Before the attack on the Jalalabad airfield, in the operational command room of the 154th separate detachment, Major General Kolesnik, head of the GRU Reconnaissance Directorate, who had just arrived by helicopter, was holding a small operational meeting.

The general was accompanied by Colonel Kharbayev, a graduate of the Westreel Higher Military Academy, who had served as the head of the 154th Independent Detachment and now the deputy head of the Reconnaissance Directorate.

The other two who attended the meeting were Colonel Sakhatov, the current head of the 154th separate detachment, and Colonel Klyudoev, the commander of the 335th separate helicopter regiment.

At the end of 1979, Colonel Kolesnik, then deputy head of the GRU Reconnaissance Directorate, was ordered to form the 154th separate detachment (i.e., the Muslim battalion) and personally served as its leader. The two vice-captains were Kharbayev and Sakhatov. After the war, Kolesnik served as the head of the General Directorate of Reconnaissance and was promoted to the rank of major general.

Kharbayev served as deputy head of the reconnaissance directorate, and Sakhatov took over as the head of the 154th separate detachment, and the two were promoted to the rank of colonel. All three of them are the most brilliant "stars of tomorrow" in the Red Army's ironclad divisions!

In several Spartsnaz special forces detachments of the GRU, the commander of the detachment usually has the rank of major, and in a few cases the senior is a lieutenant colonel. Only the 154th detachment of independence, the leader of the detachment is the rank of colonel. It can be seen that this "Muslim battalion" has a high status in the eyes of the generals of the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense.

Major General Kolesnik made a special trip from Kabul to Jalalabad to issue a combat mission. The KGB's "Vympel" troops suffered successive defeats in Peshawar. And the 154th detachment of independence, which crossed the border to attack the fortress of Katyar, also failed. The two major defeats made the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Marshal Akhromeyev, extremely angry.

Marshal Akhromeyev ordered the GRU Reconnaissance Directorate to organize a major cross-border raid before the onset of winter, to continue the destruction of the "grain routes" and ensure the safe wintering of the 40th Army.

To this end, Major General Kolesnik developed a top-secret battle plan, named "Project Demon Hunting". Determined to personally lead the entire independent 154th detachment, with the cooperation of the 335th independent helicopter regiment, the whole formation suddenly infiltrated the Khyber Pass Gorge from a low altitude, attacked and destroyed the Katyar fortress, and completely cut off the "food route" of the resistance groups and the "mujahideen"!

If this attack had been carried out and the Halal Army, which was still paralyzed after the victory, would have suffered heavy losses, and the garrison of the Katyar Fortress would not have been able to deal with the Iron Army of the 154th Independent Detachment, then the winter of 1983 would have been a nightmare for the Resistance or the Mujahideen.

The course of any war is unpredictable. Often, a fortuitous event can change the course of history.

The Brothers' impromptu assault on Jalalabad Airport inadvertently aborted the "Demon Hunting Plan" formulated by Major General Kolesnik, the master of secret warfare. When Major General Kolesnik's perfect plan was launched again a few years later, it was time for the major withdrawal at the end of the war a few years later.

At this moment, Major General Kolesnik was facing the sand table, and as soon as he finished announcing the plan, gunshots and explosions rang out on the airfield, and the sirens suddenly sounded. The sound of gunfire and explosions was so intense that the generals and colonels rushed to the windows of the war room in shock. The war room is on the fourth floor, and when you open the window, you can see the combat scene on the airport runway at night at a glance.

The airport tower had been destroyed, and Colonel Sakhatov and Colonel Klyudeyev, through the telecommunications system in the command room, quickly commanded the garrison company of the 159th Motorized Infantry Regiment and the 154th separate detachment to attack the intruders at all costs and secure the helicopter group in the airfield.

The heavy machine-gun positions at the four corners of the runway of the airfield, which had already been occupied by the attackers, and four heavy machine guns spewed tongues of fire, preventing the attack of the infantry and the 154th separate detachment. The offensive was blocked, and the special forces of the 154th detachment of the separate detachment quickly attacked the heavy machine-gun positions with AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers and "Vasilik" 82-mm high-speed mortars.

The point of impact of grenades and artillery shells was rapidly approaching the machine-gun position, and the fire network of four "cliff" heavy machine guns, like a rain of bullets, firmly blocked the skirmish line of the infantry charge. What Lin Zhumin and Lin Tao were most worried about was the other party's infantry long-range heavy firearms. Their two machine guns fired non-stop extended fire, quickly disintegrating the threat of automatic grenade launchers and high-speed mortars.

Colonel Sakhatov and Colonel Kryudeyev stood on the fourth floor, looking through a telescope at everything below, both of them in pain, but at a loss.

"General, please order the three flying regiments 262, 280 and 50 to quickly rise into the air to support! Otherwise, the 335th regiment is finished...... "Colonel Sakhatov pleaded bitterly.

Before he could finish speaking, a volley of 12.7-millimeter heavy machine gun bullets swept across the window lattice, and several bullets flew over the general's head and hit a chandelier in the room. The chandelier fell with a bang, and with the sound of glass explosions shattering, the three colonels, Kharbayev, Sakhatov and Kryudeyev, all rushed forward and surrounded the major general.

