Battle of Mogadishu (1993) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Mogadishu |
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| Part of Operation Gothic Serpent | |||||||
 Super Six-Four, one of the Black Hawks which would be shot down, above Mogadishu |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States Malaysia PakistanSupported by:  United Nations |
 Somali National Alliance |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Mohamed Farrah Aidid |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 160 initial forces 3,000 rescue forces 19 aircraft 16 helicopters 9 utility vehicles 3 trucks |
2,000–4,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
 19 killed73 wounded 1 captured 2 helicopters destroyed  1 killed7 wounded  1 killed2 wounded |
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The Battle of Mogadishu (Somali: Maalintii Rangers, lit. 'Day of the Rangers'), also known as the Black Hawk Down incident, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. It was fought on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States—supported by UNOSOM II—against the forces of the Somali National Alliance (SNA) and citizens of south Mogadishu. The battle was part of the broader Somali Civil War that had begun in 1991. The United Nations had initially become involved to provide food aid to alleviate starvation in the south of the country, but in the months preceding the battle, had shifted the mission to establishing democracy and restoring a central government.
Seven months after the deployment of U.S. troops to Somalia, on June 5, 1993, the U.N. would suffer the worst loss of its peacekeepers in decades when the Pakistani contingent was attacked while inspecting an SNA weapons storage site. Mohammed Farah Aidid, head of the SNA, would become a fugitive after UNOSOM II blamed his faction for the incident and a hunt for him would begin that would characterize most of the U.N. intervention up until the Battle of Mogadishu. As part of the campaign to capture Aidid, U.S. forces in Mogadishu launched the Abdi House raid, on July 12, 1993, resulting in the death of scores of elders and prominent members of Aidids clan, the Habr Gidr. The raid would lead thousands of Somalis from all walks of life in Mogadishu to sympathize with or join the fight against UNOSOM II forces and would lead Aidid and the Somali National Alliance, to deliberately target and kill American personnel for the first time on August 8, 1993, which would in turn lead President Clinton to dispatch the Task Force Ranger to capture Aidid.
On October 3, 1993, US forces planned to seize two of Aidids high-ranking lieutenants during a meeting deep in the city. The raid was only intended to last an hour, but morphed into an overnight standoff and rescue operation extending into the daylight hours of the next day. While the goal of the operation was achieved, it was a pyrrhic victory and spiraled into the deadly Battle of Mogadishu. As the operation was ongoing, Somali forces shot down two American Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters using RPG-7s. A desperate defense of the downed helicopters began and fighting lasted through the night to defend the survivors of the crashes. In the morning, a UNOSOM II armored convoy fought their way to the helicopters, incurring further casualties but eventually rescuing the survivors.
Casualties included 18 dead American soldiers and 73 wounded, with Malaysian forces suffering one death and seven wounded, and Pakistani forces suffering one death and two injuries. There were between 315 and 2,000 Somali casualties. The battle shifted American foreign policy and led to an eventual pullout of the U.N. mission in 1995.
In the aftermath of the battle, dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by enraged Somalis, which was shown on American television—to public outcry. Fear of a repeat of the battle was a reason for American reluctance to get further involved in Somalia and other regions. Some scholars argue that it was a major factor that affected the Clinton administration's decision to not intervene in the Rwandan genocide, and has been commonly referred to as "Somalia Syndrome".
Contents
Background
In January 1991, Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown by a coalition of opposing clans, precipitating the Somali Civil War. The Somali National Army concurrently disbanded, and some former soldiers reconstituted as irregular regional forces or joined the clan militias. The main rebel group in the capital Mogadishu was the United Somali Congress (USC), which later divided into two armed factions: one led by Ali Mahdi Muhammad, who later became president; and the other by Mohamed Farrah Aidid which would become known as USC/SNA.
Later that year severe fighting broke out in Mogadishu, which continued in the following months and spread throughout the country, resulting in over 20,000 casualties by the end of the year. The conflict led to the destruction of Somalia's agriculture, which in turn led to starvation in large parts of the country. The international community began to send food supplies to halt the starvation, but vast amounts of food were hijacked and brought to local clan leaders, who routinely exchanged it with other countries for weapons. An estimated 80 percent of the food was stolen. These factors led to even more starvation, from which an estimated 300,000 people died and another 1.5 million people suffered between 1991 and 1992.
Operation Provide Relief began in August 1992, when U.S. President George H. W. Bush announced that U.S. military transports would support the multinational U.N. relief effort in Somalia. Ten C-130s and 400 people were deployed to Mombasa, Kenya, airlifting aid to Somalia's remote areas and reducing reliance on truck convoys. The C-130s delivered 48,000 tons of food and medical supplies in six months to international humanitarian organizations trying to help Somalia's more than three million starving people.
