Ali Ahmad Jalali

Lester K. Grau

Illustrated with over a hundred maps. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, few experts believed that the fledgling Mujahideen resistance movement had a chance of withstanding the modern, mechanized, technologically-advanced Soviet Army. Most stated that resistance was futile and that the Soviet Union had deliberately expanded their empire to the south. The Soviet Union had come to stay. Although some historians looked at the British experience fighting the Afghan mountain tribesmen, most experts discounted any parallels since the Soviet Union possessed an unprecedented advantage in fire power, technology and military might. Although Arab leaders and the West supplied arms and material to the Mujahideen, they did so with the hope of creating a permanent, bleeding ulcer on the Soviet flank, not defeating the Soviet Union. They did not predict that the Soviet Union would voluntarily withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989. There have been few studies of guerrilla warfare from the guerrilla’s perspective. To capture this perspective and the tactical experience of the Mujahideen, the United States Marine Corps commissioned this study and sent two retired combat veterans to interview Mujahideen. The authors were well received and generously assisted by various Mujahideen who willingly talked about their long, bitter war. The authors have produced a unique book which tells the guerrillas’ story as interpreted by military professionals. This is a book about small-unit guerrilla combat. This is a book about death and survival, adaptation and perseverance.

The Other Side Of The Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics In The Soviet-Afghan War [Illustrated Edition]

Lester W. Grau

Originally printed in very limited numbers in 1995, this book is a companion piece to "The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan." This unabridged quality reprint will provide tremendous insight for historians, journalists and anyone deployed in Afghanistan. Contains accounts of numerous actions fought by the Afghan resistance. Each account is told by the Afghan commander who participated in the action described. These commanders in the vast majority, were civilians who took up arms against the Soviets and developed the skills necessary to command guerrilla units. Most of these accounts are supported by a full page map, that show the topography, the locations of the attackers and defenders, movements, fields of fire etc. In addition is an invaluable guide to anyone wishing to understand modern guerrilla warfare, whether conducting one or fighting against guerrillas in the field. In addition this study provides invaluable insights in how to train and support guerrillas in the field. Each operation is commented on to highlight the elements that caused the operation/action to succeed or fail. In the event of failure what should have been done to have prevented such failure, or in the case of success what could have been done to have improved on that success.

Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War

The Other Side of the Mountain

Afghanistan: A Military History from the Ancient Empires to the Great Game covers the military history of a region encompassing Afghanistan, Central and South Asia, and West Asia, over some 2,500 years. This is the first comprehensive study in any language published on the millennia-long competition for domination and influence in one of the key regions of the Eurasian continent. Jalali’s work covers some of the most important events and figures in world military history, including the armies commanded by Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, the Muslim conquerors, Chinggis Khan, Tamerlane, and Babur. Afghanistan was the site of their campaigns and the numerous military conquests that facilitated exchange of military culture and technology that influenced military developments far beyond the region. An enduring theme throughout Afghanistan is the strong influence of the geography and the often extreme nature of the local terrain. Invaders mostly failed because the locals outmaneuvered them in an unforgiving environment. Important segments include Alexander the Great, remembered to this day as a great victor, though not a grand builder; the rise of Islam in the early seventh century in the Arabian Peninsula and the monumental and enduring shift in the social and political map of the world brought by its conquering armies; the medieval Islamic era, when the constant rise and fall of ruling dynasties and the prevalence of an unstable security environment reinforced localism in political, social, and military life; the centuries-long impact of the destruction caused by Chinggis Khan’s thirteenth century; early eighteenth century, when the Afghans achieved a remarkable military victory with extremely limited means leading to the downfall of the Persian Safavid dynasty; and the Battle of Panipat (1761), where Afghan Emperor Ahmad Shah Abdali decisively routed the Hindu confederacy under Maratha leadership, widely considered as one of the decisive battles of the world. It was in this period when the Afghans founded their modern state and a vast empire under Ahmad Shah Durrani, which shaped the environment for the arrival of the European powers and the Great Game.

A Military History from the Ancient Empires to the Great Game

Afghanistan

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS), located in Washington, D.C., presents the full text of the article entitled "Whither the Taliban?" written by Ali A. Jalali and Lester W. Grau. The article originally appeared in the March 6, 1999 issue of "The Cyber-Caravan," under the title "Taliban--A Model for 'Islamicising' Central Asia?" published by the Foreign Military Studies Office. The article highlights the political, religious, and ethnic backgrounds of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

Whither the Taliban?

The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahadeen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War is a 1998 non-fiction book written by former Afghan Army Colonel Ali Ahmad Jalali and American military scholar Lester W. Grau. The book was commissioned by the United States Marine Corps Studies and Analysis Division to complement Grau's previous book, "The Bear Went Over the Mountain." Jalali and Grau had planned travel into Afghanistan to interview Mujahideen fighters in late 1996, but were forced to remain in Pakistan when a Taliban offensive campaign started to seize major portions of Afghanistan, eventually capturing Kabul on September 27. Jalali interviewed approximately 40 Mujahideen during the month which the authors spent in Pakistan and an associate, Major Nasrullah Safi, conducted interviews inside Afghanistan for two months to collect additional data.

The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, few experts believed that the fledgling Mujahideen resistance movement had a chance of withstanding the Soviet Army. in 1989, realizing they were trapped in an unwinnable war where they were suffering "death from a thousand cuts" by an intractable enemy who had no hope of winning, but fought on because it was the right thing to do, the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan. Few studies of guerrilla warfare from the guerrilla's perspective exist. To capture this perspective and the tactical experience of the Mujahideen, the United States Marine Corps commissioned this study and sent two retired combat veterans to interview Mujahideen. From those interviews has come this work, which tells the guerillas' story as interpreted by military professionals. This is a book about death and survival, adaptation and perseverance. It provides an understanding of guerrilla field craft, tactics, techniques and procedures.

"The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War" by Ali Ahmad Jalali. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Provides reports from Mujahideen veterans and maps depicting locations and troop movements to explore how the Afghans fought a successful guerrilla war against their better-equipped and numerically superior Soviet enemies.

Ali Ahmad Jalali

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