United States invasion of Grenada

Invasion of Grenada
Part of the Cold War
U.S. Army Rangers parachute into Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury.
Date October 25 1983 - December 151983 Location Grenada Result Decisive U.S.-led victory Marxist regime toppled
Belligerents
United States Antigua and Barbuda Barbados Dominica Jamaica Saint Lucia Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	Grenada Cuba
Commanders and leaders
Ronald Reagan Joseph Metcalf	Hudson Austin Pedro Tortolo
Strength
7,300	Grenada: 1,500 regulars Cuba: about 722 (mostly military engineers)
Casualties and losses
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. On October 25 1983, the United States, Barbados, Jamaica and members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States landed ships on Grenada, defeated Grenadian and Cuban resistance and overthrew Coard's government. October 25 is a national holiday of Grenada, called Thanksgiving Day, to commemorate this event.

Background

On March 13, 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 in turn from Bishop; Coard's forces subsequently executed Bishop in spite of mass protests in Bishop’s favor. 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 for assistance. According to Mythu Sivapalan of the New York Times (October 29, 1983), this formal appeal was at the behest of the U.S. government, which had decided to take military action against Coard's regime. U.S. officials cited the coup and general political instability in a country near its own borders, as well as the presence of American medical students at St. George's University on Grenada, as reasons for military action. Sivapalan also claimed that the latter reason was cited in order to gain public support, rather than as a legitimate reason for invasion, since fewer than 600 of the 1,000 non-Grenadian civilians on the island were from the U.S.:

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 military engineers. There is no evidence that military personnel from other communist countries were on Grenada.

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 gunfire support — proved to be significant advantages.

U.S. forces suffered 19 fatalities and 116 injuries. 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.

Reaction in the United States

A month after the invasion, Time magazine described it as having "broad popular support." A congressional study group concluded that the invasion had been justified, as most members felt that the students could be taken hostage as U.S. diplomats in Iran had been four years previously. The group's report caused O'Neil to change his position on the issue from opposition to support. Overall the invasion produced a sense in the American public of pride in the military.

However, some members of the study group dissented from its findings. Congressman Louis Stokes stated that "Not a single American child nor single American national was in any way placed in danger or placed in a hostage situation prior to the invasion. The Congressional Black Caucus denounced the invasion and seven Democratic congressman, led by Ted Weiss, attempted to impeach Reagan.

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.

Aftermath

Following the U.S. victory, Grenada's Governor-General, Paul Scoon, appointed a new government and, in mid-December, the U.S. forces withdrew.

The invasion showed problems with the U.S. government's "information apparatus," which Time described as still being in "some disarray" three weeks after the invasion. For example, the U.S. State Department falsely claimed that a mass grave had been discovered that held 100 bodies of islanders who had been killed by Communist forces.

Also of concern were the problems that the invasion showed with the military. There was a lack of intelligence about Grenada, which exacerbated the difficulties faced by the quickly assembled invasion force. For example, it was not known that the students were actually at two different campuses and there was a thirty-hour delay in rescuing students at the second campus. 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 .

Order of battle

U.S. and allied land forces

U.S.

• 22nd Marine Amphibious Unit
• 82nd Airborne: large contingent
• 75th Ranger Regiment
• Navy SEALs: specifically Seal Team 5 and Seal Team 6
• Delta Force
• 160th SOAR (A) Night Stalkers

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 America, USS Aquila, USS Aubrey Fitch, USS Briscoe, USS Portsmouth, USS Recovery, USS Saipan, USS Sampson. USS Samuel Eliot Morison and USS Taurus.

External links

• Operation: Urgent Fury, Grenada
• The 1983 Invasion of Grenada, Operation: Urgent Fury
• A very thorough history of Operation: Urgent Fury as written by Naval Historians.
• Noam Chomsky's report on the invasion in "Necessary Illusions".
• Grenada - a 1984 comic book about the invasion written by the CIA.