state security of Afghanistan - KHAD (khedmat-e amniyyat-e doulati), including aviation reconnaissance based on the MiG-21R squadron.

For the purpose of conducting reconnaissance and ambush operations along the convoy routes, reconnaissance groups of the 80th separate reconnaissance company of the division were deployed to the coordinate points indicated by sources of information. Adapting to the conditions of the terrain and villages, they raided caravans of pack animals and wheeled vehicles. Thus, we developed tactics to combat Dushman deployments, gaining experience in a new direction of combat work.

Meanwhile, the flight commander led the helicopter group in such a way that the “spirits” did not get the impression that the Russians were conducting reconnaissance and assessing the possibility of ambush operations. Finding themselves in the caravan route, marked by a source of information from the Afghan intelligence center "Shir", the helicopters set out on a combat course. An intricate network of paths glided through the porthole. According to some of them, farmers moved to neighboring villages, solving trade matters of natural exchange; according to others, they drove sheep and camels to watering places and pastures.

There were roads for wheeled vehicles transporting ore, marble, and granite from stone quarries. The paths that wound along the ridges and were lost in the gorges were used by farmers to go to the mountains, where they hid, waiting out danger. Which of them were involved in guiding caravans? – You can’t tell right away. There is very little initial information to draw conclusions from assessing the situation. More accurate data was needed, which was obtained by human intelligence and, first of all, by KHAD. The Afghan security service received information from local sources close to the caravans, from direct participants in the caravans, paying them a paisa (fee).

Overboard the helicopter, the colors of green mountains, snowy peaks and blue-blue skies flashed. Life was in full swing everywhere! It boiled near the waterways with countless villages and froze near the dwellings and buildings abandoned by the farmers. As we gained altitude, the landscape of narrow paths changed into a three-dimensional pattern of space, in which cobwebs of communication routes, gathering in a bundle, scattered in the valley to the southeast - to the border with Pakistan.

“M-yes, caravans of pack animals have freedom! I went down to the floodplain of the Logar River, unloaded and everything... Well, well... But somewhere here is a transshipment base... From there, weapons go to their final destinations. But where is this base? If not local agents, then who will direct airborne reconnaissance towards her?” I thought, looking around the valley sandwiched by ridges.

Assessing ambush locations and exits to evacuation points for groups after completing missions from a helicopter, I highlighted on the map transport arteries that converged in gorges, marked areas where, from my point of view, it was convenient to lead caravans, areas for landing "turntables", marked villages as possible transshipment points.

Baravkov interrupted his thoughts:

- Comrade senior lieutenant, the crew commander is calling.

- The pilot is calling!

In the cockpit, the crew commander nodded:

– Look – tractors with carts.

- Thirty to the right!

Through the cabin blister I noticed a cloud of dust, unmasking cars with trailers.

The air group commander understood my decision immediately.

- Search! "Twenty-four" - for cover. Let's put it in the box! Sit in the head “strings”, the second side – from the rear.

“Got it,” the pilot shouted cheerfully.

I rushed to the scouts:

- Perkov, complete readiness! Search with Baravkov! Azarnov!

- You are insuring Lieutenant Perkov. Spin the skull in a circle!

- Nishchenko! General capture support. Just like in class! Questions?

- No way!

- We're working!

Touching the ground. Forward! The scouts rushed to the target, not taking their eyes off the side of the road, covered with a thorny bush. By simultaneously blocking the tractors, both groups of scouts deprived them of the ability to maneuver.

We rushed to the leading tractor with signalman Nikolai Yesaulkov. From this position, the actions of the scouts were better visible. The “drawing” of the grip turned out to be beautiful, in the sense of being professional in execution, but with unnecessary movements when throwing to the object, which disrupted the synchronicity in time. And, damn it, the scouts didn't have enough audacity! Sparkle in the eyes!

Prostrate on the ground, the tractor drivers stretched out their calloused arms in front of them. Before reaching a few steps to their bodies, I tripped, as I thought, over a lump of camel thorn, but no - the situation turned out to be more dramatic! A pair of twenty-fours dived at us from above, crushing every living thing in the world with the ringing roar of their engines. Having passed overhead, the “humpbacks” began to climb.

“Well, devils! Stop, stop! However... This is the highlight!”

– What if a real caravan is “ironed” with a false approach of “turntables”? Eh, Yesaulkov?

- That's right, Comrade Senior Lieutenant! “Darlings” are in shock - look! – the signalman nodded at the drivers.

- Well done! You notice! Perkov, Arkhipov - carts, Sokurov, Gaponenko - tractors. Just a minute for inspection and we're leaving!

– Baravkov, “remove” information from the Afghans! Are there people from the mountains in the villages? How many? What are they doing?

The deputy, who knew Farsi, participated in the driver interview.

“Comrade senior lieutenant, the carts are clean, only firewood,” Sokurov reported as he ran up.

– The tractors have rusty keys and nothing else, Valery Grigorievich.

- Got it, Pasha. They worked quickly, but I still have questions! Let's figure it out at the base!

“Comrade senior lieutenant,” Baravkov called out, “strangers in the villages, drivers, say they saw them.” They happen at night, but drivers don’t know who they represent, who is behind them, or are afraid to reveal. After the attack, the “humpbacks” come to their senses.

– To hell with them, Gena! Let's leave! Nishchenko, retreat! Cover the group!

The sergeant indicated with a clenched fist that he understood. They took off and walked over tractors with trailed carts. Orient measured four minutes from landing to takeoff. Not bad. If the combat training inspection is completed with a good grade, you can go home.

Almost touching the tops of the orange grove with the landing gear, we reached the main road and went to Kabul, leaving villages and green stuff on the right along the course, so as not to get a handful of scrap metal on the sides from the DShK.

Having circled the capital of Afghanistan along the eastern outskirts, we landed at the Kabul airfield from Paghman. Stunned by the flight, we descended onto the concrete that smelled of kerosene.

- Pash, check your weapon and take a smoke break. I'm going to "twenty-four".

- Got it, Valery Grigorievich!

The crews of the “parked” turntables were cheerfully discussing the task. Sweaty, excited pilots laughed with pleasure on the occasion of the successful end of another combat day. The hours have been completed, and you can rest.

– Who, guys, almost “shaved” me?

Rolling with laughter, the pilots pointed to a red-haired boy with a pressure helmet in his hand.

- Let's high five! Well done!

- Due, commander!

- As it should be!

We stood still and laughed, cooling down from the flight.

- Well? Shall we discuss the maneuver, sky wolves?

- Strong, commander? Can we use it in capture?

- Necessarily! The attack was spectacular! Impressed!

- We'll come up with something else!

- Accepted! They did a clean job, no complaints! I personally felt the friendly elbow. Bathhouse at 20.00, guys, and without delay! And as expected, do not forget Suvorov’s science!

– Thank you for the invitation, commander! We will!

- I have no doubt! The father-commanders will not leave the idea of ​​overwhelming the caravan alone. Will we work?

– Let’s work, Valera! Until evening.

- Bye, guys!

Another aerial reconnaissance flight brought results. I mentally grouped them by characteristics and directions. In general, an idea was formed about the road network, the location of the village sector, and the system of transport and pedestrian arteries, which made it possible to formulate a plan to combat caravans in cooperation with army aviation. Options for using reconnaissance groups in different directions were born. The developments were real, which was reported to the division intelligence chief upon arrival at the location:

– The route network from the Spingar ridge, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, has the conditions for transporting goods to the central districts of the country using wheeled vehicles, tractors and pack animals. Provides approaches to villages along the routes for the movement of weapons and the organization of transshipment points in convenient places. The possibility of storing weapons and ammunition in the floodplain of the Logar River is combined with the presence of roads in it and the camouflage of caravans - “green stuff”, most likely provided by local agents for guiding the caravans.