When this proved inadequate to stop the massive death and displacement of the Somali people (500,000 dead and 1.5 million refugees or displaced), the U.S. launched a major coalition operation to assist and protect humanitarian activities in December 1992. This operation, called Restore Hope, saw the U.S. assuming the unified command in accordance with Resolution 794. The U.S. Marine Corps landed the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit MEUSOC in Mogadishu with elements of 2nd Battalion 9th Marines and 3rd Battalion 11th Marines, secured nearly one-third of the city, the port, and airport facilities within two weeks, with the intent to facilitate airlifted humanitarian supplies. Elements of the 2nd Battalion 9th Marines HMLA-369 (Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 of Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Camp Pendleton); 9th Marines; quickly secured routes to Baidoa, Balidogle and Kismayo, then were reinforced by the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division.
Published accounts
In 1999, writer Mark Bowden published the book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, which chronicles the events that surrounded the battle. The book was based on his series of columns for The Philadelphia Inquirer about the battle and the men who fought.
Falcon Brigade: Combat and Command in Somalia and Haiti, by Lawrence E. Casper (Col. USA Ret.), published in 2001 by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. Boulder, Colorado and London, England. Casper was the 10th Mountain Division's Falcon Brigade and QRF Commander during the TF Ranger rescue effort. Eleven months later, Falcon Brigade, under Casper's leadership, launched Army forces from the Navy aircraft carrier Eisenhower onto the shores of Haiti in an operation to reinstate Haitian President Aristide.
Black Hawk pilot Michael Durant told his story of being shot down and captured by a mob of Somalis in his 2003 book In the Company of Heroes.
In 2011, Staff Sergeant Keni Thomas, a U.S. Army Ranger recounted the combat experience in a memoir titled Get It On!: What It Means to Lead the Way.
Howard E. Wasdin's SEAL Team Six (2011) includes a section about his time in Mogadishu including the Pasha CIA safe house and multiple operations including the Battle of Mogadishu where he was severely wounded.
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Whetstone, Company Commander of Charlie Company 2–14 Infantry, published his memoirs of the heroic rescue operation of Task Force Ranger in his book Madness in Mogadishu (2013).
Film
Bowden's book has been adapted into the film Black Hawk Down (2001), produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Ridley Scott. Like the book, the film describes events surrounding the operation, but there are differences between the book and the film, such as Rangers marking targets at night by throwing strobe lights at them, when in reality the Rangers marked their own positions and close air support targeted everything else.
Upcoming Malaysian film Bakara, directed by Adrian Teh retells the story of Malaysian contingent of UNOSOM II involvement during the rescue operation in the battle.
Documentaries
The American series PBS Frontline aired a documentary titled "Ambush in Mogadishu" in 1998.
The True Story of Black Hawk Down (2003) is a TV documentary which premièred on The History Channel. It was directed by David Keane.
The American Heroes Channel television series, Black Ops, aired an episode titled "The Real Black Hawk Down" in June 2014.
The National Geographic Channel television series, No Man Left Behind, aired an episode titled "The Real Black Hawk Down" on 28 June 2016.
The Seconds from Disaster television series spotlighted the raid and rescue mission in the Season 7 episode "Chopper Down" aired in February 2018.
Rangers return in 2013
In March 2013, two survivors from Task Force Ranger returned to Mogadishu with a film crew to shoot a short film, Return to Mogadishu: Remembering Black Hawk Down, which debuted in October 2013 on the 20th anniversary of the battle. Author Jeff Struecker and country singer-songwriter Keni Thomas relived the battle as they drove through the Bakaara Market in armored vehicles and visited the Wolcott crash site.
Super 61 returns to US
In August 2013, remains of Super 61, consisting of the mostly intact main rotor and parts of the nose section, were extracted from the crash site and returned to the United States due to the efforts of David Snelson and Alisha Ryu, and are on display at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina. The exhibit features immersive dioramas and artifacts from the battle including the wreckage of Super 61, the first Black Hawk helicopter shot down during the battle, and Super 64.
As of October 2018, a fully restored Super 68 is on display at the Army Aviation Museum in Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Imags
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US Marines CH-53 Sea Stallion delivers aid to the village of Maleel (January 1993)
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Mogadishu skyline from a UNOSOM convoy
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Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Somalia, 1993
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A technical in Mogadishu.
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Mogadishu battle sites on 3–4 October 1993.
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Malaysian Condor APCs
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General Garrison leading the remembrance service for the fallen following the October 3 battle
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U.S. President Bill Clinton presenting the Medal of Honor to Carmen, the widow of Master Sergeant Gary I. Gordon, who served as Sniper Team Leader in the United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu.
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Column of M1A1 Abrams and M2 Bradleys of 64th Armor Regiment in Mogadishu in January 1994
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See also
In Spanish: Batalla de Mogadiscio para niños
