Operation Magistral

Overview

Operation Magistral was a Soviet Army military operation during the Soviet–Afghan War that began in late November 1987 and ended in early January 1988.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

Operation Magistral was a large-scale Soviet Army operation conducted between late November 1987 and early January 1988, near the end of the Soviet–Afghan War. The operation involved approximately 20,000 Soviet troops alongside Afghan government forces under Shahnawaz Tanai, facing Haqqani network fighters numbering between 9,000 and 20,000. Soviet and affiliated casualties ranged from 300 to 700, while Haqqani network and associated forces suffered between 1,500 and 3,000 killed. The operation took place as the Soviet Union was already moving toward withdrawal, making large commitments of this scale increasingly difficult to sustain politically and militarily. Jalaluddin Haqqani's forces demonstrated a capacity to contest Soviet operations at significant scale even at this late stage of the war, underscoring the persistent strength of the resistance networks that had frustrated Soviet objectives throughout the conflict.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)