– Did you see her from the helicopter, Valera?

- Agent!

- No way, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel! But without intelligence cover, I would not have dared to lead the caravan to the capital, where the troops of the Shuravi and the “greens” were stuck. Fools are not paid good money for caravan escorts, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel.

- Hmm... Don't be insolent to the old lieutenant colonel! Continue!

– Presumably, the enemy proceeds from the principle that pulling caravans to the main communications is dangerous. Their movement on the plain is, one way or another, controlled by us, so I believe that there are weapons depots in the Hoshi area. Further movement of military cargo to the final “consumers” is carried out on pack animals in small batches with items traded in markets. For camouflage.

- Okay, Valera! I agree with you conditionally. Well, what next?

Understanding my mood for attack tactics in relation to caravan escorts, Mikhail Fedorovich forced me to analyze the situation. Of course, he wanted to make sure that the operation to intercept the caravans was well thought out and that the arguments were valid and had the right to life.

– If the command does not rush us to accomplish momentary feats, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I consider it necessary to focus human intelligence on specific information on our task. First of all, I mean HAD!

“This is...,” Ivan Komar, the commander of the divisional reconnaissance officers, intervened.

– That’s right, Ivan Gennadievich! KHAD information is slippery and often dangerous, and sometimes does not correspond to reality at all, but it has an operational advantage - the speed of getting to us! What prevents us from filtering it through factor analysis, clarifying it with the “stuntmen” and implementing it immediately? Flying blindly, prowling the roads and mandehas is a useless number. We are convinced of this every time we return from patrolling in “spiritual” places. However, as now!

- That's true! – said the intelligence chief, lighting a cigarette.

– What to hide, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel? We tease the “spirits” with an aircraft flight in their deep rear, reveal our intentions, and provoke a response from countermeasures. They are observant and very careful! Or is my reasoning, Ivan Gennadievich, not in this direction?

– Why are you persuading me, Valer? – Komar waved it off. – Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, in my opinion, Marchenko’s arguments are convincing.

– Any suggestions, Ivan? Spit it out!

– I suggest that the group commander speak out! He should go to the caravan!

- Hmm, come on, Valery Grigorievich, quickly and without adventurous intentions! I already have a headache without it.

Leaning back on the tent flap, Mikhail Fedorovich prepared to listen to proposals for divisional reconnaissance to enter caravan routes in order to intercept the caravans. The division commander, Major General Ryabchenko, needs results! The commander of the 40th Army also needed the result!

– In this operation, I propose to work in two groups. One goes to the caravan and acts in the interests of implementing information, the other, at the “turntables”, will cover the capture. If necessary, we will take her out for inspection. Attracting “armor” is a separate matter, depending on the situation. At night, we use armored vehicles to insure that groups are leaving their missions or to distract the attention of the “spirits” from observing the target.

- That is?

– We distract from a group caught in force majeure circumstances.

- Well, yes! – the intelligence chief interrupted. – If the group is jammed, and time ticks by seconds... Do you understand what I’m talking about?

- That's right!

– Until the “armor” gets closer to the group, there will be nothing left of it. Good pun, right?

- Good, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel! Indeed, the role of the “armor” in the operation is not visible - it won’t make it far! Thus, the discussion of the issue of agent support for the actions of reconnaissance groups behind enemy lines becomes topic number one!

- Again for my own...

– What do you mean? It’s impossible to do without intelligence support from the local population, among whom there are, in principle, no civilians! The male population is either in the mountains or in villages in the form of a militia of boys and quite healthy old men. They're damn dangerous!

- Yes, and wounded dushmans! We do not fit into their understanding of good and evil, which means that our domestic intelligence agencies will not come into contact with them under any development of events - only through KHAD. This means that you should look for contacts and access to sources of information in the caravan zone among the local population through the HAD, where, however, everything is bought and sold! Information too! The Khadovites will find a way out! They are! What I was convinced of for the last time was when delivering captured dushmans to their “bespek” department not more than a week ago. Remember, Comrade Colonel? So there you go! The Saur revolutionaries tortured some “spirits” with savage methods, while other “spirits” sat nearby and smiled - that means they were their own!

– Yeah, Valera, I understand, but let’s get to the point.

- Let's get to the point! Our working conditions have a number of features associated with caravan escorts at night! Precisely at night!

Grimacing as if from a toothache, Mikhail Fedorovich jumped up.

– Are you a Soviet person, Marchenko? A?

- That's right, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel! Raised by the Komsomol and raised by the party! The officers could hardly contain their laughter at my, if not hooligan, then defiant, antics.

– So why don’t you understand the simple truth on a “plate with a golden edge”!

– Listen to the intelligence chief, Comrade Senior Lieutenant! Teach you, teach you what you can talk about and what you can’t talk about! Remember everything! Especially you, an adventurer! Afghan agents are not our com-pe-ten-tion! Do you understand, eccentric man? Not na-sha!

“Uncle Misha is sick... Although, why blame? Agent support for reconnaissance groups in the “spiritual” rear cannot be solved in one day. The “GSE officers” are helpless in this work, the “KGB men” do not meddle in military affairs - they are interested in political information for Moscow. Whether someone likes it or not, it turns out – HUD! You really have to work with her carefully!”

So, let's talk! From the Kabul-Kandahar highway to the reconnaissance strip, within which ambush operations are planned by two or three reconnaissance groups simultaneously, is more than thirty kilometers. The boss is right! This is the distance! “Bronya” will not have time to support any of the groups that are under attack. The “spirits” will “walk” through them faster than the armored vehicles will arrive to provide assistance, especially since there is no information about the enemy. What units? How many? Locations? Nothing but general or conflicting data! Let’s plunge into the dushman’s breeding ground without insurance, the “bearded ones” will rip our heads off and not wince. Again, you can only count on results in intercepting caravans through night ambushes! I was convinced of this!

- Why are you silent? Tell us! How did they do during the inspection?

- A? “What is he talking about? - He looked at the boss in bewilderment, - Oh, yes...” - It’s fine, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, he’ll go. The helicopter pilots came up with a twist. Well done!

Mikhail Fedorovich liked my report on the “psychic” attack of combat helicopters. Without losing the initiative, he winked at Komaru, saying, support him, Ivan.

- Comrade Lieutenant Colonel...

- Well, what else?

– Leaving a group overnight without cover is really dangerous! No one will help in the Dushmana viper and they will eat us with pleasure! But going out to systematically intercept caravans without a night search is a waste. If you don’t mind, I’ll take Perkov to capture, and Perepechin will provide backup on the turntables.

“But Perkov didn’t fly to the area,” the chief perked up.

“At night all cats are gray, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, and Pasha has a strong grip.” Let's figure it out!

– Still insist on staying overnight?

- That's right! – I looked Mikhail Fedorovich in the eyes.

- I'll think about it, adventurer! Oh, what an adventurer you are, Marchenko!

The turning point in Lieutenant Colonel Skrynnikov’s mood in favor of his subordinates when discussing combat missions occurred in moments when he became convinced of the correctness and fortitude of his interlocutor. The intelligence chief understood that the reconnaissance group commanders' proposals were not born out of the blue, but as a result of practical work in ambushes and analytical studies of the results.

“I won’t go too deep, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I’ll land about twenty minutes before dark, look around, smell the air, and in an hour and a half I’ll go to the ambush site.”

Having buried himself in the “fifty”, Mikhail Fedorovich was thinking.

– What else would you pay attention to, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel! See the map - narrowing of the relief between the ridges. It is here that the roads, gathering in a “bundle”, create conditions for blocking several paths simultaneously in a narrow passage.

