Brief update on the current status and future direction of the Unknown Soldiers Podcast...and what's coming up next!

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Just a barely scripted episode talking about my sources, themes, missing bits and some final thoughts on the Soviet-Afghan War. Content is content.

Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources

Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod

The Soviet-Afghan War is over, but for both countries, the struggle has only begun. The Soviet Union begins to crumble, a collapse that is not inevitable or predictable, as the world watches in disbelief. But the world isn't watching Afghanistan, which descends into civil war, anarchy, and violence. The rise of the Taliban, al-Qa'eda, and the road to 9/11 are foreseen by nobody, and no one is trying to stop them - except for one man. And his tragedy might be the saddest chapter of this unlucky country called Afghanistan.

Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources

Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd/Return-of-a-King-Audiobook/1526640767?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

Music:

Winter Waltz by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.auMusic promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/Creative Commons CC BY 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Jihad" by LynnePublishing via Pond5.com

Pathfinder by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckleyMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Desert City Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Jalandhar Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

In this supplement to the Soviet-Afghan war series, we examine the experiences of both Soviet and Afghan women on either side of this conflict.

Soviet women served in many roles, including military and civilian, and endured many of the same experiences of the men - though one group of Soviet women, the mothers, may have suffered the most. And Afghan women had it even worse, caught between the Soviet destruction and their own radicals in the Mujahideen, the promises and cruelties of two ideologies.

What both groups of women shared was that their experiences were always different from those of the men. War, after all, has an unwomanly face.

Sources & Maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-more-maps-and-sources-part-i-and-soviet-army-short-round

The Soviets have decided that it’s time to leave Afghanistan…but as we all know, it’s much harder to get OUT of the graveyard of Empires than it is to get in. Battles still remain, as the Americans send Stinger missiles to the Mujahideen and the Soviets launch their last major attack in Operation Magistral. But the damage is already done: the USSR is on the brink of collapse, and the devastated country of Afghanistan is fertile ground for the rise of radical Islam.

Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources

New Maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-for-part-ii

Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd/Drink-Audiobook/1977339069?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

Music:

Winter Waltz by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.auMusic promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/Creative Commons CC BY 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bhangra Bass by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

"Driving Atmospheric Dread" by EdwardCNBrown via pond5.com

Pathfinder by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckleyMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What was the experience of a Soviet conscript in Afghanistan? In this supplement to the Soviet-Afghan war series, we dive into the Soviet soldier's experience in the Graveyard of Empires. We'll see what his everyday life was like, what combat was like, what his living conditions were like. But we'll also see how the war affected him, what he thought about it...and what happened when he came home. This is the story of the Soviet Union's answer to America's Vietnam veterans: the Afgantsy.

Or, in other words - war is hell.

Sources & Maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-more-maps-and-sources-part-i-and-soviet-army-short-round

The Soviet-Afghan War reaches its climax from 1983 to 1985, as atrocities and destruction ravage the civilian population. The Mujahideen are starting to lose the war, but they have outside support: from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and even the United States, from people like Ronald Reagan and Charlie Wilson and Osama Bin Laden. International aid might tip the balance – but it also might unleash forces that no one can control.

Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources

New Maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-for-part-ii

Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Hardest-Place-Audiobook/0593286790?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

Music:

"Jihad" by LynnePublishing via Pond5.com

"Epic Cinematic Theme - War In The East" by TDK via Pond5.com

Lock And Load by Hayden Folker | https://soundcloud.com/hayden-folkerMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

Pathfinder by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckleyMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bhangra Bass by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

The Soviet military, a powerful force designed for World War III, was not prepared for Afghanistan. The Russian bear was overstretched, fighting a dangerous, resilient enemy called the Mujahideen, with no way forward and no way out. Its weaknesses became most apparent in a place called the Panjshir Valley, where they faced the brilliant guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud - the Lion of Panjshir. In Part II of a five-part series, we examine the war from 1980 to 1982, especially the tactics, the strategy, and the nature of the Mujahideen.

Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources

New Maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-for-part-ii

Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd/We-Were-Soldiers-Once-and-Young-Audiobook/B07C9CFNBG?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

Music:

"Jihad" by LynnePublishing via Pond5.com

https://music.orchestralis.net/track/38439579

Pathfinder by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckleyMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bhangra Bass by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

The Soviet Armed Forces were the juggernaut of a nuclear superpower, the largest army on Earth, the embodiment of the massive, powerful Russian bear. But they were also deeply flawed. Their soldiers were mistreated, their equipment was crude, and they suffered from the paradoxes of the socialist empire. But above all, the Soviets were locked into an ideological prison of their own making: a Marxist approach to warfare.

Sources & Maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-more-maps-and-sources-part-i-and-soviet-army-short-round

In the late 1970s, two neighboring countries were in turmoil: the Soviet Union was beginning its decline and fall, and Afghanistan was roiled by political chaos. When a socialist, pro-Soviet government comes to power in Afghanistan, it immediately comes under attack by its own people - and the Soviets have to make a decision. In Part I of a five-part series, we will see how the Soviet Union stumbled into the graveyard of empires.

Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources

Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd/A-Peoples-Tragedy-Audiobook/B07J5DSS8M?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

Music:

"Soviet Red Army Military March" by Rafael Krux

https://music.orchestralis.net/track/38439579

Desert City Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Jalandhar Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/