Sofia Rotaru anniversary. Sofia Rotaru: “If the President of Russia gave me a Russian passport, I would not refuse

Americans are by far the most militant nation on Earth since the fall of fascism. Throughout its history, the United States of America has constantly taken part in wars, interventions and punitive operations. By the end of the twentieth century, the United States had used military force abroad more than two hundred times! Many of these conflicts were direct aggression against independent states or territories.

Naturally, not all of them were successful. And some are simply failures. We will remember three of them today.

Operation Bay of Pigs

In 1960, US President Dwight Eisenhower approved the military operation to overthrow the Cuban authorities led by Fidel Castro. To this end, the CIA organized training for Cuban exiles who opposed the new government and supplied them with weapons and ammunition. Thus, “Brigade 2506” was formed, which was destined to play a central role in the operation. Around midnight on April 17, the landing of participants in the Bay of Pigs operation began.

Let's remember in more detail how it all happened and how it ended...

On January 1, 1959, revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba. The victory of the Cuban socialists could not help but alarm Washington, American commercial and industrial corporations and, of course, the American mafia, which lost its real estate in Cuba and lost colossal income. In addition, in a short period of time, all the former political and business elite, who enjoyed the patronage of the former dictator Fulgencio Batista, immigrated from Cuba. As a result, many Cubans settled in American Miami: students, members of the intelligentsia, bandits - a real small Cuba was formed in Florida, living according to the usual capitalist laws, a kind of Cuban abroad.

Counting on the support of Cuban emigrants, the American leadership decided to overthrow Castro by military means. To solve this problem, the US command developed Operation Pluto, which provided for a sudden landing of troops on south coast Cuba in April 1961. At the same time, it was assumed in advance that the Cuban counter-revolutionaries would announce the creation of a provisional government on the island, which would ask for help from the United States. The American landing was supposed to take place immediately after the interim government of Cuba applied for help. In addition, to confirm the justice of the invasion, the Americans planned to take advantage of the support of the countries of the Organization of American States (OAS), a purely pro-American international organization. The OAS had to provide its military contingent, which could number up to 15,000 people. To prepare for the operation, several groups of CIA saboteurs and provocateurs were sent to Cuba, preparing a series of sabotage acts on the island designed to destabilize the situation in the country on the eve and directly on the day of the American invasion.

It was planned to prepare the amphibious landing operation by bombing the three largest military airfields in Cuba, where all military aviation of the Cuban revolution was concentrated. Eight bombers were prepared for the bombing, and the strike was planned for April 15.

The amphibious landing was planned to take place in the Bay of Cochinos (translated into Russian as the Bay of Pigs). The landing site was not chosen by chance: a significant part of the bay coast can be used as an airfield, and landing on a flat sand beach, which is the Gulf coast, given the complete absence of anti-landing defense, seemed to the Americans an easy and pleasant adventure. In addition, the area has excellent defensive capabilities: a huge swamp begins a few kilometers from the sea. The coast of the bay was connected with the rest of the island by only one road. These circumstances, of course, were considered by the Americans to be conducive to their consolidation on the island, as well as the accumulation of troops for further advance deeper into Cuba.

The landing date was set for the night of April 17th. It would be naive to believe that the impending American landing was a surprise to the Cubans. It is reasonable to assume that not last role Soviet intelligence also played a role in this. However, this is a topic for another conversation, as well as a topic for a separate discussion for military historians.

On April 14, 1961, a U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance aircraft took photographs of all of Cuba. According to the data received, up to 15 aircraft were stationed at Cuban airfields. The next day, according to the planned plan, 8 American B-26 bombers bombed the airfields of Campo Colombia, San Antonio le Los Banos and Santiago de Cuba. As a result of the blows, most of aircraft of the revolutionary air force were declared destroyed. However, the Cubans, who knew about the impending aggression in advance, replaced the combat aircraft with dummies. Therefore, out of 24 aircraft that the Cubans had, only 2 aircraft were lost.

The US bomber raid, among other things, had very specific political consequences, bringing only one harm to the Americans. On April 16, a mourning ceremony was held in Cuba for the seven Cubans killed as a result of the American bombing, at which Fidel Castro gave a fiery speech and Once again confirmed that Cuba is choosing the socialist path of development. American bombing and sabotage only united the Cubans, finally defining the image of the enemy.

The ships of the interventionist flotilla, which set out in the direction of Liberty Island, carried about 2.5 thousand tons of weapons and ammunition. At 1:15 a.m., an encrypted radio message was transmitted to the Cuban counter-revolutionaries and CIA agents that the invasion had begun and the time had come for active action to organize large-scale sabotage. However, Cuban counterintelligence managed to nip in the bud all attempts to destabilize the situation in the country, and thus, American plans to create at least a semblance of a provisional government in Cuba were doomed to failure.

