Читать книгу Red Snow - Sean Ryan Stuart - Страница 7

Chapter 1 The Camp

Among the scraggly odd pine trees, sprinkled with cacti and thorns, a small band of men climb rock-strewn slopes. Ten strenuous days of hard walking, mostly at night to avoid the ever present danger of Soviet Hind (helicopter gunships), brought this band of fighters to the outskirts of the Spinghar district. This plateau was protected on three sides by nearly insurmountable peaks and fast- moving rivers. For centuries this region had been a sanctuary for roving bands of outlaws; it now offered perfect protection from the prying eyes of the Soviet military. The headquarters of this band of guerrilla fighters, more commonly known as mujahidin (soldiers of God), was strewn haphazardly across the wide plateau overlooking the Kabul-Jalalabad highway. Small groups of mujahidin were huddled close to their still glowing campfires. It was a feeble attempt on their part to glean the last vestiges of warmth, before the strong rain soaked their tired bodies. They now knew that the Soviets were reduced to occasional air raids with high-flying TU 16s (tactical fighter/bombers) or daytime raids with helicopters. A few years ago, they never would have dared to have open campfires, but now it was quite evident that the Soviets were conserving forces in preparation for their departure. They were all aware that discussions were going on in Geneva, and hoped that this miserable war would be over in a few months.

A few hours earlier the valley floor cooked in a cauldron of heat and dust. Shimmering heat waves dancing in the distance like exotic belly dancers. Everyone had sought shelter from the burning sun. The mujahidin crowded around the few remaining shade trees like cattle on a hot Texas prairie. Now a late fall shower soaked their bodies, and robbed them of their remaining strength.

From this position, like birds of prey, the mujahidin could observe the highway and monitor all Soviet movement along the strategic road.

Their important location was cleverly blended and camouflaged into the rocky hillside. Their small shelters were similar in color to the existing scrub pines and bushes. Their camouflage techniques were vastly superior to the unsuccessful Soviet attempt at concealment.

At times, it seemed as if the Soviets thought they were invincible, neglecting to practice even minimal concealment, and camouflage. The Soviets were arrogant, and at the same time ignorant of their adversary. They were sometimes even more colonialistically inclined than the once glorious and mighty British Empire. They treated all Afghans in a less than compassionate fashion and were surprised to find out that the Afghan freedom fighters had no respect or fear of the Soviet war machine. They knew that they had a just cause and eventually Allah (God) would prevail. There was an air of confidence in this camp. An almost insolent atmosphere permeated the area. Nine years of resistance against the supposedly invincible Soviet army, had hardened these guerrilla fighters into a band of well-trained and extremely cagey freedom fighters. In fact, they had a secure defensive perimeter which would rival that of any modern army in the world. The camp was heavily fortified and included a captured Soviet heavy machine-gun of the ZSU-23-4 (SHILKA, usually mounted on a modified PT-76 Tank chassis, 4X23mm AA guns) type as well as one “Strela 1” launcher (AKA SA9) antiaircraft missile, not as effective as the newly acquired American Stinger missiles, but dangerous nonetheless for any low-flying Soviet aircraft.

They were fortunate indeed to have captured this complete SA9 air-defense system on a previous raid along the Pakistani-Afghan border. Their enemies had been so surprised by this raid that several communist Kabul soldiers had willingly defected, and now proudly manned this air-defense system for the mujahidin. The ZSU-23-4 was normally used as an antiaircraft weapon system, but could be devastating when used against lightly armored vehicles or ground personnel. It provided the mujahidin with a certain feeling of security and confidence. These two weapon systems were highly compatible to each other, and could be extremely devastating against low-flying aircraft.