THE SOVIET NADIR!

Zhawar, Afghanistan 1986

Long before the US became mired in Afghanistan, the Soviets had tried. They eventually gave up. The Soviet cataclysm came at Zhawar in April 1986. Yes, the caves of Zhawar held the key leaders and Mujahadeen a few clicks from Pakistan. It was a huge guerilla arms depot within the 40 caves and 11 major tunnels. It is the same place the US targeted in 2002 with the 101st Airborne against the Taliban. This Mujahsdeen fortress was also defended by 800 well armed men with some sophisticated Soviet weapons. It was the first ever offensive conducted by the Soviet trained Afghanistan Army, the DRA. The DRA would supply 6000 men for the boots on the ground, while Soviet Su-25 aricraft and gunships would provide further support. Some 400 DRA commandoes would drop into the nearby area for the surprise attack, of which there would be none. Despite all this, after 10 days, the DRA had totally failed. To save face, Soviet troops were committed and Zhawar was seized nine days later with fierce fighting. Fearing the worse fate, Soviet engineers were only given five hours to destroy what they could to avoid being surrounded and captured. Zhawar was and remains a hard nut to crack. The game covers the first disasterous day and the airdrop.

The Game

Each turn is two hours, each hex 300 yds, each unit 15-20 men.