hist2004
03-15-2006, 04:16 PM
Soviet Airborne and Air Assault Forces
Afghanistan’s rugged terrain and the enemy guerrilla tactics foreordained an especially important role for airborne and air assault forces in the conduct of various combat missions. At the very start of the entry of the LCOSF into the country, the airborne forces had to seize the major airfields, government centers, and vital installations in Kabul and to secure and blockade the nearby garrisons that were held by the opposition. From 28 to 30 December 1979, as part of the operations plan, paratroopers landed at the Kabul and Bagram airfields while air assault forces landed at the Kunduz airfield.
Veterans of these events recalled the planning for first landings. At each of the targeted airfields, a reinforced airborne battalion would parachute onto the field to seize the control tower and the take-off and landing strips, to neutralize the security forces, and to support the landing of the main airborne force. However, it turned out that the Afghan forces guarding the airfields were neutralized well in advance, their resistance did not hold up the operation, and the airborne forces merely disembarked from the aircraft as they landed at the airfields. The first to disembark at the airfields were groups that seized the fields and scouted the area.
They occupied the key points of the airfields, conducted reconnaissance, and supported the air landing of the main forces. Over the course of several hours, dozens of IL-76, AN-12, and AN-22 military transport aircraft landed the main body of an airborne division at Kabul and Bagram airfields. At Kunduz airfield, Mi-6 and Mi-8 helicopters landed subunits of an air assault brigade. At intervals of every one-and-a half to three minutes, aircraft landed with their rear fuselage loading hatches open and, without shutting down their engines, taxied to the end of the landing strip, where the paratroopers disembarked from the aircraft and quickly moved to their planned objectives. The empty aircraft taxied to the take-off strip and flew off, leaving the landing strip and taxi area free for the next aircraft. After the main force of the division was on the ground, subsequent flights brought in the division’s vehicles, necessary supplies, and support units and personnel.
This phase involved a very complex air traffic control process. Only a minimum number of aircraft and helicopters could be at the airfields at any one time. However, not all the aircrews worked together precisely. Several aircraft had to make more than a single landing approach or had to circle the airfield while other aircraft that had already landed were unloaded. Nevertheless, landings at the three airfields proceeded swiftly and successfully, mainly due to multiple training exercises conducted at their home airfields.
After the parachute units [regiments and separate battalions] were on the
ground, they left part of their force to secure the airfield and their stockpiled
material and set out on they’re assigned missions. Two parachute regiments that
landed at Kabul airfield secured the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Communications,
the television center, the Soviet embassy, and the microrayon—the modernized area of the city where Soviet specialists and advisers lived. They seized the army staff building, nearby depots, and President Amin’s palace, where there was some slight resistance.31 Besides this, the paratroopers established posts on dominant terrain overlooking the city and on bridges across the Kabul river. They established road blocks on the main roads leading into Kabul. The third parachute regiment, which landed at Bagram airfield, conducted a swift march to Kabul and on the morning of 31 December concentrated in the city center and deployed in the army corps headquarters building. After a week, this regiment moved to the Bala-Khisar fortress, located on the southern outskirts of Kabul. They were stationed there, together with the DRA “Commando” brigade. This fortress, rising over the southern portion of the city, blocked the approaches from the south and, further, controlled the center of the capital. This fortress played a decisive role in suppressing the February 1980 revolt in the city. The airborne and air assault forces in the LCOSF in Afghanistan were assigned to an airborne division, an air assault brigade, a separate parachute regiment, and two separate air assault battalions assigned to separate motorized brigades. The airborne division had three parachute regiments, an artillery regiment, and other specialized units. Each parachute regiment had three battalions and a special troops subunit.
The parachute battalion had three parachute companies and artillery, air defense, and reconnaissance subunits. Depending on the assigned mission, the parachute regiments and subunits could be reinforced with artillery, engineer, and reconnaissance subunits. Also, aviation control groups might be detailed to support coordination with supporting aviation. The weapons and combat vehicles assigned to airborne and air assault forces were less powerful and capable than those assigned to the motorized rifle units and subunits. At the same time, the weapons and combat vehicles were specially designed to meet the needs of these sky-assault forces. They were shorter and lighter so that they could be carried by aircraft and airdropped by parachute.