At dawn on April 17, the landing of the first echelon of troops began. A parachute landing was dropped on the road connecting the coast of the bay with the rest of the island. The battle has begun. Cuban border guards and militia fighters numbering about 100 people delayed the advance of the enemy, who had almost a tenfold superiority over the defenders.

With the beginning of the intervention in Cuba, a general mobilization was organized. But the Cubans, who learned that the revolution was under threat, did not need special invitations. There were so many volunteers that there simply weren’t enough weapons for them, distribution points for which were organized right on the streets.

The offensive of the interventionists began in three directions simultaneously: three battalions went to Playa Giron, one to Playa Larga, and a battalion of paratroopers moved to San Blas. To capture the airfield in the Playa Giron area and prepare it to receive their aircraft, separate units were allocated.

To stop the advance of the invaders deep into the country, the main command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba decided to use aviation to disrupt the landing of troops on the coast, as well as the subsequent blocking and defeat of the landing forces from sea and land. To solve this problem, the high command allocated 7 infantry battalions, 20 T-34 tanks and 10 self-propelled guns-100, as well as 14 mortar and artillery batteries.

The Cuban command only had to transfer these very impressive forces to the battlefield. The positions of the interventionists were hit by thirty-fours and self-propelled guns-100s. The lead thirty-four was commanded by Fidel himself, the fact of whose presence on the battlefield gave the young Cuban tank crews unprecedented enthusiasm.

By April 18, the initiative completely passed into the hands of the Cuban revolutionary troops, and during the general offensive that began, the Cubans sank four enemy ships, shot down five planes, pushing the invaders to the very coast of the bay, almost throwing them into the sea. Thus, by the evening of April 18, 1961, the operation to overthrow Castro, prepared by the CIA, was a complete failure.

Against the backdrop of the obvious failure of the landing operation, Kennedy gave the order to use aircraft. However, due to a ridiculous mistake related to confusion in time zones, the bombers missed the fighters and did not dare to attack.

On the morning of April 19, the Cuban revolutionary troops, after conducting half an hour of artillery preparation, finally broke the enemy's resistance. The interventionists tore off their uniforms and fled. The losses of the "gusanos" - mercenary interventionists - amounted to 82 people. 1197 people surrendered. The revolutionary forces lost 156 people killed and about 800 wounded.

The prisoners were ransomed by American President Kennedy for $62 million.

Position played an important role Soviet Union, who sent a note of protest to the Americans in connection with the action they had inspired. In this regard, the United States did not dare to escalate the invasion by attracting its own armed forces. The result of the operation was the complete failure of the CIA's plans, associated with an overestimation of the degree of dissatisfaction with the Castro regime in Cuba - a major counter-revolutionary uprising on the island itself, which the organizers of the landing had hoped for, never happened.

Later, a museum of the operation was opened in Playa Giron, at the entrance of which one of the Cuban Air Force aircraft (Sea Fury) that participated in the operation is installed. Along the entire road along which Cuban troops marched to Playa Giron, memorial obelisks were erected at the places where soldiers died during the bombing. The victory is celebrated annually on April 19; to commemorate it, Air Force and Air Defense Day is established on April 17, and Tankman Day is established on April 18. In July 1961, the Council of Ministers of the country established the Order of Playa Giron, one of the highest state awards in Cuba.

Later, Fidel Castro appreciated the role of the Battle of Playa Giron in the history of the Cuban people: “The Battle of Playa Giron did not allow the history of Cuba to turn back to earlier times, and saved the revolution.” In July 1961, the Cuban Council of Ministers established the Order of Playa Giron as one of the highest state awards.

The first intervention prepared by the United States in Latin America was a complete failure. Cuba managed to defend its right to freedom and independence. However, the American leadership was preparing revenge, and in November 1961 developed a plan new operation on regime change in Cuba under code name"Mongoose", which was supposed to begin on October 8-12, 1962. To prevent a new invasion of Cuba, the USSR secretly deployed medium-range missiles with nuclear warheads on board in Cuba. As a result, it broke out Caribbean crisis– the greatest military-political confrontation of the 20th century.

Operation Eagle Claw

The Americans have a special forces unit called Delta. In the USA, Delta is widely known for Hollywood films, as "The brainchild of Attacking Charlie." In “related” (here the thesis of “competing” does not reflect reality) specialized organizations around the world, the Delta people became famous as “Special Forces that did not know victories.” In general, it was like this.

When the Americans decided to create their own special forces, Charles Beckwith, a highly decorated “Green Beret” who enjoys the reputation of being “not a little frostbitten,” was given the job of doing this vital task. To master the basics of his profession, he was sent to England to the 22nd SAS Regiment. The Sasovites, quite rightly by the way, are considered tough guys in the world and have many successful operations to their credit. Apparently, Charlie studied poorly, because he was infinitely cool. It is not known what happened there, but after some time, the brothers in the camp sent the attacking Charlie back. Supplying a beautiful diploma. In his homeland, he selected a team for himself and began harsh training, punctuated by equally harsh choral screams. And finally, ta-ta-ta-da!!! (fanfare begins) On November 21, 1977, Delta Force entered service.

