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John Brown's Reviews > Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
by Mark Bowden
by Mark Bowden
I just finished reading Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. It is the most gripping account of any battle I have ever read.
In 1992 a Somali warlord attacked and killed U.N. peacekeeping forces. As a result, the US put a $25,000 bounty on his head and attempted to arrest and try him for war crimes. On October 3, 1993, by the order of President Bill Clinton, a force of United States Army Rangers and Delta Force operators, the Army's most elite warriors, set out to capture several lieutenants of the warlord's militia in an area of the Somali capital city of Mogadishu that was controlled by the warlord.
The force of about a hundred U.S. soldiers helicoptered in during broad daylight. They roped down to the streets surrounding the target building. It was supposed to take them no more than an hour. They would bag the warlord's lieutenants, put them on a convoy of Army trucks that had barreled into the city and were waiting right around the corner, and get out.
But the citizenry, loyal to the warlord, weren't going to take it lying down. They began to swarm with guns and rocket propelled grenades. They attacked, almost heedless of the danger. One Somali with an AK-47 rode a cow out in a strange charge, a number of other Somali's taking cover behind (yeah, he and the cow died). But the Americans were overconfident of their Black Hawk helicopters. They didn't think the types of weapons the Somalis had could bring them down.
One chopper was hit and crashed. Then another. A third and then a fourth were damaged and barely made it back to safety before they crash landed. As for the Rangers and D-boys, they were in for the fight of their life.
The book tells the story of their courage, but it also brings in the point of view of a number of actual Somalis who fought and were injured. In the process, we get a view of the battle that is both thrilling and poignant.
Bowden did an excellent job researching and writing this. I could not put it down. It does include some military grade profanity, but it wasn't there to titillate or shock. I've talked to those who saw the movie based on this book, and I could tell the book is, per usual, better than the movie. If you're at all interested in the military and the military operations we conduct overseas, let me recommend that you read this book.
In 1992 a Somali warlord attacked and killed U.N. peacekeeping forces. As a result, the US put a $25,000 bounty on his head and attempted to arrest and try him for war crimes. On October 3, 1993, by the order of President Bill Clinton, a force of United States Army Rangers and Delta Force operators, the Army's most elite warriors, set out to capture several lieutenants of the warlord's militia in an area of the Somali capital city of Mogadishu that was controlled by the warlord.
The force of about a hundred U.S. soldiers helicoptered in during broad daylight. They roped down to the streets surrounding the target building. It was supposed to take them no more than an hour. They would bag the warlord's lieutenants, put them on a convoy of Army trucks that had barreled into the city and were waiting right around the corner, and get out.
But the citizenry, loyal to the warlord, weren't going to take it lying down. They began to swarm with guns and rocket propelled grenades. They attacked, almost heedless of the danger. One Somali with an AK-47 rode a cow out in a strange charge, a number of other Somali's taking cover behind (yeah, he and the cow died). But the Americans were overconfident of their Black Hawk helicopters. They didn't think the types of weapons the Somalis had could bring them down.
One chopper was hit and crashed. Then another. A third and then a fourth were damaged and barely made it back to safety before they crash landed. As for the Rangers and D-boys, they were in for the fight of their life.
The book tells the story of their courage, but it also brings in the point of view of a number of actual Somalis who fought and were injured. In the process, we get a view of the battle that is both thrilling and poignant.
Bowden did an excellent job researching and writing this. I could not put it down. It does include some military grade profanity, but it wasn't there to titillate or shock. I've talked to those who saw the movie based on this book, and I could tell the book is, per usual, better than the movie. If you're at all interested in the military and the military operations we conduct overseas, let me recommend that you read this book.
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