   #copyright

Invasion of Grenada

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Recent History

   Invasion of Grenada
   Part of the Cold War
   U.S. Army Rangers parachute into Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury

     Date   October 25, 1983 - December 15, 1983
   Location Grenada
    Result  Decisive US-led victory
            Marxist regime toppled
   Combatants
   United States
   Antigua and Barbuda
   Barbados
   Dominica
   Jamaica
   Saint Lucia
   St. Vincent Grenada
   Cuba
   Strength
   7,300 Grenada: 1,500 regulars
   Cuba: 600 (mostly engineers)
   Casualties
   19 killed; 116 wounded Grenada: 45 military and at least 24 civilian
   deaths; 358 wounded.
   Cuba: 25 killed, 59 wounded, 638 taken prisoner.

   The Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was an
   invasion of the island nation of Grenada by the United States of
   America and several other nations in response to a coup d'état by
   Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard. From October 25, the United
   States, Barbados, Jamaica and members of the Organization of Eastern
   Caribbean States landed troops on Grenada, defeated Grenadian and Cuban
   resistance and overthrew Coard's government.

Background

   In 1979, a bloodless coup d’état, led by New Jewel Movement leader
   Maurice Bishop, toppled the government of Eric Gairy to establish a
   Marxist-Leninist government that quickly aligned itself with the Soviet
   Union and Cuba. Under Bishop, Grenada began a military build-up, of
   significant proportions for a country that had previously maintained a
   small army. The government also began constructing an international
   airport with the help of Cuba. U.S. President Ronald Reagan pointed to
   this airport and several other sites as evidence of the potential
   threat posed by Grenada towards the United States. The U.S. government
   accused Grenada of constructing facilities to aid a Soviet-Cuban
   military build-up in the Caribbean, and to assist Soviet and Cuban
   transports in transporting weapons to Central American insurgents.
   However, Bishop’s government claimed that the airport was built to
   accommodate commercial aircraft carrying tourists.

   On October 13, 1983, a faction led by Deputy Prime Minister Bernard
   Coard seized power; Coard's forces subsequently executed Bishop in
   spite of mass protests in Bishop’s favour. The Governor-General of
   Grenada, Paul Scoon, was placed under house arrest. The Organisation of
   Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) appealed to the United States,
   Barbados, and Jamaica. According to the prime ministers of Barbados and
   Jamaica, this formal appeal was at the behest of the United States.

   The bloody seizure of power within a Marxist-Leninist state in the
   United States' “backyard”, combined with the presence of nearly 1,000
   American medical students on Grenada, prompted the U.S. government to
   take military action. The U.S. government described the invasion as a
   “noncombatant evacuation operation” for the U.S. students on the
   island.

   In the October 29 issue of the New York Times, Mythu Sivapalan disputed
   one of the U.S. government’s reasons:

          The wording of the formal request, however, was drafted in
          Washington and conveyed to the Caribbean leaders by special
          American emissaries. Both Cuba and Grenada, when they saw that
          American ships were heading for Grenada, sent urgent messages
          promising that American students were safe and urging that an
          invasion not occur. [...] There is no indication that the
          administration made a determined effort to evacuate the
          Americans peacefully. [...] Officials have acknowledged that
          there was no inclination to try to negotiate with the Grenadian
          authorities.

The invasion

   The invasion, which commenced at 05:00 on October 25, was the first
   major operation conducted by the U.S. military since the Vietnam War.
   Fighting continued for several days and the total number of American
   troops reached some 7,000 along with 300 troops from the OECS. The
   invading forces encountered about 1,500 Grenadian soldiers and about
   600 Cubans, most of whom were combat engineers.

   Official U.S. sources state that the defenders were well-prepared,
   well-positioned and put up stubborn resistance, to the extent that the
   U.S. called in two battalions of reinforcements on the evening of
   October 26. However, the total naval and air superiority of the
   invading forces — including helicopter gunships and naval artillery
   support — proved to be significant advantages.