Colonel Charles Alvin Beckwith

The guys were simply eager to fight, and in November 1979 such an opportunity presented itself to them. On November 4, outraged students at the University of Tehran broke into the American embassy and took 53 American diplomats hostage. The invaders' demand was the return of the former Iranian Shah, who had fled the country, to his historical homeland. And the treasures stolen from the nation as a makeweight (well, so as not to demand twice).

Jimmy Carter and his advisers could not adequately perceive Iran because Iran was now ruled by inadequate people. Carter and Brzezinski briefly toyed with the idea of ​​retaliatory seizure of Iranian hostages on US soil, but quickly abandoned it. The Americans were afraid that the unpredictable ayatollahs would start shooting the hostages. No one knew what to do with the Iranian hostages in this case. Brzezinski commented grimly: “They could always fall out of the helicopter into the Red Sea on the way home.”

Having had enough of the Iranian diplomatic ghouls, President Jimmy Carter remembered that he had, as he was informed, the Best Special Forces in the World at his disposal and gave Attack Charlie a combat order. Essentially idiotic, but still... Our hero was given complete carte blanche. “The flywheel of the operation is spinning up,” sounds like the music of the Imperial Stormtroopers from Star Wars...

Mission commander General James Vought and Delta Force founder Colonel Beckwith:

The plan for the release of the hostages was as follows: two Delta squadrons and a company of Rangers on three C-130 Hercules aircraft with attached refueling aircraft were to land at the Desert-1 point, which was located approximately 370 km southeast of Tehran . Eight RH-53D Sea Stellion helicopters, which were based on the Nimitz aircraft carrier located in the Persian Gulf, were also supposed to fly there. The difference between airplane and helicopter landings was supposed to be 30 minutes. After landing the Delta and refueling the helicopters, the Hercules planes were supposed to return to the departure airfield, and the helicopters were to deliver the Delta fighters to a pre-planned shelter near Tehran, which was two hours away by flight, and then fly to another point, 90 km from the Delta shelter, and remain there under camouflage nets throughout the next day.

Scheme of Operation Eagle Claw: On the evening of April 25, CIA operatives, who had been dispatched to Iran in advance, had to deliver the Delta to the US Embassy in six trucks. Closer to midnight, the group was supposed to storm the embassy building: get to the windows along the outer walls, get inside, eliminate the guards and free the hostages. Then it was planned to call helicopters either from the embassy territory or from a nearby football field evacuate. The evacuation was to be supported from the air by two AC-130H fire support aircraft. In the early morning of April 26, the helicopters, flying 65 km south, would land at the Manzariye airfield, which by that time was controlled by a company of Rangers. From there, the hostages were supposed to be flown to the United States on two C-141 jets, and the Rangers were supposed to return on C-130 planes.

For 90 days, US spy satellites observed the remote desert region of Dasht-e-Kavir. It was here that it was decided to organize a base for the release of American diplomats in Tehran. During all this time, only two cars passed along the road leading from Qom to Meshad. It was here that C-130 military transport planes were supposed to land with fuel, special forces and equipment necessary for the successful completion of the operation. Helicopters were supposed to fly here from the Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, on which American troops would be transferred to Tehran.

Before embarking on this operation, which even to describe seems quite complicated, the CIA sent Air Force Major John Carney to Iran. The major was flying a light spy plane. He had to make sure that the ground in the area of ​​the proposed makeshift runway was hard enough and that the C-130s would not get stuck in the sand. Having landed, Carney marked with four infrared sensors the square in which the planes were supposed to land. The sensors were not visible to the naked eye, but when approaching a given area, pilots could turn them on using a remote control and see them in night vision devices. Carney carefully checked the field between the sensors, making sure that the soil was hard enough and that there were no piles of debris or dangerous holes in the middle of the field. In his opinion, the site was “almost perfectly level.” While Carney was working, two Iranian cars drove past him. Nobody noticed him. Carney successfully completed the mission, returned on a CIA plane to Oman, and then immediately flew to London. The soil samples he brought were studied and approved. The unusual activity of Iranian vehicles on the night that Carney was preparing the airfield was explained away as an “anomaly” and forgotten. The location of the Desert One base has been finally approved.

The brutal reality, however, turned out to be much more prosaic. It all started with “turntables”….. The fact is that the Navy command insisted that Navy pilots participate in the operation (motivation - army helicopters that do not have folding blades will not be able to fit on an aircraft carrier, hence the modification “D” instead of "C"), and allocated crews of helicopters - sea minesweepers - for the operation. The pilots were, in principle, “not suited” for this operation. Flying over the desert is not their path. The pilots were trained to perform only one combat mission: searching and trawling sea mines exclusively in daytime days using a large trawl lowered on a tow rope. During the training, it became clear that the flight crews did not want to learn night and “blind” flights and were not eager to participate in the rescue of hostages. With great difficulty, Bzkuiz managed to replace the Navy pilots with US Marine pilots. Things have moved forward. In total, Delta conducted 79 night training to free hostages; Beckwith was more or less calm, but did not fully trust the helicopter crews, believing that they could let them down.

