Question

In Afghanistan, how did the Mujahideen actually beat the Soviets?

Answer 1

Hint: The Soviet–Afghan War was a nine-year insurgency war in which rebel forces (known collectively as the Mujahideen) and smaller Maoist groups battled the Soviet Army and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan regime, mainly in the Afghan countryside, during the 1980s.

Complete answer:
The Mujahideen were a group of Muslim and anti-communist rebels who used guerilla warfare to repel the Soviets. Via attacks and skirmishes around the countryside, the Mujahideen inflicted losses on Soviet forces and supply trains, and, with Western support, maintained the burden on the Soviet Union to retreat by using advanced guns and anti-aircraft capabilities.

The Mujaheddin received funding from the United States and Saudi Arabia, among others. US sanctions were a powerful weapon against the Soviets, and it's worth noting that the USSR's Soviet policy collapsed shortly after the withdrawal. The fighting was horrific, and both guerrillas and civilians were killed in large numbers.

Many citizens fled to Pakistan, where they often raised new Mujaheddin in preparation for a return to Afghanistan.

Since 1986, US-supplied Stinger missiles made a difference in the war, but the extent of this difference is debatable. They undoubtedly had an effect on Soviet air power. The Soviets were forced to leave due to sanctions, intractable warfare, and internal Soviet problems.

Chinese heavy machine guns and other Soviet-style equipment were distributed to the Mujaheddin (RPGs, AK 47s, mortars). They carried out ambush strikes, attempting to disrupt convoys and secured areas in order to suffocate the transportation route.

After that, they'd vanish into the countryside. Locals or returning refugees from safe havens in Pakistan soon replenished the casualties. A classic civil war in the countryside. Person Mujaheddin is motivated by the Soviets' violence.

As an area denial weapon, the Soviets used mines widely and indiscriminately, both directly buried and dispersed by aircraft. To combat the guerrillas, the Soviets invaded towns and rural areas with brutality. The Soviets were mostly protecting Kabul and a transportation route. Outside of Kabul, the Kabul government had no influence.

Note: The US began supplying the Mujahideen with Stinger MANPADs. The attack helicopter was the most powerful weapon in the Soviet arsenal. These were well-armed and armoured, unconstrained by terrain, and fast.

They could appear everywhere, and they did. The Mujahideen had no response until the CIA began supplying Stinger missiles and educating people on how to use them. Suddenly, the Soviets were losing a large number of helicopters and attack planes.