Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the ROO "Council of Generals of Kazakhstan" Major General Makhmut Telegusov.
- Boris Kerimbayev was the most famous veteran of the Afghan war, the commander of the 177th detachment special purpose, - says Telegusov. - Was a retired colonel. He died this morning at 8.25 in a hospital in Almaty. He received the nickname Kara-major when he was the commander of the second "Muslim" battalion, and it became attached for life.
A year ago, "Caravan" published a large material dedicated tocolonel of the reserve, the first commander of the brave "Muslim battalion" Boris Tukenovich KERIMBAYEV, who walked the bloody paths of the Afghan war and for whose head Ahmad Shah Masud offered a million dollars.
Even at 70 years old, the legendary Kara-Major, in spite of everything, was still in combat formation.
Having stood at one time (1981-1984) before the onslaught of the Mujahideen and outright defeated the "Panjshir lion" (this is how the famous field commander Ahmad Shah Masud liked to call himself), a born military scout Boris Kerimbaev, returning to his homeland, continued to teach military affairs to our soldiers and officers.
Yes, he did it so skillfully that all his students and tasks performed difficult ones in hot spots, and remained alive. And they also advanced rapidly in the service, thanks to the unbending Kerimbaev school, to win at all costs.
Former Defense Minister Colonel-General Saken ZHASUZAKOVconfirmation of this. It was he who then in Afghanistan was the chief of intelligence in the detachment of the Kara-Major and learned a lot from him. How to navigate correctly at night in the mountains and see in the gorge as during the day. How to feel and foresee exactly where the enemy is lurking and where to expect an attack. When to rise to the attack and how to dissolve among the stones after completing the next special operation ...
Our Dad is known and respected in every family, where the words "Motherland", "duty", "bacha", "shuravi" are not empty words, - says Murat ABDUSHKUROV... - He is not a legend, but a real true patriot of Kazakhstan, a true commander, who cares about his subordinates in a fatherly way.
According to Boris Kerimbayev's colleagues, thanks to his personal courage and courage, commanding instinct and wisdom, many dozens of young lives were saved. Batyanya-battalion commander not only led them into battle ahead, at random, but counted, knew how to act correctly in a difficult environment of eternally “shooting mountains”. Let me remind you that the 177th separate special detachment of the Main Intelligence Directorate was formed in Kazakhstan in the fall of 1981.
Moscow at that time was absolutely not interested in how the life of soldiers and officers was organized, whether we were freezing in tents near Kapchagai or not, - recalled the first commander of the “Muslim battalion” Boris Kerimbayev. - We then had real field life and combat training. Whether we were hungry, cold, or, on the contrary, very comfortable, nobody was interested. The result was important. The war in Afghanistan was gaining momentum. We understood the situation, did not complain or whine. We endured and prepared seriously.
The end of Master Panjshir
An hour after arriving in Afghanistan, Kerimbayev's detachment almost immediately had to engage in battle. We fought all winter. They organized sabotage, raids on dushman caravans, carried out ambushes, daring raids on the rear, unexpected assaults on strategically advantageous heights.
“You, Kerimbayev, need to stand at least a month and not let the“ spirits ”run in Panjshir,” Marshal Sokolov, who at that time headed the Operational Group, set this task to us, ”Boris Tukenovich recalled. - Keeping the Panjshir Gorge was necessary at any cost... Not far from the exit, the famous Salang Pass - “Kabul's Throat” began, through which the Hairaton-Kabul highway passed. It was this road that was the main highway for convoys delivering military and civilian cargo from the USSR to Afghanistan.
Instead of 30 days, the 177th separate detachment held out in Panjshir for 8 months. Akhmad Shah Massoud, who vowed to "roast" the last Soviet soldier here in a month, did not keep his oath.
Our Dad, along with his loyal fighters of 600 people, outplayed the field commander, who with his army of thousands of militants armed to the teeth was forced to retreat.
All the boys who died in the war are heroes
Without a doubt, Boris Kerimbayev is a national hero. It is a pity that at the state level this title - "Halyk Kakharmany", despite the many years of petition of veterans and various public associations, still cannot be assigned to a worthy officer, who himself never asked for anything.
This illustration is already circulating on social media.
All the boys who died in the war are heroes. And what's the difference under what circumstances a soldier or an officer died. He's a hero, period! - Boris Tukenovich said in an interview to “CARAVAN” a year ago. - We did not just fight, we served the interests of the Motherland, no matter what orders it gave. We lived best years in this war. And it is true. Today I bow my head to those who were with me there, across the river, who walked forward, never gave up and did not betray the interests of the Motherland. Thank you for honestly following all my orders, even at the cost of your own life.
