Storm – 333

KGB and Spetsnaz seize Kabul,

Soviet – Afghan War 1979

Raid 54

This is the 54^th book in the Raid Series of books that are available from Osprey Publications. This 80-page paperback book delves into the peoples, places and strategy behind the Soviet involvement in their war with the Afghan peoples during the late 70’s through the 1980’s.

The contents of this book are:

• Introduction
• Origins
• Initial Strategy
• The Plan
• The Raid
• Analysis
• Further Reading
• Index

Storm-333, the operation to seize Kabul and assassinate Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin, was at once a textbook success and the start of a terrible blunder. It heralded the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an operation intended to be a short, largely symbolic show of force, yet which quickly devolved into a gritty ten-year counter-insurgency that Moscow was never able to win. Nonetheless, Storm-333 was a striking success, and despite initial concerns that it would be an impossible achievement, it saw a relative handful of Soviet special forces drawn from the KGB and the military seize the heavily defended presidential palace, neutralize the city’s communications and defenses, and open Kabul to occupation.

Interspersed throughout the 80 pages, are excellent photographs and color artwork. that add just that little extra knowledge to the description that is in the text. While this book is mainly for the history buff, the wargamer will glean information from the book that they can use as background for any wargame of the Soviet-Afghan War. Then there is the Figure Painter who will find the drawings invaluable. So, its easy to say with this title that there is a little of something for everyone.

This book is available from Storm-333 – Osprey Publishing.

Raid 54 is available in three different formats and they are: