Battlefield Somalia: The Battle of Mogadishu
America learns that even when it really does try to help, it is not welcomed.

The Battle for Mogadishu went from a standard kidnapping to an all out fight for the lives of American Special Forces. Most people have the image of American Special Forces men being dragged dead through the streets of the city, half-naked, but the event itself was much more than that. It was an event filled with bad intelligence, bad choices and American heroes fighting for their lives. Operation Restore Hope placed the Special Forces in positions that they were not specifically trained for, most notably crowd control and urban fighting.

The situation began in 1992 during the Bush Administration. Violence in Somalia carried on through the 1980s and 90s. Warlords that have risen to power were at war with one another. As the world responded to feed the starving citizens of the country, the warlords and the cronies they paid were taking the food as they came straight off the boats and trucks. Warlords paid up 'protection money' on these goods and in some cases had the good stolen from themselves by the very same gunmen hired to protect them. As the voices of the world grew louder for a response, President Bush committed troops to the region in an effort to stem the power of the warlords and feed the hungry. As the special forces operatives made their way to the shores of the coastal country under the cover of darkness, they were greeted by camera crews and spotlights of the international reporting agencies. Already, the movements of the special forces operatives were compromised.

As more and more forces and journalists made their way into the volatile country, it became apparent that neither group could make heads or tails out of the politics in Somalia. As more and more talk about the warlords brewed, the attention began to fall on one in particular - General Aidid. After one catastrophic firefight that left 24 Pakistani UN soldiers dead, a resolution was passed by the UN (Resolution 837). It was ordering the arrest of those responsible in the massacre. But in a country like Somalia, where soldiers and civilian look and behave the same way (ie anyone was a suspect), it would be hard to pinpoint the exact people responsible. The general feeling was that this resolution looked to put the leader in capture, more principally General Aidid.

As tension continued to ratchet, several attempts at capturing Aidid failed. Pakistani troops also fired into a crowd of civilians to control them, killing 20 in the process. Somalis then attacked and killed 4 press members. Three Italian UN soldiers lay dead as well. The US continued hunting Aidid but to no avail, laying waste to suspected supply dumps funding his men's arms. Aidid's own command post were hit and destroyed, killing upwards of 70 people in the process. Things were not going well. Trying to find one man in the country was beginning to look like an impossible mission.

Admiral Howe, a UN senior administrator, requested the use of US Special Forces - particularly Delta Force and the Rangers. This group of 400 specialists would be dubbed 'Task Force Ranger' and their sold purpose would be in capturing Aidid.

From the get-go, the intelligence the task force received was poor. On one occasion, they kidnapped a Somali thought to be Aidid, only to have his identity confirmed as someone else, in particular, a big US supporter in the country. Things got worse from there - the detachment arrested and detained 8 members of a special UN envoy embarrassing themselves further. Finally, on September 23, a US helicopter was shot down by enemy forces, killing three on board. The $25,000US bounty put on Aidid's head was not even enough for the locals or supporters to turn him in.

The Somalis gained several advantages during this period. They were fighting on their own home court. Their other advantage lay in that they could muster an army of several thousands at any time at any location with out the Americans being able to ID them in any way (soldiers looked like civilian Somalis). The final advantage lay in the ability of the Somalis to understand the strategies of the American Forces and how they dispatched air support (in the form of helicopters), Rangers to cordon the external areas, and Delta Force to be sent into buildings. This period allowed the Somalis to plan ahead and correctly guess at the American response to the given situation.

American ground forces were generally lightly armed. Delta force used a variety of assault rifles whilst the Rangers could count on the support of squad support weapons like M60's and 248 SAW's. Vehicle-mounted .50 caliber weapons might also be available on Hummer jeeps. But the main support lay in the provided air cover from UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and OH-6 Little Birds. The Blackhawks were fitted with a pair of .50 caliber machine guns whilst the Little Birds could be armed with mini-guns, rocket pods and M60 machine guns. The danger lay in what would happen if this support were taken away from the Americans…

Another factor working against American Special Forces was that the Somalis were experienced in fighting through their tight cavernous streets. There were few wide-open roads and intersections. Most of Mogadishu was built with winding alleys and roads blocked by debris. American forces were use to the wide-open streets and alleyways of their hometowns and training grounds. Add that to the fact that Mogadishu itself was awash with weapons (that could arm men, women AND children) coming in and out of the city and you have yourself a recipe for disaster.

On October 3, 1993, US intelligence learned of a secret meeting to take place in a two-floor building. It was suggested and confirmed that Aidid himself would be there. This proposed a tremendous opportunity for the American forces to advance and seize Aidid in that location utilizing the talents of Task Force Ranger.

The attack would utilize Rangers, Delta Force, AH-1 Cobra helicopters, OH-6 Defender (Little Bird) helicopters and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. Another batch of troops would be traveling by convoy through the streets in armed HUMVEEs and trucks. Air command would be controlled by a Delta Force official in another circling Blackhawk. A United States Navy P-3C Orion would provide surveillance overhead.