- Essential! – Mikhail Fedorovich nodded.

- “Trap”, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel! "Dushman trap." The main type of “spiritual” tactics in relation to attacks on columns of our troops! Pay attention! And what? The wedge is knocked out with a wedge! Let's work using the “spiritual” method!

Ambush operations were discussed at length. More than once Lieutenant Colonel Skrynnikov jumped up, shaking his fists, until Sergeant Major Andreychuk had an idea:

- It's time for dinner, comrade officers, it's getting cold!

The morning of the next day brought the expected news - two reconnaissance groups were preparing for ambush operations. Mine - the main one - acts in ambush, Alexandra Perepechina - insures on the “turntables”.

We worked with the commander of the helicopter group to fly over Dushman territory in such a way that the enemy would not get the impression that Russian aviation was conducting reconnaissance. The takeoff was carried out by two pairs at a strictly calculated time. Through the porthole, I tracked the passage of landmarks marked on the map, the situation in the fields, villages, in order to have an idea of ​​the population density as daylight hours passed.

At low level we passed the turning point to the area of ​​upcoming actions - a crossroads of roads south of the village of Sangarkheil, and entered the mission zone with a left turn. Thus, we completed a conditional “loop” of flight over the territory controlled by the dushmans, so that it would be more difficult for them to “tie” the helicopter group to our mission.

The evening sun was setting behind the crest of the ridges, scattering eerie shadows across the valley, causing goosebumps on the body. Brrr.

- Attention, guys - get ready! We're arriving!

I raised my hand - a signal: “Get ready!” The group turned into a mechanism with a charged spring. The glances that met - mine and the helicopter flight commander - were in one impulse...

“How is it there? In order?" - asked mine.

“We’re approaching,” the “flight officer” nodded.

- See you guys!

The crew wished us well with clenched fists.

- For the success of our hopeless cause! – the commander threw after him.

- Here's to success!

In the salon he leaned towards Perkov.

– Pay close attention to the rear, Pasha, the “spirits” are very fast! Don't rush! Try to see everything!

- Got it, Valery Grigorievich.

It’s hard to imagine the next minute – there on earth! And will there be one at all? Forward! The group jumped over the side of the helicopter and took up a position for battle. The helicopters went their route, without creating in the emptiness that surrounded us the impression of a group of reconnaissance being dropped in the Gumaran salt marsh steppe. We lay in the rancid dust, bristling with trunks, and inhaled the smell of the silence ringing around us. Now the group must turn into a shadow in order to slide, together with other shadows, to a hill in the triangle of three villages.

In the east it gets dark quickly, which is why the edge of turning twilight into impenetrable night is not always caught, and the silence becomes louder, more dangerous, causing trembling in a tense body. I led the group to a chasm formed by peaks in an area of ​​three hundred - no more than meters, where a “bundle” of numerous roads and paths rushed.

I was interested in the peak at 2102 meters. It rose between the village closest to us - in the north - and Mount Sregar, two and a half thousand meters away - in the south. I chose it for the ambush, relying on its dominant position over the area, which allowed me to control the exit from the gorge.

After the landing, he was in no hurry: he adapted the group to the darkness and the sounds of the salt marsh steppe - witness to a secret invasion. I assessed the distance to the village closest to us, and became confident in the “cushion” of safety that I always created when there was contact with the enemy. I took into account the direction of the wind - a turbulent air mass escaping from the neck of the gorge into the open space.

We got used to the surroundings, breathed in the air, saturated with the smell of camel thorn and something else similar to the wormwood of the Volga steppes. “I guess I won’t go head-on. I’ll direct the patrol to the ridge, where we’ll hide in the shadow cast by the ridge—the upper contour of the ridge.”

– Did you take a closer look, Ksendikov? Did you breathe?

- That's right!

“Take to the right and carefully approach the mountain!” Take your time! Azimuth - ninety. Further three thousand meters... The height, facing us with a flat slope, is the ambush site in accordance with the decision! Next - signals.

Having “broken away” from the group, the patrol followed a conventional curve, designated when clarifying the order of approach to the ambush target. Gradually drawn into the shadow formed by the crest of the ridge, they dissolved in it, lost to the enemy...

The difficult period of getting involved in the task sharpened the reflexes by external factors. First of all – sound! A gust of wind, the howl of jackals, the cry of donkeys threw the body on the ground, polishing the self-preservation reaction given to man by nature. Workout! Workout! And once again, training at the base polished the skill of approaching an object of interest.

- How, Yesaulkov?

- Fine. “We are silent.”

Let's keep quiet! This means that the push-to-talk signal will not go on air, and the phrase “Okay” will not be heard. If we remain silent, we will be safer!

The silence became louder, more dangerous - not silence, but the wolfish habit of “spirits” sneaking around in the thick darkness of the cooling night. We had already reached a “bundle” of roads that entered the crevice in a “bundle,” as I conventionally called them, having seen them from a helicopter.

A chasm is a narrowed space of several hundred meters formed by ridges located opposite each other. The top of the left ridge closest to us is the site of an ambush on an enemy caravan. If the caravan leaves at night, it will not pass us by. It didn’t matter whether he chose the northern road relative to our peak or the southern one - the caravan was doomed on any route. And here's why. The highlight was that no matter which path the head of the caravan (caravan-bashi) chose after leaving the gorge: north or south, the caravan would go past our mountain. Northern? “The caravan will be between the ambush group and the village, which is two kilometers away on open steppe. With sudden fire from an ambush we will inflict irreparable damage on him and finish him off in an open field. He has nowhere to go! True, in this scenario there is a significant addition - possible support from the population of the village (local militia) for the protection of the caravan. That is, I did not rule out a joint attack by the residents of the village and the cover of the caravan. This would create a certain problem, but still not a very big one. The enemy could attack us from one direction, in a consolidated manner, but only from one.

If the caravan took the southern route, it was all the more doomed to death, and without any options. He will find himself trapped by dagger fire in a crevice, where no one will help him! Without the possibility of maneuver, retreating back, moving forward, resistance under fire from above, there is only one path - to Allah. With this development of events, the local militia may also join in supporting the ambushed caravan, especially since among the covering militants there may be people from the area of ​​​​operation. But help for the caravan will come later! The “Spirits” will need to understand the situation and reach the attack line, which is inconvenient from the point of view of the position of their villages on the ground. We will gain time and will stall until the arrival of the “turntables” with the reserve group of Alexander Perepechin.

This is how the upcoming battle looked like. In case the caravan goes! No? We'll take off before dawn and go to the evacuation square at the base and wait for the next time to work as it should. Our work, without intelligence support in the fight against caravans, boiled down to the principle: “lucky or unlucky.”

On the right, the highlight of the ambush opened - a crevice that concealed a “trap” for the enemy. She did not leave a single chance for a favorable outcome to the caravan that got into it. Got involved? That's all!

- Comrade senior! Caravan!

The sergeant was not mistaken, he was right a thousand times! A “burubukhaika” came out of the gorge, heavily waddling over potholes. Examining the colorful object in the burning strip of dawn, he whispered: “Faster, faster!” The subconscious reacted to a psycho-emotional state - danger! Target!

Meanwhile, the battered wreck, spitting black exhaust of unburnt fuel, reached the finish line of the “trap” laid out for her! She walked into it with some kind of dignity, carrying the caravan line with her. Next came camels, loaded with burgundy-colored luggage, bales, moored with leather straps. Behind the “kings of the desert” horse-drawn carts creaked. The riders who sat on them, rocking in their saddles, were clearly struggling with sleep. Apparently, the life of a dushman is hard! Oh, it's heavy!

