A PDPA-led coup (the Saur Revolution) overthrew President Mohammad Daoud Khan and established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, setting off radical reforms and escalating armed opposition that later drew in the USSR.
A major uprising and army mutiny in Herat was suppressed with heavy casualties, underscoring the PDPA regime’s instability and intensifying Kabul’s dependence on Soviet support.
The USSR began its military intervention, moving large forces into Afghanistan and quickly seizing key points (including Kabul), transforming Afghanistan’s internal conflict into a major Cold War war zone.
Soviet special forces assaulted the Tajbeg Palace and killed Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin, a decisive move to reshape the Afghan government and cement the Soviet military presence.
Following Amin’s removal, Babrak Karmal of the PDPA’s Parcham faction was installed with Soviet backing, but his government struggled to gain legitimacy as the insurgency expanded.
Soviet and Afghan government forces launched repeated campaigns in the Panjshir Valley against Ahmad Shah Massoud’s mujahideen, illustrating both Soviet operational reach and persistent difficulty defeating guerrillas in mountainous terrain.
The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 37/37 calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, reflecting sustained international condemnation of the Soviet intervention.
A major Soviet operation in Panjshir (part of the broader series of Panjshir offensives) sought to disrupt Massoud’s base area and interdiction of supply routes, but could not deliver a decisive defeat.
With Moscow increasingly dissatisfied, Mohammad Najibullah replaced Babrak Karmal as PDPA general secretary, a leadership change tied to shifting Soviet strategy and mounting pressure to find a political exit.
U.S.-supplied FIM-92 Stinger missiles entered combat in Afghanistan, enabling mujahideen units to shoot down Soviet aircraft and forcing changes in Soviet air tactics.
Soviet and Afghan government forces conducted Operation Magistral to break the siege of Khost and reopen the Gardez–Khost road, one of the last major Soviet offensives before the withdrawal phase.
Afghanistan and Pakistan signed the Geneva Accords (with the U.S. and USSR as guarantors), establishing a timetable for Soviet troop withdrawal and an international framework to end direct Soviet participation.
In accordance with the Geneva timetable, the USSR began pulling its forces out of Afghanistan, shifting the conflict toward an Afghan-led (but externally supported) struggle.
The last Soviet forces withdrew, formally ending the Soviet–Afghan War phase of the conflict, though fighting in Afghanistan continued in the ensuing civil war.
Mujahideen forces launched a major assault on Jalalabad soon after the Soviet withdrawal, but the Afghan government held—an outcome that reshaped expectations about the Najibullah government’s durability.
Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989)