Batman-battalion - this is how his colleagues call Boris KERIMBAEV - the legendary Kara-Major, who commanded the 15th Special Forces battalion separate brigade Of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the USSR General Staff. For the head of the Kara Major, the field commander of the dushmans, Ahmad SHAH MASUD, who controlled the Panjshir Gorge in Afghanistan, promised a million dollars!
Much more, the leader of the dushmans was ready to pay Kerimbayev personally - so that he would not block his caravans with drugs and weapons. So Kara Major could become a dollar millionaire overnight. If not for his other values \u200b\u200b- honor, duty, homeland.
... Recently Boris Tokenovich underwent a complex operation, and the doctors recommended him complete rest. Now retired colonel Kerimbayev lives with his wife Raisa on a modest military pension in an apartment with a poor environment. Due to his deteriorating health, 68-year-old Boris Tokenovich stopped going to meetings with cadets and colleagues. But combat friends often visit the battalion commander, support his family. Afghans say: such meetings allow the veteran to keep himself in good shape - in last years the wounds received in the war worry Kara Major more and more often ...
While he was in the hospital, Afghan war veterans, well-known politicians, businessmen and generals (both active and retired) came up with a proposal to confer the title of Khalyk Kakharmany on retired Colonel Kerimbayev.
“We have a lot of worthy Afghan veterans, but the best among us is Boris Tokenovich,” says Nikolai KREMENISH, First Deputy Chairman of the Association of Afghan War Veterans, Hero of the Soviet Union. - First of all, it will be a huge moral support for him. We fought, there were losses ... Having survived in that hell, we returned home and ... faced injustice. The country became independent, and in the first years it was a shame when they said to our faces: what such an international debt, we didn’t send you to this war ... And if today we don’t write this history of the Afghan war, then tomorrow there will be no one to write it. I really want to be rewarded - while the legendary Kara Major is alive.
... Once Major Kerimbayev was given combat mission: he must take control of all 120 kilometers of the Panjshir gorge to ensure unhindered progress soviet troops deep into Afghanistan. The General Staff officers set a clear time limit - 30 days. They ordered and ... forgot!
And literally on the eve of the start of the special reconnaissance operation, Ahmad Shah Massoud swore on the Koran in front of his thugs: they say, in just a month he will fry the last soldier of the special forces battalion at the stake (more often this unit, headed by Boris Kerimbayev, was called the Muslim battalion). These words of the field commander spread throughout Afghanistan: the locals knew that he did not throw words to the wind. A special report fell on the table of Marshal Sokolov, commander of a group of Soviet forces in Afghanistan. He summoned Kara-Major and ordered: to keep the gorge at any cost for 30 days!
- We were thrown into the gorge, they promised to take us out in a month, but they forgot. I had to run for eight months in Panjshir in the mountains and fight with Ahmad Shah Massoud. And all these months, while we stood in Panjshir, on the road from the border of the Soviet Union to Kabul, which was controlled by Ahmad Shah, our columns passed calmly, - recalled this at a meeting with the cadets of the Kara-Major military school.
The battalion of Kerimbayev with a little more than 500 bayonets opposed the huge army of Masud's militants. The field commander wondered how a handful of Shuravi fighters had been keeping the gorge under control for almost a year ?! It was then that Ahmad Shah promised a millionth reward for the head of the Kara Major. But there were no traitors surrounded by the battalion commander Kerimbayev, and the spooks christened soviet major King.
Panjshera. The battalion completed its combat mission, and the political officers sent a presentation to Boris Kerimbaev - to award the Order of Lenin and confer the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But the battalion commander never received a high award ... Upstairs they decided: since he survived after the special operation - what to reward? That would have died a death of the brave.
- Why posthumously ?! - Kremenish wonders today. - A person must be appreciated while he is alive! Of course, all Afghans are offended that the Soviet authorities did not appreciate the exploits of Boris Tokenovich, although the decision to appoint him as the commander of a special forces battalion in 1981 was made in the Kremlin.
According to Nikolai Kremenish, retired colonel Kerimbayev could have received general's shoulder straps even in Soviet times, if not for his character: Boris Kerimbayev was not just a brave commander, but also impudent. He, without hesitation, objected to any high-ranking officer of the General Staff, if he did not agree with the orders from the Moscow offices. But for his soldiers he was sick of the soul, he found the only necessary words for 18-year-old boys. He always told them: "Sons, you are not cannon fodder!"
