Learn tactics from first-hand accounts of the Soviet-Afghan War

The Bear Went Over the Mountain is a collection of vignettes written by Soviet junior officers describing their experiences fighting the Mujahideen guerrillas. The material was originally collected and published by the Frunze Combined Arms Staff College to serve as a text on combat against a guerrilla force in mountain-desert terrain. It was originally intended for internal use only and as such provides examples of both good and bad military practice. This is not a history of the Soviet-Afghan War, but rather a series of snapshots of combat as seen by young platoon leaders, company commanders, battalion commanders and military advisers. It is an intimate look at the boring, brutal business of counterinsurgency punctuated by moments of heady excitement and terror.

Author: Lester W. Grau
ISBN-10: 0984074937
ISBN-13: 9780984074938

Excerpt from Bear Went Over the Mountain:

"At 0100 hours on 23 April, two groups of five men each set out along the pipeline. They were disguised to look like pipeline workers and carried pipeline equipment as they walked and checked the pipeline and worked their way into the target area. Under the cover of night, they crept into place and took up firing positions. At 0400 hours, mobile security patrol #1 quickly moved through the fog cover to Chandaran. They blocked the canyon mouth and entrance to the village dismounted, formed a line and began to sweep the village.

Precise coordination between Soviet subunits and the Afghan armed police allowed the battle to precede with minimum casualties. We killed three mujahieen and captured 16. Among the prisoners were the bodyguards of Said Mansoor, an important guerrilla ringleader in the northern provinces, and the wounded miner.We found out later mujahideen..."