Thus, the BMD-136 is 2.2 times lighter and 1.2 times shorter than the BMP-
1. It still packs a lot of fire power. It has the 73mm cannon that can fire fragmentation and shaped-charge rounds. It has a co-axial machine gun and two bow-mount machine guns. The machine guns were particularly useful during an assault against lightly armed enemy subunits that were often encountered in the depth of the enemy rear.
The low clearance of the BMD-1 was an important design feature. It allowed the crew to use any cover, even an insignificant terrain fold, to hide the vehicle during combat. The designers incorporated a mechanism in the BMD-1 that allowed it to raise some 30 centimeters from its covered position, fire at the target, and then lower itself again to the ground. Further, it might move forward, after firing, at minimum clearance to new cover. This gave the BMD-1 a high rate of survivability and allowed it to achieve surprise fire. The BMD-1 exerted a reduced ground pressure, a feature that was very important in an area where the enemy widely employed land mines. There were many occasions when a BMD-1 would run over a mine that did not explode, although it would have exploded with the passing of any other combat vehicle. The BMD is air-transportable on military airlift transport aircraft and helicopters. When necessary, the BMD may be dropped by parachute. The BMD has special brackets for attaching the parachutes and the rocket-braking system. Besides all this, the BMD-1 has a powerful water jet propelling system that allows it to cross unaided any water obstacle with a speed of 10 to 12 kilometers per hour.
Airborne and air assault small arms were distinct from those of the motorized rifle forces. They had folding stocks that shortened their length almost by half. These shortened weapons were more suitable for air landing and also when riding in a combat vehicle or when dismounting the vehicle. Paratroopers and air assault troopers were generously and suitably equipped. This included a Panama field hat, cloth cap, or helmet; airborne coveralls or the winter airborne field uniform; jack books, jump boots, or sneakers; the PD-54 airborne rucksack; a flak jacket; an assault rifle, machine gun, or grenade launcher; a bayonet; two or three F-l or RG-42 hand grenades; eight to ten magazines loaded with ammunition plus additional ammunition; two to four signal or illumination flares; two to four orange smoke canisters; a UHF radio; compass and flash light; matches; first aid kit; and dry rations. Belts of machine gun ammunition were carried draped on the personnel or in metal ammunition cans.
There were special features involved in preparing subunits and individuals for an airborne assault in Afghanistan. It was absolutely necessary to thoroughly conceal the planning for an air assault as well as the time and LZ. In the USSR, preparing subunits for an air assault was conducted in an assembly area, whereas in Afghanistan, this preparation was conducted in the base camp. Measures taken depended entirely on the nature of the upcoming mission and concluded with the preparation of personnel, armaments, and equipment and stockpiling necessary supply and equipment reserves.
Personnel training included training of the commanders, staffs, and force. During commander and staff training, particular attention was paid to the enemy and his tactics, the terrain in the combat zone, and earlier battles fought under similar circumstances. This training would usually include a command post map exercise as well as a communications exercise.
Personnel training in the subunits included weapons firing, vehicle driving, battle-drill, reconnaissance, land navigation, and individual skills. Special training was devoted to the selection and fortification of firing and observation positions; combat in built-up areas; movement in the mountains; first aid and evacuation of the wounded; and hand-to-hand combat. Mission planning was conducted on maps or aerial photographs. This complicated planning since it was impossible to plan on the actual piece of ground. Missions were given to the subunits and coordination was conducted at the base camp using a map or a terrain model.
Significant effort was put into misleading the enemy as to the timing and mission plan. Misleading the enemy included deception, disinformation, surprise, and conducting the mission with comparatively small forces. Planning for the mission was based on the commander’s concept. In order to preserve the secrecy of the plan, it was worked out by a limited circle of men, usually the commander, the chief of staff, the chief of the operations section or his deputy, and one other officer of the operations section. They worked out the combat order and combat instructions. The staff worked out the plan for moving men, vehicles, armaments, and material by helicopter and worked out an air assault schedule and a coordination-planning table.
