War Summary/Historical Context
On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978.
As midnight approached, the Soviets organized a massive military airlift into Kabul, involving an estimated 280 transport aircraft and three divisions of almost 8,500 men each. Within a few days, the Soviets had secured Kabul, deploying a special assault unit against Tajberg Palace. Elements of the Afghan army loyal to Hafizullah Amin put up a fierce but brief resistance.
On December 27, Babrak Karmal, exiled leader of the Parcham faction of the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), was installed as Afghanistan’s new head of government, and Soviet ground forces entered Afghanistan from the north.
The Soviets, however, were met with fierce resistance when they ventured out of their strongholds into the countryside. Resistance fighters, called mujahidin, saw the Christian or atheist Soviets controlling Afghanistan as a defilement of Islam as well as of their traditional culture.
The mujahidin employed guerrilla tactics against the Soviets. They would attack or raid quickly, then disappear into the mountains, causing great destruction without pitched battles. The fighters used whatever weapons they could grab from the Soviets or were given by the United States.
The tide of the war turned with the 1987 introduction of U.S. shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. The Stingers allowed the mujahidin to shoot down Soviet planes and helicopters on a regular basis. This is when your mission takes place.
Current Situation
Late December, 1987
Kunduz Region, Afghanistan
Today, at roughly 1250 hours, a flight of 2 Mi-8 helicopters carrying CARGO 200 inbound for Kalaenoowi airport was shot down while entering Kunduz Region from the East. We believe the cause was Mujahideen launched stingers. The pilots managed to get a MAYDAY call out with some coordinates before executing forced landings to the North of Limjar. News of this event quickly reached High Command. In order to protect the morale of the soldiers and their families back home, it was decided to immediately dispatch a quick reaction force to the AO in order to secure the downed birds. As such, the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division (YOU) is to mobilize from their HQ in Mafaraz effective immediately and enter the Limar-Nefer region in order to execute the terms of the operation.
Mission
You've been assigned to an important operation and will have multiple objectives to complete before endex. First and foremost, recovering the helicopter wrecks and cargo. Two Mi-8s, with Cargo 200(soviet casualties), went down somewhere in your AO. Their rough position, as described by the pilots, was marked down on the map. You are to find the crash sites and secure them, along with the cargo. We are looking at 8 medium-sized wooden crates with cadavers. The second objective is to rescue the pilots, assuming they survived the crash, with 6 crewmen in total. There are also secondary objectives. Their completion is not necessary, but if you are able to, you should see to them. You are currently in Mafaraz, roughly 6km South of the AO. For this mission, you will get 4 BTR-70s as transportation. Repair (excluding any field repairs you decide to execute) or replacement is not possible, so you will need to preserve the vehicles to the best of your abilities. In terms of resupply, you will be given an ammo truck along with supply boxes loaded in the BTRs that should last you for the duration of the operation. We cannot afford to send any helicopters with supplies due to the AA threat. For fire support you have access to artillery on request (any calibre and type - smokes, HE, Cluster, etc.) and some limited CAS from our MIGs, but the latter may be cancelled if they start suffering casualties. RoE is left up to your own discretion. However, command has requested that you try and keep civilian casualties as low as possible.
Threat report
You will be fighting the Mujahideen for this mission. They are a guerilla group composed of roughly 250000 fighters spread across Afghanistan, operating in small cells. They mostly use the same weaponry as the Soviet forces, so the AK platform and extended family. They do not have any conventional uniform, but command has designated any non-Soviet personnel with a weapon, whether in their pyjamas or full tactical gear, to be considered hostile. As a general rule, expect armed enemies with civilian clothing. Some may even use camouflage patterns on some garments. The enemy does not possess any armoured vehicles, just technicals and normal transports (ranging from bicycles to trucks). The mujahideen will fight dirty. Expect traps, some IEDs, and suicide bombers. Don't take everything for granted.
Mission Objectives
Main objectives
- Secure the crash site
Marked on your map as ''Presumed Crash Site'', you are to secure the area and locate the 2 MI-8s that went down there. Expect hostiles to be roaming the area. - Secure the 8 wooden crates
Carrying CARGO 200, so friendly casualties that were meant to be transported back home, it is imperative that you locate the 8 boxes and keep them intact. If any of them get destroyed, morale back home will take a big hit. Once you find the boxes, you may call in extraction for them, which, depending on your progress in the mission, can be either via helicopter or vehicle convoy. - Rescue the 6 pilots
Three pilots in each helicopter is what the Soviet Airforce declared, and your mission is to find them and rescue them, preferably alive. It is quite improbable that you will find the pilots at the wreckage unless they died there, so keep your eyes peeled for any signals (smokes, flares, even radio contact). If the pilots spot you, they will most likely try to make contact with you, as per their training. HQ also recommends that you keep an eye out for any Mujahideen intel.
Secondary objectives
These are not necessary for the success of the mission, but if you find the time and opportunity to complete them, command has cleared you for the following objectives.
- Destroy enemy AA capabilities
The Mujahideen have amassed quite a large stockpile of AA and AAA weaponry. Any effort to cripple their ability is appreciated. Look for crates with AA equipment, AAA vehicles and anything that could pose a threat to air vehicles and destroy them. The more AA/AAA you destroy, the more options you get in terms of air assets (CAS, Transport, etc.) - Clear strongholds
Three strongholds have been identified in your AO, all marked on the map. Expect the strongest enemy resistance to be there. If you take these out, general enemy presence in the AO will lower, and you can be sure to expect less reinforcements and activity(from the Mujahideen).
Preset
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