Table of Contents

Introduction /Chronology /Background to War /Warring Sides /Outbreak /The Fighting /Portrait of a Soldier /Portrait of a Civilian /How the War Ended /The World around War /Conclusions and Consequences /Further Reading

Promotional Information

This concise study examines the nine-year Soviet intervention in Afghanistan from 1979, which opened a new phase in the bloody, prolonged struggle between the communist Afghan government and its people, polarised world opinion and intensified the Cold War while providing a host of lessons for current policy-makers.

About the Author

Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds a doctorate in Modern History from the University of Oxford and serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Dividing his time between teaching cadets on-site and commissioned officers of the British Army posted to garrisons throughout the UK and abroad, his wider work for the Ministry of Defence has taken him to Iraq, Afghanistan, Albania, Ethiopia and both republics of the Congo. Dr Fremont-Barnes has lived and worked for many years in the United States, Japan and Britain and has written and edited extensively, with books on the Anglo-Afghan wars, the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy in the age of sail, the Falklands War, and a host of other military and naval subjects spanning the 18th to the 20th centuries.

Reviews

"The author does a superb job of telling the story of the Soviet-Afghan war. He covers how it was in Afghanistan before the Soviets became interested, how the Soviets poured money and resources into trying to make Afghanistan another communist country, how it failed, how the military was sent in, what they dealt with and how they tried to change things. It seems very familiar. They also failed. It is a fascinating look into a culture few truly understand and it shows what went wrong and why. An excellent read that anyone with even a passing interest in the subject will want to read. Chock full of photos and maps, it is highly recommended." --Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness (March 2013) "...a winning pick for any modern military analysis." --The Midwest Book Review (February 2013)