Battle Of Mogadishu Battle Analysis

On October 3, 1993, an anticipated 90-minute mission to capture a Somali warlord turned into a deadly seventeen-hour firefight that would influence US foreign policy for years to come. Applying the techniques for battle analysis to the Battle of Mogadishu enables a comprehensive understanding of the conflict, to identify a method through which the proper use of intelligence assets could have changed the outcome. The Battle of Mogadishu might have been avoided altogether, had the employment of Army counterintelligence (CI) assets been properly utilized, resulting in a successful outcome for the Operation Restore Hope humanitarian mission in Somalia.

Battle Analysis Step 1: Define the Subject/Evaluate the Resources
The Battle of Mogadishu
Characteristic of most urban terrain, this presented US forces with the challenge to account for complicated avenues of approach, obstacles, and cover and concealment due to buildings, streets, and other infrastructure with varied patterns, forms, and sizes (Urban Operations, 2006). The average temperature in Mogadishu during the month of October is 88°F (BBC, 2012), which affected the load plans for individual soldier packs during the mission (Bauman, Yates, & Washinton, 2004).
The principle antagonists each had distinct advantages against each other. The US Forces had superior firepower and technology (Urban Operations 2006). General Aideed had brought in soldiers experienced in downing Russian helicopters in Afghanistan, to train his men in RPG firing techniques (Urban Operations). Additionally, the Somalis were fighting in familiar territory with the ability to mass quickly and fight in large numbers (Hooker, 2009).
The mission objective was to capture two of Aideed’s lieutenants planned to meet at the Olympia Hotel, not far from the Bukhara arms market. Using the same mission profile successfully employed previously, TF Ranger launched 160 special operations force soldiers in 16 helicopters and 12 vehicles on the raid scheduled to take a total of sixty minutes (Hooker, 2009).
Battle Analysis Step 3: Describe the
Inside a commandeered home, medics set up a casualty collection point. The gunfire attacks continued as darkness fell, while AH6 Little Bird helicopters provided cover fire and flew in ammuinition. Attempts to rescue the men were quickly driven off as Somalis massed on the crash site and surrounding areas (Frontline, 1998). At 2315 hours, a 70-vehicle rescue force was finally dispacthed consisting of Malaysian armored personnel carriers, Pakistani tanks, and two companies from the QRF infantry battalion of the 10th Mountain Division, accompanied by special operations personnel and TF Ranger support units. Due to heavy resistance, the rescue convoy did not reach the crash site unit 0155 and at 0520, retreated to a soccer stadium just outside the combat zone (Hooker,