   The U.S. forces had 19 killed and 116 were injured in the fighting.
   Grenada suffered 45 military and at least 24 civilian deaths, along
   with 358 soldiers wounded. Cuba had 25 killed in action, with 59
   wounded and 638 taken prisoner.

   In mid-December, after a new government was appointed by the
   Governor-General, the U.S. forces withdrew.

   Although the U.S. military proved its post-Vietnam ability to quickly
   respond to a crisis and prevail, subsequent analysis by the U.S.
   Department of Defense showed a need for improved communications and
   coordination between the different branches of the Armed Forces. Some
   of these recommendations resulted in the formation of the United States
   Special Operations Command in 1987.

International opposition and criticism

   Grenada was part of the Commonwealth of Nations and — following the
   invasion — it requested help from other Commonwealth members. The
   invasion was opposed by the United Kingdom and Canada, among others.
   British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher personally opposed the U.S.
   invasion, and her Foreign Secretary, Geoffrey Howe, announced to the
   House of Commons on the day before the invasion that he had no
   knowledge of any possible U.S. intervention. Ronald Reagan, President
   of the United States, assured her that an invasion was not
   contemplated. Reagan later said "She was very adamant and continued to
   insist that we cancel our landings on Grenada. I couldn't tell her that
   it had already begun."

   After the invasion, Prime Minister Thatcher wrote to President Reagan:

          This action will be seen as intervention by a Western country in
          the internal affairs of a small independent nation, however
          unattractive its regime. I ask you to consider this in the
          context of our wider East-West relations and of the fact that we
          will be having in the next few days to present to our Parliament
          and people the siting of Cruise missiles in this country...I
          cannot conceal that I am deeply disturbed by your latest
          communication.

   The invasion of Grenada drew criticisms and condemnation from around
   the world.

   In Mexico City, 10,000 students marched on the U.S. embassy. Hundreds
   more stormed the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia. In the Dominican
   Republic, demonstrations broke out that were put down by gun fire. In
   Trinindad, the Oil Refinery Workers Union condemned the invasion, and
   massive protests were held in Havana, Cuba and Managua, Nicaragua.

   In the United States itself, the Congressional Black Caucus condemned
   the invasion, as did 300 AFSCME delegates representing over 115,000
   municipal workers in New York City.

Popular culture

   The invasion is featured in the last half-hour of Heartbreak Ridge,
   Clint Eastwood’s movie about the United States Marine Corps.

   The invasion of Grenada is mentioned in the Adam Sandler movie Anger
   Management, when Adam’s “anger buddy” mentioned his past military
   experience; his “anger buddy” says he was in the Invasion of Grenada,
   and Sandler responds “Didn’t Grenada last for like twelve hours? We
   kicked ass.” It is also mentioned in Die Hard 2: the commanding officer
   of the antagonists reveals that his team of lawbreakers was formed in
   the invasion of Grenada, “lying on a beach all day.” Further, Grenada
   is repeatedly referenced by the journalist Wayne Gale in the movie
   Natural Born Killers.

   In Orson Scott Card's Enchantment, Cousin Marik wonders of the United
   States assault teams would be able to handle a witch from the Middle
   Ages as easily as they handled the "vast armies of Grenada."

   Urgent Fury - A unique, scenario-based tournament based on the SOCOM
   U.S. Navy SEALs franchise for the Playstation 2 video gaming system.

Order of battle

Grenadian and other communist forces

U.S. and allied land forces

U.S. naval forces

   Amphibious Squadron Four

   USS Guam, USS Barnstable County, USS Manitowoc, USS Fort Snelling, USS
   Trenton

   Independence Task Group USS Independence, USS Richmond K. Turner, USS
   Coontz, USS Caron, USS Moosbrugger, USS Clifton Sprague, USS Suribachi

   In addition, the following ships supported naval operations: USS
   Aquila, USS Aubrey Fitch, USS Briscoe, USS Portsmouth, USS Recovery,
   USS Saipan, USS Sampson. USS Samuel Eliot Morison and USS Taurus.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Grenada"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
