Chapter 9

The mountain path was rugged, and it seemed the same everywhere, but the guerrillas walked with ease. If it weren't for the heavy shells on their shoulders, they could almost have moved swiftly.

Finally, after an hour of walking in the barren mountains, Khvaja said, "We're here."

Ahead, a cave appeared. The entrance was almost vertical, and the opposite mountain blocked it from view from the air. This natural cave served as the guerrillas' natural base.

"Hermand, go to the back mountain to fetch some water and prepare dinner," Khvaja said to one of the guerrillas.

"Yes," Hermand replied, taking a large iron bucket from the cave and running to the back mountain.

The location was well hidden. Even if the Soviets wanted to clear it out, the rugged terrain made it impossible for armored units to enter and attack. Moreover, there was a water source in the back mountain, making this base an excellent choice.

Muhammad couldn't help but admire it. If the guerrilla group he used to be in had such a base, they wouldn't have been completely wiped out, leaving only him and Durani to escape.

"Move all these shells inside," Khvaja said. Then, he turned to Muhammad and said, "Sir Instructor, now that we have moved these shells to the base, but we don't have tank guns, these shells are useless. What do you suggest?"

Muhammad's achievements were something Khvaja had seen with his own eyes and believed in; otherwise, he wouldn't have had his men carry so many shells back. In his view, these shells were of little use.

"Captain Khvaja, please don't call me Sir Instructor. Just call me Muhammad," Muhammad said. "Trust me, these shells are our treasures for the near future."

He then unfolded a map he carried and examined it carefully. "Twenty kilometers west of here, there is a sentry post, right?"

Of course, they knew about this sentry post. After the Soviets took control of Jalalabad, they began to build sentry posts around the city to combat the guerrillas.

This sentry post was built at the mountain pass. When the guerrillas entered the mountains, they had to take a detour on a small path, adding dozens of kilometers to their journey to return here.

If they could take out that sentry post, it would be much more convenient.

Moreover, each sentry post stored a certain amount of weapons, ammunition, food, and fuel, making it easier for the Soviets to conduct their operations against the guerrillas.

So far, the Soviets firmly believed they would win this easy victory against the guerrillas, unaware that Afghanistan was becoming a quagmire that would bury the Soviet Empire.

The sentry post was guarded by a platoon of soldiers. Although the number was small, the machine guns formed a crossfire, making a direct assault very difficult.

The guerrillas were skilled at guerrilla warfare, not direct assaults.

When Muhammad mentioned attacking the sentry post, Khvaja immediately became interested.

"Muhammad, how can we take out that sentry post?" Khvaja asked.

In fact, Muhammad knew that attacking the sentry post would be very difficult. However, to gain leadership of this guerrilla group, he needed to win a few impressive battles to gain their trust.

Undoubtedly, attacking the sentry post was very appealing.

"I have a plan," Muhammad said.

When he finished, Khvaja's eyes lit up, eager to set out immediately. However, they needed to gather more information first.

Soon, the smell of food wafted over. Today's battle had yielded several cans of Soviet tankers' caviar, which they spread on flatbreads, making it a delicious meal.

After finishing his meal, Muhammad began his practical demonstration.

A crowd gathered around as Muhammad carried out a shell.

For these guerrillas, the shell was a novelty, but Muhammad knew its structure well.

The front part was the shell and the fuse, and the back part was the propellant and the primer. First, he had to remove the fuse and the primer to ensure safety.

These things were actually quite simple.

Seeing Muhammad about to disassemble the shell, the guerrillas instinctively stepped back. They knew that if it exploded, the power would be enormous.

"You're too close," Muhammad said. "This is a fragmentation shell. If it explodes, it could collapse the entire cave. You should retreat to the back mountain."

Hearing Muhammad's words, two guerrillas immediately turned and walked away. After a few steps, they noticed no one else was following, and their faces turned red as they joined the others.

If others weren't afraid, why should they be? Besides, the instructor looked confident.

God willing, nothing would go wrong. The two men gathered their courage and joined the crowd.

Muhammad was confident. He knew the shell wouldn't explode.

Of course, to be safe, Muhammad still had to remove the fuse first. Moreover, to convert it into an improvised explosive device (IED), the fuse needed to be modified.

Muhammad's grand demonstration of disassembling the shell was intentional. He wanted to teach the guerrillas how to do it, as he was their instructor.

With a few twists, Muhammad removed a conical object from the top of the shell.

"This is the fuse. Without it, the shell won't explode," Muhammad said, showing the fuse to the others. Everyone's eyes widened. The fuse? The shell explodes because of it?

Next, he flipped the shell and removed the primer from the back.

"This is the primer, similar to a bullet. The firing pin strikes the primer, which ignites the propellant, pushing the shell out," Muhammad explained, showing the primer to the others.

Admiration filled the air.

"Instructor, I never thought you could disassemble a shell," Durani said.

"Durani, follow my method and disassemble another shell," Muhammad said.

Disassemble a shell? Hearing this, Durani was startled. "I, I..."

In front of so many people, he couldn't admit he was afraid. However, if the shell exploded, no one would survive.

"Don't worry. I'll guide you, and nothing will go wrong. We need to turn these shells into bombs we can control," Muhammad said. "We'll make them explode when Soviet convoys pass by."

Muhammad insisted on bringing these shells because he knew their potential. Although they couldn't be fired, they were perfect for IEDs.

Most tank shells were armor-piercing, designed to penetrate armor and not explode. So, Muhammad initially didn't plan to bring armor-piercing shells. However, he later realized that the propellant inside could still produce significant power. The dozen or so armor-piercing and high-explosive shells would be enough to give the Soviets a hard time.

Good things should be saved for later use. These fragmentation shells, which rely on explosions to kill, would become thirty powerful IEDs.

The modification was simple. Although Muhammad didn't have suitable timed fuses or the modern cell phone fuses, even the most basic method of using wires to trigger the explosion was effective.

Of course, this required disassembling the fuse and removing the explosives and battery inside.

Although disassembling shells sounded dangerous, in reality, as long as there were no mechanical issues, it was completely safe.

The fuse of a shell is very safe. It only becomes active when the shell is fired from a gun, experiencing significant acceleration. Otherwise, even if it falls from a vehicle, it won't explode.

Durani finally accepted the instructor's order and carefully disassembled another shell.

He thought it would be difficult, but when he easily removed the fuse and primer, he felt a great sense of accomplishment.

It was so simple!

"Everyone saw that, right? Whether it's a small mortar shell or a large aircraft bomb, they all have this structure. In the future, if we encounter these shells, we must bring them back. We don't have heavy weapons, so these shells are our gifts to the Soviets," Muhammad said.

"How do we trigger these shells?" a voice asked. Muhammad looked over and saw it was Hermand.

Hermand had hit the key point, which was also a concern for the other guerrillas. Even Captain Khvaja was paying close attention.

"Next, you will learn to disassemble the fuse, remove the explosives and battery, and extend the wires. This way, we can trigger the bomb from a distance by connecting the wires to the battery when the enemy enters our ambush," Muhammad said.

Given the lack of other materials, this was the simplest method.

Seeing everyone paying close attention, Muhammad felt a great sense of accomplishment. Although disassembling fuses was more dangerous than disassembling shells, with his skillful hands, nothing was impossible.

That night, many people were sleepless, recalling the steps. The next day, they would practice and modify the remaining shells. From then on, they would have a new tactic against the Soviets, even using this method to destroy tanks that even powerful bullets couldn't penetrate!