The pack-pulling force was accompanied by over two dozen armed men dressed in dark, wide clothes. They wandered in the same half-asleep manner along the sides of the dusty road, recovering their strength from the grueling journey through the mountains. The fatigue of the dushmans was considered a good sign, indicating their lower combat effectiveness and reaction in resisting.

Next came tractors with trailed carts - not large, but nimble machines capable of pulling over a ton of payload. There and the “tail” of the “spiritual” “thread” - three pickups. They emerged from the gorge, illuminated by a ray of sun that slid from behind the snowy peaks of the Hindu Kush.

– Are you okay, Igor?

“We’ll fight again, Comrade Senior Lieutenant!” – Nishchenko grinned.

- Hold on, buddy, I’m going to Azarnov.

In a few jerks he ran over to the commander of the third squad.

“The caravan is approaching, Andrey, gather in a small group.” “Pulls” his parrot-looking wreck. Ordinary! Most likely, the “spirits” had no choice but to use it after crossing the pass about twenty kilometers from here.

- Is it a big caravan, Comrade Senior Lieutenant?

- Serious, Andrey, God willing, we’ll “swallow it”! We work according to instructions! I use a “tracer” to “remove” the driver – a signal for a caravan attack! You, from the “Fly” (RPG-18), “extinguish” the last car, thereby tightly closing the “trap”. Do you understand?

- That's right!

- And there, “leave” the escort of the caravan! Don't let him raise his head, but carefully - single. And, as the song says, “write letters in small handwriting”! Hood?

- All! Yesaulkov and I are to the right of you, “148th” - to the reception.

I looked at the landmark - a piece of limestone rock. As soon as the “head” of the caravan reaches it, I will signal the start of the attack with a shot.

It’s unlikely that the “driver” in the skullcap, embroidered with gold thread, pearls, or beads, would have guessed that, having been drawn into the crevice, he would lose his maneuver. There was no turning back! It will be covered by camels, tractors and carts that followed. All units of the caravan escort were deprived of the opportunity to turn back to take a combat position when attacking an ambush group, to escape fire from both peaks forming a narrow passage.

The conclusions from the assessment of the situation did not raise any doubts. If the speed of the caravan does not change and it follows at the same pace, most of the caravan will be exposed to sudden fire. The rest of it, remaining behind the neck of the “trap,” will be destroyed by Perkov’s group.

The optimism was justified. There was the required density of caravan wiring units (structure). That is, the distances between cars, donkeys, camels, horses - all combined. It is they who will enter the zone of greatest destruction from small arms and hand grenades from the crests of the ridges. There was still time to figure it out and make some clarifications! He was not allowed the unaffordable luxury of trembling, doubting!

Time – 6.30. The air group takes off in ten minutes. To create illusions about the equipment used by dushmans to move goods from abroad is empty talk. Her role was not always speed of movement and often boiled down to the task of getting to the final unloading point, and there - even before dawn! This suited those forming caravans in Pakistan and those who met them on Afghan territory. “The dog barks - the caravan moves on!” A wise eastern proverb reflected the true mentality of the local population, whose life was structured by the will of the Almighty.

“Spirits” used vehicles on certain sections of the route, in our case the final ones, which gave rise to thoughts about the presence in the gorge of transshipment bases and points where weapons, ammunition, communications equipment, and medicines were accumulated. Later, this “good” was “packaged” into detachments and formations, posing a real threat to Soviet troops.

Where, where are the agents of the KGB, GRU, military counterintelligence, and other “exotic” and “security” structures that would be engaged in obtaining information on Dushman’s postings?

Meanwhile, the “fighters for the faith” wandered aloofly along the sides of the road, not noticing either the equipment climbing over the rocks of the chasm or the exhausted animals. They walked, “huddled” next to camels, horses, mules, choosing a place in the marching order of the caravan. Most likely, for everyday reasons than for the interests of security functions - less dust and gas emissions. The animals' luggage made of bright flowers contained water, food, bedding for the night - comfortable and everything, just like people!

In this case, the distribution of responsibilities within the escort - provision, escort, security of the caravan - did not matter to us. All of them were jointly responsible for its delivery to its destination, which was known only to the caravan bashi. Well armed, prepared, angry and bloodthirsty.

Ensuring the caravan in the broadest sense of the word means its survivability along the route through Afghan territory. It is “attached” to it by a system of rules and is aimed in the interests of intelligence support, attracting militia, and leading the caravan to safe routes. Based on tactical considerations, the support group in escort tasks had broader and deeper functions than guarding the caravan.

The security functions regarding the cover object, first of all, implied its combat purpose and the immediate safety of the caravan. In the name of his salvation, the guards will fight until the last Mujahideen.

So, the closure of the caravan “fit” into the zone of influence of the ambush group’s fire. This completely deprived the caravan escort of the opportunity to maneuver, assume a combat position, counteract and exit the situation. Moreover, the enemy found himself in a situation of complete inability to attack us from the front or aggravate the situation on the vulnerable right flank.

“Burubukhayka” had to go about two hundred meters to the line that served as the beginning of the attack. Behind her, a little behind, a line of camels “floated”, compactly drawn into the fashion show, then came tractors, pickup trucks with two DShKs in the cargo compartments. The caravan units “fit” into the boundaries of the area of ​​continuous destruction, within which the fire of the ambush group will concentrate on the guard with the task of destroying it in the first seconds of the battle. Thus, the “spirits” fell into their own classically placed “fire bag” - the “dushman trap”, as we scouts called it!

Fixed his gaze on the target - the driver. Sitting nearby was a passenger in a white lunga - a caravan bashi, no less! The appearance of a respectable dushman was not misleading, pointing to him as a representative of the management level in the chain of supply of goods to Afghanistan. I didn’t have to choose – I’ll take him first! A little more, a little more! You cannot leave a “tail” behind the neck of an area of ​​continuous damage! Otherwise, he will fall out of the line of fire of the scouts, and the cut off “spirits” may decide to resist with an uncontrolled maneuver from the rear, flanks. Therefore, Azarnov’s department was charged with the duty of blocking the closure of the caravan in order to deprive it of action.

“Comrade senior lieutenant, Baravkov is in touch,” Esaulkov whispered.

– I’m listening, “11”.

- “Perfume, “03”. Up to twenty “bayonets” left the village.

So, the bastards, they interact... Again, everything is like with people... It’s 6.40 on the clock. The helicopter group is in the air. “Oh, it was - it wasn’t!”

– “11”, “humpbacks” are on the way. Let us go a hundred meters and - with God - forward! Don’t identify yourself before our attack.

- Got it, “03”.

On air? Well, did you spot it? Nooooo, late! It didn't matter! The caravan was pulled into a narrow part of the crevice, finding itself in the line of dagger fire from the ambush. If the “spirits” were listening to the broadcast, they would not have time to react. Here they are all - “burubukhaika”, a string of animals, guards with a monotonous zombie step and Chinese AKs on their shoulders... The caravan is in a trap! Time!

– “10”, readiness! Reception.

“I understand,” answered Perkov.

The last seconds before the attack are tiringly alarming! An unpleasant chill in the stomach, the pounding of one’s own heart, tearing the vest on the chest... However, it’s time! The front sight of the battle-tested AKMS was combined with the sight slot, “superimposing” the conventional shot line (distance 100 - no more) on the white turban of the caravan bashi, then on the driver. He practiced transferring fire from one target to another with a couple of movements and, casting an extreme glance at the caravan, pulled the trigger of the machine gun.

