out of the tank and moved the barrier. He had gotten back into his tank and driven past as we reached our positions. Mulla Latif was breathing heavily as he picked up his RPG-7 and fired at the next tank. His first shot missed. He reloaded, fired again and missed again. He was still breathing too heavily to aim accurately. He then reloaded, jumped out of position, and ran down to the road. He then sat down in the middle of road and fired at the tank from close range. He hit the tank this time and it burst into flames. The column was just coming out of the narrow Tangi Waghjan Gorge. This burning tank stopped the convoy since there was no room to maneuver or pass. Other Mujahideen from other areas and groups ran to the area and moved up the gorge by the trapped column and started firing at the vehicles. There was not much resistance from this supply convoy. The column consisted of 150 to 200 trucks full of many things such as food and furniture. Whatever we could take away, we did. Hundreds of Mujahideen came and looted the column. We captured 15 trucks for my group which we eventually moved to our base in Durow canyon. We torched the vehicles we could not take and left the area around 1300 hours. After we had finished, helicopters and aircraft came and bombed some areas around the ambush site. Despite our lack of warning when the lead vehicle came toward our ambush site, the ambush turned out well.
There is a reason why we were not in our positions when the column came. Prior to any ambush, we would select and prepare our ambush positions, but we would not occupy them since helicopters would always overfly the route ahead of the convoy looking for ambushes and roadblocks. Normally, we would not put out the roadblock until after the flyover, but for some reason this time we did. The helicopter flyover was our usual tipoff that the convoy was coming, and our signal to put out the roadblock and occupy our positions. The helicopters did not do their road sweep in front of this particular convoy. I later learned why the helicopters were absent. DRA President BarbakKarmal was flying to Moscow that day and so the DRA had imposed a "no fly zone" over Kabul. This meant that helicopters were either grounded or had to refuel at Ghazni. The helicopters were not available to do the sweep.
COMMENTARY
The Mujahideen were quick to key on Soviet and DRA tactical patterns and procedures and came to rely on them. As a result, Mujahideen reactions to these patterns were often stereotyped, but the Soviets and DRA evidently did not always pick up on Mujahideen pat-terns or insure that the relevant tactical commanders got the word. In this case, the Tangi Waghjan Gorge is an obvious choke point and ambush area. The convoy commander needed to send reconnaissance/security elements ahead of the convoy to secure the gorge's entry, high ground and exit prior to moving the convoy into the gorge, but did not. His lead armored vehicle spotted the road block and removed it. This should have served as a warning, but the convoy commander already had the leading part of the convoy driving through the gorge.
Depending on initial vehicle interval and the commander's ability to stop the convoy from bunching up, some 70 to 150 vehicles may have been caught in the three-kilometer gorge. The drivers were dependent on firepower to rescue them, but the convoy was unable to bring firepower to bear to save their column.
Helicopters have an important role in convoy security, not only as scouts, but as a rapid reaction force and as a lift force to move security elements from one piece of dominant high ground to the next. The lack of helicopters deprived the convoy of needed warning and fire-power. The Mujahideen needed radios and early warning pickets to alert ambush forces about the approach of convoys and aircraft. At this point of the war, few Mujahideen had tactical radio communications.
VIGNETTE 4: AMBUSH AT KANDAY
by Doctor Mohammad Sadeq
(Doctor Mohammad Sadeq was a commander with the HIH in Kunar Province.)
We fought the DRA and Soviets for control of the Kunar Valley. The area borders Pakistan and is very mountainous and forested. Many of the mountains are over 5,000 meters high and are permanently snowcapped. We operated in Shewa District along the Kunar River. There, the mountains are not as high and the key terrain feature is the Kunar River and the highway which parallels it. In September 1982, we ambushed a supply column which was traveling from Jalalabad to Kunar (Map 5 - Kanday). The column was about eight kilometers in length. I had 22 Mujahideen armed with two RPGs, four AK-47 Kalashnikovs and 16 bolt-action Enfield rifles.
I set up the ambush on the high ground north of the Kunar River at Kanday. I divided my force into a support group and an ambush and attack group. The support group was on the high ground, while the ambush and attack group was below them next to the road. When the column came, we let it pass. I wanted to attack near the end of the column. As the head of the column reached Ziraybaba, which is six kilometers northeast of Kanday, a contact signaled us. We then opened fire on the column with our RPGs. An armored vehicle turned off and left the road to fire at us. It hit an antitank mine that we had planted there. We also hit it with RPG-7 fire. We also hit a ZIL truck. Our actions split the convoy. Half of the convoy went on to Kunar and the rest returned to Jalalabad. We didn't have enough firepower to continue the fight, so we withdrew. Besides taking out the armored vehicle and truck, we killed six enemy. I had one Mujahideen wounded.
COMMENTARY
Deciding where to ambush a long convoy is usually driven by geography, intent and escape routes. The Soviet/DFU convoy commander was primarily concerned with not being on the road at night and delivering the bulk of his cargo on time. He did not want to fight a long, involved battle with guerrillas. If the terrain at the ambush site is very constricted, the guerrilla may want to attack the head of the convoy and block the route with a combination of a roadblock and burning vehicles. If the convoy has armored vehicles and engineer vehicles concentrated to the front of the convoy, the guerrilla may want to attack the middle or tail of the convoy with the hope that the convoy commander will not divert a great deal of combat power back to deal with his attack. If the guerrilla is after supplies, the middle of the convoy is best if he can isolate a piece of the middle, since most convoys have a rear guard. In this case, the purpose of the ambush was to harass, not to capture supplies. The ambush site was fairly constricted due to the proximity of the river and road to the high ground, but it still allowed armored vehicles to turn around in the area. The ambush commander decided to attack toward the rear of the convoy, but far enough forward to avoid the rear guard.
VIGNETTE 5: AMBUSH ON THE JALALABAD-ASADABAD ROAD
by LTC Haji Mohammad Rahim
(LTC Haji Mohammad Rahim was an officer in the Afghan Army who became a Mujahideen and led a group in Kunar Province.)
The Jalalabad-Asadabad road runs right by the mouth of the Babur Valley (which we nicknamed Islamdara-the Valley of Islam). I had my base in the valley with 150 Mujahideen, one 82mm recoilless rifle, three DShK heavy machine guns, a Goryunov medium machine gun, five RPGs, some Kalashnikovs and some Enfields. I decided to set the ambush at the mouth of the valley. It was December 1984. The area is perfect for an ambush (Map 6 - Babur).
The mouth of the valley allows a U-shaped ambush with a 1000 meter kill zone. The forested valley allows a quick escape into the forested mountains. I positioned the DShK machine guns on the high ground and put the five RPGs