- Recently, a veteran of the Afghan war, Bakhytbek SMAGUL, wrote the book "King of Panjshir". This book contains the whole truth about the legendary battalion commander, about his life before and after that terrible war. I myself fought for two years, and rose to the rank of deputy platoon commander. Honestly, that war became a real hell for the boys who first took up military weapons at the age of 18. Many were killed in the first months, and if it were not for such commanders as Boris Tokenovich, believe me, there would have been many more victims, Nikolai Kremenish is sure.
... In an interview, the legendary battalion commander Kerimbayev said: “All the guys who died in the war are
heroes! What difference does it make under what circumstances a soldier or an officer died? He's a hero - that's all! ”
In the mouth of a living hero - King Panjshir - these words take on a special meaning.
And more than 30 years ago, it was at the Headquarters of the Central Asian Military District, which was located at the corner of Zhandosov Street and Pravdy Avenue, that the creation of a future combat unit was planned and the range of combat missions for which it was created was calculated.
And the Initial Task, it should be noted, was rather unusual - conducting reconnaissance and sabotage activities in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China People's Republic.
Yes Yes exactly. Nobody misheard.
By the end of the 70s, tensions between the PRC and the USSR reached their maximum. The strengthening and rearmament of combat units stationed along the entire Soviet-Chinese border took place in an accelerated manner. On the section of the Kazakh-Chinese border, a powerful group of one tank division and three motorized rifle divisions, a strategic aviation division in Chagan near Semipalatinsk, and an aviation fighter-bomber division in Taldykorgan. Machine-gun and artillery battalions were dug into the hills on the ledge of the Dzungar Gate, which entered the territory of the PRC like a wedge. Tactical nuclear weapons appeared in the 149th Guards Aviation Bomber Regiment in Zhetygen (former Nikolayevka, Alma-Ata Region). Although the front-line Su-24 bombers of this regiment, with all their desire, could not reach the nearest NATO member, Turkey, without refueling. But to fly to Urumqi - no problem. On the territory of Friendly Mongolia and in Transbaikalia in the 70s and 80s, a powerful Soviet grouping of tank and motorized rifle divisions was also created, capable, according to the calculations of the generals, to reach Beijing in a day of march. Everything was absolutely serious. After all, these are huge masses of military equipment and hundreds of thousands of soldiers. It is unprofitable for the state to just keep this whole armada in such a distant suburb.
All these troops were going not only to contain the possible Chinese aggression - but also ...
The major border conflict of 1979 between Vietnam and China showed the latter's complete unpreparedness for the Great War. At that time, the People's Liberation Army of China did not have a fighting spirit, proper combat training and modern weapons. The secret plans of the Soviet General Staff are not reliably known - but at that time military analysts calculated the possibility of creating a buffer zone between China and the USSR on the territory of the XUAR. A possible scenario was the creation of an Independent Uyghur State. In the 70s, relations between the indigenous Uyghur population of the XUAR and those who moved to the development " western territories»Ethnic Chinese - Han people. In addition to the police, army units participated in the suppression of numerous riots of the indigenous population.
Analysts from the Soviet General Staff, who considered that a favorable moment had come for a radical change in the situation with a threat from the East, were not at all embarrassed by the fact of possession of China. nuclear weapons... Therefore, one of the first steps in preparing for a possible war with China was the creation of a new reconnaissance and sabotage unit that could undermine the logistics infrastructure. chinese army in XUAR. Similar units in Soviet army since the 50s, they were called "special-purpose units". The very fact of their existence was deeply classified. It was forbidden in the press and on television to talk about the existence of “army special forces” in the USSR. IN everyday life these units were called separate parachute units. The fighters wore the uniform and insignia of the Airborne Forces. Although, according to their purpose, they had nothing to do with him.
What is Army Special Forces?
In a nutshell, these are those who operate exclusively behind enemy lines.
If a Airborne Troops intended for landing in the near rear in order to break through the enemy's defense from within and help their advancing troops, and scouts ground forces go to the rear of the enemy for information about the state and location of the enemy forces - the army special forces are engaged in "spoiling the life" of the enemy in the rear. The enemy wants to pull up the troops - and the bridges have been blown up, the ammunition has been brought up - and the artillery depots are burning with a bright flame, communication centers have been blown up, to strike with tactical missiles - someone has already blown up the launchers. The dams are blown up - everything is flooded with water, there is no electricity - the power transmission towers are blown up, the planes do not take off and the tanks are standing still - the fuel storage facilities are set on fire and the trains are going downhill ...