The Iranians did not detect the first Hercules on radar. They, however, noticed the flight of 4 Hercules with fuel, but decided that we're talking about about Iranian planes. The nation was waiting for an American invasion, but obviously not on slow-moving turboprops. Approaching Desert One pilots The first plane noticed strange milky clouds. At first they were generally mistaken for a light haze. The pilots called John Carney, who was already considered an expert on Iran, into the cockpit. They asked him, “What is that thing there?” Carney thought for a moment and replied: “Habub.” The pilots laughed at the unknown and strange word.

They did not know that the haboob would bury their mission.

Carney had heard about the haboob before, from CIA pilots he flew with on reconnaissance missions. Changing atmospheric pressure in the desert causes tiny particles of sand to rise into the air and hang in it, sometimes at a height of several thousand meters, forming a vertical cloud. Haboob was unlikely to harm large aircraft, but could be a problem for helicopters. Carney, thinking about this, immediately reported to the command post in Wadi Qena. Carney's warning about the haboobs was not conveyed to the helicopter pilots - encryption and decryption of messages took too much time, and the command post in Wadi Qena could have warned the helicopters after they had flown away and turned off the radio.

This was the most serious mistake, which ultimately became main reason the collapse of the entire operation.

The helicopters flew into the second haboob together, assuming that it would disappear as quickly as the first. Instead, it became denser and denser. Soon the pilots could not see either their helicopters or the ground. The helicopters were forced to turn on their rear red safety lights. The crew of each helicopter fought one-on-one with the haboob, and not everyone emerged victorious from this fight.

The lack of landmarks, heat and dust caused dizziness and nausea. The pilots were wearing night vision devices, which further reduced the depth of vision and increased the feeling of nausea. The backup hydraulic system of one of the helicopters failed. Under normal circumstances this would have required an immediate landing, but the pilot decided to continue.

After the helicopters flew about 250 km over Iranian territory, the first serious trouble happened. A warning light in the cockpit of the sixth helicopter illuminated, warning that something had struck the rotor blade hard - a potentially fatal problem. The pilot immediately landed. There was a crack on the blade, and the helicopter could not fly any further. The team burned the secret manuals and instructions and moved into the eighth helicopter, which landed next to the sixth.

Lieutenant Rodney Davis recorded the failure of one system after another. The electric compass and several navigational instruments failed. His co-pilot was unable to perform duties due to dizziness and nausea. Davis lost sight of the lead helicopter. He could not see landmarks on the ground and could not rely on instruments. He rose to a height of 2700 meters - the dust did not go away. He knew there were mountains ahead, but he didn't know exactly where. He had reached the point of return - if he had continued his flight to Desert One, there was no turning back - there would not have been enough fuel for the return flight to the aircraft carrier. He consulted with the most senior officer on the helicopter mission, Colonel Chuck Pittman, who was sitting in his helicopter. They decided to return to the aircraft carrier. And they returned - not knowing that along the way one helicopter had already broken down.

To take out all the hostages and troops, 4 transport helicopters were required. So any hint of even a rudimentary air defense system put the operation under serious threat. Beckwith was not at all bothered by this. He is also the “Attacker”. I remember that Chip and Dale had an excellent motto for this occasion: “Dementia and courage!”

Unfortunately, the troubles were just beginning.

In different sources further events They are described in approximately the same way, with minor differences:

Option 1. As soon as the Hercules landed, Captain Ishimoto and his men immediately rolled out the jeep and motorcycles. They saw a tanker and a pickup truck running away along a deserted road. The tank was apparently carrying stolen gasoline. Delta could not allow the Iranians who saw it to leave. The troubles did not end there, but only began. The Hercules' propellers were still spinning when one of the shocked commandos saw an Iranian bus coming straight towards them. It was a big Mercedes, filled with amazed Iranians, who once again confirmed main law conduct of military operations - the absolute certainty that the unpredictable and unexpected will happen at the most inopportune moment. And the moment was critical. One of the members of Ishimoto’s group, realizing that he could not catch up with the tank, fired an anti-tank missile at it. Because he was a professional, the rocket exploded and the tank exploded too. One of the Iranians in the cabin managed to jump out and climb into the accompanying pickup truck, in which he escaped from his pursuers.

