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'{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2011}} {{Refimprove|date=April 2010}} {{Infobox military conflict |conflict=Operation Gothic Serpent |partof=the [[Somali Civil War]] |image=[[File:75th Ranger Regiment Bravo Company 3rd Batallion Somalia 1993.jpg]] |caption=B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in Somalia, 1993. |date=22 August 1993 – 13 October 1993 |place=[[Mogadishu, Somalia|Mogadishu]], Somalia, Africa |casus=[[Operation Restore Hope]]<br />[[United Nations Security Council Resolution 837]]<br />Ambush of Pakistani troops on 5 June 1993. |territory= |result=[[Somali National Alliance]] [[strategic victory]]<br />[[United Nations Operation in Somalia II|UNOSOM II]] [[tactical victory]] * U.N. withdrawal on 3 March 1995 * U.S. withdrawal on 25 March 1995 |combatant1={{flagicon|United States}} [[United States]]<br /> {{flagicon|Malaysia}} [[Malaysia]]<br /> {{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Pakistan]]<br /> {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Italy]]<br /> {{flagicon|South Korea}} [[South Korea]] |combatant2=|combatant2={{flagicon|Somalia}} [[Somalia]] |combatant3= |commander1=[[William F. Garrison]] |commander2=[[Mohamed Farrah Aidid]] |commander3= |strength1=600+ |strength2=Around 20,000+ |strength3= |casualties1=19 killed<br />91 wounded<br />1 captured |casualties2=1,000+ killed<br />3,000–4,000 wounded<br />2 captured |casualties3= |notes= |campaignbox={{Campaignbox Somali Civil War}} }} '''Operation Gothic Serpent''' was a [[military operation]] conducted by [[United States special operations forces]] with the primary mission of capturing [[warlord]] [[Mohamed Farrah Aidid]]. The operation occurred in [[Somalia]] from August to October 1993 and was supervised by the [[Joint Special Operations Command]] (JSOC). As part of the operation, the soldiers were deployed in a [[Military operation|mission]] to arrest two of Aidid's lieutenants. That mission's result – executed under the command of Gothic Serpent – became known as the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]], or "The Battle of the Black Sea" to those who fought in it. ==Background== In December 1992, U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]] ordered the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] to join the U.N. in a joint operation known as [[Unified Task Force|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 [[warlord]]s. Over the next several months, the situation deteriorated. In January 1993, Bush's successor, [[Bill Clinton]], took office. In May 1993, all the parties involved in the civil war agreed to a disarmament conference proposed by the leading Somali warlord, [[Mohamed Farrah Aidid]]. The [[Somali National Alliance]] had been formed in June 1992. This alliance consisted of warlords across the country, operating under Aidid's authority, Aidid having declared himself Somalia's president. A great number of Somali civilians also 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 when 24 [[Pakistan]]i soldiers were ambushed and killed in an Aidid-controlled area of [[Mogadishu]]. Any hope of a peaceful resolution of the conflict quickly vanished. The next day, the [[United Nations Security Council|U.N.'s Security Council]] issued [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 837|Resolution 837]], calling for the arrest and trial of the ambush's perpetrators. U.S. warplanes and U.N. troops began an attack on Aidid's stronghold. Aidid remained defiant, and the violence between Somalis and U.N. forces escalated. ==Task Force Ranger== On 8 August 1993, Aidid's militia detonated a remote controlled bomb against a U.S. military vehicle, killing four soldiers. Two weeks later, another bomb injured seven more.<ref name=bowden34>{{cite book|last=Bowden | first=Mark | title=Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War | location=New York |publisher=Signet | year=1999 | page=114|isbn=080214473X}}</ref> In response, President Clinton approved the proposal to deploy a special task force, composed of 400 [[75th Ranger Regiment (United States)|U.S. Army Rangers]] and [[Delta Force]] commandos.