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FULL MOVIES ENGLISH SUB (2026) - FULL | Reelshort
#drama #cdrama #romantic #love #movie #shortdrama #showhots #2026
FULL MOVIES ENGLISH SUB (2026) - FULL | Reelshort
#drama #cdrama #romantic #love #movie #shortdrama #showhots #2026
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00:05Given recent events that have developed in Venezuela,
00:07in which a U.S. military helicopter raid
00:09snatched the country's president in the middle of the night
00:12and flew off with them without a single American fatality,
00:15I thought that it would be beneficial to reflect
00:17on a different American military helicopter raid
00:20that also sought to apprehend a wanted man
00:22that went much, much more disastrously
00:24than what just took place in Venezuela.
00:27The 1993 Black Hawk Down incident
00:29that took place in Mogadishu, Somalia.
00:31In 1991, a coalition of rebel groups
00:34overthrew then-Somali dictator Sian Barr,
00:38throwing the country into a devastating civil war.
00:41In December of 1992,
00:43then-U.S. President George H.W. Bush
00:45launched a U.S. intervention into Somalia,
00:47sending some 25,000 American troops
00:50at the tail end of his presidency.
00:52Their goal was to maintain order
00:54and chiefly protect U.N. aid workers
00:56who were struggling to distribute food
00:58to the hungry population amidst warring militias.
01:01Bush was already on his way out,
01:04having lost the latest election to Clinton.
01:06And so, he saw bringing the U.S. to Somalia
01:08as one last act of apparent humanitarian goodwill.
01:12But then, months later,
01:14well into the Clinton presidency,
01:15on the 3rd of October, 1993,
01:18in the midst of the Somali Civil War,
01:20U.S. soldiers conducted a raid
01:22in the hopes of capturing lieutenants
01:24of the Somali warlord,
01:25General Mohamed Farai Deed.
01:27But what began as a straightforward,
01:30supposedly hour-long mission
01:31would quickly spiral into something worse,
01:34much longer and more costly.
01:37The fallout would live on in infamy
01:39for the disaster that followed,
01:41with two Blackhawk helicopters crashing
01:43after being struck by RPGs,
01:45in a catastrophic incident
01:47that would become known as Blackhawk Down.
01:50In the 17-hour-long, brutal standoff
01:53that would ensue after the crashes,
01:55more Americans would be killed
01:57in a single battle
01:58than they had been in any other
01:59since the Vietnam War,
02:01up to that point.
02:03After Somalia's longtime ruler,
02:05Mohamed Sian Bar,
02:07was toppled in 1891,
02:09Somalia began a rapid descent
02:10into becoming what is now considered
02:12to be a failed state.
02:13After the war,
02:15U.N. troops had been deployed to Somalia
02:16in the hopes of maintaining border,
02:18in particular to address civilians' food needs
02:20in response to the famine
02:22that had gripped the country
02:23after the fighting had ended.
02:25In total,
02:25some 300,000 people in Somalia
02:28would ultimately starve to death.
02:30In March of 1993,
02:32the various warring factions
02:34had signed a peace settlement.
02:35However,
02:36one of the signatories,
02:37a militant political faction
02:39called the SNA,
02:40or the Somali National Alliance,
02:42disregarded the settlement entirely.
02:44Somali society
02:45was highly stratified
02:46between members
02:47of its five different clans
02:49and their various sub-clans.
02:51The SNA, then,
02:52was largely composed of members
02:54of the Abar Gadir clan,
02:56a sub-clan of the Hawiya clan,
02:58and headed by one of their own,
03:00General Mohamed Farai Deed.
03:02The SNA had formed an opposition
03:04to former President
03:05Mohamed Siyad Bar,
03:06who had been in power
03:07for 22 years,
03:09and whose dictatorial rule
03:10was marked
03:11by massive human rights abuses.
03:13When Siyad Bar's regime
03:15was overthrown in 1991,
03:17Deed played a significant role
03:19as a leader
03:19of the rebel faction,
03:21the United Somali Congress.
03:22And Deed himself
03:24came from an extensive
03:25military background.
03:26He had trained first
03:27at an infantry school in Rome,
03:29and then worked
03:29under the Italian police force
03:31in the 1950s.
03:32Then, following Somalia's
03:34independence in 1960,
03:36he became a lieutenant
03:37in the Somali National Army.
03:39In 1966,
03:40Deed later studied
03:41post-graduate military science
03:43at the elite institution,
03:45the Frunzia Military Academy
03:46in the Soviet Union.
03:48Well-trained, educated,
03:50and effectively in control
03:51of Mogadishu
03:52following the Civil War,
03:53Deed would ultimately become
03:55one of the UN's
03:56most wanted men.
03:57Following an attack
03:58in Mogadishu
03:58on Pakistani UN peacekeepers
04:00in June of 1993
04:02that killed 24 of them,
04:04and that was largely attributed
04:05to Deed's forces,
04:06the UN issued a warrant
04:07for Deed's arrest.
04:09But even with the presence
04:10of international forces,
04:12instability continued persisting.
