Operation Gothic Serpent

Operation Gothic Serpent Part of the Somali Civil War B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in Somalia, 1993. Date 22 August 1993 – 13 October 1993 Location Mogadishu, Somalia, Africa Result Somali National Alliance strategic victory UNOSOM II tactical victory UN withdraw 3 March 1995 US withdraw 25 March 1995 Belligerents United States Malaysia Pakistan Italy Somalia Commanders and leaders Major General William F. Garrison General Mohamed Farrah Aidid Strength 600+ Around 20,000+ Casualties and losses 19 killed 91 wounded 1 captured 1,000+ killed 3,000–4,000 wounded 2 captured

Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing warlord 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, or "The Battle of the Black Sea" to those who fought in it.

Background

In December 1992, President George H.W. Bush ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to join the UN 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 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. The Somali National Alliance had been formed in June 1992. This alliance consisted of warlords across the country, operating under the authority of Aidid, who declared himself President of Somalia. In addition to the alliance, a great number Somali civilians resented the international forces, leading many, including women and children, to take up arms and actively resist U.S. forces during fighting in Mogadishu. On 5 June 1993, one of the deadliest attacks on U.N. forces in Somalia occurred, 24 Pakistani soldiers 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 22 August, Task Force Ranger was deployed to Somalia under the command of Major General William F. Garrison, commander of JSOC at the time. The force consisted of:

• B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
• C Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D)
• A deployment package of 16 helicopters and personnel from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160th SOAR), which included MH-60 Black Hawks and AH/MH-6 Little Birds.
• Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU)
• Air Force Pararescuemen and Combat Controllers from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron.^[1]

General situation

In Mogadishu, the task force occupied an old hangar and construction trailers under primitive conditions. The force lacked on-site 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).

Battle of Mogadishu

Main article: Battle of Mogadishu (1993)

On the afternoon of 3 October 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 (who, contrary to the Black Hawk Down (film), arrived in Somalia at the same time as the rest of the 75th Ranger Regiment) missed the rope while fast-roping from an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, due to a mistake made by the pilot. He then fell 70 feet to the street below, badly injuring himself.

The two Somali militia leaders were quickly arrested. The prisoners and the injured Ranger were loaded on a convoy of ground vehicles. However, armed Somali militia and civilians, some of them women and children, converged on the target area from all over the city. Sergeant Dominick Pilla and a Somali fighter spotted each other and fired at the same time. Pilla and the Somali fighter were both killed. The commanders of the operation were stunned to hear that a soldier had been killed, as they expected no casualties during the operation. During the first hours of the battle, the MH-60 Black Hawk, Super Six One[piloted by Cliff Wolcott], was shot down by a Somali fighter using a rocket-propelled grenade. Both of the pilots were killed, but the crew survived the crash landing.

Later another Black Hawk, Super Six Four, was shot down by RPG fired from the ground. This time no rescue team was immediately available, and the small surviving crew, including one of the pilots, Michael Durant, sat tight. Two Delta snipers (Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon) provided sniper cover from a helicopter, and volunteered repeatedly to try to secure the crash site. They were finally given permission, knowing full well it would probably cost them their lives.

When the Delta team arrived, they attempted to secure the site. One of the Delta operators was killed (Gary Gordon), leaving only Durant and SFC Shughart. Eventually, after holding off the Somalis and killing more than 25 of them, the second Delta operator (Randy Shughart) was killed and Durant remained sitting peacefully, waiting to be killed. The militia, however, were surprised to find him on the other side of the downed chopper and took him hostage after beating him violently.

Meanwhile, the remaining Rangers and Delta Force troops fought their way to the first crash site, where they found the crew. They soon found themselves surrounded by Somali Habr Gidr militia. The Somali commander, Colonel Sharif Hassan Giumale decided to eliminate the troops with mortar fire, and Somali militia prepared to bombard the besieged Americans with 60mm mortars. However, Colonel Giumale called off the mortar strike after information of possible civilian hostages arose. Repeated attempts by the Somalis to overrun American positions were beaten back with heavy small arms fire accompanied by strafing and rocket fire from helicopters. A rescue convoy made up of American, Malaysian, and Pakistani forces was organized. In heavy fighting with the Somalis, the rescue convoy broke through the encirclement and rescued the besieged forces.

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 shot down (as well as one more seriously damaged) and 18 US soldiers were killed along with a Malaysian soldier on the rescue convoy. Estimates of Somali dead are around 1,000 Somali Militiamen killed during the battle. The Delta Force Snipers SFC Randall Shughart and MSG Gary Gordon were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their efforts. The soldiers accomplished their mission of capturing Adid's associates.

6 October mortar attack

Two days after the battle ended, Somali militia launched a mortar strike on a US compound and SFC Matt Rierson (1st SFOD-D), was killed.

US withdrawal

Following the Battle of Mogadishu, President Clinton ordered that additional troops be added to protect U.S. soldiers and aid in withdrawal. All military actions were ceased on 6 October, except in cases of self-defense. Clinton called for a full withdrawal by 31 March 1994. Conforming to this request, most troops were out of the country by 25 March 1994. A few hundred Marines remained off-shore, but were completely removed from the area by March 1995. The UN withdrew as well.^[2]

Results

Secretary of Defense Les Aspin resigned his post late in 1993. He was specifically blamed for denying the US Army permission to have its own armor units in place in Somalia, units which might have been able to break through to the trapped soldiers earlier in the battle. US political leaders felt it would be bad for the peacekeeping image of the mission if tanks were in country.^[2]

Osama bin Laden, who was then in Sudan, cited this operation, in particular US withdrawal, as an example of American weakness and vulnerability to an attack.^[3]

Dramatizations

The battle is portrayed in the book Black Hawk Down, as well as the film of the same name, and the Novalogic video game Delta Force: Black Hawk Down

Notes

1. ^ Bailey, Tracy A (6 October 2008). "Rangers Honor Fallen Brothers of Operation Gothic Serpent". ShadowSpear Special Operations. http://shadowspear.com/special-operations-news/rangers_honor_fallen_brothers_of.html. Retrieved 13 October 2008. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Stewart, Dr. Richard W. (24 February 2006). "The United States Army in Somalia, 1992–1994". United States Army Center of Military History. United States Military. http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/Somalia/Somalia.htm#p24. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
3. ^ Wright, Lawrence (2006). "Pardise Lost". The Looming Tower. New York: Random House. pp. 188–189. ISBN 0-375-41486-X. 

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. 27 February 2000.