Spetsnaz not only undermines the defense infrastructure - it creates chaos in the enemy's rear, drawing off part of the enemy's forces from the front to fight against itself, and introduces stress into the moral and psychological situation in the enemy troops. No wonder the military say - "two or three saboteurs can do as much - as a whole division." If someone doesn’t believe it, read the History of the Second World War. There are many examples of successful sabotage that influenced the course of events.
Where did you start, looking at the Chinese, more than 30 years ago in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the USSR General Staff to which the army special forces were subordinate? From the formation of the personnel of the new battalion, the detachment is essentially a battalion.
The battalion commander - intelligence captain Kerimbayev Boris Tukenovich, who at that time was expected to be sent to Sunny Ethiopia as a military adviser, was appointed to tighten the combat readiness of our black brothers in socialism. An educational excursion to an exotic country has been covered. He was ordered to recruit new squad conscript soldier. Anyone familiar with the History of the Soviet Army will be surprised by the following facts about such a set. 300 conscripts of Uighur nationality were selected from among those serving in the construction battalions of the Moscow Military District.
Here are three questions for you:
1. Why are all soldiers Uyghurs? Well, they had to fight on their own Historical homeland - on the territory of XUAR.
2. Why are the soldiers from the construction battalion - and not from the special forces or from the paratroopers? Because in the Soviet Army, the Slavs and Balts were mainly called up in the Airborne Forces and special forces. The latter were taken for a build above average - well, there was a mania for soviet generals to the "grenadier-ambal" appearance of elite fighters. Although the short and puny Gurkhas in the service of Her Majesty proved the opposite - "The growth and complexion of a fighter is not the most important thing in the war." And national minorities like Uighurs, Dungans, Altai, Gagauz, Meskhetian Turks, Kurds, etc. - were called up mainly only in military construction units. Stroybats generally consisted of 70% of indigenous people Central Asia and Transcaucasia. Pull out of each motorized rifle regiment 1-2 Uyghurs ... How long does it take to travel all the regiments throughout the Soviet Union?
3. Why Moscow? Because in 1980 there was a large concentration of construction battalions, which were also involved in the construction of Olympic facilities.
In fact, from the end of the 40s, an almost mono-national military formation was first created in the Soviet Army. The name "Uyghur" was not used anywhere.
The issue with the selection of officers was more complicated - there was simply nowhere to take such a number of Uyghur officers in the Soviet Army. Therefore, 70% of all officers of the detachment were graduates of the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms command school named after Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Koneva (AVOKU - or as it was jokingly called by the military - "School of Red Batyrs") - Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Turkmens. Thus, the military leadership assumed that it would bypass the language barrier in communicating with the local Turkic-speaking inhabitants of the XUAR, who were being freed from the "Peking Yoke".
Note that a year earlier, a similar special forces detachment was created to change the power in Afghanistan - consisting of fighters of three peoples - Turkmen, Tajiks and Uzbeks. Because all these peoples live in Afghanistan. It was named the "First Muslim Battalion". Much has been written about him - he stormed Amin's palace. By this analogy, the 177th OOSPN was named the "Second Muslim Battalion".
The detachment was created in the fall of 1980. It was formed in the city of Kapchagai, on the basis of the 22nd Special Forces Brigade. Those who passed through Kapchagai are a military town from the west of the highway to Taldykorgan. The 35th Airborne Assault Brigade has been in the military town of that 22nd Brigade for 20 years.
What is he doing ??? Tears nostrils ...
Somewhere in the steppes near Kapchagai ...
For almost a year, former construction battalions were taught the craft of scouts and saboteurs. The Afghan War was already raging. Events there made their own adjustments - the invasion of China was canceled. And rightly so - to fight on two fronts is expensive and politically difficult.
The plans of the General Staff changed - the 177th ooSpN began to be prepared for entering Afghanistan. The Uighur soldiers who served 2 years were dismissed, instead of them, they recruited Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Tajiks and Slavs.
Almost no military unit in Afghanistan could do without Tajiks - as without translators from Dari and Pashto.
The fighters decided to take pictures before being sent to Afghanistan
The detachment is loaded onto the train. The commanders decided to sit down on the track. Station Nikolaevka.
In a new composition, a detachment of 500 people entered Afghanistan on October 29, 1981.
And immediately I began to get used to it. You have to live somewhere ... Spetsnaz turned into a Stroybat for a while ...
What should a scout-saboteur do in the Guerrilla War?
He is opposed by partisans. And the partisan is essentially the same saboteur. But only a poorly organized self-taught saboteur. The partisans have no communication centers, no fuel storages, etc. During the day he is a peasant, and at night he is a bandit. But be he even three times a bandit - "One Partisan in the Field - Not a Warrior." Somewhere there should be their caches of weapons and ammunition, somewhere there should be their headquarters with a leader who controls them, caravan paths along which weapons and food are brought to them.
