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Soviet Army Order of Battle Afghanistan: 1982-1985 Elements of the units listed below were identified as present in Afghanistan Kabul - 7th Infantry Division Kabul - 8th Infantry Division Chagha Serai, - 9th Infantry Division Kunar-Tal -1985 Jalalabad - 11th Infantry Division Gardez - 11th Infantry Division September, 1984 - June, 1985 Ghazni - 14th Infantry Division July, 1985 Kandahar - 15th Infantry Division Kabul, 1985(?) Mazar-e Sharif - 18th Infantry Division Sherabad, Balkh Province, 1985 Herat - 19th Infantry Division Nahrin, Baghlan Province - 20th Infantry Division Khost, Patkia Province - 25th Infantry Division Kabul/Bagram - 4th Armored Division March, 1985 Kandahar - 7th Armored Division Kabul/Bagram - 15th Armored Division March, 1985 Fortress (or Base) Barikot - 55th Motorized Rifle Brigade January 16, 1985

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HOW TO ORDER: If you have interest in a rug or rugs on this page it is best to inquire as to availability and easy order procedure.

Ron O'Callaghan Oriental Rug Review Asian Trade Old Kelley Tavern 74 Sinclair Hill Road New Hampton, NH 03256 (603) 744-9191 ronocal@lr.net http://www.rugreview.com

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E943. Larger Vegetable Dye Afghan War Rug, 3'11"x5'9" - $595.00

This is a beautiful larger vegetable (natural) dyed rug made with hand-spun wool. It was made in Northern Pakistan by Ersari Turkoman refugees from Northern Afghanistan. On the lovely indigo blue field are very skillfully drawn alternating ranks of RPG-7s, rocket propelled grenade launchers, Hip-8 troop carrying helicopters, Markarov officers' side arms, Hind M-24 attack helicopters, and fragmentation hand grenades. On the madder root border are BMD-2 armored personnel carriers that are flying pennants from their communications antennas. The weaver has drawn the helicopters' rotors to give the illusion of rotation. The rug bears a date, "1982", which we consider apochryphal. We think this piece was woven during the Civil War period, c. 1993-96. A portfolio of photos of the equipment pictured on this rug will accompany the piece.

Click here for an enlarged image of half this rug

Click here for a direct scan on the face of the rug

Click here for a direct scan on the face of the rug

Click here for a direct scan on the face of the rug

Click here for a direct scan on the back of the rug

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Afghan War Rug No. B956, Runner - $525.00 - SOLD

This Afghan war rug is in runner configuration, 2'10"x10'11". Eight Kalashnikov AK-47s are displayed on the red grounded field adjacent to the border. The weaver has given us a cut-away view of the rifles' magazines showing is the cartridges. Alternating up the field are Hip-8 troop carrying helicopters and BMD-2 armored troop carriers. BMD-2s are also arrayed on the border.

Click here for an enlarged image of half this rug

Click here for a direct scan on the face of the rug

Click here for a direct scan on the face of the rug

Click here for a direct scan on the back of the rug

Parvan Province, Panjshir Valley, close to Bazarak. Many vehicles were lost
in the operation at Pishgaran.

2'2"x3'. The main icon on this rug is the paratroop version of the AK-47. Paratroops, Spetsnaz (special forces), and tankers were offered the option of having either the full stock version of the rifle or this cut down version with a folding metal stock (note the folding stock just forward of the hand grip). Other weaponry includes an RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade launcher with a shaped granade loaded, a Hip-8 troop carrying helicopter, a Markarov officer's sidearm, fragmentation hand grenades, a Hind m-24 attack helicopter, and two BDM2 armored personnel carriers. The border is of polychromed cartridges.

This rug was made in Northern Pakistan by Ersari Turkoman refugees from Northern Afghanistan. On the red field are three very well drafted pieces of Soviet military equipment and one lonesome dove. Below the dove is a Soviet fighter-bomber, then a HIND M-21 attack helicopter and then a tank, probably a T-62. in between the helicopter and tank is a narrow strip of landscape showing a mountain range with the sun on a blue sky. It can be read as either background for the tank or as being overflown by the helicopter. Over the dove is what appears to be a nonsensical "HEAT TO WAR". We believe that, because of the legend's proximity to the dove, the weaver meant to have it read "HATE TO WAR." We find the syntax error charming in its naivete. There is an outer minor border with a cartridge repeat and a larger border with a land mine repeat. A portfolio of photos of Soviet equipment used in the war in Afghanistan will accompany the piece.

Soviet armored vehicles with main armaments in "guns up" mode. During the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, by agreement, Soviet fighting vehicles marching directly for the Soviet border with "guns up" were allowed to pass

Parvan Province, 1986

2'2"x2'8" For a war rug this piece makes quite a political statement. Pictured is a map of Afghanistan. There is a hand coming down from the Soviet Union (note the rudimentary hammer and sickle), its fingers raking bloody furrows on the land. Below the hand is the word "JIHAD," both a threat and a promise. On the upper left of the rug and on the lower right are two Soviet anti-aircraft weapons, a ZPU-2 and a ZPU-4, respectively. The ZPU-4 could be towed or mounted on a truck chassis as shown on this rug. The Soviets had no air opponents to use these weapons on, but ground commanders demanded them to bolster static fighting positions. It was a great tactical error for many of them fell into Mujihadeen hands and they had plenty of aircraft to shoot at. Also pictured is a Hind M-21 assault helicopter and a larger Hip-8 troop carrying helicopter, as well as Soviet armored vehicles, probably BMD-2s.

