On 25 October 1983, the US launched Operation Urgent Fury with the objective of overthrowing the People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG) of the Caribbean island of Grenada. Earlier that month, Prime Minister Maurice Bishop had been killed by members of the People’s Revolutionary Army (PRA) in a coup instigated by Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard. The PRG had been in power since 1979 and had military support from Cuba, the Soviet Union, East Germany, North Korea and Syria.
The Navy SEALs were mobilised to provide reconnaissance ahead of the invasion and take part in raids on the island itself in conjunction with conventional land forces. However, the SEALs experience on the island would be fraught with problems. SEAL Team 6 attempted to get ashore on the southern tip of the island at Port Salines on the night of the 23rd. After a parachute jump directly into the sea from an MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft, the heavily laden SEALs soon got into trouble upon hitting the water and four men were lost. Other SEALs made it into their assault boats and linked up with USS Clifton Sprague; they tried again to go ashore the following night but were spotted by Grenadian patrols and abandoned their mission. The airborne troops they had meant to assist in capturing the airfield at the port did so with no prior reconnaissance being made.
Denne historien er fra Issue 119-utgaven av History of War.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Issue 119-utgaven av History of War.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
COUPS & CHAOS
How the French armed forces lost the war in Algeria and almost destroyed French democracy in the process
BATTLE OF ALGIERS
When the Front de libération nationale FLN) took its war to the streets of the capital, France’s military responded with merciless wrath
THE RISE OF ALGERIAN RESISTANCE
How the anti-colonialist struggle around the globe helped inspire Algeria’s liberation movement to organise and fight back
ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
A century of French occupation led to a genocide in Algeria that provoked one of the bloodiest showdowns of the modern age
DWIGHT W BIRDWELL
In the opening hours of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, this Specialist Five led his armoured cavalry detachment in repulsing a fierce communist assault against Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon
THE FIVE STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP
Phillips O’Brien discusses how this quintet of national leaders impacted the course of the Second World War
Great Battles FLODDEN
On the morning of 9 September 1513, King James lV of Scotland stood atop Flodden Hill with what seemed an insurmountable advantage over the English. Yet by the day's end he would lay slain and his army shattered
FERDINAND 'THE BLOODY'
Known for his brutal martial punishment and execution of his own men, Ferdinand Schérner’s ruthlessness was matched only by his devotion to Nazi ideology
AIRBORNE UNDER SIEGE ARNHEM
For nine days the heroic 1st Airborne fought desperately, waiting vainly for relief that never came
SCANDINAVIA UNDER ATTACK
Hitler’s forces smash through Denmark and Norway ina grim foretaste of the terrible fate awaiting the rest of Western Europe
