The campaign for the caves: The battles for Zhawar in the Soviet‐Afghan war

The battles for Zhawar were fought to cripple guerrilla logistics, but evolved into tests of the legitimacy of the Afghan communist regime and the Mujahideen resistance. The battles exposed serious deficiencies on both sides as the guerrillas conducted a fixed, positional defense and the Soviets and Afghans attempted a major mechanized assault more in keeping with European terrain than the rugged mountainous terrain around Zhawar.