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Opening. The film recreates a Somali capture mission by U.S. special forces on October 3, 1993, in which they sent their most elite soldiers to capture two senior members of Somali warlord Aideed.
The U.S. military successfully captured the target during the operation, but was attacked by local soldiers during the evacuation, resulting in the crash of two advanced Black Hawks**. In the end, the U.S. military paid a heavy price with the lives of 19 soldiers and more than 70 wounded.
The defeat of the US military since the Vietnam War has been quite painful, and it is also a question: why did the well-armed US military fail at the hands of Somali militants?And what did the Americans do after the setback?
The stills are from the movie "Black Hawk Down".
American Special Forces soldiers were sent to Somalia.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States became the sole superpower. In the Gulf War, the U.S.-led multinational force quickly routed Iraq's army, and its formidable military might attracted the attention of the world.
The United States began to actively participate in various international affairs with its strong military power, and in the early 90s of the last century, the United States set its sights on Somalia in the eastern part of the African continent.
Since the fall of the Siad regime in 1991, a number of armed forces have emerged within Somalia, leading to a warlord warlordship.
* Scenes from the Gulf War are shown.
In 1992, the United Nations decided to send a peacekeeping force to Somalia to monitor the ceasefire among the local tribes and to provide humanitarian assistance to the local population.
The local warlords did not take the peacekeepers seriously, they took away the humanitarian supplies distributed to the people, and the ceasefire was far away. The supplies that were snatched by the warlords in the blink of an eye were humanitarian relief supplies distributed to the people.
The United Nations has decided to send additional peacekeeping troops to Somalia in response to the current situation. At the same time, the peacekeeping force not only monitors the ceasefire of the warlords on the ground, but also acts when necessary to ensure a stable security environment.
* A warlord unit in Somalia is shown.
However, Farah Aideed, the largest local warlord in Somalia, sees the actions of the peacekeepers as an obstacle to his expansion and fears that it will affect his seizure of power in Somalia.
He then arranged for his soldiers to ambush and attack the Pakistani peacekeeping forces, resulting in the ** of 24 Pakistani soldiers. The UN Security Council was very concerned about the matter and finally made the decision to arrest Aideed.
Aideed's presence in the area is huge, and his soldiers are so large that it is difficult to capture them with the help of peacekeepers alone.
Locally, Aideed's forces are strong, and with many soldiers under his command, it will be difficult for the peacekeepers to complete the task of apprehending.
Retired U.S. Admiral Jonathan Howe contacted the U.S. side at this moment, hoping that they could send special forces to carry out this capture mission.
Aideed's **).
The U.S. military was willing to accede to his request, but because they had been ambushed by local warlords in Somalia before, the U.S. military deployed a large number of elite troops to ensure the smooth operation of the capture.
The Delta Force was made up of the army's elite, with the 75th Ranger Rangers also known as the "Black Berets" and the 160th Special Air Regiment involved in the operation.
Despite the powerful special forces sent by the U.S. military, the first few arrest operations ended in failure. This is mainly because the intelligence they have is not accurate, and the successive defeats have greatly annoyed the US military.
* Members of the Delta Force are shown.
On October 2, 1993, the U.S. military finally received conclusive information that Aideed's treasurer and foreign spokesman would appear at the Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu the next day. As a result, the U.S. military decided to arrest the two senior Aideed aides and named the operation "Operation Irene".
2. Perfect capture action.
After confirming the whereabouts of the other party, the U.S. military immediately launched an arrest operation the next day.
Delta Force was eventually assigned to capture the perimeter, while the 75th Ranger Rangers would be responsible for perimeter vigilance and support cover. In addition, the U.S. land, sea and air amphibious assault teams will provide auxiliary offensives on the ground.
The 160th Special Aviation Regiment sent a total of 14*** aircraft to transport Delta Force soldiers to the Olympic Hotel for capture missions and provide air cover. Among them were 6 MH-60 Special Operations ***, popularly known as the Black Hawk, which was very advanced at the time.
*A MH-60 was shown***
The U.S. military's operational plan at that time was to use four light "AH-6 Birds"** to deliver the special forces members of the "Delta" unit to the Olympic Hotel, while four other armed Birds*** were in the air to provide fire support and cover.
