The T-34-85:
This image of a rusting Soviet T-34-85 battle tank was captured in the village of Anaba in northeastern Afghanistan, one of the many relics littering the Panjshir Valley, left in place by locals as a monument to victory—by a simple people against a global superpower.
The T-34 Soviet medium battle tank had a profound effect on the Eastern Front in the Second World War and had a lasting impact on tank design. When introduced in 1940, the T-34 had an outstanding balance of firepower, mobility, protection, and ruggedness. Production of the T-34-85 (seen here) began in January 1944, using the newly designed D-5T 85 mm gun; the upgrade gave the Red Army a tank with better armor and mobility than the German Panzer IV tank and StuG III assault gun. While it could not match the heavier Panther and Tiger tanks' armor or weapons, its improved firepower made it much more effective than earlier models.
Thirty-five years later, during the Soviet-Afghan War (December 25, 1979 - February 15, 1989), Soviet strategists decided to deploy this aging relic from World War II into the first Panjshir Valley offensive in April 1980. Three Soviet battalions and 1000 (Russian-backed) Afghan government troops participated in the incursion. The Mujahideen deliberately lured the Soviet forces deep into the valley—and then ambushed them as they withdrew. This monument to resistance in the town of Anaba celebrates that victory.
This image of a rusting Soviet T-34-85 battle tank was captured in the village of Anaba in northeastern Afghanistan, one of the many relics littering the Panjshir Valley, left in place by locals as a monument to victory—by a simple people against a global superpower.
A Soviet T-34-85 battle tank located in the village of Anaba, a small mountain sheep-herding community in the Panjshir Valley, which was a strategic objective during the Russian invasion due to its location on the Saricha Road.
Like many wartime monuments in big towns and cities throughout the United States and Europe, placed to pay homage; these Afghan relics have been moved from their original sites on the battlefield, and repositioned in strategic locations along the Saricha Road—a visual reminder of the Soviet struggle—and a warning to aggressors.
Two local boys from Anaba, Aazar Abdul Hannan, and Mukhtar Nafi, pose next to a World War II relic, surprisingly pulled out of mothballs and used by Soviet strategists in the 1980 Panjshir offensive.