Afghan Guerrilla Warfare: In the Words of the Mjuahideen Fighters (Zenith Military Classics) [Paperback]

Ali Ahmad Jalali (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 2002 | Series: Zenith Military Classics

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, few experts believed the fledgling Mujahideen resistance movement had a chance of withstanding the modern, mechanized onslaught of the Soviet Army. But somehow, the Mujahideen prevailed against a larger and decisively better equipped foe. No one predicted the Soviet Union would withdraw in defeat in 1989. With more than 100 first-hand reports from Mujahideen combat veterans and maps illustrating locations and disposition of forces, this book is a tactical look at a decentralized army of foot-mobile guerrillas as they wage war against a superior force. Learn about Mujahideen ambushes, raids, shelling attacks, fights against heliborne insertions, attacks on Soviet strong points, and urban combat in this rare look at the Soviet-Afghan conflict.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ali Ahmad Jalali

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press (January 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760313229
• ISBN-13: 978-0760313220
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #655,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Raw Material, Helpful Commentary, Missing Closure September 21, 2002

By Robert David STEELE Vivas HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It may not be obvious to the hurried shopper, so it is worth emphasizing up front that this book not only has the full support of the Foreign Military Studies Office of the U.S. Army, but is provided courtesy of the United States Marine Corps Studies and Analysis Division.

The selection of stories may have been done by the Soviets from whom the work is borrowed, but in any event is quite good--16 vignettes on ambushes, 10 on raids, 2 on shelling attacks, 6 on attacking strong points, 2 on mine warfare, 6 on blocking enemy lines of communication, 2 on siege warfare, 4 on defending against raids, 3 on fighting heliborne insertions, 5 on defending against cordon and search, 14 on defending base camps, 6 on counterambushes, 3 on fighting an encirclement, and 14 on urban combat. One wonders if those responsible for inserting our forces into Afghanistan in the failed effort to capture the Taliban and Al Qaeda leadership intact, ever read this book. It is quite good.

Although it provides very professional U.S. commentary after each vignette, commenting on both Soviet and Mujahideen behavior in the combat situations, it fails on two counts: the index is terrible (mostly an index of names, rather than combat lessons), and the final chapter is a whimper rather than a sonic boom--this book should be re-issued immediately with a proper index and a concluding chapter that pulls together the concise troop leading "bullets" for each of the 14 combat situations depicted by the vignettes ennumerated above.

One final note: the availability of this book via Amazon.com deserves special commendation. I have been trying for years to get the U.S. Army's Strategic Studies Institute to get all of its very superior and valuable publications made available via Amazon.com so that its taxpayer-funded knowledge would be more widely available, and have simply not been able to get them off the dime. As 9-11 demonstrates, knowledge that is not shared can ultimately exact a great price--what our war colleges produce, at taxpayer expense, needs to be given broader dissemination, and Amazon.com is "the" portal for monograph and book form knowledge.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful in a practical sense November 30, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Before deploying to Afghanistan last year with a Special Forces battalion, I read this book (along with "Afghanstan's Endless War" - Goodson, "The Hidden War" - Borovik, and "The Soviet-Afghan War" - Grau & Gress, eds.) to prepare for battle. While a rough read that could stand better organization, it had very accurate, pertinent information that was useful for a warrior. I personnal went to about ten of the battle locations (some of them were hard to avoid) and was able to follow the battle on the ground by the descriptions in the book. Additionally, on the road to Gardez, was able to discuss some of the battles with locals, who concurred with details. Valuable to me.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It'll improve your Multiplayer Quake Frags March 1, 2002

By Munawar Ali

Format:Paperback

This book delivers exactly what the title indicates. US Officer Lester Grau interviews many Afghan Mujahideen who fought the Soviet Aggressors during the early 80's. Out of those interviews Grau wrote three books, This one being the second (with Ahmed Jalali.)

The book is broken into chapters like Raids, Ambushes, Defense etc... Each chapter has many individual "stories" or debriefings of the mission/situation. The Muj go into detail on what happened, who got shot and who didn't. As you progress through the 200 odd missions, you start reading a definite character to the overall war...

All in all, as a non-military person, I found the book fascinating, entertaining, and above all educational. The diagrams for each mission are very helpful allowing the reader to visualize what happens in each battle.

Overall, If you are interested in Guerilla or Afghan warfare tactics, I would recommend this book.