Brick Lieutenant
Zhawar Afghanistan, 1985
The DRA forces first attacked from Khost, and succeeded in capturing the village of Bori, to the northeast of Zhawar. They then ran into heavy resistance and had to pull back.
The main attack came on September 4, and was at first successful, capturing the village of Lezhi and killing a Mujahideen commander. Very soon the attack was halted at the Manay Kandow pass, that had been heavily fortified by the Mujahideen. For 10 days the defenders held out, but were finally forced to withdraw, under heavy airstrikes by Soviet aircraft. This enabled the DRA forces to cross the pass and capture the Tor Kamar position, overlooking Zhawar, from where they could direct artillery fire at the Mujahideen base.
At this point the Mujahideen launched a counter-attack, led by their two T-55 tanks. The DRA were caught by surprise, as they had not expected to meet armour, and they fell back after sustaining heavy losses. The DRA commander tried to renew the assault, but by that time the Mujahideen had received reinforcements from Pakistan, and they were able to repel further attacks.
Zhawar Afghanistan, 1985
The DRA forces first attacked from Khost, and succeeded in capturing the village of Bori, to the northeast of Zhawar. They then ran into heavy resistance and had to pull back.
The main attack came on September 4, and was at first successful, capturing the village of Lezhi and killing a Mujahideen commander. Very soon the attack was halted at the Manay Kandow pass, that had been heavily fortified by the Mujahideen. For 10 days the defenders held out, but were finally forced to withdraw, under heavy airstrikes by Soviet aircraft. This enabled the DRA forces to cross the pass and capture the Tor Kamar position, overlooking Zhawar, from where they could direct artillery fire at the Mujahideen base.
At this point the Mujahideen launched a counter-attack, led by their two T-55 tanks. The DRA were caught by surprise, as they had not expected to meet armour, and they fell back after sustaining heavy losses. The DRA commander tried to renew the assault, but by that time the Mujahideen had received reinforcements from Pakistan, and they were able to repel further attacks.