In the early morning of October 25, 1983, the United States launched a joint sea and air invasion of the Caribbean island nation of Grenada code-named Operation Fury, the largest U.S. military operation since the Vietnam War. For a time, Grenada, a little-known projectile land, became the center of the world's attention.
The island of Ge is full of civil unrest
Grenada is a beautiful island country in Central America, located in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea, the southernmost tip of the Lesser Antilles, bordering the Caribbean Sea in the west, the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and the eastern gateway of the Caribbean Sea to and from the Atlantic Ocean, and its strategic position is very important. Grenada is made up of the main island of Grenada and its affiliated islands such as Cariacu and Petite Martinique, with a land area of 34 square kilometers and a population of only 110,000.
In 1974 Grenada broke away from British rule and declared its independence. Since then, Grenada has been under the command of Prime Minister Eric M. M · Under Sir Gehry's reign, he always pursued a pro-Western and American policy, which gave rise to the leader of the New Gem Movement, Maurice Lee. Bishop's dissatisfaction. On March 13, 1979, Bishop staged a coup d'état and established a new government. After he came to power, he implemented anti-American policies abroad and, with the assistance of the Soviet Union and Cuba, built a modern "tourist airport" on the island.
Bishop (left) and Castro
In this regard, the United States believes that Grenada has become a "colony" of the Soviet Union and Cuba, as a base for exporting terrorist acts and subverting democracy. A triangular air traffic network consisting of airports in Grenada, Cuba and Nicaragua facilitated Soviet and Cuban combat aircraft. The United States will never allow any fire in the Caribbean, which has always been regarded as a backyard, because it will threaten the smooth flow of U.S. maritime oil transportation lines and the security of the country. To this end, the United States has been looking for opportunities to eliminate hidden dangers. U.S. President Ronald Reagan also repeatedly declared that he would take all necessary actions and measures to teach Grenada a lesson.
Under pressure from the United States, Bishop began to adjust his foreign policy and tried to improve relations with the United States while maintaining close relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba, but this caused fierce opposition from the hardline pro-Soviet faction within the Grenada government. As a result, government army commander Austin and Deputy Prime Minister Corde staged a coup d'état on October 13, 1983, placing Prime Minister Bishop under house arrest and soon executing him in secret. On the 2nd, US Vice President Bush convened a meeting of the National Security Council and decided to take military action against Grenada under the pretext of responding to the "urgent requests" and "protection of American nationals" from countries in the Caribbean region. For a time, a cloud of war hung over Grenada.
Reagan and Bush
<h1>Fury " operation began</h1>
In fact, the United States has already begun to make military preparations for the invasion of Grenada. Ever since Cuba sent engineers to help Grenada build the airport, the United States has continuously monitored the progress of airfield construction and the construction of military facilities through reconnaissance satellites. At the same time, agents were sent to Grenada to collect military intelligence. In March 1981, the U.S. military held a simulated invasion of Grenada in the Caribbean to continuously improve the combat plan. When the Grenada coup d'état occurred, it immediately provided an opportunity for the United States to invade, and also enabled the United States to find an excuse to invade Grenada.
The strategic intention of the United States is: to concentrate superior forces and make a quick decision; Overthrow the coup regime and prop up a new pro-American government; At the same time, it also intimidated the pro-Soviet and pro-Cuban political forces of other Central American countries in order to counter the "infiltration" and "expansion" of the Soviet Union and Cuba in Central America.
To this end, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has formulated a detailed operational plan. According to Weinberg, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his memoirs, the initial battle plan was: The Marines landed in the northeast of the trading port near Pearl Airport, while the commandos would parachute into Sarins Airport in southwest Grenada, and the two forces would meet and quickly move north and west to rescue American students. They then went with special forces to rescue the Governor, occupy the radio station, and release other political prisoners held at Rupat Fortress and Richmond Hill Prison. Later, the United States made further changes to the combat plan according to specific circumstances. At 6 p.m. on the 24th, President Reagan approved a plan for the invasion of Grenada, code-named Operation Fury.
Lt. Gen. Joseph Metcalfe, commander of the 2nd Fleet who took part in operation Fury, was the commander of the battlefield.
The main combat forces invested by the US military are: 15 ships of various types, mainly including 1 aircraft carrier (Independence, displacement of 78,000 tons, 85 aircraft carriers), 1 guided missile cruiser, 1 guided missile destroyer, 2 destroyers, and 5 amphibious ships including the 18,300-ton amphibious attack ship Guam; A total of 230 land-based and carrier-based aircraft and helicopters of various types; The ground forces mainly include 4 battalions (5,000 people) led by 1 brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army, 2 battalions (700 personnel) of the 75th Regiment of Special Forces, and 1 reinforced battalion (1,900 personnel) of the Marine Corps. The above-mentioned troops are all from the US "Rapid Deployment Force".
USS Independence
Amphibious assault ship GUAM
In addition, six countries, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Vincent, Saint Lucia, Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, have sent a 396-member detachment to cooperate with the United States military operation (Caribbean Peace Force), which is essentially two police units.