The coordination planning table depicted the primary missions; which subunits would carry them out; the order in which they would be carried out; the order in which forces and resources would be committed to the mission; the objectives; the timing; the phase lines; the communications plan; and the signals for recognition, warning, target identification, and guidance. Reconnaissance was very important when preparing for an air assault and combat. Reconnaissance was conducted not only with the organic forces and resources of the airborne division, air assault brigade, and parachute regiments, but also with 40th Army assets. Further, they used reports and information from agents, the DRA KHAD, the DRA Sarandoy, Afghan Army units, and local inhabitants. On the basis of this data, they would modify the commander’s concept of the battle and missions to the subunits and insert corrections in the battle plan and the utilization of forces and resources.
Sometimes the commander would send a reconnaissance group into the enemy rear area beforehand in order to get more reliable information about enemy activities. They would be inserted by helicopter or would walk in. Final preparation of the formation was completed at the base camps or while the assault subunits were assembled at the airfield or helipad. After final preparations, the forces would board the helicopters. An air assault in the mountains often required almost twice the number of helicopters of normal circumstances. The air temperature and the height above sea level of the helipad and LZ affected the lifting power of the helicopter engines and reduced their load-carrying capacity. For example, a Mi-8 helicopter can carry 24 fully equipped troopers at sea level, but in the mountains, no more than 12, and in some cases even fewer. It was necessary to emphasize these special features when determining the time and movement of the air assault. In conventional warfare, air assaults would land in the enemy rear after a breakthrough of enemy defenses and when the success of the offensive was assured. In Afghanistan, in order to achieve surprise, the assault flight went in before the start of the movement of the main ground forces or as these forces began to move from their base camps to the combat zone.
Further, in order to deceive the enemy that an air assault was going into another LZ, the helicopters had to first fly to another likely LZ and then make a subsequent sharp shift in the flight route and approach to the actual LZ. Depending on the mission, the air assault force might be a parachute platoon up to a parachute battalion. Usually the force was reinforced with mortar crews, AGS-17 crews, flame-thrower operators, and sappers. Air assault forces went in on transport helicopters and armed lift ships. Helicopter gunships provided fire support along with fighter-bomber aircraft.
The combat formation for an air assault usually consisted of several groups. The first group was composed of Mi-24 HIND helicopter gunships, MIG-21 jet fighter-bombers, and SU-25 FROGFOOT close air support jet aircraft. This group suppressed enemy air defenses and conducted preparatory fires on the LZ. Mi-8mt armed helicopter lift ships followed this group and landed a group that seized the LZ. Part of this group were FACs who adjusted helicopter gun ship strikes. The main body of the air assault followed this group in a flying column. Mi-6 helicopter transports and Mi-8mt armed helicopter lift ships flew in pairs, maintaining their intervals and distance, which made the flight safer, provided freedom of maneuver, and aided control. The number of helicopters in this group depended en their availability and the size of the assault force. In the event that there were not enough helicopters to lift the entire main body at once, the main body was carried in several lifts, although this had a negative impact on surprise, simultaneity, and massing of forces.
A covering force over-flew the main body and provided fire support to the air assault force. There were two to four Mi-24v HIND helicopter gunships in this group that overflew the area, maintaining radio contact with the assault force and the FACs. When necessary, they would suppress enemy weapons that had survived the initial aerial preparation of the LZ.
A group of helicopter gunships followed the main body to provide fire support to the assault force, and, when necessary, another group followed to continue to suppress enemy air defenses. A combat command and control group accompanied this trail group. The command and control group had one or two MI-9 VZPU37 command and control helicopters that were linked to an airborne AN-26 command and control aircraft. The helicopters circled the LZ at low altitude. Due to the nature of the war, enemy air defenses were not always fully suppressed. Usually tactical air assaults would land simultaneously at several LZs. If there were no suitable LZs in the area, the lift ships would hover one to two meters above the ground while the assault troopers would jump out. In this case, it was best to use helicopters that had been lightened by removing the gun mounts and doors.
