Chapter 58: Rescuing Amin (Part 2) (Four updates, seeking fresh flowers, recommendations, and collections)

  On December 13, 1979, the 154th Separate Special Purpose Battalion was ordered to enter Kabul with the task of strengthening the "guard" for Amin. A week earlier, the Soviet Union had informed Amin that it would increase its support for him and would soon send a detachment of troops rich in mountain warfare experience to Afghanistan to ensure Amin's advantage in clashes with Pakistan.

  On the 16th, Kolesnik flew to Afghanistan by plane. On the plane he met General Drozdov and Captain of the 3rd Rank Kozlov who were also tasked with similar missions. They would command the KGB's "Grom" (Thunder) and "Zenith" special forces units respectively.

  After arriving in Kabul, Kolesnikov first visited the Soviet military attaché to Afghanistan, General Makhmudov, who briefed him on the situation in Kabul and made arrangements for their "guard" work. Amin's residence had three layers of guard troops: the innermost layer was Amin's personal bodyguard battalion, the second layer was the 154th Independent Spetsnaz Detachment, and the third layer was the Afghan Guard Corps.

  On the 18th, Korolnikov met with Lieutenant Colonel Zandat, commander of the Afghan Guard Regiment. They then exchanged views on the security work of Amin Palace, and Lieutenant Colonel Zandat introduced some situations here to Korolnikov without any guard, and accompanied Korolnikov to take a walk around the palace.

  That evening, Kolesnikov hosted a dinner party for the Afghan Guard Corps officers at his residence in the Armitage Palace to "build relations" with Afghans. Fifteen high-ranking officers of the Afghan Guard Corps attended. Soon, Soviet vodka took effect. One of the officers of the Afghan Guard Corps, under the influence of alcohol, enthusiastically and without reserve told the 154th Separate Intelligence Detachment a stunning secret - how Lieutenant Colonel Zandehdar and he had smothered ex-President Taraki with pillows.

  The next day, the Kremlin received a report from the 154th Separate Commando Battalion about Taraki's murder. At that time, Soviet leaders did not know that Taraki was already dead, and Amin had been deceiving the Soviets in the negotiations, using guarantees of Taraki's personal safety as a bargaining chip.

  After receiving this intelligence, the Soviet leadership became even more determined to remove Amin. The day after the GRU received intelligence from the 154th Independent Spetsnaz Detachment, Kolesnikov was summoned to the Soviet embassy where he met with KGB advisor General Ivanov and Counsellor of Embassy Muhamadiev who together conveyed Kremlin's orders to overthrow Amin's government. According to their plan, the 154th Independent Spetsnaz Detachment would send out five companies to occupy the airport, the general staff headquarters and communication centers etc., then use one battalion and two companies to storm Darulaman Palace.

  Just as the Soviet Union was about to resolve Amin, Chinese special forces had moved from Kashgar to Peshawar, Pakistan, where they would board planes bound for Afghanistan. On December 27, 1979, Chinese special forces boarded five Il-76 transport aircraft and flew towards Kabul under cover of night. At this time, Soviet special forces were divided into three parts, advancing on the Darulaman Palace, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Radio Kabul.

  Colonel Belonov, commander of the assault group, personally led 12 T-62 tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, 5 armored personnel carriers and 120 assault troops towards Darul Aman Palace.

  At 7:20 p.m., the Soviet operation officially began. Led by Deputy Commander of the 154th Independent Special Forces Detachment, Sakhatov, 12 men set off in a GAZ-67B five minutes ahead of schedule.

  20 minutes later, when they arrived at the 3rd Battalion of the Afghan Guard Brigade, an alarm had already been sounded here, and all Afghan soldiers were gathered in front of the barracks with guns and ammunition. The battalion commander and other commanders stood in front of the troops, forbidding the Soviets from entering their original second line of defense.

  At around 22:20, Busanov immediately gave the order to attack as the second person in charge of the action. Sakhatov, who received the order, immediately made a decision and ordered the car to rush towards the enemy's commander at full speed. The commander of the 3rd Battalion was directly crushed under the wheels of the "Gaz" car. Sakhatov and his team jumped out of the car, occupied advantageous positions, and began firing at the 3rd Afghan Battalion.

  Afghan soldiers who lost their commander turned into a crowded crowd, and over 200 Afghan soldiers were instantly annihilated under the support of Soviet armored troops who arrived in time. Later, Sakharov also successfully controlled the three tanks behind Amin's palace.

  Upon hearing that Sakharov had engaged the enemy, Kolesnikov immediately gave the order for a general assault. The paratroopers' flamethrowers blocked off the barracks of the Afghan 1st Battalion. Kolesnikov's 2nd, 3rd and airborne companies in infantry fighting vehicles began to blockade the other three battalions of the enemy guard regiment, while his 1st company and the KGB rapid reaction force started a charge towards Darul Aman Palace.

