Chapter 60

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"Sir, this battle was truly exhilarating!" Osama said to Muhamed: "We used just a few crates of stuff to completely destroy the Soviet air base!"

Not only Osama, but everyone's face was beaming with joy, even Durani, who was injured, was grinning and enduring the pain, finding pleasure in it.

During the last raid on the air base, everyone risked their lives, almost meeting their maker there. This time, from a distance, they easily covered the Soviet air base with those things. Thinking about the scene of several rockets flying over, Durani couldn't help but smile.

This was a real battle! It was a turning point, a turning point in the military struggle against Soviet invaders!

"Sir, why don't we take the rockets and travel a hundred kilometers through the mountains to raid the Bagram air base? That's the Soviet's major air base, with fighters, bombers, helicopters, everything, dozens of them!" Durani said.

"Yes, Sir, let's raid the Bagram air base!" the others chimed in.

Muhamed looked at these people. Khwaja, who had just used a sniper rifle to take out several Soviet soldiers from a BMP infantry fighting vehicle, preventing them from flanking him, was now looking at Muhamed with a longing gaze. As soon as Muhamed gave the order, he would execute it without hesitation.

Several victories had made the guerrillas a bit arrogant. Riding on horseback, traveling through the rugged mountain paths, Muhamed said, "This tactic cannot be replicated. We succeeded easily the first time, but the second time won't be so easy. Have you thought about what would happen if the Soviets had a Hind helicopter take off and patrol around the airfield? It would cause us a lot of trouble. How could we set up those rockets so easily?"

"We have Stingers!" Aga said. "If there's a Hind, we'll shoot it down!"

"Stingers are not omnipotent," Muhamed said. "We use Stingers for ambushes. If the Hind in the sky spots us, we won't have a chance to fire the Stinger; it will be destroyed by the Hind's rockets."

This was still the early stage of the war. The Soviet Hinds flew freely in the sky, without any opposition. Once the Soviets realized the threat of Stingers, they would quickly equip the Hinds with infrared decoys, and the pilots would be more cautious. It wouldn't be as easy to shoot them down as it is now.

Attack helicopters are always the nemesis of infantry. Directly confronting a Hind would end in a disastrous outcome.

Muhamed was very clear in his mind. This raid would soon make the Soviets realize that their current task was not to continue raiding Bagram but to return to the mountains.

This raid had hit the Soviets right in the ribs. Given their nature, they would likely send a thousand troops into the mountains to encircle and annihilate this guerrilla group. They wouldn't be satisfied until this group was completely dispersed.

The last time they eliminated two test pilots, it had already made the Soviets grind their teeth in hatred. This time, by destroying their base, the Soviets' anger would burn into the northern mountains.

"Return to our base, set up lookouts on key mountain peaks, and prepare for the Soviet sweep." Muhamed said. "You've seen the power of the rockets. When we return, everyone must learn how to aim and fire these rockets."

"Yes," everyone replied.

The guerrillas respected Muhamed greatly. This respect came not only from his leading them to victory but also from teaching them many guerrilla warfare skills, which they greatly desired.

Seeing the power of these rockets, everyone was thinking about how to quickly master this weapon. It was one of the three great treasures of the guerrillas!

Muhamed was very cautious. There were Afghan civilians on lookout at various mountain peaks. An ordinary shepherd could be a guerrilla informant. They were the local snakes, and no movement went unnoticed by them.

The guerrillas now had horses. Once they discovered Soviet troops entering the mountains, they could quickly get the news. No matter how many Soviets entered the mountains, they would gradually become smaller and eventually disappear. This was the power of guerrilla warfare!

Returning to the base, Muhamed waited, but day after day passed without the Soviets arriving.

This made Muhamed puzzled. What were the Soviets planning?

Winter was approaching. In the highlands of Afghanistan, it would be extremely cold, with heavy snow covering the entire land. The coldest times could reach minus forty degrees. Even the Soviets, who were born in cold regions, would stay in their bases, unwilling to come out. The local Afghans, however, were barefoot, and they could walk on the snow in such cold weather. They wore the same long robes and headscarves in both winter and summer, with no extra warm clothing.

