A deep look into the battle between the talented rebel commander Ahmad Shah Masood, 'The Lion of Panjshir', and the Soviet forces fighting for control of the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan.

When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, they believed that if they captured the cities, the country would follow. They were wrong. The Red Army found itself in a bloody stalemate in the Afghan mountains, in the strategically important Panjshir Valley, where it faced the most capable and gifted of the rebel commanders: Ahmad Shah Masood, 'The Lion of Panjshir'.

Repeatedly, the Soviets and their Afghan allies attempted to gain control of Panjshir, and repeatedly the rebels either rejected their clumsy attempts or trapped and avoided them, only to retake the valley once Moscow’s attention was elsewhere. Over time, the rebels acquired new weapons and developed their own tactics — as did the Soviets.

The Panjshir Valley was not just a crucial battle, but also shaped the subsequent civil wars following the Soviet withdrawal, as well as the military strategy that continues to influence the new Russian army.

With striking full-color artwork of battle scenes and detailed maps of the conflict, this is an exciting study of one of the fiercest battles of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.