Option 2. The site, prepared by CIA operatives, was located next to a busy highway, and the Americans were amazed at the sheer volume of traffic moving directly in front of the landing plane. In addition, almost all the rangers who were supposed to guard the perimeter were vomiting from the shaking in the air. Only two were able to control the motorcycles and, upon approaching the highway, they managed to stop the bus, taking its passengers and driver prisoner. The rangers first shot at the truck moving behind the bus from a machine gun, and then launched a grenade from an under-barrel grenade launcher. A pillar of flame shot up into the night sky. It turns out they shot a fuel truck. The minibus following the truck turned around, picked up the driver of the fuel truck and sped away. One of the rangers on a motorcycle tried to catch up with him, but soon gave up the pursuit and turned back.

A secret American base in the heart of the Iranian desert was suddenly lit up like a Friday night football game in its native Texas. The soldiers took off their night vision devices - there was no longer any need for them. Subsequently, the Delta people claimed that they shot the fuel tanker in order to... block the road! In a desert!!! Smart girls... The captured Iranians, meanwhile, were guarded by medic Karl Savory. After some time, one of the commandos asked the doctor, who obviously was not the most experienced shooter in the world, to insert a forgotten magazine into the M-16 - just in case. After the incidents with the bus and fuel tanker as described various sources- “a group of fighters positioned themselves not far from the planes.” It is not indicated anywhere that elementary patrol guards were posted. It became clear that in a maximum of half an hour, Iranian armored infantrymen, tested in the war with Iraq, would appear on the scene in all their glory. Who are not afraid of the devil at all, since Ayatollah Khomeni gave them all a pass to Paradise during the oath.

Beckwith was forced to decide to cancel the mission.

The paratroopers began to sit down inside the Hercules on giant, almost empty rubber containers of aviation fuel. Some fell asleep immediately. Just behind one of the Hercules preparing to take off with Delta Force on board was Major Schaefer's helicopter, which had just refueled from the same aircraft. The dispatcher approached him and ordered him to remove the helicopter to allow the plane to maneuver. Schaefer had enough fuel to fly to the aircraft carrier, but the leaders of the air operation wanted the Hercules to fly away first. Schaefer raised his car about 10 meters above the ground in order to allow the plane to turn around. Its propeller blades kicked up thick clouds of dust.

Schaefer focused on the blurry figure of the dispatcher and saw nothing but her. To get away from the cloud of dust raised by Schaefer, the dispatcher moved to the left wing of the Hercules. Schaefer did not notice this movement, but instinctively continued to keep the nose of the helicopter pointed at the figure of the dispatcher.

The helicopter blades touched the tail of the Hercules.

The Hercules crew tried to open the rear ladder. The exit was blocked by a wall of flames. The only way salvation was the side door on the starboard side, at a distance of two-thirds from the tail. The Delta Commandos were well trained to use this particular door for parachute jumps, so they left the burning aircraft with enviable speed, jumping from a height of about 3 meters.

It exploded so loudly that the pillar of fire was probably seen all the way to Tehran itself. Both cars instantly burned down along with their crews (8 people).

transfer of bodies of dead Americans at Zurich airport, May 6, 1980. There are 8 officially recognized dead, and 9 coffins are being transferred.

Four more Delta residents who were nearby received severe burns. The frightened commandos, deciding that they had come under enemy fire, opened heavy fire strictly anywhere. The fragments from the exploding Hercules ricocheted four serviceable helicopters. The three remaining Hercules, still partially filled with aviation fuel, began to disperse different directions from the explosion site. The air was filled with the heavy smell of burning gasoline. Chaos reigned on earth. The paratroopers thought that the Hercules were trying to escape, abandoning them, and stopped the planes.

The end of this disgrace was outrageously simple. The American Rambos were offended, stupidly abandoned “everything as it is” and flew home on the “surviving” Hercules. Leaving 5 (FIVE!!!) RH-53D on the ground! Packed with secret equipment. Along with maps, code tables, codes, operation plans, thousands of dollars and reals, and documents about American agents in Iran, which were very useful to the nascent counterintelligence of the Islamic Republic.

Despite the assurances of the crews who abandoned them that the vehicles were damaged and the helicopters could not be used in the future long years served the Iranian armed forces faithfully (where they got spare parts, we are better off not knowing). And based on the information obtained from the documents, competent comrades from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “captured” many American agents and their accomplices.

Beckwith was thrown out of the army, which he considered meanness and black ingratitude - they don’t do that to the “Attackers”! This is what he has been saying everywhere for many years. And his brainchild, Team Delta, continued its triumphant march around the world. It was muzzled in Asia, muzzled in Africa, muzzled in South America...

The only place above the harsh American heroes They didn’t mock – this is in Europe. Because they were not sent there. In order to somehow elevate the Delta, at least in their own eyes, the Americans made several strange films “Delta Team”. Starring Chuck Norris. Well, those in which small rackets like that were launched from motorcycles in packs, smashing tank columns to pieces... This was the main achievement of the brainchild of Attacking Charlie.

As a result of Operation Eagle Claw the following were killed:

Islamic republic:

On the Iranian side, the Americans killed one civilian - a passenger in a fuel tanker. His identity has not been established.