The caravan bashi and the driver buried their heads in the dashboard. Muffled shots from hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers from Azarnov’s subgroup destroyed the Burubukhaika and the pickup truck that brought up the rear of the column. “Dushmansky Trap” has closed! Automatic bursts swept away a handful of “spirits” of guards and escorts. The animals that fell under the bullets blocked the path of wheeled vehicles, which became easy prey for destruction by the convenient RPG-18 (“Flies”) in these cases. More than a dozen Dushman bodies lay where they were killed in the first seconds of the attack. The wounded crawled from the line of fire, trying to find cover behind animal corpses, stones, and overturned tractor carts.

The destruction of enemy personnel is determined by the second goal of the operation. The “Spiritual” column turned into a pitiful sight!

- “12th”, “13th”, control the consumption of ammunition,” Nishchenko and Azarnov commanded.

The wounded dushmans and those who did not come under the deadly fire of the ambush attempted resistance. From an uncomfortable position, they fired from bottom to top with single shots, probably counting on the support of the militia. “Crush the resistance, otherwise they will organize on the right flank!” - flashed through my head.

- “13”, you are under fire! Can't you see?

– Finish it if you see it! They beat us for packs and corpses of horses.

- “03”, they walked around to the left, concentrated on them.

- In order?

- “Extinguish” these, they are firing at you.

Yesaulkov and I cannot reach those dushmans who shot back in the Nishchenko sector. The corpses of dead animals were in the way.

- “11”, what do you have? – asked Baravkova.

“The Dushars lay down, assess the situation, hear the battle, but take no action.

- Soooo, Gena, don’t wait for them to come to a decision on how to proceed! They assess the situation, think about what is happening behind the mountain. Maybe they're waiting for reinforcements. Monitor their movements and report changes in the situation.

- Got it, “03”!

Baravkov controlled the situation from a dangerous village direction, but the surprise factor of the attack had already passed; in about five minutes the militia would understand what it had to do, despite the fact that it consisted mostly of boys of about sixteen years old and old men. They are damn agile and are not afraid of death - they climb right through.

- “12”, “spirits” behind the “burubukhaika”, don’t take your eyes off her.

- I see! The wounded were dragged behind her.

“They’ll come to their senses and open fire.” If the “fly” hits the car, it will ricochet and hit them.

- “Smalnu.”

A hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher banged. Stones and rubble indirectly swept away the “spirits” hiding behind the car.

– “03”, I’m “11”, welcome.

– I’m listening, Gena.

– “Spirits” in two groups of ten to twelve fighters left the villages.

– Actions of the first group?

- It seems they are about to attack.

- “It seems” doesn’t count, damn you! Evaluate their actions!

- “03”, by all indications - they are about to attack.

- Distance?

- Six hundred meters.

- Prepare smokes - “turntables” on approach.

- I understand you.

Orient showed 6.55. The helicopter group is about to appear on the horizon, it’s time to take it to the target. The “spirits” tried to unblock the caravan.

– Communication with the “turntables”, Esaulkov.

The signalman handed over the station's headset for communication with aviation.

– “Zarya”, “Zarya”, I – “03”, welcome.

– I am “Zarya”, welcome.

- “Zarya”, I am fighting with the “spiritual” “thread” in the coordinates... From the direction of Hoshi, he was attacked by three groups of “spirits” of up to fifteen people in each. At the site with the coordinates... land an inspection team to load the captured weapons on board. Ours are there! They will mark themselves with orange smoke and cover the landing. How did you understand? Reception.

There is silence on the air. The squadron commander analyzed the situation, realizing that the evacuation of the group followed a different scenario, and the current situation in our country increased the risk of losing crews. But the helicopter pilot is determined.

- “03”, I am “Zarya”, I’m coming to you, check your directions.

- I give you smokes!

I grabbed the R-148 headset:

- Gena, mark yourself with smoke and urgently - for the stones! "Turntables" are approaching!

– Got it, “03”.

– “10”, can you hear us?

Perkov got the hang of the problem - excellent. “148th” came to life again:

– “03”, I – “11”, “spirits” are approaching.

- Got it, Gena! Let them approach 300 meters and – singles! Singles! "Zarya" entered the combat course.

- “Zarya”, “Zarya”, I - “03”, mine are indicated by smoke: azimuth - 140, as I understand it, reception?

- Got it, “03”! Understood! Are you watching me?

- I don’t see! I'm on the return slope of the summit.

-I-I-I see...

According to “148th” - Baravkov:

– Gena, are you watching the “turntables”?

– I see “03”, “humpbacks” are going on the attack.

- Why the hell are you silent? Have you identified yourself?

- That's right!

Into the microphone "809":

- “Zarya”, I am “03”, do you see any smoke?

- I see! The goal too.

- Work, dear!

– I’m attacking, “03”!

“Ugh, damn, it’s so hot!” Wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his landing jacket, he looked around the caravan. A pathetic sight... The corpses of dead animals with the bodies of the dushman guards lay in pools of blood, whetting the appetite of Afghan flies. The limbs of skinned arms and legs protruded from the small shelters occupied by dushmans who did not come under mortal fire. But even there, the scouts’ bullets found the “spiritual” bodies, cutting them into pieces.

Shots rang out from the defeated caravan. I identified three centers of resistance, from where the “spirits” fired lazy fire. The squeal of the ricochet was ear-piercing. In the movies, bullets whistle above your head, pressing you to the ground, but in a real situation they rustle - unpleasant and very alarming...

– What do you have, “11”? – asked Baravkova.

- They snap, you bastards!

- How many are in front of the front?

- Forty people, exactly.

– Single shots, as they taught: “My shot is the first and on target!” What's not clear?

- It's clear! The “spirits” beat for warning, they wait.

– Control them and keep them at a distance.

- “Humpbacks” won’t “iron” me?

- Don't worry! They see you, but keep the smokes at hand - you’ll be calmer with them!

The surviving dushmans were stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements, not yet knowing that they would be desperately “threshed” by the “turntables” of the shuravi. In general, the situation was ripe for the final defeat of the caravan. It's time to bring Perkov's hidden group into battle.

Pasha saw the situation in real time, heard radio traffic on the air and, without a doubt, was eager to turn on for the final destruction of the caravan.

– “10”, welcome.

- At the reception.

– Are you seeing pockets of resistance?

- Like in a shooting gallery.

- Good humor! Divide the goals between the “pencils” and work on command.

- Got it, “03”.

With an equally sudden blow, Perkov finished off the “spiritual” escort of the caravan from the reverse slope of the ridge.

“03”, I’m “11”, Baravkov interjected.

– I’m listening, “11”.

- I'm fighting. Two “spiritual” groups are treated with “humpbacks”. They piled a bunch of them.

– Don’t flatter yourself! Hold on!

– There’s no time to flatter yourself! The first “spirits” are really trying to get closer! Are you crazy or stoned?

- They “hug” towards you because they are avoiding the blow of the “turntables”.

- There are two hundred meters left...

- Hit with singles! Where will they go?

The “spirits,” escaping the helicopter fire, pressed Baravkov’s scouts as they approached. The devils knew that the “turntables” do not work as “nurses” at a close distance from their own.

- “Zarya”, I am “03”, over.

- At the reception.

– Call for support.

- I understand, they know the situation at the base, they will be there in about thirty minutes.

- Fine.

The clock says 7.35. The main thing is done! The situation has been turned towards success! All that remains is to sort out the trophies and take them to the site for loading on board.

“Comrade senior lieutenant, hunchbacks,” the signalman handed the headset.

– “03” at the reception.

– “Zarya” reports, the target is destroyed! Some of the “bearded” retreated to the village, where there were women and children.

- Got it, buddy, leave them alone! How are my “pencils” at the top? Can you help?

- I'm watching. They are in contact with a group of "spirits". Very close, I don't see the flanks.

- I'll fix it!

I would like to take a sip of water, but there’s no time!

– “11”, I – “03”, reception.