After they landed, the first group of assault troopers, supported by helicopter gunships, killed the enemy on the LZ and in the area, captured the high ground, and dug in. Sappers searched the area and neutralized mines. Scouts looked for the enemy and provided more exact data on enemy actions to the assault commander, the FACs, and the FOs.
There were a limited number of LZs in the mountains that were large enough to accommodate a company or battalion landing. Therefore, the Soviets had to use a number of smaller LZs and a smaller force to accomplish the mission. The scattered subunits quickly moved from the LZs to an assembly area where the commander assembled his forces and resources into an assault group. Sometimes it happened that a subunit of the main body landed on one of these small LZs and had to immediately defend itself and start the battle under extremely inauspicious circumstances.
In November 1981, a reconnaissance company of a parachute regiment was involved in an air assault 70 kilometers north of Kabul. Senior Lieutenant A. I. Lebed38 commanded the company. The company had six LZs, located one to three kilometers from each other. The area in which the LZs were located encompassed some 30 square kilometers. Each LZ would only handle one helicopter at a time, so the other helicopter of the pair had to circle waiting for its turn to land. The assault landing took over twice as long as usual. This in turn delayed the assembly of the assault force and their subsequent movement to the designated line. As a result, some of the targeted enemy managed to escape the assault group’s strike.
In the course of combat in Afghanistan, the air assault units and subunits sometimes conducted combined arms offensive and defensive ground combat, and other times they conducted specialized missions. In the first instance, their tactics and techniques did not differ from the tactics of the motorized rifle forces. In the second instance, tactics as a whole depended on the specific requirements of the combat mission. These missions were usually establishing a blocking position, conducting ambushes, conducting raids, and escorting convoys. Establishing a blocking position from the air was done to prevent the withdrawal of the enemy from an occupied region and the arrival of enemy reinforcements from outside the area. Air assault forces were inserted in advance or during the course of the operation.
Blocking positions were established in advance when and where it was established that the enemy had concentrated in that region and the terrain and situation allowed the secret air landing of subunits. With the goal of preserving secrecy, the air assault subunits seldom landed on the site of the designated blocking positions. They landed elsewhere and then walked to the site. Thus, in the course of one of these operations, conducted to the east of Kabul in November 1985, a parachute battalion39 landed some eight kilometers from the designated blocking positions. Due to the rugged terrain and the necessity of moving at night, it took over four hours to move to the site. As a result, part of the Mujahideen withdrew from the region and hid in the mountains. Air assault forces established blocking positions simultaneously with the advance of ground forces only when it was impossible to conduct the air assault landings in advance, when the sweep was conducted only over part of the region, when the enemy was held in position, or when the situation demanded that surprise be added during the course of combat. It was difficult to establish surprise-blocking positions and avoid personnel, weapons, and equipment losses. An example of such an air assault occurred in February 1982 in a green zone in Paghman some 15 kilometers to the northwest of Kabul. Ten minutes before the main attack, 12 Mi-8tv helicopters lifted a reconnaissance company and a parachute company from the same parachute regiment from the Kabul airfield. The flight took a wide detour around the region and, after a 30-minute flight, approached the LZ from the north. The ground force had already entered the green zone and begun forcing the enemy out of his strong points. However, the Mujahideen put up a stubborn fight, counting on the arrival of reserves or eventual withdrawal into the mountains.
From 0630 to 0650 hours, the air assault force landed on the eastern slope of the mountain adjacent to the green zone. This was in plain view of the Mujahideen and cut off their withdrawal route. Panic broke out in the Mujahideen camp. The Soviet forces took advantage of this panic and quickly and completely destroyed a strong enemy detachment. Air assault landings to block the enemy could be conducted at one location or at several locations simultaneously. An air assault into one LZ was conducted when and where the terrain would not permit establishing a perimeter around the entire region and where there was only one possible withdrawal route for the enemy.
For such a mission, the senior commander required highly centralized control of forces and resources and comprehensive support. This significantly eased coordination. However, such air assaults expended a significant amount of time. It was inevitable that the enemy group would leave the area when he saw a large number of helicopters landing at a single site or saw the ground force blocking subunits begin withdrawing to their own lines.