But this is what the special forces in Afghanistan were already doing - Ambush, Search and Destruction.
The main thing that they teach in special forces is to be unnoticed, sneak, hide, wait, destroy and go unnoticed.
For all 3 years, the 177th Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan destroyed a dushman by search raids and ambushes.
Who cares - read the article by the commander of the detachment - Boris Kerimbayev "Kapchagai Battalion".
I would like to note that many officers from this detachment became generals. For example, those serving in the Kazakhstan Army are Major General Dyusekeev Mukan, Colonel General Zhasuzakov Saken. Serving in the Turkmen army - Lieutenant-General Rinat Mereddurdyev. Served in the Kyrgyz army - Lieutenant General Bekboev Mels.
Road to Pajshir
Salang pass
Entrance to the 4-kilometer tunnel at the Salang pass. Once, cars collided in it and more than a hundred people were suffocated from exhaust gases in the resulting traffic jam inside the tunnel.
The most difficult period of their stay in Afghanistan for the detachment was a business trip to the Panjshir Gorge.
What is Panjshir? It is a long 120-kilometer mountain gorge that connects the Afghan-Pakistani border with a large plain abutting the road from Kabul to the former Soviet Union. This is the Main Transport Artery of the spooks - along it, they received help from those who supported them in pack caravans. Control over Panjshir was the No. 1 headache for our troops during all 9 years of the war. The number of bombs and missiles dropped by our aviation in this gorge alone during the war years exceeded a million tons. Even Dzhokhar Dudayev, who was in command of the strategic aviation division at that time, was noted for dropping bombs into this gorge.
The host on Panjshir was the legendary and charismatic Ahmad Shah Massoud, the "Lion of Panjsher", who was born there.
Our soldiers told each other all sorts of stories about him. He's like Immortal and Elusive. One of the soldiers' tales that I heard about him in 1988 in the Bagram reconnaissance battalion - "... Ahmad Shah is so cool - that his Personal Guard is a platoon of Our Marines who went over to his side ...". As it turned out - there was still some Truth in this - our infantryman Nikolai Bystrov, who was captured and converted to Islam, really was Masud's personal bodyguard. That was such a Scary Place - Panjshir.
The leadership of the 40th Army decided to use the detachment not for its intended purpose, but as an ordinary mountain rifle unit to capture the dominant heights.
In the background there is a two-headed mountain, nicknamed "Tooth" - 4200 meters high. For comparison, this is almost the height of the Nursultan (Komsomol) peak where every summer Almaty residents ascend en masse at the Alpiniad. These are the mountains that the special forces had to storm.
Usually, scouts are not required to attack and storm enemy fortifications. It is believed that the use of special forces as an attacking ram does not justify the time and money invested in its training. Why did the command do this? Maybe he just decided to experiment - whether spetsnaz scouts can independently conduct fighting??? The experiment was positive. And even exceeded all expectations. By order of the command, the detachment not only occupied the commanding heights, but also held the occupied high-mountain positions for six months.
A group on the roadstead in the highlands.
Covering a helicopter flying to evacuate the wounded. The wounded man in the mask lies on his back.
Let's say it is quite difficult. Try to climb the Komsomol pass at Nursultan peak and sit there for six months, almost every day, repelling the attacks of those whom you interfere with like a bone in your throat ...
In the mountains, how they fight - whoever climbed higher with all his arsenal is the Master of All Observed Paths and Roads.
During the day, the soldiers lay under the sun on bare ridges, shooting through the surrounding area. You can't get up and stretch yourself - those who are trying to slip from below will shoot themselves. You cannot dig a trench in a rock - unless you cover yourself with stones. You also can't set a wall of stones half-tall around you - it's too clear a reference point for the enemy - they will shoot. That was such a stalemate - we ourselves are lying down - but we do not allow others to slip through either. Warming up and eating - it was possible only at night. In daylight, all movements are only crawling. And in addition, these terrible temperature changes - this is not our Tender Zailiyskiy Alatau for you - in the Hindu Kush during the day the stones are hot and you are in the steam room, and at night it gets chilly that the water in the flask freezes. By the end of the week of such combat duty, the fighters were so weakened that many were lowered down at night on a stretcher - and another shift of fighters took over the position.
After Panjshir, the special forces in Afghanistan as an assault ram and “guardians of the passes” were no longer used. In that war, there were experiments on a larger scale and with worse results.
