Chapter 35: Boosting Military Morale

  "Boom." A 23mm cannon shell easily tore through the left side of the doe's fuselage, causing it to shudder violently. Fortunately, the stub wing had been severed, and the rocket pods and anti-tank missiles hanging from it fell away with the broken wing without exploding. If those munitions had detonated, the helicopter would have been destroyed instantly.

  Those several Shilka just fired at the maximum range, hitting the doe, and the doe was still flying dazedly towards the northern mountains.

  The doe's top was emitting a wisp of smoke, the short wing had just been broken off, flying shrapnel hit the top engine, although the engine was still working, it was already in a state where it would go out at any time.

  Damn it! Shile River! When Muhammad saw that thing, he knew it would be the greatest threat to the guerrillas. Now, in their first encounter, they gave themselves a boost of confidence.

  Muhammad was operating the helicopter with all his might, completely disregarding the flashing red lights on the instrument panel in front of him. He had no way to pay attention to them, nor did he know what those red lights meant or how to operate them.

  It had just flown into the mountains, and the roar of the engine on its head disappeared. The two engines stopped working at the same time. The huge helicopter rotated and fell down immediately.

  The guerrilla fighters in the rear cabin gripped the armrests tightly and silently prayed, Oh Lord, save us!

  Muhammad was operating the helicopter with all his might, making a last-ditch effort as he watched the mountainous terrain below rapidly approaching, big drops of sweat rolling down his forehead.

  "Boom!" On the other side of the mountain, a loud rumble was heard, and then thick smoke burst out.

  The hatch of the Shile River in front opened, and a tall Soviet man crawled out from inside. He looked at the thick smoke rising in the distance, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

  "Hmm, an Afghan guerrilla, can actually get a helicopter moving, it's a miracle, unfortunately, he doesn't know how to evade at all, if it were a Soviet pilot, they would have made evasive maneuvers long ago."

  "Advance and find the wreckage of that helicopter." He held a wireless radio, issuing orders to his own several tanks.

  The sun rises, shining on the mountains of Afghanistan. The air is filled with a mixture of earthy and sunny scents. Soon, as the sun rises higher, the land becomes dry again.

  A group of people wearing Afghan government military uniforms walked on the mountain path, each with a smoky black face and disheveled clothes. Although they were already exhausted, they continued to walk persistently.

  In the team, two have stopped breathing and are being carried away to be buried deep in the mountains.

  Having crossed the great mountains and passed through the canyons, Muhammad was convinced that the Soviets would not pursue them any further, and so relaxed: "Rest in place."

  At the command of Muhammad, the guerrillas immediately fell to the ground, lying on the rough stones, feeling the scorching sun, and closed their eyes, they were all exhausted.

  Muhammad looked at the bodies of two guerrilla fighters who were already unable to speak. Just now, when the helicopter crashed, it was fortunate that most people could be brought out. The two deceased were hit by shrapnel in the passenger compartment when the helicopter was attacked, hitting their arteries. When blood sprayed out, no one could save them, and they died within a few minutes.

  The Afghan guerrillas made enormous sacrifices in order to drive out the Soviet invaders, far exceeding the number of casualties suffered by the Soviets.

  And in these battles, under the leadership of Muhamed, they have already killed enough Soviet people. To put it cruelly, killing one is enough to break even, and killing two means you've made a profit.

  No one blamed Mohammad, on the contrary, they all admired Mohammad. Under Mohammad's leadership, they launched a surprise attack on the Soviet helicopter base, destroying all the helicopters, especially when the helicopters returned to sit, blowing up the remaining helicopters and the people on the ground were shot by machine guns, fleeing with their heads in their hands. At that time, even if they all died in battle, it was completely worth it.

  Muhammad stared blankly, while Khwaja sat down beside him, silently lit a cigarette and took a puff.

  "They did not die, they went to fight bravely, their souls will rise to heaven, God bless them." Khwaja said: "Sir Instructor, your command is perfect, you are the leader sent by God for us Pashtuns."

  Muhammad looked up at the sky and said, "Our battle this time was very successful, achieving our expected goals, destroying the Soviet helicopter. However, the Soviets have a massive defense industry, soon new helicopters will arrive, and they will also discover that the four-barreled self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is the most effective weapon against us. In the coming days, the Soviets will slaughter us even more brutally."

