Battle of Mogadishu

1. Battle of Mogadishu By: J-Town (J-Money, J-Wil, J-Train, J-Wow, J-Wezzy, J-Williger)

2. Build Up • Jan. 1991 • Somalia pres. Mohammed Siad Barre was overthrown • 2 main factions took control of Mogadishu led by: • Ali Mahdi Muhammad (president) • Mohamed Farrah Aidid • Ceasefire was agreed upon but later in September, heavy fighting broke out in the city for political control.

3. Over 20,000 people were killed • Destroyed Somalia’s agriculture • Caused massive starvation throughout the country, mainly in Mogadishu • Aidid’s clan was too powerful and gained control of the Mog • He would intercept food transports and trade food for weapons • Est. 300,000 civilians died in • the Mog alone

4. Operation Restore Hope • December 1992 • Attempt to bring peace back to the area • 500,000 had already died • Secured over 1/3 of the city, the ports and airport within first 2 weeks • Once secured, operation was to oversee distribution of food to civilians

5. Conference on National Reconciliation of Somalia • March 15, 1993 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia • Meeting was to bring peace and democracy between all 15 political parties in Somalia • However…Mohamed Farrah Aidid was not having it • On June 5th, 1993, in retaliation, Aidid ordered his militia to attack a Pakistani inspection force leaving 24 dead and 61 wounded • June 6th, UN declared war on Aidid and his militia

6. $25,000 bounty placed on Aidid’s head • Many battles and fights broke out while in search of him • August 8th, 1993 Aidid detonated a bomb killing 4 Americans and a week later, set off another bomb injuring 7 more • In response, President Bill Clinton deployed Task Force Ranger

7. Task Force Ranger • Forces arrived August 22, 1993 • 160 elite troops consisting of US Army Rangers and Delta force operators • Commanded by Major General William F. Garrison • Sept 21, Task Force was able to capture Aidid's advisor Osman Ali Atto

8. “Black Hawk Down” • The Plan: • Oct 3, 1993 Task Force Ranger was to capture Aidid’s special personal and political advisers • Delta operators would assault the target building and secure the hostages. • The Ranger Chalks fast roped down at each corner of the building to provide cover for the Delta’s. • Then a column of Humvees and flatbed trucks would come up the main street to evacuate the prisoners and the troops. • The black hawks would provide cover from above. • It was supposed to take no more than 30 minutes

9. Super Six-One • Plan was going smooth until and rpg was fired at Super Six-one • The pilot tilted the chopper so the rpg would miss • Todd Blackburn fell out of the helicopter and hit the ground • This created chaos for the rest of the mission • A few minutes later, an rpg struck Super Six-One causing the chopper to crash • The ground forces moved to the crash site instead of going back to base with the convoy • When doing so, there was miscommunication between the chalks which resulted in scattered troops throughout the city. • Eventually throughout the night, everyone was able to rejoin at the first crash site.

10. Super Six-Four • While providing cover for the first crash site, and rpg hit the tail of the helicopter and this one also crashed. • The problem was, all the ground troops were defending the first crash site and the convoy was on its way back to base to rearm • 2 soldiers volunteered to be the rescue squad: • Sargent First Class Randy Shughart • Master Sargent Gary Gordon • They were told they might not get any help for along time but they understood the circumstances and wanted to do it anyways. • When they arrived, they found pilot Mike Durant alive but with a broken leg and a fractured spine. • They pulled him from chopper and hid him in a room behind the crash site.

11. The 2 men went back to the chopper and fired at the enemy while Durant covered the back. • They were severely outnumbered and eventually ran out of ammo • Both men were killed • Their bodies were brutally abused and drug through the streets • Both men received the Medal of Honor for their actions • Michael Durant was found and taken prisoner • He was released after 11 days of captivity

12. Mogadishu Mile • Finally around 2:30 on the morning of October 4, the convoy arrived with more support at the first crash site where all the ground troops fought the entire night • It took an extra 2 hours to extract the men from the helicopter and the convoy finally left around 5am • However….there was no room left in the convoy due to the wounded and the rest had to run back to base • These men were being shot at and constantly had to stop and fight in the middle of the street • Finally once back to base, the men were greeted with ice cold water that they have been deprived of for almost an entire day

13. Aftermath • 19 US soldiers were killed and another 73 were wounded • Approximately 2-3,000 somalians were killed or wounded • Mohamed Farrah Aidid was never captured • In 1996, Aidid was wounded and later died of a heart attack after surgery • The day after he died, Major General Garrison retired • He took full responsibility for the terrible outcome of the mission

14. http://www.militaryfactory.com/battles/battle_of_mogadishu.asphttp://www.militaryfactory.com/battles/battle_of_mogadishu.asp • http://www.commandposts.com/2012/10/october-3%E2%80%934-1993-the-battle-of-mogadishu%E2%80%94analysis-and-conclusion/