Vojna geografija Afganistana, Groblje carstava

master's thesis

• Title (english): Military Geography of Afghanistan, Graveyard of Empires
• Author: Mirta Kevo
• Mentor: Mladen Pahernik (mentor)
• Mentor: Hrvoje Heštera (komentor)
• Committee member: Tatjana Gazivoda Kraljević (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Mladen Pahernik (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Hrvoje Heštera (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; (Croatian Defence Academy "Dr. Franjo Tuđman"); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2022-07-06, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Security and Defense Science

Abstract

Afganistan je poznat po nadimku Groblje carstava, koji proizlazi iz povijesnih činjenica
neosvojivosti ove zemlje. Postoji puno primjera stranih sila koje su pokušale izvršiti invaziju ili
okupirati ovu zemlju, ali u tom procesu ne samo da nisu ispunili svoje političke i vojne ciljeve,
nego su pretrpjele i velike gubitke. Čak i primjeri najnovije povijesti svjedoče o tome, konkretno
povlačenje SAD-a nakon 20 godina provedenih u Afganistanu, nakon uloženih velikih količina
novca i ljudstva nisu uspjeli u ispunjavanju svojih namjera u ovoj zemlji. Diplomski rad
obuhvaća povijesni pregled dosadašnjih sukoba na području Afganistana. Nadalje, opisana su
fizičko geografska obilježja; reljef, vode, klima te zemljišni pokrov. Antropogeografski elementi
obuhvaćaju demografiju, infrastrukturu zemlje te način korištenja zemljišta. U istraživanju su
uključeni javno dostupni geoprostorni podatci i GIS alati, pomoću kojih se predočavaju obilježja
terena koja pogoduju ulozi branitelja i ustvari objašnjavaju tešku osvojivost i kontrolu
Afganistana. Analiza uključuje fizičke i društveno geografske aspekte koji određuju i uvjetuju
vojno geografska obilježja Afganistana. Opisana su planinska i pustinjska ratovanja, koja
prevladavaju u zemlji, te način na koji oni uvjetuju ratovanje da čak ni vojska koja raspolaže sa
opremom bolje kvalitete i značajne količine nužno nema tu prednost koju imaju i daju geografski
elementi ukoliko su dobro iskorišteni.

Abstract (english)

Afghanistan is known as Graveyard of Empires, which is derived from the historical facts of
invincibility of this country. There are many examples of foreign powers trying to invade or
occupy this country, but not only failing in their political and military objectives, but also
suffering heavy losses. Even examples from recent history bear witness to this, notably the
withdrawal of the United States after 20 years in Afghanistan after investing large amounts of
money and manpower and failing to fulfill its intentions in that country. The paper includes a
historical overview of the past conflicts in Afghanistan. It also describes the physical geographic
features: Relief, hydrology, climate, and land cover. Anthropogeographic elements include
demography, infrastructure of the country, and land use. The research includes publicly available
geospatial data and GIS tools that depict terrain features that favor the role of veterans and
actually explain the difficult conditions in AfghanistanThe analysis includes the physical and
social geographic aspects that determine and condition the military geographic features of
Afghanistan. It describes the mountain and desert warfare prevalent in the country and the way it
conditions warfare, that even an army with better quality and significant amount of equipment
does not necessarily have an advantage of geographic elements if they are well used.

• Keywords: Afganistan; Groblje carstava; planinsko ratovanje; pustinjsko ratovanje; vojna geografija
• Keywords (english): Afghanistan; Graveyard of Empires; mountain warfare; desert warfare; military geography
• Language: croatian
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:249:242252
• Study programme: Title: Military Engineering; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: MAGISTAR/MAGISTRA INŽENJER/INŽENJERKA VOJNOG INŽENJERSTVA (MAGISTAR/MAGISTRA INŽENJER/INŽENJERKA VOJNOG INŽENJERSTVA)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Closed access
• Created on: 2023-02-06 12:04:11