<ref>Brune, Lester H. (1999) ''The United States and Post-Cold War Interventions'', Regina Books, ISBN 0941690903 p. 31</ref> This unit, named [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Task Force Ranger]], consisted of 160 elite U.S. troops. They flew to Mogadishu and began a manhunt for Aidid. On August 22, the force was deployed to Somalia under the command of [[William F. Garrison|Major General William F. Garrison]], JSOC's commander at the time. The force consisted of: * B Company, [[3rd Ranger Battalion (United States)|3rd Battalion]], [[75th Ranger Regiment (United States)|75th Ranger Regiment]] * C Squadron, [[Delta Force|1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta]] (1st SFOD-D) * A deployment package of 16 helicopters and personnel from the [[160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)|160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment]] (160th SOAR), which included [[Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk|MH-60 Black Hawks]] and [[MD Helicopters MH-6 Little Bird|AH/MH-6 Little Birds]]. * [[United States Navy SEALs|Navy SEALs]] from the [[United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group|Naval Special Warfare Development Group]] (DEVGRU) * [[United States Air Force Pararescue|Air Force Pararescuemen]] and [[United States Air Force Combat Control Team|Combat Controllers]] from the [[24th Special Tactics Squadron]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shadowspear.com/special-operations-news/rangers_honor_fallen_brothers_of.html |first=Tracy A |last=Bailey |title=Rangers Honor Fallen Brothers of Operation Gothic Serpent |publisher=ShadowSpear Special Operations |date=6 October 2008 |accessdate=13 October 2008}}</ref> ==General situation== In Mogadishu, the task force occupied an old [[hangar]] and construction [[Trailer (vehicle)|trailers]] under primitive conditions. The force lacked on-site [[potable water]] and was subject to frequent [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] fire. During September, the force conducted several successful missions to arrest Aidid's sympathizers 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 city's narrow streets and alleys (see [[Psychological warfare|PSYOP]]s). On September 21, the force captured Aidid's financier, [[Osman Ali Atto]], when a Delta team intercepted a vehicle convoy transporting him out of the city. ==Battle of Mogadishu== {{Main|Battle of Mogadishu (1993)}} [[File:Black Hawk Down Rangers under fire October 3, 1993.jpg|thumb|right|Task Force Ranger under fire in Somalia – October 3, 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)|film adaptation of the events]], arrived in Somalia at the same time as the rest of the 75th Ranger Regiment) missed the rope while [[fast-roping]] from an [[Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk|MH-60 Black Hawk]] helicopter, due to an error made by the pilot. He fell 70 feet to the street below, badly injuring himself. The two Somali leaders were quickly arrested. The prisoners and Blackburn were loaded on a convoy of ground vehicles. However, armed militiamen and civilians, some of them women and children, converged on the target area from all over the city. Sergeant Dominick Pilla and a Somali combatant spotted each other and fired at the same time. Both were killed. The operation's commanders were stunned to hear that a soldier had been killed, as they expected no casualties during the operation. During the battle's first hours, the MH-60 Black Hawk, ''Super Six One'', piloted by Cliff Wolcott, was shot down by a Somali combatant using a [[rocket-propelled grenade]] (RPG). Both of the pilots were killed, but the crew survived the crash landing. Later, another Black Hawk, ''Super Six Four'', was shot down by an RPG fired from the ground. No rescue team was immediately available, and the small surviving crew, including one of the pilots, [[Michael Durant]], couldn't move. Two Delta snipers — Master Sergeant [[Gary Gordon]] and Sergeant First Class [[Randy Shughart]] provided cover from a helicopter, and repeatedly volunteered to secure the crash site. On their fourth try, they were given permission, both men fully aware that it would probably cost them their lives. When they arrived, they attempted to secure the site. Gordon was killed, leaving only Durant and Shughart. Eventually, after holding off and killing more than 25 Somalis, Shughart was killed and the mob took Durant hostage after beating him violently. Meanwhile, the remaining Rangers and Delta operators fought their way to the first crash site, where they found the crew. They soon found themselves surrounded by Somali [[Habar Gidir|Habr Gidr]] militia. The Somali commander, Colonel Sharif Hassan Giumale, decided to kill the U.S. 