(Continued below)
Afghanistan’s rugged terrain and the enemy guerrilla tactics foreordained an especially important role for airborne and air assault forces in the conduct of various combat missions. At the very start of the entry of the LCOSF into the country, the airborne forces had to seize the major airfields, government centers, and vital installations in Kabul and to secure and blockade the nearby garrisons that were held by the opposition. From 28 to 30 December 1979, as part of the operations plan, paratroopers landed at the Kabul and Bagram airfields while air assault forces landed at the Kunduz airfield.
Veterans of these events recalled the planning for first landings. At each of the targeted airfields, a reinforced airborne battalion would parachute onto the field to seize the control tower and the take-off and landing strips, to neutralize the security forces, and to support the landing of the main airborne force. However, it turned out that the Afghan forces guarding the airfields were neutralized well in advance, their resistance did not hold up the operation, and the airborne forces merely disembarked from the aircraft as they landed at the airfields. The first to disembark at the airfields were groups that seized the fields and scouted the area.
They occupied the key points of the airfields, conducted reconnaissance, and supported the air landing of the main forces. Over the course of several hours, dozens of IL-76, AN-12, and AN-22 military transport aircraft landed the main body of an airborne division at Kabul and Bagram airfields. At Kunduz airfield, Mi-6 and Mi-8 helicopters landed subunits of an air assault brigade. At intervals of every one-and-a half to three minutes, aircraft landed with their rear fuselage loading hatches open and, without shutting down their engines, taxied to the end of the landing strip, where the paratroopers disembarked from the aircraft and quickly moved to their planned objectives. The empty aircraft taxied to the take-off strip and flew off, leaving the landing strip and taxi area free for the next aircraft. After the main force of the division was on the ground, subsequent flights brought in the division’s vehicles, necessary supplies, and support units and personnel.
This phase involved a very complex air traffic control process. Only a minimum number of aircraft and helicopters could be at the airfields at any one time. However, not all the aircrews worked together precisely. Several aircraft had to make more than a single landing approach or had to circle the airfield while other aircraft that had already landed were unloaded. Nevertheless, landings at the three airfields proceeded swiftly and successfully, mainly due to multiple training exercises conducted at their home airfields.
After the parachute units [regiments and separate battalions] were on the
ground, they left part of their force to secure the airfield and their stockpiled
material and set out on they’re assigned missions. Two parachute regiments that
landed at Kabul airfield secured the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Communications,
the television center, the Soviet embassy, and the microrayon—the modernized area of the city where Soviet specialists and advisers lived. They seized the army staff building, nearby depots, and President Amin’s palace, where there was some slight resistance.31 Besides this, the paratroopers established posts on dominant terrain overlooking the city and on bridges across the Kabul river. They established road blocks on the main roads leading into Kabul. The third parachute regiment, which landed at Bagram airfield, conducted a swift march to Kabul and on the morning of 31 December concentrated in the city center and deployed in the army corps headquarters building. After a week, this regiment moved to the Bala-Khisar fortress, located on the southern outskirts of Kabul. They were stationed there, together with the DRA “Commando” brigade. This fortress, rising over the southern portion of the city, blocked the approaches from the south and, further, controlled the center of the capital. This fortress played a decisive role in suppressing the February 1980 revolt in the city. The airborne and air assault forces in the LCOSF in Afghanistan were assigned to an airborne division, an air assault brigade, a separate parachute regiment, and two separate air assault battalions assigned to separate motorized brigades. The airborne division had three parachute regiments, an artillery regiment, and other specialized units. Each parachute regiment had three battalions and a special troops subunit.
The parachute battalion had three parachute companies and artillery, air defense, and reconnaissance subunits. Depending on the assigned mission, the parachute regiments and subunits could be reinforced with artillery, engineer, and reconnaissance subunits. Also, aviation control groups might be detailed to support coordination with supporting aviation. The weapons and combat vehicles assigned to airborne and air assault forces were less powerful and capable than those assigned to the motorized rifle units and subunits. At the same time, the weapons and combat vehicles were specially designed to meet the needs of these sky-assault forces. They were shorter and lighter so that they could be carried by aircraft and airdropped by parachute.
