The Battle of Mogadishu

The Battle of Mogadishu ADAM LAWRENCE

Operation Restore Hope

Operation Restore Hope was the UN operation to supply food and relief to famine and war stricken countries in Africa. George HW Bush initiated the United States involvement and the first phase of the operation took place in Somalia.

Operation Gothic Serpant

Operation Gothic Serpent was the US military's attempt to capture the Somalian warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid who was the tyrant clan-leader of Somalia. General William Garrison led the operation of 160 army rangers and delta troopers with the code name "Irene".

UH-60 "Black Hawk"

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks are four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopters used by the US army. The manufacture cost of these attack helicopters is 21 million dollars a unit.

Bakara Blackmarket

The Bakara Market was the hotspot for Somalian militants in the city of Mogadishu. Dangerous blackmarket weapons like the AK47 and RPG were easily accessible to everyone. The market was only 3 blocks away from the target building, the Olympic Hotel.

The Assault

The first phase of the attack was sucessful, however Aidid was not captured and escaped the target building. Things were almost going as planned.

"Black Hawk Down"

The Somalians were able to shoot down two black hawks, which led the US forces to scramble to form perimeters around the downed helicopters. This is where the vast number of US casualties occurred.

https://youtu.be/JKD_pwBJajY

The Aftermath

The battle of Mogadishu was a pyrrhic victory, also known as a "hollow" victory, for the US, as over 1,000 somalian militants were killed. 18 US soldiers were killed in action, 73 were wounded, and one, pilot Micheal Durant, was captured.

Mohammed Farrah Aidid was later killed on August 2nd of 1996. The following day General William Garrison retired.

Sources

Snyder, Rebecca. “Operation Restore Hope/Battle of Mogadishu.” Operation Restore Hope, Battle of Mogadishu,1993, C.T. Evans and R. Snyder, Aug. 2001, novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/Events/Somalia93/somalia93.html. Accessed 1 May 2017.

Kiger, Patrick J. “Behind the Battle of Mogadishu.” National Geographic Channel, 9 May 2016, channel.nationalgeographic.com/no-man-left-behind/articles/behind-the-battle-of-mogadishu/. Accessed 1 May 2017.

Loudermilk, Ben. “Battle Of Mogadishu (1993 Operation Gothic Serpent).” WorldAtlas, 17 May 2016, www.worldatlas.com/articles/battle-of-mogadishu-1993-operation-gothic-serpent.html. Accessed 2 May 2017.

“Mohamed Farah Aideed: Death of a Warlord.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa-july-dec96-warlord_8-2/. Accessed 2 May 2017.

Created By

Adam Lawrence

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