Panjshir offensives

Part of the Soviet-Afghan War

Date

1980 – 1985

Location

Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan

Result

Inconclusive;

Soviet occupation of Panjshir Valley
Soviet withdrawal; Mujahideen reoccupation of Panjshir Valley

Belligerents

Soviet Union

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

Shura-e Nazar

Commanders and leaders

Leonid Brezhnev

Konstantin Chernenko

Sergei Sokolov

Norat Ter-Grigoryants

Ruslan Aushev

Babrak Karmal

Ahmad Shah Massoud (mainly)

Inconclusive;

The Panjshir offensives (Russian: Панджшерские операции – Panjsher Operations) were a series of battles between the Soviet Army and groups of Afghan Mujahideen under Ahmad Shah Massoud for the control of the strategic Panjshir Valley, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the period from 1980 to 1985.

These battles saw some of the most violent fighting of the whole war, during the nine campaigns launched, coordinated Soviet assaults would regularly drive out the Mujahideen from the valley but they would return as soon as the Soviets left.

The Panjshir Valley lies 70 km north of Kabul, in the Hindu Kush mountains close to the Salang Pass, which connects Kabul to the northern areas of Afghanistan and further on to Uzbekistan, then part of the Soviet Union. In June 1979, an insurrection led by Ahmed Shah Massoud expelled all government forces, and the valley became a guerrilla stronghold. From the Panjshir, Mujahideen groups frequently carried out ambushes against Soviet convoys bringing supplies to the 40th Army stationed in Afghanistan. The Salang Pass became a dangerous area, and Soviet truck drivers were even awarded decorations for having successfully crossed it. The pressure on the logistic system determined the Soviet command to try and dislodge the rebels.

Soviet offensives into the Panjshir Valley had three main tactical features. There was (1) the concentration of air assets, including extensive aerial bombardment of a target area followed by (2) the landing of helicopter forces to stop the withdrawal of enemy forces and engage the enemy from unexpected directions and (3) a drive by of mechanized forces into areas of guerrilla support in conjunction with the helicopter landing parties. It was these kinds of tactics that caused so much destruction in the civilian populations in these regions. By forcing the mass migration of civilians from the Panjshir Valley and destroying all crops and livestock, the Soviets hoped to deprive Ahmad Shah Massoud of resources to sustain his full-time fighters.

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Wikipedia