USA:

US Air Force personnel, EC-130 crew

Major Harold Lewis Jr.

Major Lyn McIntosh

Major Richard Bakke

Captain Charles McMillian

Technical Sergeant Joel Mayo

USMC personnel, RH-53 helicopter crew

Staff Sergeant Dewey Johnson

Sergeant John Harvey

Corporal George Holmes

Operation Eagle Claw involved a total of 54 aircraft and helicopters, a Delta Force force of 118, and a company of Rangers. Operation Eagle Claw cost $150 million.

Later, when the invasion of Iranian territory became public, the Sultan of Oman protested and terminated the agreement with the United States, which allowed its air force and navy to use Masiru for their needs.

Iranian students freed the hostages on Reagan's inauguration day, January 20, 1981, after 444 days of captivity.

Washington has unfrozen Iranian assets worth $12 billion. A huge part of this money ($4 billion) went to pay claims from 330 American companies and individuals. Iran agreed to return its debts to various foreign banks ($3.7 billion). So the Iranian government received “clean” only 2.3 billion dollars.

When creating the article, the Internet was used as a source, while some of the articles contradicted each other. Since the fiasco of the US Special Forces is obvious and does not require proof, I tried to use primarily American explanations for the failure of the operation. For example, most articles claim that the collision occurred when refueling helicopter and nothing more After this, a decision was made to cancel the operation.

The date of the operation and the list of those killed were taken from Wikipedia, so some of the data in the article differs from WIKI, which states that:

1. "one (helicopter) crashed into the water immediately after takeoff from an aircraft carrier due to a possible broken blade."

2. Sketch plan of a temporary base in the desert:

Source

Battle of Mogadishu (1993)

Battle of Mogadishu (in Somalia known as "Day of the Rangers", Somali. Ma-alinti Rangers, in the US also known as the Battle of the Black Sea) occurred between US special forces and the forces of illegal armed groups of the Somali National Alliance (the group of General M. Aidid) on October 3-4, 1993 during the UN peacekeeping operation in Somalia and is the most famous event this operation. While on a mission to arrest and capture two members of the so-called Somali National Alliance government, US Special Forces units engaged in urban combat against an outnumbered enemy and suffered heavy casualties.

CNN aired footage filmed by Somali journalist Issa Mohammed of triumphant Somali fighters carrying the torn body of a dead Delta fighter through the city. These images shocked the Americans. The American public discovered that the country was on the verge of interfering with another's civil war, as happened three decades earlier in Vietnam.

The losses of US special forces forces in Mogadishu influenced the US leadership's decision to withdraw US troops from Somalia.

During the battles of October 3-4, 1993, the losses of the Ranger tactical group, the Rapid Reaction Force and peacekeeping units were 19 killed (18 Americans and 1 Malaysian), about 80 wounded, 1 captured (Super 64 pilot "Mike Durant, later released), two helicopters and several cars.

The losses of the Somali side are difficult to determine. There are quite different estimates, for example, the American ambassador to Somalia, Robert Oakley, believed that up to 2,000 Somalis were killed and wounded in the battle, while the estimate made by Mohammed Aidid himself was 300 dead and 800 wounded. It is difficult to determine how many of them were civilians, since, according to the Americans, both women and teenagers took part in the battle with weapons in their hands.

Based on the events in 2001, a film was filmed. film "Black Hawk Down".

We ended the first part of our conversation with a story about how the US Army for eight years could not cope with Vietnam, which was tiny in comparison. It must be remembered that America’s shame in this case was not limited to military losses alone.

In 1967, the so-called “Russell Tribunal for the Investigation of War Crimes Committed in Vietnam” was created. This International Tribunal held two of its meetings - in Stockholm and in Copenhagen, and after the first it issued a verdict, which, in particular, stated:

“...The Tribunal finds that the United States, in its bombing of civilian targets and civilian populations, is guilty of war crimes. The actions of the United States in Vietnam must be qualified as a whole as a crime against humanity (according to Article 6 of the Nuremberg Statute) and cannot be considered as mere consequences of a war of aggression ... "

On March 16, 1968, the US Army stood forever on a par not even with Hitler’s Wehrmacht, but with the most vile units Nazi Germany, like the Einsatzkommandos or other punitive forces that the Germans themselves abhorred. From now on, together with the Belarusian Khatyn, the Polish Lidice and other places of the most terrible fascist crimes in history, the Vietnamese village of Song My in the province of Quang Ngai is mentioned. More than 500 residents were killed there by American soldiers. And with particular cruelty. The village was literally wiped off the face of the earth - burned along with the people until last home and a barn.

How the "Black Hawk" over the "Black Sea" shit itself

The civil war that began in Somalia in the 80s of the last century continues to this day. In the early 90s, out of their usual habit of “bringing democracy” to the whole world, no matter how much it kicked, the Americans initiated the introduction of “multinational UN forces” into the country, under their own command, of course. The operation received, as always, the extremely pathetic name “Revival of Hope.”