Deaf Defense - that is, Passive Defense - is fraught with defeat. Therefore, Kerimbayev and his officers are betting on offensive actions. And so - as is customary in the special forces. Tactics change - after storming heights - open battles are avoided. The pressure is on raids on caravans, on ambushes.
The exit of the column for a combat operation.
Such is the Shakespearean freeze frame - an officer examines a pistol with a silencer and thinks "To Be or Not to Be" ... Just kidding ...
Captive spooks in the "Temporary Containment Zindan". In the East, everything should be oriental.
Conflicts are provoked between the Mujahideen. How to make two gangs quarrel? Arrange an ambush on one of the gangs, having mined its way with captured non-Soviet mines and fire it from captured non-Soviet weapons, while shouting something in Tajik or Uzbek. Remembering not to get carried away and not to destroy everyone. What can the surviving soulmates think? That it was an alien gang that envied that they received more help from Pakistan. In war, all methods are good - including falsification and disinformation.
And the "spirits" did not disdain in competition with each other to turn to the "infidels" for help - that is, to the Soviet military with proposals like: "... Commander, now the gang of Lame Jafar is standing near such a village. He got your outposts last week. I swear by my mom - it was them !!! They set your BMP on fire a week ago and put mines on the road for you - we have nothing to do with it !!! While you were driving us into a distant gorge, they stole a flock of our sheep and took a couple of our girls away. They are Bad Jackals. I am their mother ... Although I can show the exact place on the map. Hit them with howitzers - some ten kilometers. Calmly get it ... ".
It is in the West that they think of the noble image of the Mujahideen as a “fighter against the Soviet yoke”.
In fact, they hated each other as much as they hated us. They remembered all their blood grievances, the division of scarce land plots in the mountains, a controversial pasture, stolen brides - but you never know how highlanders from different tribes and peoples can have claims to each other ??? Civil strife is the Eternal Concept. Someone started a quarrel - and the descendants forgot - because of what their ancestors were at enmity. And here everyone has a weapon in their hands, like the war is going on - which will write off everything - but here he is next soviet commander battalion, and his weapon is more powerful - and tanks and howitzers and "grads" (and the special forces were given to reinforce and gunners and tankers) - He's Strong !!! We must be friends with him, bow to him, negotiate - and “wet” the competitor and “wet” again - with the wrong hands ...
“… Okay,” our battalion commander will think, “but let Lame Jafar accidentally find out from whom he is being given“ warm greetings ”… if of course he survives…”.
So when local informants reported to our intelligence, for example, about the possible passage of a caravan with weapons, which could be a glorious ambush - these were most often not ordinary peasants who wanted peace and tranquility (how do they know such details ???) - and scammers from rival gangs.
This is how Kerimbayev quarreled all the gangs on Panjshir. He is an Eastern Man - and acted in an oriental cunning way.
It dawned on Ahmad Shah Massoud that he was seriously losing control of numerous gangs bogged down in showdowns and thought about negotiations.
Kerimbayev and officers of the Main Intelligence Directorate from the army headquarters met with him three times. The negotiations were difficult - Ahmad Shah Massoud wanted to maintain authority in the eyes of his subordinates. “You are a warrior and I am a warrior. We will negotiate like true warriors, ”said the Lion of Panjshera. In the fall of 1982, an armistice agreement was signed. And in January 1983, Ahmad Shah announced that he would cease hostilities for two years, if only to take the special forces out of the gorge. By the way - he will keep his word for exactly one year.
On March 8, 1983, after holding out in Panjshir for nine months, having lost 45 people killed and one fighter who went missing (carried away by the current of a mountain river), the 177th detachment left the gorge. In total, the 177th detachment will lose 155 people in three years. That is, I lost every sixth person who passed through its ranks.
Neither before, nor After the 2nd Muslim Battalion, none of the other 8 units and a separate company the special forces of the 40th Army were no longer sent to Panjshir for permanent deployment. After them, the special forces flew to Panjshir only for short raids - like tourists. Arriving in helicopters - running through the mountains - fighting - flying back. And to be there permanently? Sorry - there are not enough Kerimbaevs for everyone !!! It required not just a Combat Commander who waves his saber left and right, but also an Analyst-Diplomat who knows how to make contacts with the enemy. IN guerrilla warfare You can't kill all the enemies - you need to negotiate with someone and push your heads together.
There is always an Example of Courage in the War. In the 177th ooSpN there was a "Maresyev" - senior lieutenant Ayubaev Zhumabek was blown off by a mine.
In the background, Zhumabek Ayubaev, who put his hand on his friend's shoulder. In the picture below - with his wife before being sent to Afghanistan.