  The Darulaman Palace was built on a small hill, about 60 meters higher than the surrounding area, with solid walls outside. Under the cover of strong artillery fire, the 1st Company and Quick Reaction Force troops rode infantry fighting vehicles along the mountain road and rushed up.

  The guards at the Durand Line opened fire on the advancing infantry tanks, and the first one was hit by the Afghans. The soldiers inside jumped out and began to climb up the mountain using ladders. The following infantry tanks pushed aside the burning first tank and continued to attack forward.

  Just as the Darulaman Palace was about to be breached by the Soviets, a burst of gunfire suddenly erupted from behind the Soviet lines. The Soviet commander felt an ominous premonition, while the Afghans defending the palace were electrified by the sound of gunfire from outside, thinking that reinforcements had arrived.

  The firepower of the unidentified armed men who came to attack was very strong, and soon more than half of the Soviet special forces were eliminated. The Soviet tank troops did not play their due role at all, and they were not resistant to the enemy's anti-tank weapons. At this time, the commander of the Soviet army, Busanov, was anxious in his heart. He was puzzled by the identity of these suddenly appearing armed men. Just as the action was about to succeed, it was disrupted by these sudden armed personnel.

  As the Soviet special forces were completely defeated, it was impossible to continue completing the task. Therefore, Buzanov ordered a retreat and asked for reinforcements from the Soviet army outside Kabul. After receiving the call for help, the Soviet army immediately launched an attack on Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Amin, who had been waiting for death in Darulaman Palace, suddenly received a report from the guard company that the Soviet troops had retreated. Amin was somewhat unbelievable at first, until the guards said that reinforcements had arrived, and Amin hesitantly ordered someone to open the door to welcome the arrival of the reinforcements.

  It wasn't until the group of unidentified armed men stood before Amin that he realized they weren't Afghan troops at all. But by then it was too late, and they had already entered the palace. Pretending to be calm, he asked "Who are you?"

  Wang Jie stepped forward and said: "President Ah Ming, we are a special forces unit from China, sent to rescue you all."

  "Chinese?" Ah Ming was taken aback when he heard that the other person was Chinese, and he couldn't believe that the visitor would be a Chinese.

  Colonel Wang Jie stood in front of Ah Ming and said, "We don't know the specifics of the situation, Mr. President. I just received orders to come and rescue the target. Now please hurry up and get ready to evacuate. In ten minutes, our reinforcements will arrive by helicopter, and we'll leave on the helicopter."

  Amin listened to Wang Jie's words and also understood the situation in front of him, so he quickly organized personnel to evacuate. At this time, the Soviet army had already begun a comprehensive invasion of Afghanistan, and the Soviet army outside Kabul had also begun to attack the city of Kabul.

  With the help of Chinese special forces, Amin successfully escaped from Kabul and entered a military base at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where all the personnel inside were his loyal subordinates.

  The 9th Tail Fox Special Warfare Brigade completed its mission and entered Pakistan for rest. This action once again added a heavy and colorful stroke to the merit book of the 9th Tail Fox Special Warfare Brigade. The Soviet government was suddenly furious after learning that Amin and some Afghan government leaders had successfully escaped from the Soviet encirclement, and Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Brezhnev personally ordered Soviet agents to thoroughly investigate this incident.

  At 23:40, Kabul was also fully occupied by the Soviet military. On December 28, a large number of Soviet troops gathered on the Soviet-Afghan border launched a comprehensive invasion of Afghanistan in two directions. On the same day, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan held a Central Political Bureau meeting and elected Karmal as the General Secretary, formally establishing a puppet regime under the support of the Soviet Union.

  In accordance with the resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from the previous day, TASS issued a statement on behalf of the Soviet government announcing that "in response to the request of the collective leadership of Afghanistan, the Soviet government has sent a limited contingent of troops into Afghanistan". Within a week, all of Afghanistan had fallen.

  Amin was rescued and immediately went to the mountains of Afghanistan to organize resistance against the Soviet invasion, then declared the Karmal government as an illegal government to all Afghan people, calling on all Afghan people to bravely stand up to resist the Soviet invaders.

  At the same time, some plotters in Western countries such as the United States received news of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and began to secretly celebrate the decline of the Soviet Union, but on the surface they still had to make a show of strongly condemning the Soviets.

  The United States has begun to plan secret assistance to Afghan resistance organizations, and Amin's escape greatly increased the strength of Afghanistan's resistance. However, since Afghanistan is a landlocked country, most of its surrounding countries are Soviet allies, and now that the Soviet Union has control over Afghanistan's airspace, this greatly increases the difficulty for the United States to assist Afghanistan.

  The US Department of State deliberated for a long time and finally found that the only way to smoothly deliver military aid to Afghanistan was through Pakistan. However, at this time, the US influence on Pakistan had greatly diminished compared to before. To get Pakistan to agree to let the US use it as a channel for military aid, the Chinese government would have to step in. The US government is very clear about the current relationship and friendship between China and Pakistan.