There is a rustle on the air and nothing else.

– “11”, “11”, I – “03”, over.

Baravkov did not answer.

- Esaulkov, call “11.”

What about Baravkov? Why is he silent? The severity of the battle had shifted to his squad's position - this was obvious, but the sergeant was silent. What's happened?

- Baravkov answered, Comrade Senior Lieutenant.

- Gena, motherfucker... Why didn’t you answer?

- The “spirits” are creeping in.

- Stay in touch. Clear?

- That's right.

- What do you have? Report!

- They are coming to their full height.

- Go out alone, do you hear me?

– “Humpbacks” will help, mark the flanks with smoke. How did you understand? Reception.

– Take cover when the “humpbacks” attack!

Where is Perkov? What does he have? Sweat poured into my eyes, my vest stuck to my body - no matter how hard I squeeze it.

– “10”, I – “03”, over.

- I am “10”.

- How are you?

– The targets were hit, I had no comments during shooting.

Joker! Among intelligence officers, Pasha was known as a reserved, hidden person, and he, it turns out, was good at making jokes. He broadcast a report from the shooting course at the end of the shooting.

- Understood. Control the situation using the “string” of “spirits” and ensure the landing of the “eights” with the inspection group. Reception.

– “10” I understood.

– Are you sure it’s clean and won’t be treated upon landing?

- Fine.

- Prepare your smokes.

– Got it, “03”.

- Yesaulkov, water.

He splashed water on his face and took a few sips. “Oh-oh-oh,” and almost choked. Behind the peak, where Baravkov’s scouts were fighting, the unpleasant grinding of aircraft cannons was heard. The “turntables” walked sideways through the village “spirits”.

- “148th”, Nikolai.

– “11”, I – “03”, reception.

“11” at the reception,” answered Gennady.

- Situation?

- Fine. The “turntables” worked with guns. The target is covered.

- Heard. Don't let the "spirits" fire.

- Got it, “03”.

Already good. The situation at Baravkov was settled with the effective entry of the “twenty-fourths”. It's time to land Perepechina's group!

– “10”, I – “03”, over.

– Are you ready to meet the “eights”?

- I’ll smoke it and cover it.

- Work!

A packed caravan lay spread out under the hill. Impressed! No shots are heard. Are you hiding? However, no, the silence is real. Azarnov and Nishchenko reported the destruction of the caravan's guards and escorts.

– “Zarya”, I – “03”, what’s the situation?

- I am Zarya, I cleared out the bearded ones.

- Land the troops. The landmark is smoke on the opposite peak.

– I understand, “03”, I’m going to the site.

- Got it, Zarya.

I got in touch with Perkov.

– “10”, I – “03”, over.

- At the reception.

- There's smoke urgently, the helicopters are landing.

– Got it, “03”.

A pair of “eights” entered Perkov’s site. The "Twenty-Fourth", forming a circle over the hill, covered them with airborne weapons.

- “12th”, “13th”, ensure landing of “02nd” (call sign Perepechina).

After landing on the site, it is not easy for Alexander to fit into the dynamics of the battle, to understand and deal with the enemy. He had superficial information about the seizure of the caravan. However, his scouts competently jumped out from both sides and, taking up positions, covered the helicopters taking off. Fine!

– “02”, I – “03”, over.

– “02”, at the reception.

Understanding the state of Sashka, who did not have information about the destruction of the caravan, he introduced him to the situation:

- Everything is fine, “02”! Look around, there is “10” next to you. Pasha is acting under your cover. The situation is under control, we are working according to plan. How did you understand?

- I understand you, I understand. However…

– Listen carefully: the caravan is in front of you, the guards have been destroyed, but be careful. Go downstairs and thirty minutes - no more - to transfer the trophies to the site. You are covered from both ridges. How did you understand? Reception.

“02,” I direct Alexander, “learn the “burubuhayka.” In her cabin there is a senior “spiritual” “thread”. Documents, papers, other rubbish - take with you.

– Got it, “03”.

The inspection team began collecting weapons, ammunition, documents and everything related to them. Perepechin will destroy mines, shells, and small arms ammunition with an overhead charge on the spot. But Perepechin needs help collecting weapons and carrying them to the landing site.

– “11”, I – “03”, reception.

– “11” at the reception.

- Situation?

- Okay, “03.” No movement is visible, the villages are under control.

- Clear. I charge the general cover of the task. How did you understand?

- Yes, I accepted.

So, Gena is fine. In about twenty minutes a helicopter flight will arrive to evacuate trophies and scouts. Gena and Azarnov will cover, but Alexander needs help! I will strengthen it with Nishchenko’s department.

– “12”, welcome.

- At the reception.

- Come down urgently and help us collect trophies. You fly to the base from “02” and “10”. Reception.

- Got it, I'll get started.

– “02”, I – “03”.

– I’m listening.

– I’m sending “12th” to help, it’s evacuating with you, speed up the collection of trophies. Reception.

- Got it, “03”.

The main part of the task is completed. What remains is technical support for the evacuation of the captured weapons and group to the base.

“02,” asked Perepechina.

– I’m listening.

– Walk through the corpses, look at what they have in their bosoms and backpacks.

– “Burubukhaiku” worked. Full of anti-tank mines and rubbish! I examined the bodies, seized the documents, and am going to the end of the “thread.”

- Accepted.

Well done, Sasha! The documents will shed light on the supply of weapons by the West and Arab countries to the Dushman troops. The consolidation of the Arab world with the Americans on the Afghan issue was an obvious, overt act of interference in the affairs of Afghanistan. “The task of Airborne Forces intelligence is to suppress the supply of weapons to a war-torn country, as well as to present to the world community the evidence base for intervention from outside,” the command of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division was confident.

This issue was raised at a meeting of officers by the head of the division's political department, Colonel Stanislav Andreevich Timoshenko. Intelligence will provide material evidence that will shed light on the dark affairs of a number of countries unfriendly to the USSR.

“Comrade senior lieutenant, turntables,” shouted Yesaulkov.

- Communication, Nikolai.

The broadcast asked me:

– “03”, I – “Zarya-2”, over.

– “03” is listening.

- How is the situation?

– I’m curling up. Walk above us - is everything okay?

- Accepted.

The scouts completed collecting weapons and carrying them to the landing site. In touch - Perepechin.

– “03”, reception.

– “Burubuhaika” with anti-tank mines is ready for destruction.

– Make sure that all the “pencils” are with you, and “lift” her into the air.

About two minutes later there came a black cloud of smoke, the roar of war. It took a long time for stones, rubble, and the remains of a smashed “burubukhaika” to fall. How many lives of the crews of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and wheeled vehicles were preserved on the dusty Afghan roads? - It's hard to say! But we, the intelligence officers, had information about the Dushman resistance, which received huge quantities of anti-tank mines from Pakistan to combat armored targets of the Soviet troops. The “Spirits” declared a mine war on us, and I must admit, they effectively used mines against the equipment of the Soviet Army.

Somewhat later, when the supply of weapons and ammunition to Afghanistan becomes widespread, the dushmans will use the high-explosive method of using them. The losses of Soviet equipment and crews of combat vehicles on Afghan roads will increase many times over. This time we destroyed one of the many shipments of mine cargo intended for the Dushman troops. It's time to leave.

– “11”, “13”, answer “03”.

- At the reception.

- Exit to the site!

Baravkov and Azarnov reported their readiness to disengage and go out to the opposite slope of the ridge, from where we would evacuate to the base.

- “13”, throw forward, I’ll cover.

- Accepted.

- “11”, I’m “03”, cover “13th”, he’s going down the hill.

- Ready, I’ll cover it.

Andrei's group rushed downstairs. About fifteen minutes later she climbed to the next peak.

