Our defenses were built from after Pass No. 2...... The reason is very simple, the mortar positions before the No. 2 Pass have basically been pulled out by the Soviet army, and there are only five or six relatively secret ones left in total...... The mortar positions that had not been shelled were covered by snow, and it was difficult for the Soviet troops to find them, so they were able to survive.

But it doesn't seem to be going to do much to survive...... Because the next step for the Soviet army is infantry occupation!

This infantry is no longer a special forces of the Soviet army, but a paratrooper whose training is stronger than that of ordinary troops, and some distance from the special forces...... The Soviet army may have tasted the sweetness of special forces fighting in Afghanistan, so now it is using special forces or quasi-special forces at every turn!

But then again...... In fact, it is difficult for the ordinary troops of the Soviet army to be competent for the combat mission in Afghanistan, not to mention that Afghanistan at this time is full of snow, and it is very difficult to walk, and it is only at an altitude of 3,000 meters and fighting in steep mountainous areas, I am afraid that after a few days, ordinary soldiers will be tired and lie down!

This was followed by demoralization, followed by a drastic drop in combat effectiveness and desertion, and a possible mutiny if it continued......

But special forces or quasi-special forces are different, they themselves have high requirements for physical fitness, not only strong combat effectiveness, but also can quickly adapt to combat missions in harsh environments, and even when they are attacked by the enemy and cannot get reinforcements in time, they can stand alone.

So don't think about it...... Let the special forces take on any important tasks, especially for such an important target as the Higio Valley!

So when the alpha pulled out the mortar positions in the mountains about the same...... Soviet paratroopers then appeared, carrying groups of helicopters to occupy various commanding heights in the mountains, and then constructing fortifications with the help of helicopters...... The quality of the paratroopers, although, was not as good as that of the Alpha troops. But the advantage is that there are a lot of people. It's just right for this occupation mission.

This also rendered our mortar positions on both sides of Valley 01, which had not yet been discovered by the Soviets, useless...... There were Soviet devils everywhere. As soon as the cannon is fired, it will be discovered by the Soviet army...... It's like not having one!

What can we do...... It was in the dark of night that the equipment and personnel in the mortar positions were withdrawn...... The shells in the mortar positions will definitely not be able to be withdrawn, which is also the reason for the rapid loss of ammunition in our army...... Each mortar position required a significant number of shells to be stored, but these shells were reduced to nothing after the mortar positions were captured by the Soviets, and could even be used by the Soviets...... After all, the mortars we use are also copied from the Soviet Union, and the shells can be used as long as they are of the same caliber!

So...... In this case, it is impossible for us to introduce new defenses on both sides of Valley 01...... Even after these moves by the Soviet troops, Valley 01 was de facto lost...... Because as long as any army enters Valley 01...... will be flanked by Soviet firepower on both sides, and in addition, you have to add the blow of the Soviet air power above your head!

Even the Soviets learned smart...... I also know the trick of "encircling the point to send reinforcements...... The guerrillas stationed at the No. 1 Pass did not fight. Still tentatively attacking and depleting the defenders' ammunition as before, on the other hand, waiting for our main forces to reinforce them......

Of course, I would not be so stupid, to go for reinforcements would mean falling into a trap carefully set by the Soviet army, not to mention that the guerrillas in the No. 1 Pass do not need our reinforcements at all, and the No. 1 Pass has already dug tunnels...... Just wait for a dark and windy night to avoid the surveillance of the Soviet army from the tunnel, and then hide into the mountains on both sides.

Of course, before leaving, they will detonate the ammunition depot with a time bomb and blow up the fortifications of Pass No. 1 so that they will not be used by the Soviets!

I believe that these tactics were all suggestions from the Vietnamese advisory group to the Soviet army...... This made me feel like I was back on the battlefield in Vietnam, and now I was facing two powerful threats: the combat experience of the Vietnamese advisory group and the modern equipment of the Soviet army!

I have to admit that it was a lot of pressure on me...... The modern equipment of the Soviet army is enough for me to have a headache, and now I have to add the heads of the Vietnamese advisory group...... This directly caused the current Soviet army to encroach on the Xijieo Valley step by step...... And that's just one direction of the valley, the same thing is happening to the south!

But let's say we don't have a way to live...... This one is true. The Soviet offensive was carried out only at two ends, that is, at the north and south exits of the valley. And for the mountains on both sides of the valley there is basically no blockade...... We can completely disperse to the mountains on both sides to fight guerrillas!

