There is nothing under the sun that did not exist before. The entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979 was not the first. Even at the dawn of Soviet power, the Bolsheviks tried to extend their influence over this country.
Battlefield - Afghanistan
For several hundred years, the British Empire moved north from India, expanding its sphere of influence. The Russian Empire moved its borders towards it from north to south. In the 19th century, they met on the territory of Afghanistan, which became a battlefield. Intelligence agents of both countries muddied the waters, uprisings broke out, as a result of which the emir changed, and the country made a sharp turn in its foreign policy: yesterday's enemy became a friend and vice versa.
In 1919, the power in the country was seized by Amanullah Khan, who immediately unleashed a war against Great Britain with the aim of freeing him from her tutelage. The British defeated the Afghan troops. However, if Amanullah could make up for the casualties, the British could not. Therefore, the political gain remained with the Afghan emir - Great Britain recognized the right to independence for its former protectorate.
Emir (and since 1926 king) Amanullah began to intensively reform the country. The king introduced a constitution in the country, banned marriages with minors and polygamy, opened schools for women and, by special decree, obliged government officials to bring their daughters to them. Instead of traditional Afghan clothing, it was ordered to wear European.
The British retaliate
In 1928, photographs appeared in the European press in which the Queen of Afghanistan, Soraya Tarzi, was in a European dress and without a veil. The British tried to make this photo seen in every even the most remote Afghan village. The devout Muslims whispered: "Amanullah Khan betrayed the faith of the fathers."
In November 1928, the Pashtuns rose in the east of the country. Their leader, Khabibullah, suddenly had plenty of weapons and ammunition, and his military advisers spoke with an unfamiliar accent to Afghans. Unsurprisingly, the rebels won one military victory after another.
On January 17, 1929, the rebels took Kabul. With his first decrees, the new emir canceled all the reforms of Amanullah, introduced the Sharia courts, closed schools, and handed enlightenment to the clergy. Sectarian clashes broke out across the country, with Pashtun Sunnis slaughtering Shia Hazaras. Gangs began to appear in large numbers, taking control of entire areas. The country was slipping into anarchy.
Northern squad of "supporters of Amanullah"
Amanullah was not going to surrender and fled to Kandahar, where he began to gather an army to regain the throne. The advisers told him that it would be nice if, simultaneously with the attack from the south, the rebels were struck from the north. And soon the Consul General of Afghanistan, Gulyam Nabi-khan, appeared in the reception room of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, asking for permission to form a detachment of Amanullah's supporters on the territory of the USSR.
In Moscow, the request of Nabi Khan was immediately answered with consent. As a reciprocal "service", the Kremlin put forward a condition for the elimination of the Basmachi gangs based in Afghanistan and constantly harassing the southern regions of the USSR. The condition was accepted.
However, no "Afghan" detachment came out. Military instructors reported that the Afghans are excellent shooters, but they absolutely do not understand the structure of a rifle and, in order to reload it, they hit the bolt with a stone.
As for the basics of tactics, it is simply unrealistic to teach this yesterday's farmers. But do not give up because of such nonsense from the organization of the "liberation campaign"! Therefore, the basis of the detachment was the communists and Komsomol members of the Central Asian Military District.
All were dressed in Afghan military uniforms, soldiers and officers were given Asian names and strictly forbidden to speak Russian in the presence of strangers. The detachment was commanded by the "Turkish career officer Ragib-bey", he is also the red corps commander Vitaly Primakov, the legendary hero of the Civil War.
Hike
On the morning of April 15, a detachment of 2,000 sabers with 4 guns, 12 light and 12 heavy machine guns attacked the Patta-Gissar frontier post. Of the 50 Afghan border guards, only two survived. Having entered the territory of Afghanistan, a detachment of "supporters of Amanullah" moved to Kabul. On the same day, Amanullah himself set out from Kandahar.
On April 16, Primakov's detachment approached the city of Kelif. The garrison was asked to surrender and go home. The city's defenders responded with a proud refusal. But after several cannon shots, they changed their minds and left with their hands up. On April 17, the city of Khanabad was taken in the same way. On April 22, the detachment approached the city of Mazar-i-Sharif - the capital of the province, the fourth largest city in Afghanistan.
The gunners smashed the city gates with guns, and then the "supporters of Amanullah" with the Russian "Hurray!" went to the assault. The city was taken. But the Red Army men revealed themselves. In the surrounding mosques, the mullahs began to call upon devout Muslims for a holy jihad against the "Shuravi" who had invaded the country.
A detachment from the nearby town of Deidadi, reinforced by local militias, arrived at Mazar-i-Sharif. The Red Army was under siege. Several times the Afghans tried to take the city by storm. Shouting "Allahu Akbar!" they were marching in a dense formation right on the machine guns that mowed them down. One wave of attackers was replaced by another. The Red Army men held the city, but this could not go on indefinitely. I needed outside help.
Afghan victory march
On May 5, a second detachment of 400 men with 6 guns and 8 machine guns crossed the Afghan-Soviet border. Like the Primakovites, everyone was dressed in Afghan military uniforms. On May 7, the detachment approached Mazar-i-Sharif and unblocked the besieged with a sudden blow.
The united detachment left the city and on May 8 took Deidadi. Moving further to Kabul, the Red Army defeated the Ibrahim Bek's gang of 3,000 sabers and a detachment of the National Guard of 1,500 sabers sent against them. On May 12, the city of Balkh was taken, the next day - Tash-Kurgan.
The detachment moved south, capturing cities, crushing detachments, while incurring single losses. Ordinary Red Army men and junior commanders felt victorious, and Primakov grew gloomy every day. On May 18, having transferred command to Deputy Cherepanov, he flew to Moscow to report on the failure of the campaign.
Unsuccessful hike
Asking for support, Nabi Khan argued that the "supporters of Amanullah" in Afghanistan would be greeted with enthusiasm and that a small cavalry detachment would quickly acquire new formations. The detachment really grew in number, 500 Hazaras joined it during the week of the campaign, but in general the Red Army soldiers constantly had to face open hostility of the local population.
Throughout Afghanistan, the clergy urged Muslims to forget feuds and unite to fight the infidels. And these appeals found a response, the Afghans preferred to solve their internal problems themselves, without the intervention of foreigners.
In such a situation, the detachment advancing inland, moving further and further from the border, drove itself into a trap and could soon find itself in a very difficult situation. On May 22, news came that Amanullah, advancing on Kabul from the south, was defeated and left Afghanistan. The officials who were supposed to be part of the future government fled. The campaign took on the character of open intervention.
Military success, political failure
On May 28, a telegram arrived from Tashkent to Cherepanov with an order to return to the USSR. The detachment returned safely to its homeland. More than 300 participants in the campaign were awarded the Orders of the Red Banner "for the elimination of banditry in South Turkestan."
After the awarding procedure, all order-bearers were urged to forget about their participation in the Afghan campaign as soon as possible. For several decades, even mention of it was banned.
From a military point of view, the operation was successful: the detachment won brilliant victories with minimal losses. But political goals were not achieved. The hopes for the support of the local population did not come true, even Amanullah's supporters rose to fight against the foreigners.
Assessing the situation, the Bolsheviks abandoned their plans to establish control over Afghanistan and began to strengthen the southern border, preparing for a long struggle against the Basmachi, which was finally completed only by the beginning of the 40s.
Several decades will pass and the Afghan-Soviet border will again be crossed by the troops of the northern neighbor, in order to subsequently leave, only not in 1, 5 months, but in 10 years.