Left: Soviet soldiers early in the war Right: Mujihadeen in a mountain outpost

3'5"x4'8". The rifles are AK-47s, Kalashnikov assault rifles. At first, when we saw these weapons with the fore-shortened stocks, we thought the weaver was simply conserving space. Then we came across a photo of Soviet combat engineers, one carrying a weapon with a shortened stock. Also on this rug are BMD-2 armored personnel carriers, Hip-8 troop carrying helicopters and Hind M-24 assault helicopters. Fragmentation hand grenades decorate the border.

An armored column on a mountain track with a BMD-2 armored personnel carrier in the lead

Soon after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1979, a special group of, at first, smaller and then larger oriental rugs began appearing on the world's rug markets. They first showed up in the tax-free-port warehouses of Hamburg and soon appeared in all of the major markets. They depicted weaponry and war scenes of the war in Afghanistan, in astonishing detail. The detail is such that experts (such as Russian veterans of the war) can tell which part of the country the rug came from by the weaponry depicted. For example, if armored vehicles are prominent, the rug was likely to have come from western Afghanistan, perhaps the Herat area, for the terrain there (plains) are conducive to armor operations, rather than in the central and eastern areas of the country where mountains are the dominating terrain feature.

The Opponents: The Soviet soldier carries a heavy Vladimirov 11.7 mm. machine-gun. The Afghan Mujihadeen carries a Kalashnikov light machine-gun, RPD, 7.62 mm., with bipod.

Click here for an enlarged image of a portion of this rug.

The present rug, 2'3"x2'9", displays two AK-47 assault rifles flanking both sides of the red field. Also appearing are two BMD-2 armored personnel carriers, a smaller Hind M-21 attack helicopter, a Hip-8 troop carrying helicopter, an indeterminate aircraft, a fragmentation grenade and an RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade launcher loaded with a shaped charge.

On the road from the Salang Tunnel to Kabul. This fuel will not make it to Kabul

Click here for an enlarged image of a portion of this rug.

The present rug dispalays a map of Afghanistan with the provinces indicated with their names abbreviated. Also appearing is a a smaller Hind M-21 attack helicopter, fragmentation grenades and a RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade launcher loaded with a shaped charge. A tank flies the flag of the socialist republic of Afghanistan and a dove with an olive branch in its beak hovers over a deer with a poppy blossom in its mouth.

D84. Afghan War Rug, featuring the standard AK-47 with
cut-back wooden stock, Ersari Turkoman - $245

2'2"x2'10". This is a beautiful vegetable (natural) dyed rug made with hand-spun wool. It was made in Northern Pakistan by Ersari Turkoman refugees from Northern Afghanistan. Dominating the beautiful indigo blue grounded field is a Soviet Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle. This weapon is pictured with a short stock. At first, when we saw these weapons with the fore-shortened stocks, we thought the weaver was simply conserving space. Then we came across a photo of Soviet combat engineers, one carrying a weapon with a shortened stock. Also pictured is a HIP-8 troop carrying helicopter, as well as BMD-2 armored troop carriers, a Markorov officer's sidearm, an RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade launcher and an RPG grenade. Filling in on the field as well as on the madder root red border are fragmentation hand grenades.

Afghan War Rug E284 - $225, 1'11"x2.6".

This Afghan war rug was made by an Ersari Turkoman tribeswoman. The centerpiece on this rug, appearing almost as a medallion, is a map of Afghanistan. Running down from the north, from what was then the USSR is a highway, moving up which are Soviet vehicles withdrawing from Afghanistan. At the top of the rug, there is a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle. Distributed about the field of the rug are HIND M-24 attack helicopters. On the highway heading north and queing up to get on the highway are armored vehicles, probably BMD-2s, personnel carriers. There are three RPG-7s, rocket propelled grenade launchers, and fragmentation hand grenades.

There are a variety of heavy machine guns displayed on this piece, some of them multi-barreled. There are three ZPU-2 twin barrel towed guns, one ZPU-4 quad-barrel gun mounted on a truck chassis, and one DHsK Degliarev-Shpagin 12.7 mm gun (lower section of map). The Soviets had no air opposition in Afghanistan so it is a bit of a mystery as to why these weapons were brought into the country. There are several theories, one being that the weapons were organic to the military units deployed and no one spoke up and said, "let's not take them," or, "let's send them home." Another theory says Soviet ground commanders wanted them to bolster static fighting positions and as "ridge rakers." Whatever the reason for their prsence it was a great tactical error on the Soviet's' part. Many of them fell into the hands of the Mujihadeen and they had plenty of aircraft to shoot at. In a sense, they had a great advantage. Anything that flew was the enemy.

Ron O'Callaghan
Asian Trade
Sinclair Hill Rd.
New Hampton, NH 03256
(603) 744-9191
ronocal@lr.net
http://www.rugreview.com