Chapter Sixty: The Wahan Corridor

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  "Sir, this battle was really enjoyable!" Osama said to Muhammad: "We used those few boxes of things and completely destroyed the Soviet air base!"

  It's not just Osama, everyone's face is filled with smiles, even the injured Durrani, who is now grinning and enduring the pain.

  Last time they raided the airbase, everyone risked their lives and almost met God there. This time, from a distance, with those things, they easily covered the Soviet airbase. Durrani couldn't help but burst into laughter as he recalled the scene of several rockets flying over.

  This is the real fight! This is a turning point, a turning point in the military struggle against Soviet aggressors!

  "Sir, why don't we take the rocket-propelled grenades and drive another 100 kilometers on the mountain road to launch a surprise attack on Bagram's airbase? That's where the Soviets have their major airbase, with fighter jets, bombers, helicopters, everything! Dozens of them!" Durrani said.

  "Right, sir! Let's go raid Bagram Air Base!" The others chimed in.

  Muhammad looked at these people, Khwaja, who had just used a sniper rifle to take out several Soviet soldiers coming down from the BMP infantry fighting vehicle, preventing them from flanking themselves. At this time, he was also looking at Muhammad with eager eyes, and as soon as Muhammad gave an order, he would go to execute it without hesitation.

  Several victories made the guerrilla fighters a bit arrogant, riding on horseback, walking on rugged mountain roads, Muhammad said: "This tactic cannot be replicated. We ambushed once and succeeded easily. The second time, it won't be that easy. I don't know if you have thought about it. If the Soviet Union had taken off a Su-25 at that time and patrolled around the airport, it would have caused us great trouble. How could we possibly set up those rockets again?"

  "We have poisonous thorns!" Aga said: "If there is a doe deer, we will knock it down!"

  "Poison darts are not omnipotent," Muhammad said. "We use poison darts, just for sneak attacks. If the female deer in the sky discover us, we don't even have a chance to shoot out poison darts before being taken down by the deer's rocket projectiles."

  This was only the beginning of the war, and the Soviet MiGs were flying freely in the sky without any opponents. By the time the Soviets realized that their MiGs faced a threat from the Sidewinders, they would quickly add infrared countermeasures to the MiGs, and pilots would be on high alert, making it much harder to shoot them down than it was now.

  Armed helicopters have always been the natural enemy of infantrymen. Confronting a doe head-on is also quite miserable.

  Muhammad's mind was clear that this raid would soon make the Soviets aware that the current task was not to continue to sneak attack Bagram, but to return to the mountains.

  This time the raid was a thorough blow to the Soviet people's ribs, with the Soviet character, they would probably mobilize thousands of troops to surround and annihilate this guerrilla team in the mountains, they wouldn't be satisfied until they thoroughly dispersed this guerrilla team.

  The last time they knocked off two test pilots, the Soviets were already gnashing their teeth in anger; this time, they've gone and destroyed their base, and the Soviet fury will burn all the way to the mountains in the north.

  "Return to our base, set up ambushes on various key hills, and prepare to welcome the Soviet sweep." Muhama said: "This time you also saw the power of rocket shells. After returning, everyone must learn the aiming and launching technology of this rocket shell."

  "Yes." everyone replied.

  To Muhammad, the guerrilla fighters are extremely respectful, this kind of respect from the heart, in addition to Muhammad leading them to win battles, is also because Muhammad taught them a lot of guerrilla warfare skills, which is what they yearn for most.

  Having seen the power of this rocket shell, everyone is thinking about how to master this weapon as soon as possible. This is one of the three major treasures of the guerrilla team!

  Muhammad was extremely cautious, and on every hill there were Afghan civilians keeping watch. An ordinary shepherd could be a guerrilla intelligence officer. They were the local snakes, and even the slightest movement of grass couldn't escape their notice.

  The guerrilla force also had horses, and once the Soviet troops were found to be on the move, they would rush into the mountains and quickly get the news. No matter how many Soviet troops entered the mountains, they would gradually dwindle away and eventually disappear. This is the power of guerrilla warfare!

  Back at the base, Muhammad had been waiting all along, but as the days went by, there was still no sign of the Soviets' arrival.

  This made Muhammad puzzled, what was the Soviet Union's intention?