The young officer decided not to accept his disability and return to Military establishment... With a prosthesis on his leg and with a machine gun on his shoulders, he made a 25-kilometer march under the incredulous glances of the members of the military medical commission and earned himself the right to return to duty. Few people knew that after that march, Zhumabek's leg was shortened by another two and a half centimeters ... She rubbed off against the prosthesis ...
After battle. The captain in the center is the future lieutenant general of the Kyrgyz army. Starley, who to his right is holding a machine gun by the forend, is now a major general in the Kazakh army. Nearby are the "green" soldiers of the Afghan army.
Officers at a halt for a camp samovar. I am aware that a samovar is not allowed in the army. But with him everything is so home-like ...
Kombat Kerimbayev scolds the senior lieutenant for riding a bicycle "What kind of childish antics ??? What example are you showing to your subordinates ???" - he looks guilty. Then this starley will become a lieutenant general of the Turkmen army.
And what do the military do in their free time from the war? That's right - taking pictures, playing football and posing with local attractions.
In boxing gloves - battalion commander Kerimbayev.
When else will it be possible to ride such a cart ???
So, so ... Where is the accelerator of the donkey ???
Are they not like the anarchists of the times Civil War??? Especially the one in the vest with machine-gun belts on the chest ???
Do not be surprised - in Afghanistan the commanders in small garrisons were absolutely liberal to the statutory requirements - and did not force them to strictly follow the army principle - "Let it be ugly, the main thing is to be Uniform !!!" Therefore, the fighters - soldiers and officers - in combat units dressed in what they thought was necessary and what was at hand. Some went to the raid in sneakers, some in boots, some in boots. Some have a tunic on their torso, some have a sweater, some have a mask. In the photo of the battalion commander, where he scolds the starley for the bicycle - the headdress is also not in shape. He should have a Panama hat - not a cap. If you carefully looked at "9th Company" - there these "Indian outfits" are shown quite reliably.
After a football match
During the entire time of the detachment's stay in Afghanistan, there were many such examples of Courage. But there is in the memory of the veterans of the detachment and a vivid case of Cowardice or Cowardice. At the height of the 6th Pajsher Operation, when the detachment had to conduct heavy hostilities with the gangs of Ahmad Shah-Massoud, the battalion commander received an order from Moscow to nominate 10 group commanders (it is customary to call a platoon a group in special forces) to the positions of company commanders in airborne units 40 th Army. The reason for such an unexpected promotion was simple and unusual.
An unheard-of thing - the mother of one of the officers wrote a letter to the USSR Ministry of Defense in Moscow complaining that her son had “stayed up” as a platoon commander - and that it was time for him to be promoted - which was actually true. It is not clear what they were guided by in Moscow - but the battalion commander Kerimbayev received an order to appoint 10 candidates for promotion and send them (rotation) to other units. The reality in the War is such that in the midst of hostilities, when every day officers and their subordinates go into raids and ambushes, when, over the months of joint service within a military collective, the soldiers "got used to" each other - any personnel reshuffles are reflected in military coordination and moral psychological environment. Until the new commander, who has arrived to replace the departed one, will get to know all his subordinates and enter the course of events, until he gains combat experience ...
Replacing a commander in Afghanistan has always been considered a difficult period for a unit. And here not one - but ten substitutions at once ...
It is not surprising that out of 10 candidates - 9 flatly refused to leave their own battalion, thereby delaying their own career. Humans had the Concept of Consciousness, Responsibility and Martial Companionship. The battalion commander did not fulfill the order from Moscow - and, oddly enough, they understood him there ...
Only one agreed - the same senior lieutenant, whose mother wrote the letter to Moscow. He became a company commander in the airborne unit, where survival conditions were an order of magnitude higher than in Detachment 177 in the Pajsher Gorge. And in general - the higher in position an officer - the more chances he has to survive in the war. We will not mention his name. He is now a fairly well-known figure in veteran circles. At one time, he flatly refused to serve in the Kazakhstan Army and spoke extremely negatively about it in his speeches. In a family - not without a black sheep.
Unlike many other commanders of the 40th Army units, Boris Tukenovich paid more attention to good relationship with the local population. When the question of redeploying the detachment arose, the elders of the local villages turned to the command of the 40th Army with a proposal to provide food for the 177th detachment - if only it was left in place. Civilians appreciated the contribution of the detachment to clearing the area of \u200b\u200bmujahideen bands.
ASTANA, 12 Jan - Sputnik, Daniyar Dautaliev. A legend of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan, a veteran celebrates the 70th anniversary in Almaty Afghan war, commander of the 177th separate special forces detachment of the main intelligence directorate general staff USSR, retired colonel Boris Kerimbayev.