04:14For one, Mogadishu,
04:16the capital of Somalia,
04:17was a big city
04:18home to over a million people,
04:20a large portion of whom
04:21were themselves heavily armed.
04:23Mogadishu was also difficult
04:25to traverse on land,
04:26usually heavily congested
04:28with traffic.
04:29The U.S. troops,
04:30therefore,
04:31especially favored the ease
04:32of traversing the city
04:33aerially with helicopters instead.
04:36On the 3rd of October,
04:371993,
04:38after receiving a tip
04:39about the location
04:40of two of Deed's top men,
04:42U.S. forces,
04:43consisting of a group
04:44of special forces
04:45known as Task Force Ranger,
04:47planned a mission
04:47to close in on it.
04:48The objective
04:49was to capture
04:50two of Deed's lieutenants.
04:51His foreign minister,
04:53Omar Salad Elmi,
04:54and his top political advisor,
04:56Abdi Hassan Awale,
04:58who were both meeting
04:59in Mogadishu that day
05:00in the hopes
05:00that they would ultimately
05:01lead to a Deed of self.
05:03By then neutralizing a Deed,
05:05the hope ultimately was
05:06that the SNA might crumble
05:08and restore some semblance
05:09of stability to Somalia.
05:11And this wasn't the first time
05:13they had tried this either.
05:14The U.S. had previously attempted,
05:16unsuccessfully,
05:17to kill a Deed in July of 1993,
05:20in a raid that would later
05:21become known as Bloody Monday.
05:23On the 12th of July,
05:25U.N. helicopters had fired
05:27on a Habar-Gadir command center
05:29used by a Deed's gunman,
05:30with 17 United States
05:32Cobra helicopter gunships
05:34and Black Hawk
05:34reconnaissance helicopters
05:36firing 16 missiles
05:37and more than 2,000 rounds
05:39of 20-millimeter cannon fire.
05:41Reportedly,
05:43the attack killed 13
05:44and injured 11,
05:45though SNA members
05:47claimed far higher numbers,
05:49with their own claims
05:50of 73 killed
05:51and 200 wounded.
05:53The independent Red Cross count
05:55ultimately listed
05:5653 casualties
05:57related to the incident.
05:59And A.D. himself,
06:00it turned out,
06:01hadn't even been present
06:01in the building.
06:02Regardless,
06:03the attack significantly changed
06:05the public perception
06:05of U.S. forces
06:06as careless and murderous
06:08for the worse,
06:09increasing hostility
06:10towards their presence
06:11and validating
06:13the SNA's
06:13fierce anti-Americanism
06:15and their desire
06:16to rid Somalia
06:17of American influence
06:18completely.
06:20Following the attack,
06:21in response,
06:22an angry mob
06:23armed with guns and knives
06:24killed four journalists
06:26who were trying
06:27to cover the story.
06:28An Associated Press photographer
06:29from Germany,
06:30a Reuters photographer
06:31with British
06:32and American citizenship,
06:34another Reuters photographer
06:35and a Reuters sound technician.
06:37Following this violent reprisal,
06:39U.S. Rangers
06:40were deployed to Mogadishu.
06:41And a couple months later,
06:43early on the morning
06:43of the 25th of September,
06:451993,
06:46not even a week before
06:48what would become
06:48an infamous operation,
06:50Somali militiamen
06:51shot down a Black Hawk
06:52helicopter with an RPG
06:54over at a deed-controlled
06:56area of Mogadishu,
06:57killing three service members
06:59on board.
07:00It was in this delicate,
07:01hostile context
07:02that the U.S. planned
07:03yet another raid
07:04to try and capture a deed.
07:06Around 1.50 p.m.
07:08on the 3rd of October,
07:091993,
07:10through a local informant,
07:12the CIA had confirmed
07:13that Salad Anawale
07:14would be meeting
07:15other high-ranking
07:16SNA clan officials
07:17about a block
07:18from the Olympic Hotel.
07:19The Olympic Hotel
07:20was in Mogadishu's
07:21Bakara Market area,
07:23an open-air market
07:24in a particularly
07:25hostile area,
07:26and the site of
07:27many illegal activities
07:29and forgeries.
07:30The area was
07:31especially dangerous
07:32because it was
07:33particularly heavily
07:34populated by the
07:35Habarga Deer clan,
07:36and therefore
07:37loyalists to a deed.
07:39While they prepared,
07:40they surveyed the building
07:41with helicopters.
07:42The team included
07:43160 men,
07:45the average age of whom
07:46was just 19.
07:48The equipment consisted
07:49of 19 aircraft,
07:51including 12 Black Hawk
07:52helicopters,
07:53and 12 vehicles
07:54were deployed
07:55for the operation.
07:56Each of the Black Hawks
07:57was also armed
07:58with 7.62-millimeter
07:59miniguns,
08:00each capable of firing
08:024,000 rounds per minute
08:04or 10 rounds per second
08:05per barrel.
08:07The objective
08:07was to approach
08:08the building
08:08with the aircraft,
08:09land 40 soldiers'
08:10worth of Delta Force
08:11teams on the street
08:12outside of the building,
08:13and then storm it,
08:14while the Black Hawks
08:15remained hovering above.