Thus, the BMD-136 is 2.2 times lighter and 1.2 times shorter than the BMP-
1. It still packs a lot of fire power. It has the 73mm cannon that can fire fragmentation and shaped-charge rounds. It has a co-axial machine gun and two bow-mount machine guns. The machine guns were particularly useful during an assault against lightly armed enemy subunits that were often encountered in the depth of the enemy rear.
The low clearance of the BMD-1 was an important design feature. It allowed the crew to use any cover, even an insignificant terrain fold, to hide the vehicle during combat. The designers incorporated a mechanism in the BMD-1 that allowed it to raise some 30 centimeters from its covered position, fire at the target, and then lower itself again to the ground. Further, it might move forward, after firing, at minimum clearance to new cover. This gave the BMD-1 a high rate of survivability and allowed it to achieve surprise fire. The BMD-1 exerted a reduced ground pressure, a feature that was very important in an area where the enemy widely employed land mines. There were many occasions when a BMD-1 would run over a mine that did not explode, although it would have exploded with the passing of any other combat vehicle. The BMD is air-transportable on military airlift transport aircraft and helicopters. When necessary, the BMD may be dropped by parachute. The BMD has special brackets for attaching the parachutes and the rocket-braking system. Besides all this, the BMD-1 has a powerful water jet propelling system that allows it to cross unaided any water obstacle with a speed of 10 to 12 kilometers per hour.
Airborne and air assault small arms were distinct from those of the motorized rifle forces. They had folding stocks that shortened their length almost by half. These shortened weapons were more suitable for air landing and also when riding in a combat vehicle or when dismounting the vehicle. Paratroopers and air assault troopers were generously and suitably equipped. This included a Panama field hat, cloth cap, or helmet; airborne coveralls or the winter airborne field uniform; jack books, jump boots, or sneakers; the PD-54 airborne rucksack; a flak jacket; an assault rifle, machine gun, or grenade launcher; a bayonet; two or three F-l or RG-42 hand grenades; eight to ten magazines loaded with ammunition plus additional ammunition; two to four signal or illumination flares; two to four orange smoke canisters; a UHF radio; compass and flash light; matches; first aid kit; and dry rations. Belts of machine gun ammunition were carried draped on the personnel or in metal ammunition cans.
There were special features involved in preparing subunits and individuals for an airborne assault in Afghanistan. It was absolutely necessary to thoroughly conceal the planning for an air assault as well as the time and LZ. In the USSR, preparing subunits for an air assault was conducted in an assembly area, whereas in Afghanistan, this preparation was conducted in the base camp. Measures taken depended entirely on the nature of the upcoming mission and concluded with the preparation of personnel, armaments, and equipment and stockpiling necessary supply and equipment reserves.
Personnel training included training of the commanders, staffs, and force. During commander and staff training, particular attention was paid to the enemy and his tactics, the terrain in the combat zone, and earlier battles fought under similar circumstances. This training would usually include a command post map exercise as well as a communications exercise.
Personnel training in the subunits included weapons firing, vehicle driving, battle-drill, reconnaissance, land navigation, and individual skills. Special training was devoted to the selection and fortification of firing and observation positions; combat in built-up areas; movement in the mountains; first aid and evacuation of the wounded; and hand-to-hand combat. Mission planning was conducted on maps or aerial photographs. This complicated planning since it was impossible to plan on the actual piece of ground. Missions were given to the subunits and coordination was conducted at the base camp using a map or a terrain model.
Significant effort was put into misleading the enemy as to the timing and mission plan. Misleading the enemy included deception, disinformation, surprise, and conducting the mission with comparatively small forces. Planning for the mission was based on the commander’s concept. In order to preserve the secrecy of the plan, it was worked out by a limited circle of men, usually the commander, the chief of staff, the chief of the operations section or his deputy, and one other officer of the operations section. They worked out the combat order and combat instructions. The staff worked out the plan for moving men, vehicles, armaments, and material by helicopter and worked out an air assault schedule and a coordination-planning table.