In addition, 4 Black Hawks*** will carry soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment and land on the commanding heights around the hotel to provide perimeter alert and support.
Elements of the land, sea and air amphibious assault teams are deployed around the hotel to provide ground support for the attack to ensure the smooth execution of the capture operation.
In addition to sending personnel directly involved in the capture, the U.S. military also formed a convoy of Humvees and trucks. According to the plan of the US military, in addition to the two senior aides, all the personnel who participated in the meeting must be wiped out.
* Humvee armored vehicles used by the U.S. military are shown.
After these personnel are captured, they will not be sent back to the US military base, but will return along the road in a Humvee, after all, the US military has made great efforts to catch the important leader of Aideed, and it will definitely show off.
In addition to sending troops directly to the Olympic Hotel, the U.S. military also arranged for a company of the 14th Infantry Regiment to be on standby at the airport in case of emergency. It was this decision that saved the lives of many American GIs.
At 3:32 p.m. on October 3, 1993, the U.S. military took off from the airport one after another, while the convoy left the base, marking the official start of "Operation Irene".
*Photographed in Mogadishu.
Subsequently, a small bird*** was assigned to transport soldiers, and it landed on a narrow street on the south side of the hotel building. Immediately afterwards, the special forces threw several smoke bombs into the hotel yard.
Before they could react, they rushed in and quickly controlled the 24 Aideedes, all with clean action.
In front of the hotel, a convoy of Humvees arrived and handcuffed the captives and sent them away. At this time, the arrest operation was carried out exactly according to the previous plan of the US military, and everyone began to prepare for the evacuation.
*One AH-6 is shown***
The U.S. military took advantage of the best mobile combat to quickly complete the arrest operation, and there were no personnel **, and the performance was perfect.
General Gallison, the Delta Force in command of the operation, was about to celebrate the victory, when the unexpected happened.
3. Black Hawk fell and suffered a miserable defeat.
Just as the convoy of the American military was about to leave, they suddenly heard someone shouting loudly with a loudspeaker next to them, and then countless people poured into the streets, and the American army found itself surrounded by the enemy.
The location of the arrest was the Olympic Hotel near Aideed's lair, where most of the residents were his supporters, and there was no shortage of militia members who were also soldiers.
Militants in Somalia **).
Immediately after discovering that important people had been captured, members of the Aideed group called on the surrounding residents to come forward and fight for their homeland. Some of them are armed with AK-47s, some are armed with RPGs, but many more are simply armed with sticks, axes, etc.
Subsequently, they launched an attack on the convoy of American troops. Although the U.S. troops on the mission were elite, they also realized that they could not resist in the face of such a large number of enemies. Therefore, the team began to desperately break through.
Somali militias are using AK-47s and RPGs to attack convoys at the moment, and U.S. soldiers are unable to effectively return fire from the vehicles. Coupled with the fact that the streets of Mogadishu are very narrow, it was extremely difficult for the team to break through.
** of the bazooka RPG).
Black Hawk Special Warfare*** is rushing in at this moment to provide air fire support. In order to better fight the enemy, it constantly lowers the altitude. However, in the process, the Black Hawk***, codenamed "Super 61", was hit by an RPG bazooka and crashed.
The U.S. military command immediately received this picture, and when Gallison saw this, he immediately ordered the Ranger Rangers closest to the crash site to go to the rescue. At the same time, the only Black Hawk*** in charge of the search and rescue mission also flew over the crash site to search and rescue the wounded.
*Shown is the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Rangers soldiers rushed to the crash site in the "Little Bird"** and immediately after landing opened fire on nearby Aideed militants. However, in the process, the "Super 68" Black Hawk fighter in charge of the search and rescue mission was attacked by an RPG and was forced to turn back to the airport.
The convoy could only go to the crash site to pick up the wounded soldiers, but they were also not having a good time. Not only do you have to deal with the enemy's encirclement and interception, but you also have to get lost in the streets of Mogadishu, always unable to find your way.
They were not to blame, as they had not expected such a fierce enemy counterattack, so they had not familiarized themselves with the terrain in advance. Add to that the similarity of the street buildings in Mogadishu, so it's very normal to get lost.
**Although the situation was observed from the air, it was not possible to communicate directly with the convoy, so a message from command was required. This resulted in inaccurate and untimely information received by the fleet, which also delayed their forward speed.