But this is where the Soviet offensive is so powerful...... What they want is the Higio Valley, and as for whether we run away or not, this is not their strategic goal!

Or you can say that...... As long as the Shigio Valley falls into the hands of the Soviet army, then our 74 unit will lose most of its combat effectiveness...... Can anti-aircraft artillery take it away? Can the anti-aircraft machine gun be taken away? How much ammunition can you bring? In the future, it was not only the lives of being chased by Soviet helicopters......

And I still believe...... The reason why the Soviets opened up the flanks and did not blockade them...... If the Soviets want to blockade it, it will be easy to drop a large area of mines, and then deploy troops on the commanding heights a little further on both sides, so that there is no way to block us...... The reason for this is that the valley is more than fifty kilometers long, and the terrain is quite complex, plus the guerrillas are familiar with the terrain...... So it's impossible to seal us up completely!

But...... Doing so can at least inflict considerable casualties on our main forces, and at the same time add another layer of pressure on us!

Why didn't the Soviets do this?

Actually, it's smarter not to do that...... Because this is what I said before...... Give us a way to live, so there will be no stubborn resistance from the "trapped beast fight"!

That's one of the things I feel the most...... It is true that there is less pressure from the Soviet side, but there is much more pressure from within:

Some of the partisans questioned the ...... The Soviet army's attack this time was so fierce, and we didn't have a good way to stop the Soviet army's offensive, so why didn't we disperse to the mountains to fight guerrillas? Guerrilla warfare is the strength of the Afghan guerrillas, isn't it? Afghan guerrillas are familiar with the terrain, aren't they? As for the Higio Valley...... We can wait for the Soviet army to pass the limelight and then fight back!

I have to admit that there is some truth to this thinking...... But if you do this, you will fall for the Soviet army's plan...... No matter how fast we move, can we outperform the Soviet helicopters? Then we'll be scattered with a bang...... Then all the Soviet army needs to think about is the question of who to destroy first, and then who to destroy! At the very least, some guerrillas may be able to escape...... But it is already a serious injury, and it is completely incapable of posing any threat to the Soviet army!

In this respect...... The Soviet tactics of "encircling three and one" have already worked, because it has in fact dealt a blow to the morale and unity of our troops, and of course there has been a certain blow in the determination to resist, but it has not yet been shown!

This is where our role in educating the grassroots commanders in Afghanistan comes into play...... In our regular classes, we have taught those commanders about the tactic of "encircling three and one", and even explained the battle examples of the besieged Soviet troops in the Vietnam battlefield and in the Higio Valley before......

So now the Soviets are using this tactic...... The grassroots cadres quickly understood...... This is a ruse by the Soviet army to divide our opinions and lose our resolve to resist!

Then the grassroots cadres will then use their ideas to influence their subordinates...... Don't underestimate this influence, it's a one-sided one, and it's not coming out of one's mouth...... If it just comes out of my mouth, a considerable part of the partisans will feel ...... This is just a lie I told to stabilize the morale of the army!

But that's no longer the case...... That's what the vast majority of grassroots cadres say, and they're all Afghans...... One person may lie to them, but it is impossible for so many people to deceive them together! What's more, many of these people are company commanders, platoon commanders, etc., who live and die with them and have their trust!

So the morale of the army quickly stabilized...... The guerrillas either understood what was going on, and even if they didn't, they were willing to believe what they said because they trusted the junior officers!

This is also the reason why all the troops attach great importance to the training of grassroots cadres...... Grassroots cadres usually seem to be small officials, and let others call and drink whatever they want...... But when it comes to critical moments, they are the link between senior officers and soldiers, and they are the decisive factor that affects morale or the morale of the army!

I was fortunate enough to have managed to do this, which was to keep the junior officers firmly in my own hands...... This kind of mastery is not a mastery of substance, but the kind of mastery that the heart desires, such as Apuchu, such as Aled, such as Wadud, and so on...... They are the kind of junior officers who I believe will stand firmly by my side and support us no matter what happens, and it is through them that the whole guerrilla force is controlled in my hands!

This is the result of my education and reform in the Higio Valley during this time...... Although we encountered a little trouble in the process of reform, after this trouble...... The result is a force in the Higio Valley that is unlike any other guerrilla!

I think this is one of the reasons why the Soviets had to get rid of us as soon as possible! (To be continued......)