The coordination planning table depicted the primary missions; which subunits would carry them out; the order in which they would be carried out; the order in which forces and resources would be committed to the mission; the objectives; the timing; the phase lines; the communications plan; and the signals for recognition, warning, target identification, and guidance. Reconnaissance was very important when preparing for an air assault and combat. Reconnaissance was conducted not only with the organic forces and resources of the airborne division, air assault brigade, and parachute regiments, but also with 40th Army assets. Further, they used reports and information from agents, the DRA KHAD, the DRA Sarandoy, Afghan Army units, and local inhabitants. On the basis of this data, they would modify the commander’s concept of the battle and missions to the subunits and insert corrections in the battle plan and the utilization of forces and resources.
Sometimes the commander would send a reconnaissance group into the enemy rear area beforehand in order to get more reliable information about enemy activities. They would be inserted by helicopter or would walk in. Final preparation of the formation was completed at the base camps or while the assault subunits were assembled at the airfield or helipad. After final preparations, the forces would board the helicopters. An air assault in the mountains often required almost twice the number of helicopters of normal circumstances. The air temperature and the height above sea level of the helipad and LZ affected the lifting power of the helicopter engines and reduced their load-carrying capacity. For example, a Mi-8 helicopter can carry 24 fully equipped troopers at sea level, but in the mountains, no more than 12, and in some cases even fewer. It was necessary to emphasize these special features when determining the time and movement of the air assault. In conventional warfare, air assaults would land in the enemy rear after a breakthrough of enemy defenses and when the success of the offensive was assured. In Afghanistan, in order to achieve surprise, the assault flight went in before the start of the movement of the main ground forces or as these forces began to move from their base camps to the combat zone.
Further, in order to deceive the enemy that an air assault was going into another LZ, the helicopters had to first fly to another likely LZ and then make a subsequent sharp shift in the flight route and approach to the actual LZ. Depending on the mission, the air assault force might be a parachute platoon up to a parachute battalion. Usually the force was reinforced with mortar crews, AGS-17 crews, flame-thrower operators, and sappers. Air assault forces went in on transport helicopters and armed lift ships. Helicopter gunships provided fire support along with fighter-bomber aircraft.
The combat formation for an air assault usually consisted of several groups. The first group was composed of Mi-24 HIND helicopter gunships, MIG-21 jet fighter-bombers, and SU-25 FROGFOOT close air support jet aircraft. This group suppressed enemy air defenses and conducted preparatory fires on the LZ. Mi-8mt armed helicopter lift ships followed this group and landed a group that seized the LZ. Part of this group were FACs who adjusted helicopter gun ship strikes. The main body of the air assault followed this group in a flying column. Mi-6 helicopter transports and Mi-8mt armed helicopter lift ships flew in pairs, maintaining their intervals and distance, which made the flight safer, provided freedom of maneuver, and aided control. The number of helicopters in this group depended en their availability and the size of the assault force. In the event that there were not enough helicopters to lift the entire main body at once, the main body was carried in several lifts, although this had a negative impact on surprise, simultaneity, and massing of forces.
A covering force over-flew the main body and provided fire support to the air assault force. There were two to four Mi-24v HIND helicopter gunships in this group that overflew the area, maintaining radio contact with the assault force and the FACs. When necessary, they would suppress enemy weapons that had survived the initial aerial preparation of the LZ.
A group of helicopter gunships followed the main body to provide fire support to the assault force, and, when necessary, another group followed to continue to suppress enemy air defenses. A combat command and control group accompanied this trail group. The command and control group had one or two MI-9 VZPU37 command and control helicopters that were linked to an airborne AN-26 command and control aircraft. The helicopters circled the LZ at low altitude. Due to the nature of the war, enemy air defenses were not always fully suppressed. Usually tactical air assaults would land simultaneously at several LZs. If there were no suitable LZs in the area, the lift ships would hover one to two meters above the ground while the assault troopers would jump out. In this case, it was best to use helicopters that had been lightened by removing the gun mounts and doors.