Major General Kolesnik, the master of special operations, stood still, he shook his head bitterly, "It's late, it's too late." This is not a resistance, much less a 'mujahideen'. This is a professional, high-level special operation, and they have a complete, well-crafted operational plan. They may be Delta, SAS, or the 'ghosts' of China. They won't give us much time, Colonel, and the Mi-24P is fighting outside? ”

"Yes, General. We have two Mi-24Ps and one Mi-8 that crossed the border to attack the mountain pass canyon and are about to return home! Colonel Kryudoev said.

"Order them to return quickly and intercept the helicopters that fled back to the border directly from the air!" The general commanded with a blushing face.

Colonel Kryudeyev quickly summoned three helicopters that had already infiltrated the territory of the Halal country and gave the order for combat.

Major General Kolesnik did not order reinforcements from friendly airfields, and the 280th Separate Helicopter Regiment was stationed in Kandahar, the 262nd Independent Helicopter Brigade was stationed in Bagram, and the 50th Separate Mixed Aviation Regiment was stationed in Kabul, all of which were not far from each other. But it had already begun to snow in the evening, and by the time they arrived, the attackers would soon retreat, and they would not even have time to see them off.

The general ordered, "Order to concentrate fire to eliminate machine-gun fire points, order all border posts, all strongholds, and all air defense positions, and begin to tightly seal the border ground and air." Order the 159th Motorized Infantry Regiment, the 154th Independent Detachment, and the 334th Independent Detachment, ready to search and suppress the entire area from Jalalabad and Asababad to the border, and they must be found and eliminated! ”

……

Yu Songyuan quickly rushed towards the machine-gun position in the dense gunfire, Bilal was shooting nervously, and Yu Songyuan quickly flanked him with an assault rifle. Bilal operated the "cliff" heavy machine gun, like a "harvester", more like a huge and sharp sickle, and swept down the soldiers of the 159th Motorcycle Regiment who rushed from the barracks, one by one, layer by layer, stubble by stubble, and many of them were cut off by the waist.

At this time, Liu Guodong was still installing explosive devices on the tarmac. He was an engineering enthusiast, and he was so saddened that the ingeniously designed, well-built, and high-performance helicopter was about to be destroyed by his own hands, and he couldn't help but cry. Every time he planted an explosive device, he would mutter, incoherently, "Sorry man, who made you give birth to the wrong person...... Pay attention when you are reincarnated, when you go to China, my brother will love ...... well"

The Mi-24P and Mi-8 have become the mainstream equipment of the 40th Army of the Polar Bear because of their superior combat and maneuvering performance. From the initial military occupation to the later "non-traditional operations", almost all the combat missions of the 40th Army were inseparable from them. By the beginning of 1983, the number of helicopters attached to the 40th Army had reached more than 350.

The Mi-24P attack helicopter, which is used to attack planned fixed targets, as well as targets that are temporarily discovered, or targets encountered by ground forces, have shown considerable flexibility. In the four years since the war began, Army Air Corps has completed 33 percent of its pre-planned attack missions and 75 percent of its close air support missions.

The 40th Group Army divided ground combat operations into three levels, which were organized and carried out by the corresponding organizations of the motorized division, the motorized infantry brigade, and the motorized infantry battalion. But offensive operations of any size will require the support of Mi-24P and Mi-8 helicopters. The Mi-24P, commonly known as the "Hind", is frequently used as an iron fist due to its diverse weapons.

The 335th Helicopter Gunship Regiment was stationed at Jalalabad Airport with only one brigade of more than 20 helicopters in normal times, but at this time, there were 19 Mi-24P helicopter gunships and eight Mi-8 transport helicopters on the tarmac. Liu Guodong did not dare to be troublesome, he placed explosive devices on each plane and sent a signal to retreat.

He also informed Yu Songyuan that it was necessary to retreat quickly to prevent the 335th Helicopter Gunship Regiment from coming to support it if there were helicopters from the 335th Helicopter Gunship Regiment that had slipped through the net or from other airfields. If that were the case, the trouble would be great, and the brothers' plan to retreat from the air would not be realized, and they would have to go into the mountains to fight guerrillas behind enemy lines.

At this time, from time to time, grenades exploded with a bang around the machine-gun positions, and the situation became more and more critical. The garrison battalion and the 154th detachment of the independent detachment threw rat traps, fearing that they would injure the helicopters and did not dare to fire grenades or mortar shells into the runway, thus providing conditions for the smooth retreat of the squad.

"Knock down the tower!" Yu Songyuan suddenly found that on the tower that had been destroyed, he actually used a flashlight to shine a flashlight inside, although it was only a flash, he still commanded loudly.

Lin Zhumin and Bilal fired at the tower at the same time, and the dense rain of bullets from the "cliff" heavy machine guns completely destroyed the tower like a hurricane.

Boom, boom, boom......

Enraged, the special forces of the 154th detachment of the Separate Detachment were unable to storm the runway, so they kept firing grenades from AGS-17s and attacking the heavy machine-gun positions in the four corners. And the point of impact is closer to the position of the four heavy machine guns. The dense explosion of grenades also blocked the firing vision of the four "cliff" heavy machine guns, and the situation became more and more dangerous.