However, “American hope” was not shared by all Somali residents. One of the field commanders, Muhammad Farah Aidid, completely considered the presence of foreign soldiers as interference in the internal affairs of the country. What a savage... It’s clear that the Americans tried to deal with him in the usual manner - with numerous casualties among the civilian population and without any harm to Aidid personally.

The ensuing confrontation led to the fact that in 1993, in Somalia, a whole tactical group “Ranger” - Task Force Ranger - was sent directly to Aidid’s soul. It included one company from the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, a squadron of Delta Force, and helicopters from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the Night Stalkers. Special forces - there's no place for special forces! Elite to all elites. Well, this elite turned around on the fly...

The first operation to capture the “inconvenient” field commander was carried out “brilliantly” - the prey of the special forces was... an official representative of the UN Development Program, three senior UNOSOM II employees and an elderly Egyptian woman, a representative of one of the humanitarian organizations. Whoops...

However, as it turned out, in that raid the idiots were only warming up - the Americans themselves assessed all subsequent operations as “not very successful.” During one of them, the heroic “Delta”, with roar, shooting and all the required special effects, heroically stormed the house of an entire Somali general, effectively putting him and, in addition, 40 other members of the Abgal clan “with his muzzle into the ground.” True, it later turned out that this particular general was in Somalia best friend UN, USA, and actually was nominated as a candidate for the post of the country's new police chief. Hmmm... With allies like the Americans, enemies seem to be unnecessary...

And finally, the long-awaited “X” day has arrived! According to intelligence data received, on October 3, 1993, in the area of ​​the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, called the “Black Sea,” Omar Salad, Aidid’s adviser, and Abdi Hasan Awal, nicknamed Kebdid, the Minister of Internal Affairs in Aidid’s “shadow government,” were supposed to meet. Aidid himself was allowed to appear. The Yankees could not miss such an opportunity! A real armada was prepared for the seizure - twenty aircraft, twelve cars and about one hundred and sixty personnel. Armored Humvees, trucks filled with Rangers, and, of course, Black Hawks. Where would we be without them...
One way or another, two of Aidid’s associates and another two dozen people with them were captured by the Americans, and an evacuation column moved to the Black Sea area to extract them. And that's where the laughs ended. Bloody hell began.

The convoy, which had originally arrived to evacuate rangers and prisoners under the command of Colonel McKnight... circled the streets of Mogadishu! For which she was subsequently awarded the “honorary” title – “Lost Convoy”. At first, the command demanded that the colonel provide assistance to the downed helicopter pilots, then, realizing that there would be help here, like milk from a famous animal, they demanded that they immediately go to the base - in order to at least deliver the prisoners to their destination! Meanwhile, the drivers of the convoy, with admirable tenacity... turned into the wrong streets, missing the necessary turns and forks. In the middle of the day! As they themselves later wrote in reports, “due to hurricane fire from the enemy.” Well, the smartest ones - haven’t you forgotten?!

Another column, sent to rescue the rangers who were dying one after another, got stuck literally within the first hundred meters of movement. Two “Humvees” were blazing like cheerful fires, and the brave mountain shooters and rangers, instead of helping out their comrades, feverishly fired back in all directions (it was later calculated that during the battle they shot 60,000 pieces of ammunition!). As a result, the father-commanders spat again and ordered the “rescuers” to return to base.

By nine o'clock in the evening it became completely clear that there was no way to cope with the “world's greatest army” on its own. The Americans rushed headlong to ask for help from their peacekeeping colleagues. As a result, the “elite of the US Army” was saved by Pakistani and Malaysian “armor”! I pulled out their asses, so to speak, just like the Americans themselves love to similar cases speak.

The helicopters covering the last evacuation column alone fired 80 thousand rounds of ammunition and 100 rockets throughout the city! “The unsurpassed elite” of the US Army, the magnificent super special forces, from whose mere sight, theoretically, one should have run away “ bad Boys“Within a radius of at least hundreds of miles, rebels armed with not the newest Kalashnikovs and, at most, RPGs, were confronted. According to some reports, almost half of them were women and children.

In Somalia, October 3 was called “Ranger Day” and is still almost national holiday. In the United States, these events were dubbed “the second Pearl Harbor.” A humiliating “truce” had to be concluded with Aidid. The US Secretary of Defense was dismissed, and the “strongest army” left Somalia literally the next year after these events. The rest of the UN troops soon followed. Since then, none of the “peacekeepers” have ever risked entering this territory.

Operation Cottage. Full Pussy...

In this part of the story, willy-nilly, I will have to break the chronological principle that I adhered to earlier. It’s just that the episode discussed below is not only clearly the most shameful page in the history of the US Army, but may well be recognized as perhaps the greatest military disgrace of all time.