As the meeting house with 90 people plus Aidid was confirmed one last time by Somali insiders and US recon forces, the attack ensued. AH-1 Cobra helicopters unleashed a salvo of TOW anti-tank missiles into the building. About 120 Delta Force and Ranger special forces members roped down from the hovering Blackhawk transports and made their way towards the building. The street was alive with panicked people running for safety. As quickly as they were filled with people in terror, just as quickly it became a ghost town.

Delta Force was given the mission to go inside and capture Aidid and anyone else of importance. The Rangers would cover the outside of the building and form a protective security cordon around the building. Whilst some Somalians escaped after the explosions, US troops were able to capture 24 prisoners - none of which were General Aidid. In fact, Aidid was not even present at the meeting let alone in the building. Intelligence failed the Americans again.

As soon as the explosion occurred, the Somali militia rounded up Aidid supporters and American haters. In minutes, hundred of soldiers were marching down on the American position. Acting on what they had learned about American tactics, a Somali militiamen fired an RPG-7 rocket at one of the hovering UH-60 Blackhawks (1 of 3 in the air). The rocket struck the tail rotor and sent the aircraft spinning to the ground into one of the houses. It then rolled over into an adjacent alleyway and came to rest. As the other Blackhawk came to the scene, it began unloading soldiers down the ropes. As it was hovering, it too came under fire and was struck by another RPG-7. This particular Blackhawk was damaged but still able to fly back to the safety of an American base.

As the ground convoy began making its way to the scene, they too came under small arms and rocket fire. The US troops responded with rifle, light machine gun and heavy machine gun fire. Casualties began to mount as troops sitting atop at the .50 caliber mounts on the HUMVEEs were hit. The bullet proof glass and armor began to give away from the close combat. Each turn also yield a wrong turn for the Americans forcing them to turn the convoy around. This meant that as the convoy. Eventually, the convoy reached the building where the prisoners were being held. The prisoners were loaded into the waiting trucks under the fire of the Somali militiamen, this on top of the wound Delta and Ranger soldiers.

In cramped conditions, the convoy began making its way out of the city with several soldiers on foot as there was no more room to carry them. Orders came in to the convoy head to make their way to the downed Blackhawk, three blocks away. Minutes later, a second call came in that another Blackhawk had gone down at another crash site. The convoy was ordered to the second site after rescuing any members of the first site.

The US foot soldiers began making their way towards the first crash site whilst the convoy began making ground.

Communications between the Ranger and Delta Force members also became strained, adding to the confusion. Firefights in the streets and alleyways broke out, keeping the US troops in defensive positions. The foot soldiers eventually reached the downed soldiers and pilots and added to the defense.

The vehicle convoy, still trying to make it just 3 blocks away, took several long turns into dead ends or streets blocked off with debris. After sustaining multiple casualties and coming under constant guerilla fire, the convoy commander decided to bring the convoy back to HQ to save what he could - including the prisoners for interrogation.

At that time, a second convoy of HUMVEEs and 5-ton trucks was dispatched from the American base along the coast, hoping to be able to reach the second down chopper in time (before the Somalis could).As the second convoy made their way into the city, it too came under heavy fire and was forced down several wrong turns eventually meeting up with the first convoy. The two convoys merged forces and decided it was safest to head back to HQ and regroup, effectively leaving the down crewman, soldiers and foot soldiers to defend for themselves until they either got out of the city or made their way back to the American HQ.

As night approached, roughly 90 American soldiers had made their defense near the site of the first crash. Little Bird gunships provided air support with miniguns as the hundreds, now thousands of militiamen closed in all around them. The survivors too were keeping the militiamen at bay while retrieving medical supplies and ammunition from American airdrops. With wounded men, limited ammunition and a growing enemy presence, the situation for the survivors was getting bleak.

The UN Quick Reaction Force (QRF) sprung into action to save the troops. The force consisted of roughly 300 soldiers and specialists from the US 10th Mountain Division with some remaining Delta Force and Rangers accompanying them. Pakistani UN forces also provided support through tanks and Malaysia Un forces supplied armored personnel carriers.

This new convoy eventually made their way back into the city, encountering enemy fire and roadblocks once again. A section of the convoy reached the first crash site and rescued the wounded and recovered the dead. Reorganized, they began to make their way to the second crash site.

The sectioned convoy finally made their way out of the city and to the temporary reprieve of a football stadium-turned-hospital. Soldiers were driving or running the mile or so to the stadium for cover. In all, the United States suffered 73 wounded members , 18 dead, and one helicopter pilot taken prisoner (later released). The Somali militiamen and civilians suffered over 500 dead and another 1,000 wounded. Sadly many of them were women and children, as even they were either caught in the crossfire, or took up arms themselves against the Americans. In short, the Americans could not discern who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. The kidnapping mission, as part of the peacekeeping, turned into a nightmare mission of rescue and survival. It was a disaster for America and her special forces, as bodies of her dead were shown on international TVs being dragged through the streets. The 'paper tiger' theory of America cutting and running after losses was born in the minds of America's enemies - first in Vietnam, and now in Somalia. Shortly thereafter, the American forces withdrew from that part of the world, leaving the country to turmoil for the UN and local warlords.