  It's only 81 years now, and the overall situation in Afghanistan is still favorable to the Soviet Union. The Soviets thought they would soon quell the guerrilla rebellion and fully control the situation in Afghanistan. The Soviet Union got a passage to the Indian Ocean in the south, and from time to time, it would provoke some battles with Pakistan to suppress the arrogance of the Americans.

  The Soviet Union was a giant polar bear, and Afghanistan was its inevitable prey. Only they didn't know that the Afghan War would be a powerful catalyst for the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

  Muhammad finished speaking, lowered his head and saw all the guerrilla fighters sitting up, looking at him with eager eyes. In an instant, Muhammad knew he had misspoken.

  I am their instructor, and now in their eyes I am an invincible war god who will never lose a battle. Now if I say these disheartening words, it will obviously strike them down and shake the morale of the troops.

  Muhammad couldn't help but despise himself in his heart. What's going on? How could he even forget how to do political ideological work?

  "But I believe that the final victory will still belong to us, history has proven that aggressors are destined to fail. What we are experiencing now is a difficult war of resistance, our strength will grow day by day, while the Soviets will not be able to withstand the continuous deaths and consumption. God bless us, we must defeat the Soviet invaders."

  As Muhammad spoke, the eyes of these guerrillas lit up slowly, his words were very encouraging.

  "Of course, we will also have sacrifices, even great sacrifices. Many of us may not see the day when the Soviets are driven out, but our sacrifices will not be in vain. It is precisely because of our bravery and dedication that we have regained our independence and autonomy for Afghanistan. Afghanistan will eventually become strong, and we are not slaves to the Soviets!"

  "Yes, we will certainly drive out the invaders!" Khwaja said.

  "We will surely drive out the invaders!" More people shouted, their eyes firm, they were not afraid of sacrifice.

  During this period, all the guerrilla forces were commanded by Khwaja. Muhamed said: "The Soviets have just suffered a heavy blow and should not come to sweep the mountains again in this period of time. The main task of the guerrillas is still training, while summarizing the experience of this battle."

  Are you going to command yourself? Khwaja looked at Muhammad, unsure of what Muhammad wanted.

  "I'm going back to Peshawar," Muhammad said. "If we don't have a way to deal with the drones, we'll always be on the defensive. I'll go to Peshawar and find people who can provide us support. We need portable anti-aircraft missiles, we need anti-tank missiles!"

  The war in Afghanistan is not just a matter for the Afghan people themselves. In order to help the Afghan people shake off the Soviet invasion, Western countries have given strong support. For example, in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, only Eastern European countries participated in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and all Western countries jointly boycotted it. As a result, the Soviet Union almost swept all the gold medals.

  Pakistan's lips are cold and its teeth are frosty, providing the most aid to Afghanistan, even sending instructors like Muhammad to guide the Afghan people's guerrilla warfare.

  As for weapons, as long as they apply to Western countries and explain the situation of Afghan guerrillas, Westerners will support them.

  Muhammad is very confident about this.

  "Commander, will you be coming back?" Hearing Muhammad's words, Khwaja did not object or support, but instead asked this most crucial question with great concern.

  Instructor, they are here to train them. Logically, instructors should be in the rear and would not fight alongside them, let alone take them to shoot down Soviet planes together.

  And after the training is over, the instructor will definitely go back. So this time the instructor went to Peshawar, will he come to Afghanistan again?

  "Of course I will," Mohammad said. "I will stay in Afghanistan until the Soviets are driven out, this is my second homeland."

  At this moment, Muhammad thought of the future generations. Although the Soviets were driven away, the Afghans did not get a single day of peace. The guerrillas defeated the government army, then the guerrillas infighting with each other, attacking each other, and finally the rise of the Taliban, which forcibly turned Afghanistan into a theocratic country, back to the Middle Ages.

  Although Muhammad's descendants had nothing to do with this place, he traveled through time and space to here, fighting alongside the guerrillas, especially when they sacrificed themselves beside him, Muhammad knew that he had completely integrated into this place, and he would fight together with them until the Soviets were thoroughly driven away!