On this day in military history…
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan began in December 1979 and became one of the defining conflicts of the late Cold War. It started when the Soviet Union sent tens of thousands of troops across the border to support a fragile communist government in Kabul that was struggling against widespread rebellion. Afghanistan’s People’s Democratic Party (PDPA) had seized power in 1978 and pushed rapid socialist reforms—land redistribution, education for women, and suppression of traditional power structures. These reforms were deeply unpopular in rural areas and provoked armed uprisings. As the PDPA fractured internally and resistance grew, Moscow feared the collapse of a neighboring communist state, the spread of Islamic revolutionary ideas after Iran’s 1979 revolution, and the possibility of the United States increasing its influence in the region.
To secure control, the Soviets launched Operation Storm-333, during which Soviet special forces stormed the Tajbeg Palace, killed Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin, and installed a more loyal figure, Babrak Karmal. What Moscow expected to be a short stabilization mission quickly evolved into a full-scale war. Afghan guerrilla fighters, known as the mujahideen, used their knowledge of the mountainous terrain to wage a decentralized but highly effective insurgency. The Soviet military, built for large conventional battles in Europe, found itself unprepared for hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, and the social complexities of Afghan tribal politics.
The United States, viewing the invasion as Soviet expansion toward the Persian Gulf and a threat to the regional balance of power, launched one of the largest covert operations of the Cold War. Through the CIA’s Operation Cyclone, the U.S. funded, armed, and trained mujahideen fighters, primarily by channeling weapons through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Other countries—Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, and the United Kingdom—also contributed money and arms. Among the most significant weapons provided were FIM-92 Stinger missiles starting in 1986, which allowed Afghan fighters to shoot down Soviet helicopters and dramatically weakened Soviet air superiority. The conflict became a classic proxy war: Soviet troops fought directly, while the U.S. and its allies supported the opposition but avoided deploying their own forces.
The war lasted nearly a decade, from 1979 until the final withdrawal of Soviet troops in February 1989. During this time, the Soviets held major cities and key roads, while the countryside remained largely controlled by mujahideen groups. Despite large offensives and heavy use of airpower, the Soviet Union never managed to break the resistance. The war became increasingly unpopular inside the USSR, draining economic resources and contributing to broader dissatisfaction that later influenced the reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev. When he came to power, Gorbachev described the conflict as a “bleeding wound” and began negotiating a withdrawal.
Casualty estimates vary, but historians generally agree that around one million Afghan civilians died, along with roughly 90,000 mujahideen fighters. Between 15,000 and 26,000 Soviet soldiers were killed, depending on the source, and tens of thousands more were wounded. More than five million Afghans fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran, making it one of the largest refugee migrations of the twentieth century.
The war did produce certain achievements from the Soviet perspective, though they were limited. Urban infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, and schools expanded, often under Soviet guidance. The Afghan army received significant training and equipment, though it struggled with defections and morale. For the mujahideen, the war became a symbol of national resistance, boosting their confidence and influence. However, once the Soviets withdrew, the lack of unity among mujahideen factions soon contributed to a devastating civil war.
An interesting dimension of the conflict is the long-term geopolitical impact. The U.S. covert support helped the mujahideen resist Soviet forces, but it also empowered various militant groups, some of which later played roles in regional instability. The war is often cited as one factor contributing to the final weakening of the Soviet Union, which collapsed just two years after the withdrawal. For Afghanistan, the lasting consequences were profound: social fragmentation, economic collapse, and the eventual rise of the Taliban in the 1990s.
The Soviet–Afghan War remains a powerful example of how foreign intervention, ideological competition, and local resistance can combine into a prolonged and deeply consequential conflict, reshaping global politics and leaving effects that persisted long after the final Soviet convoy crossed the Amu Darya River in 1989.