  Autumn is about to pass, and in Afghanistan, which is located on the plateau, winter will be extremely cold, with heavy snow covering the entire land. At its coldest, it can drop to minus 40 degrees Celsius. Even Soviet people born in the cold lands would rather huddle in their bases and not come out. But local Afghans are all barefoot, daring to walk on snowy ground without shoes even in such cold weather. Moreover, they wear the same clothes in winter and summer - long robes with headscarves, without any extra warm clothing.

  In winter, Afghanistan is a place where no battles are fought. Even the Taliban in their heyday would not launch an offensive during this season. Winter is a time for rest and rejuvenation.

  Are the Soviets going to wait until after next spring to launch an attack? Are they just going to let themselves live in peace and quiet?

  At the same time as Mullah Mohammed was being very secretive, he ordered the intelligence personnel lurking in Jalalabad to be active, and with Osama's financial support, the intelligence agency led by Dana began to expand. Several women mixed into the headquarters to do laundry and gather more information.

  Even so, nothing was gained, in the military base of Jalalabad, there were no signs of troops gathering, and various war materials were not stored continuously, which means that the Soviets would not launch a large-scale military attack on the mountainous area for the time being.

  Was it the arrival of winter that caused the Soviet logistics supply to fall behind, and they had no choice but to swallow their pride and watch as their airbase was bombed? Muhammad could think of no other reason, perhaps it was just that.

  Muhammad looked at his own guerrilla team, which was training in full swing. After a winter, their combat skills would be more sophisticated and they would be proficient in the use of various weapons. When the Soviets came to the mountains to encircle him again, they would have to pay a greater price.

  In recent days, the guerrilla force has expanded further and now has more than 100 people. The weapons are starting to show some shortages again, and the US side has promised to help replenish another batch of weapons for the guerrillas.

  It is said that the new batch of weapons, which are similar to AKM rifles and 56-style assault rifles, as well as 107 rockets, were procured from Eastern countries. It's also rumored that several multi-barreled launch vehicles have been brought in. Muhammad is eagerly anticipating the arrival of these weapons.

  A heavy snowfall, swirling and fluttering, covered the entire Central Asia region, everywhere was a silver-clad white.

  "Dong, dong." Under the donkey's neck, a bell hung and rang from time to time. The donkey's hooves trampled on the snowy ground, creating one deep pit after another.

  "This is a goddamn awful weather!" James cursed, pulling the mule forward in the snow, looking at the dozens of mules ahead and behind him, and then at the undulating mountains on both sides.

  From the sky, this is a valley winding down between two massive mountain ranges surrounding it, with only one narrow pass within hundreds of kilometers.

  Here is a narrow strip of land from Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan to Xinjiang, China. In fact, it is a valley formed by the collision between the southern section of the Pamir Plateau and the northern section of the Hindu Kush mountain range during the orogenesis process. The Wakhan Corridor is 300 kilometers long from east to west within Afghanistan, and the narrow Wakhan Corridor has more than 90 kilometers of border line with eastern countries on its east side, and also extends for more than 100 kilometers in eastern countries, where it is also known as the Onion Ridge Ancient Road.

  Here has been a bridge between East and West since ancient times. The Silk Road passes through here, and it is also the only way for Eastern countries to go westward.

  Both sides are high mountains, only this narrow strip in the middle can allow people to walk. In summer, the cool breeze blowing between the mountains is still a pleasure, but now, in such cold weather, it's simply deadly.

  This was the last replenishment before the mountain closure, and when the road is open next year, the Soviets will launch a raid on the Afghan mountain guerrillas, so this replenishment must be carried out.

  US military satellites observed the status of the field airport in the north of Jalalabad, which has been completely destroyed. The attack was launched by a guerrilla force led by Mohammad.

  The Americans were very excited and so this second operation in support of the Afghan guerrillas was launched.

  The US supplying Stinger and TOW missiles to Afghan guerrillas is a risky move, after all, the slightest miscalculation between two superpowers could spark war. This is merely a proxy war, and besides, American weapons are expensive, transporting them from the US mainland would only add to the cost.

  So the US secretly contacted Eastern countries, which are now embroiled in a border conflict with Vietnam and also harbor deep resentment towards the Soviet Union for backing Vietnam. Both sides have common interests, so the US pays to buy weapons from Eastern countries and transports them to Afghanistan through the Wakhan Corridor, making it the best choice.

  Eastern-made weapons, cheap in price and sufficient in power, are just right for the Afghan guerrillas to use. However, as the person directly responsible, James is not so willing.