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| 1 |
ID:
078275
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| Publication |
2007.
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| Summary/Abstract |
There is a literature and a common perception that the Soviets were defeated and driven from Afghanistan. This is not true. When the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989, they did so in a coordinated, deliberate, professional manner, leaving behind a functioning government, an improved military and an advisory and economic effort insuring the continued viability of the government. The withdrawal was based on a coordinated diplomatic, economic and military plan permitting Soviet forces to withdraw in good order and the Afghan government to survive. The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) managed to hold on despite the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Only then, with the loss of Soviet support and the increased efforts by the Mujahideen (holy warriors) and Pakistan, did the DRA slide toward defeat in April 1992. The Soviet effort to withdraw in good order was well executed and can serve as a model for other disengagements from similar nations.
During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979-1989, its occupation force, the 40th Army conducted 220 independent operations and over 400 combined operations of various scales.1 Many of these large-scale operations accomplished little, since this was primarily a tactical commanders' war. Some large-scale operations, such as the initial incursion into Afghanistan, Operation Magistral, which opened the highway to Khowst and the final withdrawal, were effective because the force employed was appropriate to the mission
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| 2 |
ID:
078274
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| Publication |
2007.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Military historians have written volumes about German Operation Blau, Hitler's offensive toward Stalingrad and into the Caucasus region in the summer of 1942, and about the ensuing dramatic battle for Stalingrad. However, they have paid far less attention to the military operations which preceded the famous German offensive. In addition to setting the stage for Operation Blau and conditioning German successes during the summer, the operations provided context for the climactic struggle that ensued in the Stalingrad and Caucasus regions. Exploiting new books on these subjects, as well as recent archival releases, this article summarizes the nature of those preliminary military operations, and by doing so provides necessary context for the more famous battle.
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