Lester W. GrauThe Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost

The translators and editors went to great pains not only to bring this detailed product of the Russian General Staff's analysis to English speakers, but have added their own analysis as well, with more up-to-date and more objective perspectives. This book will inform the readers on every aspect of Soviet operations inside Afghanistan, from logistical and medical issues, to large-scale motorized infantry tactics. Seemingly nothing was left out, except for one thing: why the Soviets lost! Also lacking was more detail on the Mujahideen perspective on the war. Accounts of Mujahideen activity were told entirely from the Soviet perspective. In fairness, this book sources only one document, and information about the inner workings of Mujahideen forces and Afghan society might have been sparse prior to 2002. But the book fails to address the non-military reasons for the war's failure, and let's face it, the Mujahideen were no match for the LCOSF in open warfare, which leaves the non-military aspects of Soviet occupation as the deciding factor in the outcome. The author makes only vague references to the effects of the occupation on the populace, the problems with the legitimacy of the DRA government, and the extent of foreign support to the Mujahideen, leaving the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about what finally forced the Soviets out. Overall, a very comprehensive, if limited, analysis of the war. I would recommend supplementing this book with other publications, such as the US Army Counterinsurgency Field Manual (ISBN-13: 978-0226841519).

Ah, the great literary prose of Nabakov and Dostoyevsky this is not. Keep in mind this is an official Soviet study of the conflict. For those wondering just how colorful an after-action report from the monolithic socialist empire can be, wonder no more.You get what you pay for, this is the literary equivalent of the cold, soul-killing, concrete block architecture employed by the soviets through Eastern Europe and Afghanistan.If you can get past all of that, and it is a DIFFICULT read, you will find a level of detail and thoroughness without peer. It is similar to books published by our own government. Lots of numbers, lots of diagrams, and tons of information (20 pages on Ammunition Combat Service Support anyone?). The reader will need a decent level of understanding of military science - because the book does not stop long to explain concepts, and assumes quite a bit of the reader.In conclusion, it is the type of book you only really begin to enjoy when you have finished it. A worthy undertaking.

Too soon to tell.I've only barely started it yet you email asking for a review.Wait,and I will fill this in once read./A very dry,boring,overview from the format of a war college.Strategy and tactics,not personnel accounts.Perhaps one could say,"useless" to the layman-student of history.

This book was recommended as a history of a loss with the comment that military losses are much more informative than wins. Bryan Suits was right.The translator/editor established his credentials with his first two books on this subject. With this review of the Soviet General Staff's analysis, he has become a leader on current Russian military history. The book is readable. The prose is almost that of very good fiction. Nothing is ignored. And only fact is presented. The only drawback is a lot of acronyms. (Realistically, militaries are known for acronyms.) But there is a glossary, timeline and index.It also shows how America is making similar mistakes for political reasons.Excellent. Perhaps Grau will do a similar thorough review of the American Revolution from the British side.

As a young boy in Argentina, in 1984 i read in a newspaper about a "Soviet offensive in the Panjsher valley, Afghanistan", from this day my passion for military history began and today is more stronger than ever.The book is a superb analysis of the soviet intervention, not communist propaganda, every tactics and weapons is shown in a professional way.The great irony is than the same locations of battles than i follow in the 80's are in the news now and the US Army is in the same crossroad than the Soviets.Afghanistan is a easy place to invade, impossible to be conquer.

This book is a factual top-down officer's view of the Soviet Afghan Intervention in detail. Some of the side commentaries by Grau are interesiting, some are biased, and some are sadly dated by the reality that the United States Military is now in Afghanistan and as a consequence the U.S. public knows a little bit more about conflict there then they used to. This is a text book, a school book if you will, about what the Soviet Military faced and went through as a whole during the course of it's years in Afghanistan.

I purchased this item for a school paper on Afghanistan in Vietnam, comparing the political and military actions of the Soviet Union and the United States, respectivly. This staff study is, refreshingly, harsh and even-handed in its criticism, a rarity in today's age of reporting only the good and minimizing the bad. It provided me with an in-depth look at Soviet military tactics, especially by the VDV and Spetsnaz forces. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in Soviet military history, or to anyone who is attempting to understand the history of Afghanistan.

This is the 7th book on the Soviet-Afghan War I've read, and Lester Grau kept up his reputation with this book for historical investigative detail. I learned more about the details of this war in a single chapter from this book than I have in all the other books combined. American Veterans of our Afghan war may be particularly interested in this book, noting the differences and similarities in both super powers' strategies.

... more honest than accounts of America/Nato recent adventures. In fact, if the Americans had not been so keen to give SU it's own Vietnam, the Taliban would never have come to power, Islamists would not take themselves seriously as a threat to the West, and many needless deaths avoided!

A present for my son- he enjoyed it?

A fantastic book. I only wish my copy hadn't been stolen from a military library that was quite happy to accept it back.