For what reason the Japanese came to the Aleutian Islands in 1942, no one has ever established for certain. Some military historians said that from there the imperial army was preparing to “take Alaska.” Or - build air bases for bombing attacks on the United States. However, this explanation seems dubious. That's not the point.

In 1943, the Americans, who had been bombarding the islands with many tons of bombs for a year, finally plucked up the courage to retake them. In May they landed on the island of Attu, and for three weeks it turned into the scene of a bloody battle. Despite the fact that the Japanese army was a military enemy of the USSR, I cannot resist words of admiration addressed to it. The Japanese fought like heroes, like real samurai - Warriors who put honor above life. Left without ammunition or grenades, they met the Americans with bayonets, swords and knives. More than half a thousand people found their death on Attu American soldiers and officers, the US Army lost more than a thousand wounded. Well, non-combat losses are twice as high...

One way or another, the brave American guys were already approaching the tiny island of Kiska... with their uniform trousers pretty wet. More than a hundred warships were sent to capture it, with 29 thousand American and five Canadian paratroopers on board. They, as the command of “the smartest in the world” believed, should have been enough to break the eight thousand strong Japanese garrison.

On August 15, the Americans shelled the island EIGHT times, rained down 135 tons of bombs and mountains of leaflets calling for surrender. The Japanese did not even think of surrendering. “They’re going to cut themselves with katanas again, you bastards!” - the American command realized and landed troops. 270 American Marines set foot on the land of Kiska, followed by a Canadian landing group slightly to the north.

In two days, the brave paratroopers managed to advance 5-7 kilometers deep into the island. Apparently, they spent most of their time turning over stones and interrogating crabs that came to hand - in search of an answer to the question: “Where have the cunning samurai gone?!” And only on August 17 they finally had the chance to show themselves in all their glory.

While inspecting a COMPLETELY EMPTY Japanese bunker, 34 American Marines managed to get blown up by two landmines. Two - to death... Obviously, some of them were not taught in time Golden Rule sapper: “Don’t stretch out your arms, otherwise you’ll stretch out your legs!” The Canadians, who heard such a powerful cannonade, did not make a mistake, and-and-and-and... How they fried the place from where it was heard! Yes, from all the trunks! The Americans, who were greatly offended by this turn of events, did not remain in debt - the Tommy Gun bursts mowed down five Canadians like grass. And at this moment...

At that moment, Admiral Kicknade, who commanded this whole mess, remembered that he was in command of something here. And I decided to play a war game too. “Come on, brother gunners, give us a spark from everything on board!” - obviously, his address to the crew of the destroyer Abner Rean sounded something like this. Well, they are happy to try... The naval artillery shells fell on the bad heads of the Marines who had barely begun to “settle” the situation. The hit, as it is not surprising, hit the bull’s eye. Friendly fire cost the lives of seven more Americans and three Canadians. Plus - fifty wounded.

The next day it was possible (finally!) to establish normal communication and the admiral was informed: “There are NO Japanese on the island! Nancy! Raccoon! Your Mother! Well, it probably sounded somewhat similar... Having wiped away the sweat that was probably flowing from under his snow-white cap, Kiknade decided to leave. Directly and figuratively- gave the command to "Abner Rean" to "join the main forces of the fleet." However, instead, the destroyer, having barely moved away from the shore, managed to run into a mine, which, in a completely unimaginable way, the minesweeper, snooping along the island, managed to miss. 71 sailors died, fifty were wounded, and five completely disappeared in the foggy waters without a trace.

You probably think that this is the end of the circus of idiots called Operation Cottage? Yeah, of course... The guys weren’t going to let up and with renewed vigor they continued in the same spirit. And even cooler!
Already on August 21 (a WEEK, as everyone knows that there is NOT a single Japanese on the island!) an American mortar crew, out of incomprehensible fright, fired at their own reconnaissance group returning from a search. From my own, to be specific, unit! Apparently they shot very poorly, since the scouts who survived under the mines... cut out the mortarmen to last person! Well, I simply have no words here...

Moreover, in the following days - August 23 and 24, American and Canadian Marines more than once or twice opened fire on each other while inspecting Japanese fortifications. In general, the Americans and Canadians lost more than a HUNDRED people killed during the assault on a COMPLETELY DESERT ISLAND. Several hundred more were wounded, frostbitten and sick. No comments…

“What about the Japanese?!” - you ask. Oh, yes... The Japanese calmly left the island weeks before the assault, not wanting to ruin people and resources in a completely useless battle. And rightly so - “the smartest army in the world” coped well without them.

It only remains to add that after analyzing the operation to storm Kiska, it becomes extremely clear where the “legs” of the recent tragedy in Ukraine come from. With police clashes. Ukrainian “special forces” were trained by American instructors...

That, in fact, is all about the US Army. Well, just a couple more touches. The US Army is the only one on the planet to use nuclear weapons. Moreover, not against enemy units and formations, but against completely peaceful cities.