What new tactics did the U.S. Marines use in the Grenada landing operation?

Mondo Military Updated on 2024-02-04

Grenada, a small Central American country that gives the United States a headache. In 1979, Grenada's newly inaugurated ** pursued an anti-US and pro-Soviet policy, and the United States was extremely angry and wanted to bring down the new **. However, the United States does not want to give it a hand, so it has been waiting for the right time. In 1983, the United States felt an opportunity. On October 13 of that year, the former prime minister of Grenada** was executed by pro-Soviet **, causing chaos throughout the country. On the 22nd, the United States decided to send troops to Grenada, and the troops of the three services began to secretly move. On the 24th, Reagan personally signed an order to use force to help Grenada's forces eradicate the pro-Soviet forces and establish the United States. The U.S. military codenamed the operation Operation Fury.

After World War II, the U.S. Marine Corps not only had a special establishment system, but also had a higher status than other branches of the military. The US side has claimed: "The present is the time when the Marine Corps is the proudest" and "by the end of this century, the difference between the Marine Corps and other units will become more and more obvious." The Department of Defense has not only generously allocated funds, but has also set aside a place for it in the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the three services, and the commander of the Marine Corps has become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the three services, so that the commander of the Marine Corps can freely express his position and opinions, enhance cooperation with other services, and achieve unprecedented coordination and tacit cooperation with other services.

Another special status of the Marine Corps is that it is directly under the command of the United States**. The United States does not need to go through Congressional approval, with a paper order, the Marine Corps can go to the front line to fight, it can be said to be the descendant of the United States, but also the United States to get out of the diplomatic dilemma of the "killer weapon".

To carry out Operation "Fury", the Marines are the duty-bearers. Throughout the battle, they were at the forefront of the battle, doing their best for the United States.

In this operation, the US military adopted the method of vertical landing with the delivery of troops and transport planes to directly seize the airport in Grenada, making the Georgian army's beachhead defense preparations useless, and the Georgian army quickly achieved the goal of militarily occupying Grenada in an unexpected way. Grenada has a total area of 340 square kilometers and a population of about 110,000, and the main island of Grenada covers an area of 310 square kilometers. The total strength of the Georgian army, including the armed personnel aided by Cuba, is less than 2,000 people, and there is no navy and air force, and the main equipment is light. The US military mobilized one aircraft carrier battle group, 15 ships of various types, about 8,000 landing troops, 10,000 personnel on board, and more than 230 aircraft of various types.

At 05:00 on October 25, 1983, dozens of transports carrying landing crews crossed the beachhead defensive position on the island of Grenada and landed directly on the runway of the Pearl Airport on the island of Grenada. At the same time, the US military rangers took three C-130 "Hercules" transport planes, escorted by armed *** and attack fighters, and entered the Sallins International Airport on the island of Grenada to carry out airborne landing. More than 100 members of the Einsatzgruppen who flew on the first Hercules transport plane parachuted and landed at a low altitude of 400 meters before the Cuban armed men guarding the airport could react from the air strikes that had just ended. Next.

Braving the antiaircraft fire of the Cubans, the third "Hercules" transport plane rushed to the airport from an altitude of 900 meters. When the "Hercules" plane braved intensive fire and plunged to an altitude of more than 150 meters, the Einsatzgruppen carried out a low-altitude parachute landing with superb skills and good equipment. This was the lowest altitude for the U.S. military to parachute since World War II, and before the Cubans could react, the rangers landed safely. The first landing rangers took on the Cubans.

2. By the time the third "Hercules" plane seized favorable terrain and thus quickly seized the airfield, 18 US troops were killed and 91 wounded in the battle. The success of Operation Fury is inseparable from the extraordinary military qualities of the Marines. But this time the outstanding performance of the Marines was not appreciated. The Soviet Union, France, Germany, and Latin American countries all had a negative attitude toward the US invasion, and even in the United States, there were many critical voices that unanimously opposed Reagan's bullying practices. The United States took advantage of things, but in exchange for moral failure. However, it is worth affirming that the US military chose an unexpected way for the other side to achieve the suddenness of the landing operation, and broke the traditional pattern and created a new tactic for the landing operation.

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