As the convoy advanced, the "Super 64" Black Hawk*** replaced the downed "Super 61" and continued to provide aerial fire support to the convoy.
Due to the complex environment in the urban area of Mogadishu, the flight altitude had to be reduced. As a result, it was also hit by the RPG in the rear wing, lost its balance and crashed directly into the streets of Mogadishu.
Immediately afterwards, another "Super 62" immediately appeared in the air to provide cover, but in the face of a large number of Aideed militants, there were many people on the ground, resulting in the crew members of the "Super 64" being killed except for the captain Duren, who was captured alive.
Fourth, the United States is in a difficult situation and ends in embarrassment.
At this moment, the other American soldiers did not have time to pay attention to the situation here, they had been cut apart by a large number of militants, and their respective squads were surrounded by the enemy.
Late that night, the company on standby at the airport was dispatched urgently to Mogadishu to carry out the arrest of the troops. 150 soldiers rode on Humvees and marched in the direction of the city under the cover of ***.
Under the guidance of ***, the reinforcements quickly joined up with the besieged US special forces. They immediately disposed of the wounded and the bodies, and subsequently used a grenade to detonate the crashed ***
After the U.S. convoy began to withdraw, the soldiers of the 75th Ranger Rangers Regiment did not get into the car, but chose to run and follow the convoy to provide fire cover for the convoy.
It was not until the early morning of the next day that the U.S. troops returned to their bases, with 19 killed, more than 70 wounded, and two Black Hawks lost*** the worst defeat for the U.S. military since the Vietnam War.
The stills are from the movie "Operation Black Hawk".
Although the number of Aideed's armed men exceeded 3,000 in this exchange, of which about 2,000 were armed men, the United States still could not accept such a defeat.
In particular, when the United States followed the example of the Gulf War and live-streamed "Operation Irene", which led many Americans to see the scene of the disastrous defeat of the US military.
Subsequently, there was even a video on television of Somali militants dragging the corpses of American soldiers in a parade, which provoked the anger of the American people, who began to criticize the behavior of the United States in sending troops to Somalia.
The U.S. military action was not supported by other countries, and spokesmen for Britain, France, and Germany have criticized the operation for going beyond the scope of humanitarian missions and criticized the United Nations for not being an umbrella for U.S. operations.
*Clinton's ** is shown.
Clinton convened an emergency meeting on October 5 and decided on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Somalia two days later.
After negotiating with Aideed, they decided to exchange all the captives for the bodies of Durham and the American soldiers, and promised not to attack Aideed's supporters again.
With the withdrawal of US troops, this peacekeeping operation can be said to be a complete failure. Despite this operation, the situation in Somalia has not improved in any way, on the contrary, nearly 10,000 Somalis have lost their lives as a result.
The main reason for the defeat of the US military in Somalia was that they underestimated the enemy. On the contrary, when they invaded Grenada, they did a lot of preparation and used aircraft carriers, and they won at a very small cost.
Prior to this operation, the United States had not taken Somalia into account and had not scouted and understood the terrain of Mogadishu.
Mistakes that should not be made when special forces are on a mission include carrying out captures during the day and transporting prisoners by car.
They are blindly confident that the strength of the Black Hawk *** is unmatched, but in fact the Black Hawk on the mission is modified.
Originally designed for transport, this *** has poor defenses of its own and is not adapted to low-altitude combat, so RPG bazookas against tanks can easily shoot them down.
* Scenes from the Kosovo war are shown.
After the US military's defeat in Somalia, valuable experiences and lessons have been summed up. They realized that ground operations in difficult terrain and in the face of a large number of enemies were not good for them, so in the subsequent wars in Kosovo and Libya, the US military adopted the strategy of relying on air strikes to avoid getting involved in ground warfare as much as possible.
Despite the tactical mistakes made by the US military, the most fundamental problem with this defeat was the failure of the United States to position itself correctly. They see themselves as the saviors of Somalia and will be supported by the local population.
After the propaganda of the local warlords, the Somalis regarded the US ** team as their worst enemy, so they could not get help from the people, and defeat on the battlefield was inevitable.
* The situation with the US military is shown.
The United States is still frequently involved in the affairs of other countries with its own strength, but if it fails to define its position, it may face even greater failures in the future.