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 U.S. positions were beaten back with heavy small arms fire accompanied by strafing and rocket fire from helicopters. A rescue convoy was organized, made up of the U.S. Army's [[10th Mountain Division (United States)|10th Mountain Division]] and Malaysian and Pakistani forces. In heavy combat 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 quarters combat|close combat]] that U.S. troops had engaged in since the [[Vietnam War]]. In the end, two [[Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk|MH-60 Black Hawk]]s were shot down, another was seriously damaged, and 18 U.S. troops and a Malaysian soldier on the rescue convoy were killed. Estimates of Somali fatalities are around 1,000 militiamen killed during the battle. The Delta snipers, [[Gary Gordon]] and [[Randall Shughart]], were posthumously awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for their efforts. The mission's objective of capturing Aidid's associates was accomplished. ==October 6 mortar attack== Two days after the battle's end, Somali militiamen launched a mortar strike on a U.S. compound and Delta operator Sergeant First Class Matt Rierson was killed. ==U.S. withdrawal== Following the battle, President Clinton ordered that additional troops be added to protect U.S. soldiers and aid in withdrawal. All military actions were ceased on October 6, 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 U.S. Marines remained offshore, but were completely removed from the area by March 1995. The U.N. withdrew as well.<ref name="history">{{cite web|url=http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/Somalia/Somalia.htm#p24|title=The United States Army in Somalia, 1992–1994 |last=Stewart|first=Dr. Richard W. |date=24 February 2006 |work=[[United States Army Center of Military History]] |publisher=United States Military|accessdate=4 December 2009}}</ref> ==Results== U.S. Secretary of Defense [[Les Aspin]] resigned his post late in 1993. He was specifically blamed for denying the U.S. 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. U.S. political leaders felt it would be bad for the mission's peacekeeping image if tanks were in country.<ref name="history"/> [[Osama bin Laden]], who was living in [[Sudan]] at the time, cited this operation, in particular U.S. withdrawal, as an example of American weakness and vulnerability to an attack, which may have inspired him to plan [[September 11 attacks|the attacks on the U.S. on 11 September 2001]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Lawrence|title=The Looming Tower|publisher=Random House|location=New York|year=2006|pages=188–189|chapter=Pardise Lost|isbn=0-375-41486-X}}</ref> ==Dramatizations== The battle is portrayed in the book ''[[Black Hawk Down (book)|Black Hawk Down]]'', the [[Black Hawk Down (film)|film of the same name]], the [[NovaLogic]] video game ''[[Delta Force: Black Hawk Down]]'', the [[board wargame]] ''[[Mark H. Walker|Lock ‘n Load: A Day of Heroes]]'', and in [[Howard E. Wasdin]]'s autobiography, ''SEAL Team Six''. ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==References== {{refbegin}} * Dolan, Ronald E. ''A History of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)'', [http://helpingsoar.com/history160.htm Chapter IX: Somalia/Operation Gothic Serpent]. Washington, DC: ''Federal Research Division, [[Library of Congress]]''. October 2001. * [[Vernon Loeb|Loeb, Vernon]]. [http://www.somaliawatch.org/archivejuly/000927601.htm The CIA in Somalia: After-Action Report]. Washington: ''[[Washington Post Magazine]]''. 27 February 2000. * Chun, Clayton K.S., ''Gothic Serpent: Black Hawk Down, Mogadishu 1993''. Osprey Raid Series #31. [[Osprey Publishing]] (2012). ISBN 9781849085847 {{refend}} {{coord missing|Somalia}} [[Category:Operations involving American special forces]] [[Category:Wars involving Somalia]] [[Category:Conflicts in 1993]] [[Category:Presidency of Bill Clinton]] [[Category:20th-century military history of the United States]] [[Category:United States Army Rangers]] [[Category:Urban warfare]] [[Category:1993 in Somalia]] [[Category:Somali Civil War]] [[Category:History of Mogadishu]] [[Category:Battle of Mogadishu (1993)]] [[cs:Operace Gothic Serpent]] [[no:Operasjon Gotisk Slange]]'