“Zarya-2,” I am “03,” over,” he called the helicopter flight commander.

- I am Zarya-2.

– Ready to load, I’m giving smokes.

- Accepted.

Perepechina – according to “148th”:

– “02”, mark the area with smoke, meet the “eights”.

– Got it, “03”.

Baravkov and his squad were on the opposite side of our peak - it was time to “pull” him to the evacuation site.

– “11”, I – “03”, reception.

– I’m listening to you.

- Situation?

- In order.

- Take off and throw it onto the opposite platform. Don't lose your sense of smell - take a look!

- Yes, “03”.

Yesaulkov and I also starred. Following Azarnov's scouts, they went down to the road, where the caravan was smeared with point-blank dagger fire. Interspersed with dead camels, donkeys, and horses, there were about two dozen bodies of “fighters for the faith.” Streaks of blood on stones and gravel. Several bodies lay behind roadside boulders. They probably did not come under fire from the first bursts and ducked into cover, and Perkov’s scouts - Paltsev, Yarukov, Zuev - took them out with bullets from the opposite slope.

Here are the bodies of the “spirits” at the exploded “burubukhaika”. He looked at the main one - the caravan bashi, whom Perepechin pulled to the side of the road to inspect his clothes. I glanced over the dead - over thirty, forty years old, no young people in sight. Multiple wounds left no chance of life, although grabbing the “tongue” didn’t hurt at all. But Perepechin reported that the guards had injuries incompatible with life. The shabby robes, vests, and torn trousers did not indicate the wealth of the “spiritual” militants. Apparently, the Dushman's path is not easy. The sandals on the blue feet of the corpses, covered with scabs, are broken and worn out. The caravan crossed the Spingar mountain system at an altitude of over 4,700 meters, where there is eternal snow and glaciers. Light shoes are not suitable for such travel. But the fact remains a fact.

Here they lie, peaceful, quiet and not scary, as they might seem at first. Myriads of Afghan flies happily torment the cooling bodies... If you did not know about the wild atrocities of the dushmans, you could classify them as martyrs of Allah... Let him deal with them and judge. M-yes-ah...

- Hurry up, Esaulkov.

- Comrade Senior Lieutenant, would you allow me to take off my “spiritual” “bra”? Look, Chinese.

- Fast.

The unloading vest of a killed dushman is a good trophy for a scout. At that time, the domestic industry did not supply us with the equipment we needed in battle; we used captured equipment.

– “03”, I – “Zarya-2”, over.

– In twenty minutes, Zarya will return for you.

- In the air?

- They're taking off.

So, Zarya-2 evacuates the trophies, scouts Perkov and Nishchenko. The fighters Perepechina and Baravkova who remained with me will be removed by the Zarya flight, which has been working with us since the morning.

I found myself at the landing site at the moment when the loading of trophies into the “eights” had finished. We hugged Pavel, but we had to take off.

- Go ahead, Pasha, go ahead, you deserve a hundred grams!

“Twenty-fourth”, attached to the Mi-8, went to Kabul. It's time to take Baravkov out.

– “11”, pull yourself up to me!

Sat down on a stone. Tired. A normal amount of work has been completed, within the capabilities of one's strength, but a kilogram or more of nerves have been spent - the preventive part of the operation, waiting, uncertainty, change of situation...

The villages initially did not bode well. I knew that local dushmans, a militia capable of serious combat, stayed there for the winter. And they sent up to fifty angry “bayonets” against us, rushing to attack. There was much more enemy in the ambush area than expected during the course of the operation.

Baravkov’s report on the full-length “spiritual” attack sounded no less alarming. Having decided to take extreme measures, shouting: “Allah Akbar,” the dushmans were ready to even go to heaven. It is clear that this is a tactical maneuver to escape the air strike line! The dushmans were forced to go under the “cover” of the scouts, clinging to their position. What was their next calculation based on? It's hard to say! But the conclusion remains a conclusion: even in a calm environment, one should not lose caution.

Helicopter pilots killed a lot of dushmans. If we could also use the group, we could cleanse the “spirits” destroyed in the field. They have a lot of weapons left. Through binoculars you can see the outskirts of the village, people... Apparently, they were waiting for us to get out of here to pick up the bodies of our dead relatives. Although these are only a handful of “fighters for the faith” out of many thousands of others who crossed the Pakistani-Afghan border with arms in their hands.

Weapons captured in the caravan are a separate matter. It cannot be compared in quality to what the “spirits” owned at the beginning of 1980. During the year of war, the armament of the Dushman detachments, minefields, combat controls, and equipment changed qualitatively. The radio stations of the “spirits” are marked “Made in Japan”, “Made in China”, with functions of fast and private transmission of information. These facts speak volumes.

And in terms of combat, the “spirits” are different. They are masters of guerrilla tactics combined with mine warfare. The passes covered with snow reduced their activity in the mountains and populated areas, but did not in any way reduce the war on the roads. In places where military cargo was most intensively transported, mines and land mines were placed. Entire columns of military and other equipment flew into the air. Chinese-made hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and recoilless rifles, which were in service with the Swedish army, which appeared in the arsenal of the dushmans, certainly strengthened their combat component.

In small groups, the enemy carried out successful ambush operations against Soviet and government troops. It became increasingly difficult to find effective ways to combat the armed opposition, to keep abreast of its increased activity... And what to hide - to play to destroy the combat potential of the consolidated forces of the Afghan resistance. My thoughts were interrupted by the "twenty-fours" jumping out from behind the hill.

– “03”, I am “Zarya”, welcome.

- At the reception, dear.

– I went out into the area, clear, mark the area.

- I’m smoking - watch!

– “13”, welcome.

- Situation?

- I went out to the site. I see smoke.

- Understood. Landing!

Yesaulkov did not lag behind me, he was nearby, providing communication with aviation and groups. Well done! A worthy replacement for Kibitkin!

- Gena, is everything in place?

- All right, Comrade Senior Lieutenant.

- Azarnov?

- On the spot, checked.

- We're leaving.

He was the last to jump into the helicopter. The earth floated below. Out of the corner of my eye I “grabbed” a slaughtered caravan, destroyed “spirits”, villages with residents running into the field to their defeated relatives. How many of them fell out! Oh, how we need intelligence information! Through the residents of the villages, who knew everything about the “spiritual” detachments, it is possible to obtain information of paramount importance. Okay, it’s none of our business, we stayed alive and that’s good. Tomorrow back into battle!

– All right, “Siegfried”?

“That’s right, Comrade Senior Lieutenant,” the blue-eyed blond smiled. - Stopudovo!

- We will live!

Material prepared

Alexander Kolotilo.

"Red Star".

Photo from the archive of Valery Marchenko

We continue our series of publications about the war in Afghanistan.

Airborne Corporal Sergei Boyarkin Airborne Corporal Sergei Boyarkin
(317 RAP, Kabul, 1979-81)

During the entire period of service in Afghanistan (almost a year and a half) starting in December 1979. I have heard so many stories of how our paratroopers simply killed civilians that they simply cannot be counted, and I have never heard of our soldiers saving one of the Afghans - among soldiers, such an act would be regarded as aiding the enemies.

Even during the December coup in Kabul, which lasted all night on December 27, 1979, some paratroopers shot at unarmed people they saw on the streets - then, without a shadow of regret, they cheerfully recalled this as funny incidents.

Two months after the entry of troops - February 29, 1980. - The first military operation began in the province of Kunar. The main striking force was the paratroopers of our regiment - 300 soldiers who parachuted from helicopters on a high mountain plateau and went down to restore order. As the participants in that operation told me, order was restored in the following way: food supplies were destroyed in the villages, all livestock were killed; usually, before entering a house, they threw a grenade there, then fired with a fan in all directions - only after that they looked at who was there; all men and even teenagers were immediately shot on the spot. The operation lasted almost two weeks, no one counted how many people were killed then.

