Operation Gothic Serpent
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| Operation Gothic Serpent | |||||||||
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| Part of the Somalian Civil War | |||||||||
 Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Somalia, 1993. |
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| Combatants | |||||||||
| United States | Habar Gedir other Mogadishu local militia |
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| Commanders | |||||||||
| Maj. Gen. William F. Garrison | General Mohamed Farrah Aidid | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 300+ | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties | |||||||||
| 19 KIA, 73 WIA | 100-1000 ~ KIA | ||||||||
Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing General Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The operation took place in Somalia, Africa from August to October 1993 and was supervised by the Joint Special Operations Command.
As part of the operation, the soldiers were deployed in a mission to arrest two of Aidid's lieutenants. The result of that mission —executed under the command of Gothic Serpent— became known as the Battle of Mogadishu to most or "The Battle Of The Black Sea" to those who fought it. It is portrayed in Mark Bowden's bestselling book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War and the ensuing film.
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[edit] Background
In December of 1992, President George H. W. Bush ordered the U.S. armed forces to join the United Nations in a joint operation known as Operation Restore Hope with the primary mission of restoring order in Somalia. The country was wracked by civil war and a severe famine as it was ruled by a number of warlords. Over the next several months, the situation deteriorated.
In January of 1993 newly elected President Bill Clinton took office.
In May 1993, all the parties involved in the civil war agreed to a disarmament conference proposed by Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the leading Somali warlord. On June 5, 1993, 24 Pakistani troops in the UN force were killed in an ambush in an area of Mogadishu, controlled by Aidid. Any hope of a peaceful resolution of the conflict quickly vanished. The next day, the United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 837 calling for the arrest and trial of those responsible for the ambush. US warplanes and UN troops began a concentrated attack on Aidid's stronghold. Aidid remained defiant, and the violence between Somalis and UN troops escalated.
On August 22, Task Force Ranger was deployed to Somalia under the command of Maj. General William F. Garrison, commander of JSOC at the time. The force consisted of:
- Company B (Bravo), 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
- 450 operators from the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force)
- a deployment package of 16 helicopters and personnel from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) (Airborne) (Night Stalkers) which included UH-60 Black Hawks and A/MH-6 Little Birds. Their mission was the pursuit of Aidid under the code name Operation Gothic Serpent
- Several Navy SEALs and Air Force Pararescuemen and Combat Controllers.
General Garrison had originally requested 75 Delta Operators, but was thrilled when Washington gave him the whole 450 man unit.
[edit] General information of the operation
In Mogadishu, the task force occupied an old hangar and construction trailers under primitive conditions. The force even lacked potable water and was subject to frequent mortar fire.
During the month of September, the force conducted several successful missions to arrest sympathizers of Aidid and to confiscate arms caches. The aircraft also made frequent flights over the city to desensitize the public to the presence of military aircraft and to familiarize themselves with the narrow streets and alleys of the city (see PSYOPs).
[edit] The Battle of Mogadishu
On the afternoon of October 3, 1993, informed that two leaders of Aidid's clan were at a residence in central Mogadishu, the task force sent 19 aircraft, 12 vehicles, and 160 men to arrest them. During the mission, Private Todd Blackburn missed the rope while fast-roping from an MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and fell 70 feet to the street below, badly injuring himself. The two Somali militia leaders were quickly arrested and the prisoners and the injured Ranger were loaded on a convoy of ground vehicles. However, armed Somalis converged on the target area from all over the city.
The battle turned out to be the most intensive close combat that US troops had engaged in since the Vietnam War. In the end, two MH-60 Black Hawks were destroyed and 19 US soldiers lost their lives. Estimates of Somali dead range from 1000 to 10 000 Somali Militiamen killed during the battle.
NOTE: 18 Americans died in the actual battle; SFC Matt Rierson died two days later after a mortar attack on the US compound.
[edit] References
- Dolan, Ronald E. A History of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Chapter IX: Somalia/Operation Gothic Serpent. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. October 2001.
- Loeb, Vernon. The CIA in Somalia: After-Action Report. Washington: Washington Post Magazine. February 27, 2000.
