2
Soviet Strategy, Tactics, and
Dilemmas
Having opted to inject its armed forces into a somewhat unpromising
theatre of operations, the Soviet leadership was immediately con-
fronted with a number of choices relating to the strategy to be pursued
in Afghanistan, and to the military tactics which would best further
that strategy. Many of the most important of these decisions were left
to the Soviet military to take. In Chapters 4 and 5, I will discuss in
more detail the most important specific operations in which the
Soviets engaged, setting these in the context of the politics of the
times. The aim of this chapter is to introduce the reader to the Soviet
armed forces, and to examine in some detail the general types of
strategic objectives and tactical approaches which the Soviets pursued.
First, I give a brief sketch of the Soviet military. Second, I examine
key dimensions of Soviet military strategy, both at a theoretical level,
and in terms of the broad objectives of the Afghanistan commitment.
Third, I outline briefly the different tactical approaches which the
Soviet military adopted in Afghanistan. Finally, I set out four major
challenges which the Soviets confronted in Afghanistan, and which
they ultimately found it either difficult or impossible to meet.
THE SOVIET ARMED FORCES
Some history
In one sense, the Soviet armed forces (Vooruzhennye sily SSSR)
could trace their history back to the detachments of Red Guards