<h1>Low-altitude skydive to occupy the airport</h1>
At 5:00 a.m. on October 25, the U.S. military flew from the waters near Barbados and Grenada and three domestic waiting points to land on Grenada from the south and north directions. After the US carrier-based aviation troops prepared for the pearl airfield, more than 400 Marines on the amphibious assault ship "Guam" were assigned to multiple 'UH-47 helicopters and quickly pounced on the pearl airfield. They did not encounter much resistance and soon took full control of the area around the airport. The USS Guam then sailed toward the west coast of Grenada to intensify its frontal assault on the capital.
At the same time as the raid on Pearl Airfield, the U.S. military stepped up air support, and the first 2 battalions of paratroopers and armament were transported by 28 C-130 and 6 C-5A transport aircraft to the Salins Airport under construction at the southwestern tip of Grenada. Two battalions of the Army's 75th Rangers also flew over the airfield and began airborne. Just then, fierce ground artillery fire strafed the aircraft. The 1st C-130 transport aircraft quickly completed airdrops, and the next few had to make sharp turns. It did not take long for the C-1 30 transport aircraft to return to the airdrop site again under the cover of the fire of the escort aircraft. These transport aircraft quickly descended from a flight altitude of 2000 meters to 1000 meters, 700 meters, 300 meters ... The paratroopers on the transport plane forcibly parachuted at an altitude of 150 meters. This is like parachuting, but it is more like an airborne landing from a building. They created the lowest altitude for skydiving in U.S. troops since World War II. The paratroopers were occasionally strafed by ground machine guns in the air, and many parachutes were pierced by bullets, but in the end all the paratroopers landed safely at the airport.
After a day of fierce fighting on the 25th, the US army captured Pearl and Sarins, two airfields that were decisive for the war, and basically formed a situation in which the north and south carried out a pincer attack on the grenadian capital.
<h1>Unexpected stubbornness</h1>
When President Reagan gave the order to invade Grenada at 6 p.m. on October 24, he thought he would soon subdue the island defenders. Because the newly formed Grenadian army has a total of only nearly a thousand people, and there is no navy and air force. The hundreds of Cubans on the island are mostly workers and other civilian workers who built the airport. In the eyes of the U.S. military, the battle will not last long .
At 10 a.m. on the 25th, 2 battalions of the US 82nd Airborne Division were parachuted when they were violently counterattacked by Cubans who were ambushed near the airfield. At this time, the US aircraft carrier "Independence" hastily sent A-6 and A-7 attack aircraft and helicopter gunships to assist in the battle, concentrating fire on bombing the Cuban positions. After a day of fierce fighting, although the U.S. army formed a favorable situation of deep assault on Grenada, most of Grenada's territory remained under the control of its defenders. 1 "Cobra" helicopter gunship of the US military was shot down.
"Cobra" helicopter gunship
In view of the much stronger resistance the U.S. military encountered than expected, the United States hastily increased troops and combat materiel from home. By the 26th, the number of U.S. troops on the ground in Grenada had reached 6,000, forming a three-fold advantage over the defenders. Relying on its superiority in strength, the US military adopted the tactic of destroying the Georgian strongholds one by one. Soon, the U.S. army captured Fort Frederick, the seat of the Georgian headquarters. On the 27th, the Marines captured Fort Casburg and The Ridgemont Prison. On the 28th, the U.S. army finally met st. George's and occupied the capital of Grenada.
At this point, the U.S. military completed the control of the key points of The Island, and the main battle of the whole invasion operation ended. The Georgian army collapsed, and scattered armed men retreated to the northern and central mountainous areas to continue their resistance.
U.S. troops guard prisoners of war
Subsequently, the U.S. military reduced some of its troops to pieces and began a wide-ranging ground and air search operation to find the remnants of the Georgian army and hunt down the coup leader. On the 29th, U.S. Marines searched for former Grenada Deputy Prime Minister Corde in the suburb of St. George. On the 30th, the commander of the government army, Austin, was also captured.
On November 2, the U.S. military largely took control of the situation in Grenada, and operation Fury ended.
In this war, the U.S. military withdrew a total of 38 Americans and 71 other nationalities. The U.S. military suffered more than 10 casualties and lost more than 10 gunships. The Georgian army lost more than 40 people, captured 15, and the rest fled. Cuban soldiers suffered 125 casualties and more than 640 prisoners.
<h1>America's embarrassment and embarrassment</h1>
The hegemonic act of the United States in invading the sovereign country grenada by force has been strongly condemned by the peace-loving countries of the world. Even some Western countries, allies of the United States, believe that the United States is too hasty. Many Third World countries have denounced the US invasion of Grenada as a naked act of banditry that uses the strong to bully the weak and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States held an emergency meeting in Washington to demand the rapid evacuation of U.S. troops from Grenada. India, Algeria, Syria, and many other countries have also issued statements condemning the United States. Britain, France, and some European countries have also demanded that the United States stop its aggressive acts.
It should be said that the US Government has succeeded militarily, but it is extremely unpopular politically and morally. At a press conference held at the White House afterwards, although the government spokesman repeatedly defended the actions of the US military, it was still criticized by reporters at home and abroad. An American reporter stood up and loudly asked: "Today the United States believes that Grenada is not pleasing to the eye and can send troops to attack in a big way." What about tomorrow? Will the United States send troops to invade Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, or El Salvador? ”
The spokesman of the US Government was dumbfounded, looking extremely embarrassed and embarrassed.