What our paratroopers did for the first two years in remote areas of Afghanistan was complete arbitrariness. Since the summer of 1980 The 3rd battalion of our regiment was sent to Kandahar province to patrol the territory. Without fearing anyone, they calmly drove along the roads and desert of Kandahar and could, without any explanation, kill any person they met on their way.

They killed him just like that, with a burst of machine gun fire, without leaving his BMD armor.
Kandahar, summer 1981

A photograph of that killed Afghan, which was taken from his belongings.

Here is the most common story that an eyewitness told me. Summer 1981 Kandahar province. Photo - a dead Afghan man and his donkey are lying on the ground. The Afghan man walked his way and led a donkey. The only weapon the Afghan had was a stick, with which he drove the donkey. A column of our paratroopers was traveling along this road. They killed him just like that, with a burst of machine gun fire, without leaving his BMD armor.

The column stopped. One paratrooper came up and cut off the ears of a killed Afghan - as a memory of his military exploits. Then a mine was placed under the Afghan's corpse to kill anyone else who discovered the body. Only this time the idea didn’t work - when the column started moving, someone couldn’t resist and finally fired a burst at the corpse from a machine gun - the mine exploded and tore the Afghan’s body into pieces.

The caravans they encountered were searched, and if weapons were found (and the Afghans almost always had old rifles and shotguns), then they killed all the people who were in the caravan, and even animals. And when the travelers did not have any weapons, then, sometimes, they used a proven trick - during a search, they quietly pulled out a cartridge from their pocket, and, pretending that this cartridge was found in the pocket or in the things of an Afghan, they presented it to the Afghan as evidence his guilt.

These photographs were taken from killed Afghans. They were killed because their caravan met a column of our paratroopers.
Kandahar summer 1981

Now it was possible to make fun of him: after listening to how the man hotly justified himself, convincing him that the cartridge was not his, they began to beat him, then watched him on his knees begging for mercy, but they beat him again and then shot him. Then they killed the rest of the people who were in the caravan.
In addition to patrolling the territory, paratroopers often ambushed enemies on roads and trails. These “caravan hunters” never found out anything - not even the presence of weapons on the travelers - they simply suddenly shot from cover at everyone who passed in that place, sparing no one, even women and children.

I remember one paratrooper, a participant in the hostilities, was delighted:

I would never have thought that this was possible! We kill everyone in a row - and we are only praised for it and given awards!

Here is the documentary evidence. Wall newspaper with information about the military operations of the 3rd battalion in the summer of 1981. in Kandahar province.

It can be seen here that the number of recorded killed Afghans is three times higher than the number of captured weapons: 2 machine guns, 2 grenade launchers and 43 rifles were seized, and 137 people were killed.

The Mystery of the Kabul Mutiny

Two months after the entry of troops into Afghanistan, on February 22-23, 1980, Kabul was rocked by a major anti-government uprising. Everyone who was in Kabul at that time remembered these days well: the streets were filled with crowds of protesting people, they shouted, rioted, and there was shooting throughout the city. This rebellion was not prepared by any opposition forces or foreign intelligence services; it began completely unexpectedly for everyone: both for the Soviet military stationed in Kabul and for the Afghan leadership. This is how Colonel General Viktor Merimsky recalls those events in his memoirs:

"... All the central streets of the city were filled with excited people. The number of demonstrators reached 400 thousand people... Confusion was felt in the Afghan government. Marshal S.L. Sokolov, Army General S.F. Akhromeev and I left our residence for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, where we met with the Minister of Defense of Afghanistan M. Rafi. He could not answer our question about what was happening in the capital...”

The reason that served as the impetus for such a violent protest by the townspeople was never clarified. Only after 28 years did I manage to find out the whole background of those events. As it turned out, the mutiny was provoked by the reckless behavior of our paratroopers.

Senior Lieutenant Alexander Vovk
Alexander Vovk

The first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuri Nozdryakov (right).
Afghanistan, Kabul, 1980

It all started with the fact that on February 22, 1980, in Kabul, senior lieutenant Alexander Vovk, a senior Komsomol instructor in the political department of the 103rd Airborne Division, was killed in broad daylight.

The story of Vovk’s death was told to me by the first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuri Nozdryakov. This happened near the Green Market, where Vovk arrived in a UAZ along with the head of the air defense of the 103rd Airborne Division, Colonel Yuri Dvugroshev. They were not performing any task, but, most likely, they just wanted to buy something at the market. They were in the car when suddenly one shot was fired - the bullet hit Vovk. Dvugroshev and the soldier-driver did not even understand where the shots were coming from and quickly left the place. However, Vovk’s wound turned out to be fatal, and he died almost immediately.

Deputy commander of the 357th regiment, Major Vitaly Zababurin (in the middle).
Afghanistan, Kabul, 1980

And then something happened that shook the whole city. Having learned about the death of their comrade in arms, a group of officers and warrant officers of the 357th Parachute Regiment, led by the deputy regiment commander, Major Vitaly Zababurin, got into armored personnel carriers and went to the scene of the incident to confront the local residents. But, having arrived at the scene of the incident, they did not bother themselves with finding the culprit, but in the heat of the moment decided to simply punish everyone who was there. Moving along the street, they began to smash and destroy everything in their path: they threw grenades at houses, fired from machine guns and machine guns on armored personnel carriers. Dozens of innocent people fell under the hot hand of the officers.
The massacre ended, but news of the bloody pogrom quickly spread throughout the city. Thousands of indignant citizens began to flood the streets of Kabul, and riots began. At this time I was on the territory of the government residence, behind the high stone wall of the Palace of the Peoples. I will never forget that wild howl of the crowd, instilling fear that made my blood run cold. The feeling was the most terrible...

The rebellion was suppressed within two days. Hundreds of Kabul residents died. However, the real instigators of those riots, who massacred innocent people, remained in the shadows.

Three thousand civilians in one punitive operation

At the end of December 1980 Two sergeants from the 3rd battalion of our regiment came to our guardhouse (it was in the Palace of the Peoples, in Kabul). By that time, the 3rd battalion had been stationed near Kandahar for six months and was constantly participating in combat operations. Everyone who was in the guardhouse at that time, including myself, listened carefully to their stories about how they were fighting. It was from them that I first learned about this major military operation, and heard this figure - about 3,000 Afghans killed in one day.

In addition, this information was confirmed by Viktor Marochkin, who served as a driver mechanic in the 70th brigade stationed near Kandahar (it was there that the 3rd battalion of our 317th parachute regiment was included). He said that the entire 70th brigade took part in that combat operation. The operation proceeded as follows.

In the second half of December 1980, a large settlement (presumably Tarinkot) was surrounded in a semi-ring. They stood like that for about three days. By this time, artillery and Grad multiple rocket launchers had been brought up.
On December 20, the operation began: a Grad and artillery attack was carried out on the populated area. After the first salvos, the village was plunged into a continuous cloud of dust. The shelling of the populated area continued almost continuously. Residents, in order to escape from shell explosions, ran from the village into the field. But there they began to shoot them from machine guns, BMD guns, four “Shilkas” (self-propelled guns with four combined large-caliber machine guns) fired non-stop, almost all the soldiers fired from their machine guns, killing everyone: including women and children.

After the shelling, the brigade entered the village, and the remaining residents were killed there. When the military operation ended, the entire ground around was strewn with corpses of people. They counted about 3000 (three thousand) corpses.

A combat operation in a village, carried out with the participation of the 3rd battalion of our regiment.
Kandahar, summer 1981