In winter, there would be no fighting in Afghanistan. Even the Taliban, in their most aggressive times, would not launch offensives in winter. Winter was a time for rest and recuperation.

Could the Soviets be waiting until the following spring to launch an attack? Would they let him enjoy himself freely?

While Muhamed was very puzzled, he ordered the intelligence agents in Jalalabad to gather information. With Osama's financial support, the intelligence agency led by Dana began to expand. Several women had infiltrated the headquarters to do laundry, providing more information.

Even so, they found nothing. There were no signs of soldiers gathering in the Jalalabad military base, and no additional war supplies were being stored. This indicated that the Soviets would not launch a large-scale military offensive in the mountains for the time being.

Could it be that the arrival of winter had made the Soviet logistics unable to keep up, forcing them to swallow their anger and watch as Muhamed destroyed their air base? Muhamed could find no other reason; perhaps this was the only explanation.

Muhamed looked at his guerrilla group, which was training enthusiastically. After a winter, their combat skills would be even more proficient, and they would be more adept at using various weapons. When the Soviets came to the mountains to encircle him, they would have to pay a higher price.

In recent days, the scale of the guerrillas had further expanded, now numbering over a hundred. Weapons were starting to become scarce again, but the United States had promised to help the guerrillas replenish their arsenal.

It was said that the new weapons arriving were purchased from an Eastern country, including 56-type assault rifles similar to the AKM and 107 rockets. They had even managed to get a few multiple-barreled launchers. Muhamed was very excited about the arrival of these weapons.

A heavy snowfall covered the entire Central Asian region, turning everything into a white, snowy landscape.

"Clang, clang." A bell hung under the donkey's neck rang from time to time as the donkey's hooves stepped into the snow, leaving deep tracks.

"This is a damned weather!" James, pulling the donkey through the snow, looked at the dozens of donkeys in front and behind him and the undulating mountains on both sides, cursing non-stop.

If viewed from the sky, this was a valley between two massive mountain ranges, the only narrow passage within hundreds of kilometers.

This was a narrow strip of land in the northeast of Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, extending into the Xinjiang region of China. It was actually a canyon formed by the collision of the southern segment of the Pamir Plateau and the northern segment of the Hindu Kush Mountains. The Wakhan Corridor, which is 300 kilometers long from east to west in Afghanistan, has a 90-kilometer border with an Eastern country to the east and extends for over 100 kilometers within the Eastern country, known as the Onion Ridge Ancient Road.

From ancient times, this was a bridge connecting the East and West, through which the Silk Road passed, and it was also the only route for the Eastern country to the West.

On both sides were high mountains, and only the narrow strip in the middle allowed passage. In summer, the cold wind in the mountains was a kind of enjoyment, but now, in such cold weather, it was almost life-threatening.

This was the last supply before the mountains were closed. When the roads opened next year, the Soviets would launch an attack on the guerrillas in the Afghan mountains. Therefore, this supply was essential.

American military satellites had observed the status of the field airport north of Jalalabad, which had been completely destroyed. The group responsible for this attack was the guerrillas led by Muhamed.

The American leadership was very excited, and thus, the second support mission for the Afghan guerrillas was launched.

Providing Stinger and TOW missiles to the Afghan guerrillas was risky for the United States. After all, a clash between the two superpowers could easily lead to war. This was just a proxy war, and the American weapons were expensive, increasing costs when transported from the United States.

Therefore, the United States secretly contacted the Eastern country. The Eastern country was currently embroiled in a border conflict with Vietnam and naturally hated the Soviets, who were supporting Vietnam. Both sides had common interests, so the United States provided the money to purchase weapons from the East, which were then transported to Afghanistan through the Wakhan Corridor, making it the best choice.

The weapons from the East were cheap and powerful, perfect for the Afghan guerrillas. However, as the direct person in charge, James was not so willing.