At the end of 1987, Soviet troops were already preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan. Active hostilities have already ended. But no one could have imagined that another battle would be fought, which will go down in the history of the Afghan war as the most cruel and bloody. This was the battle of the 9th Airborne Company at an altitude of 3234.
In December 1987, part of the government forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was blocked in the city of Khost, Paktia province, on the border with Pakistan. Afghan soldiers lost control of Khost and the Khost-Gardez road. The city and the road passed into the hands of the Mujahideen. To provide assistance, the military leadership of the USSR decided to conduct a military operation "Magistral".
The mission of Operation Magistral was to liberate the city of Khost. On December 30, 1987, the first Soviet supply convoys appeared on the way to Khost. The peak of this confrontation was a fight in the area of height 3234, January 7 and 8, 1988.
Why was the Khost-Gardez road important? The fact is that in this mountainous area this road was the only link between the city and the "mainland", so the road was heavily guarded. The established checkpoints were constantly fired upon and attacked by the Mujahideen.
How Events Unfolded: The First Attack
Height 3234 is located in the southwest, a few kilometers from the middle of the Khost-Gardez road. The 9th parachute company of the 345th regiment was sent to hold the defense. The company was headed by Sergey Tkachev, the composition was 39 people. The company carried out extensive preparatory work; in a short period of time they dug trenches, dugouts, and communication passages. They also mined areas of a possible approach of the Mujahideen.
In the early morning of January 7, the Mujahideen launched an attack on Hill 3234. They tried to knock down the checkpoint and open the way to the road. But the strong structures of the paratroopers did not allow them to immediately take the height. At 15:30, the Mujahideen made a second attempt to take the height, connected artillery shelling, grenade launchers and mortars. Under cover of fire, the Mujahideen were able to get another 200 meters to the company and attack from both sides. And again the Mujahideen were thrown back, albeit not for long: already at 16:30 they went into battle again, and used radio sets for coordination. As a result, the Mujahideen lost about 15 people killed and about 30 wounded, but could not capture the height.
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By this time, there were losses from the Soviet side. Junior sergeant Vyacheslav Aleksandrov and his heavy machine gun "Utes" were killed. The Mujahideen concentrated the forces of grenade launchers on him to remove the machine gun and the junior sergeant. Sergeant Aleksandrov ordered the fighters to retreat deep into the defense, and he himself remained to cover the defense sector.
Second, third and subsequent attacks
The Mujahideen attacked again at about 18:00. The 9th company continued to defend itself. The Mujahideen attacked the area, which was defended by the platoon of Senior Lieutenant Sergei Rozhkov. Again the heavy machine gun was destroyed and replaced with regimental artillery. Again the Mujahideen were unable to occupy the height. Private Anatoly Kuznetsov died during the attack.
The resistance of the 9th company infuriated the dushmans. At 19:10, they again went on the attack, using already psychological methods - they went to their full height with machine guns, despite the loss of personnel. But this trick did not cause fear and panic among the soldiers, and again the attempt to take the height was unsuccessful.
The next attack started at 11:10 pm and was the most brutal. The command of the Mujahideen has changed, and they carefully prepared for it. They cleared the minefield, approached the height, but this attempt was repulsed, and with even greater losses of the Mujahideen. The twelfth attack began on January 8 at 3 am. By this time, the Soviet fighters were tired, they were running out of ammunition, and they were preparing for the deadly end of the defense of Hill 3234. But at that time, a reconnaissance platoon headed by Lieutenant Alexei Smirnov approached, who threw off the Mujahideen. The platoon that had driven down on time brought up the ammunition, and the increased fire decided the outcome of the battle. The spooks were discarded. From that moment on, the battle at Hill 3234 was over.
Help for the 9th company
According to some reports, the armed forces of Pakistan provided support to the Mujahideen. This is indicated by the fact that there were several helicopters 40 kilometers from the height of 3234. They delivered reinforcements and ammunition to the territory of Afghanistan, and took back the killed and wounded. The scouts found the helipad and destroyed it - this was another factor that influenced the outcome of the battle. The paratroopers were assisted by a D-3 howitzer artillery battery and three Akatsia self-propelled vehicles. Boris Gromov, the commander of the 40th Army, was watching what was happening.
Results of the battle for the height of 3234
The battle for Hill 3234 was included in many textbooks as an example of competent tactical actions, preparatory work and the courage of personnel. 39 paratroopers fought against 200 Mujahideen for more than 12 hours, and never surrendered the height to the enemy. Of the 39 people, 6 died, 28 were injured, 9 were severely injured.
All paratroopers received military awards - the Order of the Red Star and the Battle Red Banner. Commander Aleksandrov and Private Melnikov were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The opponents of the Soviet soldiers were mujahideen in black uniforms with a black-red-yellow patch on their arm - the "Black Stork" detachment. This uniform was worn by Pakistani saboteur fighters, a squad created in 1979 to counter Soviet forces in Afghanistan. It is believed that such a uniform is worn by people who have committed grave crimes according to Sharia - murder, theft, and only blood can atone for sin.