After they landed, the first group of assault troopers, supported by helicopter gunships, killed the enemy on the LZ and in the area, captured the high ground, and dug in. Sappers searched the area and neutralized mines. Scouts looked for the enemy and provided more exact data on enemy actions to the assault commander, the FACs, and the FOs.
There were a limited number of LZs in the mountains that were large enough to accommodate a company or battalion landing. Therefore, the Soviets had to use a number of smaller LZs and a smaller force to accomplish the mission. The scattered subunits quickly moved from the LZs to an assembly area where the commander assembled his forces and resources into an assault group. Sometimes it happened that a subunit of the main body landed on one of these small LZs and had to immediately defend itself and start the battle under extremely inauspicious circumstances.
In November 1981, a reconnaissance company of a parachute regiment was involved in an air assault 70 kilometers north of Kabul. Senior Lieutenant A. I. Lebed38 commanded the company. The company had six LZs, located one to three kilometers from each other. The area in which the LZs were located encompassed some 30 square kilometers. Each LZ would only handle one helicopter at a time, so the other helicopter of the pair had to circle waiting for its turn to land. The assault landing took over twice as long as usual. This in turn delayed the assembly of the assault force and their subsequent movement to the designated line. As a result, some of the targeted enemy managed to escape the assault group’s strike.
In the course of combat in Afghanistan, the air assault units and subunits sometimes conducted combined arms offensive and defensive ground combat, and other times they conducted specialized missions. In the first instance, their tactics and techniques did not differ from the tactics of the motorized rifle forces. In the second instance, tactics as a whole depended on the specific requirements of the combat mission. These missions were usually establishing a blocking position, conducting ambushes, conducting raids, and escorting convoys. Establishing a blocking position from the air was done to prevent the withdrawal of the enemy from an occupied region and the arrival of enemy reinforcements from outside the area. Air assault forces were inserted in advance or during the course of the operation.
Blocking positions were established in advance when and where it was established that the enemy had concentrated in that region and the terrain and situation allowed the secret air landing of subunits. With the goal of preserving secrecy, the air assault subunits seldom landed on the site of the designated blocking positions. They landed elsewhere and then walked to the site. Thus, in the course of one of these operations, conducted to the east of Kabul in November 1985, a parachute battalion39 landed some eight kilometers from the designated blocking positions. Due to the rugged terrain and the necessity of moving at night, it took over four hours to move to the site. As a result, part of the Mujahideen withdrew from the region and hid in the mountains. Air assault forces established blocking positions simultaneously with the advance of ground forces only when it was impossible to conduct the air assault landings in advance, when the sweep was conducted only over part of the region, when the enemy was held in position, or when the situation demanded that surprise be added during the course of combat. It was difficult to establish surprise-blocking positions and avoid personnel, weapons, and equipment losses. An example of such an air assault occurred in February 1982 in a green zone in Paghman some 15 kilometers to the northwest of Kabul. Ten minutes before the main attack, 12 Mi-8tv helicopters lifted a reconnaissance company and a parachute company from the same parachute regiment from the Kabul airfield. The flight took a wide detour around the region and, after a 30-minute flight, approached the LZ from the north. The ground force had already entered the green zone and begun forcing the enemy out of his strong points. However, the Mujahideen put up a stubborn fight, counting on the arrival of reserves or eventual withdrawal into the mountains.
From 0630 to 0650 hours, the air assault force landed on the eastern slope of the mountain adjacent to the green zone. This was in plain view of the Mujahideen and cut off their withdrawal route. Panic broke out in the Mujahideen camp. The Soviet forces took advantage of this panic and quickly and completely destroyed a strong enemy detachment. Air assault landings to block the enemy could be conducted at one location or at several locations simultaneously. An air assault into one LZ was conducted when and where the terrain would not permit establishing a perimeter around the entire region and where there was only one possible withdrawal route for the enemy.
For such a mission, the senior commander required highly centralized control of forces and resources and comprehensive support. This significantly eased coordination. However, such air assaults expended a significant amount of time. It was inevitable that the enemy group would leave the area when he saw a large number of helicopters landing at a single site or saw the ground force blocking subunits begin withdrawing to their own lines.
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