Kara Major
Boris Kerimbaev was born on January 12, 1948 in the Almaty region. After graduating from the Tashkent Higher Command School in 1970, he was sent to serve in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In January 1981, he was appointed commander of the 177th separate special forces detachment.
By this time, the war in Afghanistan was already in full swing. The battalion commanded by Major Kerimbayev was nicknamed "Muslim", as it was formed from representatives of Asian nationalities: Kazakhs, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz. It was for the command of this battalion that the nickname "Kara-major" ("Black Major") was fixed for him for the rest of his life.
In September 1981, a special forces detachment was sent to Afghanistan. The first place of deployment of the second "Muslim" battalion was the city of Meimene in the Faryab province.
"Having occupied all the commanding heights around the settlement of Rukh, correctly placing security posts, a separate 177 special detachment blocked all movement along the Pandesher Gorge and fettered the actions of the formations of Ahmad Shah Masud for 9 months, despite their numerical superiority," this is just one episode from the military merits of Kerimbayev.
For the head of "Kara Major" Ahmad Shah Masud offered a million dollars, but in the end he was forced to conclude a truce with the Soviet troops.
Shapan from the Akimat of Almaty region
At the end of 1983, Boris Kerimbayev handed over the post of commander of a special forces unit and was sent to the Central Asian Military District. Demobilized from the army in 1992.
Hero reward
The jubilee of the legendary officer was celebrated in a solemn atmosphere at the Army House. Representatives of the high command of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan, colleagues, active military personnel and cadets arrived to congratulate Boris Tukenovich on his 70th birthday.
As the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhamedzhan Talasov noted, Boris Kerimbayev, having passed the crucible of the Afghan war, and today remains in the ranks and is engaged in social activities... A whole galaxy of generals has grown from his students, yesterday's lieutenants and captains: Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan Saken Zhasuzakov, Mukan Dyusekeyev, Chief of the General Staff of Kyrgyzstan Mels Bekboev. Mukhamedzhan Talasov presented the hero of the day with the El Korgan medal of the first degree for his contribution to strengthening the defense capability and military-patriotic activities of Kazakhstan.
Representatives of akimats of Almaty and Almaty region also noted the merits of Boris Kerimbayev and presented him gifts. The current commander of the newly formed 177 special forces detachment in Almaty assured Boris Kerimbayev that the traditions he had laid down would be continued and the fighters would fulfill their assigned tasks. For the servicemen of the unit, he will be an example of courage, honor and courage and what a real commander should be like.
Khabib Khalbaev and Boris Kerimbaev
As part of the celebration of the anniversary, the presentation of the book “Second Muslim Battalion. Spetsnaz from Kazakhstan ”, written by a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, reserve colonel Amangeldy Zhantasov.
Especially touching was the meeting of Boris Kerimbayev with the commander of the first Muslim battalion, now the reserve colonel of Uzbekistan, Khabib Khalbaev, whom they have never met until today.
"I saw a monument to the hero of the Great Patriotic War, Kazakh son, Bauyrzhan Momyshuly. He was awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union after the end of the war. I think Boris Tukenovich, his service in Afghanistan, he deserves the title of hero of Kazakhstan. The society needs to go out with a petition to the President of Kazakhstan, during the life of this person, to assign him the title of Hero of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He deserves this title, "Khabib Khalbaev said to a storm of applause in the hall.
Boris Kerimbayev kisses the banner of the special forces detachment
"There are no bad soldiers in the army"
"You comprehend the science - to defend the Motherland. Remember once and for all, it should remain in your brain, since you have tied your fate to become officers, that there are no bad soldiers in the army, there are only" jail officers, "Kerimbayev said.
He thanked the leadership of the Almaty Combined Arms Command School, from the graduates of which a special task force was mainly formed.
"They needed to learn less to shoot, run, but I taught them intelligence. My main task was to drive them to operations, and the main task was to bring them home alive. Yes, in 2 years, 2 months and 5 days, I lost 45 people there. There is no war without the dead, "he said, asking the audience to stand up and honor the memory of the soldiers who did not return with a minute of silence.
The audience in the hall was shown documentary about the life and fate of Boris Kerimbayev.
"From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you. Guys, take care of your health, it is necessary, you need a healthy one everywhere, but you will not need this one. Dear guys, you are all grandfathers, your grandchildren are growing up, your children are growing. Thank you very much for were with me, did not give up, walked forward wherever I say. You were courageous guys: soldiers, sergeants, warrant officers, officers. I bow to you. Thank you, "Boris Kerimbayev said in conclusion to his colleagues.