08:17Then,
08:17once the mission's
08:18objective was completed,
08:19forces would exit
08:20back to base
08:21via the convoy
08:22of 12 vehicles,
08:239 Humvees,
08:24and 3 5-ton trucks,
08:26led by Lieutenant Colonel
08:27Danny McKnight.
08:28This kind of an exit
08:30was deemed necessary
08:31since it was impossible
08:32to safely land Black Hawks
08:34in the heart of Mogadishu.
08:35The ground convoy
08:36would wait behind
08:37the Olympic Hotel,
08:38under protective cover
08:39by the hovering Black Hawks.
08:41And in case anything
08:42went awry,
08:43they counted on the
08:44U.S. 10th Mountain Division
08:45in the west of Mogadishu
08:46and U.N.
08:47Pakistani and Malaysian troops
08:49in Mogadishu's port
08:50as backup.
08:51With this plan,
08:52around 3 30 p.m.,
08:54the operation
08:54was set in a motion.
08:56The code word
08:57IRENE
08:57was transmitted
08:58and the teams
08:59departed from base.
09:00At this point,
09:01they expected
09:02the whole operation
09:03to take no more
09:03than only 30 minutes.
09:05But what they thought
09:06was going to be
09:06a covert mission
09:07had already been undermined
09:09by the SNA's communications.
09:10Because despite
09:11trying to throw
09:12any observers off
09:13by flying past
09:14their target
09:15and doubling back,
09:16the Americans' movements
09:17were being closely
09:18watched and reported
09:19by the SNA's radio network
09:21that covered
09:22the entire city,
09:23warning of their arrival.
09:25On the ground below them,
09:26Somalis also communicated
09:28more covertly.
09:29They began to light
09:30tires on fire,
09:31a further way
09:32to send a message
09:32of an imminent
09:33American attack
09:34and a signal to fighters
09:35to converge
09:36onto the area.
09:37At around 3 42 p.m.,
09:39the U.S. forces arrived
09:40and the official
09:41assault began.
09:4316 helicopters left
09:44from the American base
09:45at the airport,
09:46heading for the target
09:47building that was only
09:47a four-minute flight time away.
09:49As planned,
09:50the Rangers roped down
09:52from the Blackhawks
09:52successfully.
09:53About 75 Rangers
09:55descended in four groups
09:56called Chalks
09:57and positioned themselves
09:58at each corner of the block
10:00surrounding the target house.
10:02Almost immediately
10:03from this point,
10:04however,
10:04things began to go wrong.
10:06First,
10:07one of the Chalks,
10:08Chalk 4,
10:09actually dropped
10:10in the wrong location
10:11and was a block north
10:12away from the real target.
10:14And then,
10:15as he was descending,
10:16one of the Rangers
10:17in the Chalk,
10:1818-year-old Private First Class
10:19Todd Blackburn
10:21completely missed the rope
10:22and fell 70 feet
10:24straight down
10:25of the street.
10:26Knocked unconscious,
10:27he was severely injured,
10:29bleeding heavily
10:30from his face
10:31and required
10:31immediate medical attention.
10:33Meanwhile,
10:34on the orders
10:35of SNA Colonel
10:36Sharif Hassan Yumale,
10:38himself on orders
10:39from a deed,
10:40hundreds of heavily armed
10:41Somali militia men
10:42had gathered
10:43on foot
10:43and in trucks
10:44in large crowds
10:46around the U.S. soldiers.
10:47They poured in
10:48from seemingly
10:49every direction
10:50and began firing
10:51with rifles,
10:52machine guns,
10:53and RPGs.
10:54As they did so,
10:55they immediately
10:56hit one of the U.S. vehicles
10:57with an RPG
10:58and rendered it unusable.
11:00Meanwhile,
11:01inside of the building,
11:02things had progressed quickly.
11:04At around 4.02 p.m.,
11:05some half an hour
11:06after the raid
11:07had first been launched,
11:08as expected,
11:10Awale and Salad
11:11had both been captured,
11:12along with another
11:1322 other clan members.
11:15As the ground convoy
11:16moved up
11:17to take away the prisoners,
11:18the target operation
11:19in itself
11:20seemed to have gone
11:21remarkably smoothly
11:22so far.
11:23We started clearing
11:24and it was over with
11:25within a minute.
11:26We had captured
11:26the 12 guys
11:27we were supposed to get.
11:29Master Sergeant
11:30Nora Gruden,
11:31a member of the assault force,
11:32was quoted as saying.
11:33But this success inside
11:35occurred in the wake
11:36of the unrest
11:37going on outside,
11:38which had devolved
11:39into firefights
11:40between the U.S. forces
11:41and growing crowds
11:42of militiamen,
11:43who now potentially numbered
11:44as high as
11:453,000 strong.
11:47Then there was also
11:48the matter of
11:48the injured
11:49Private Blackburn,
11:50who was being
11:50attended to by medics.
11:52Because of the heavy fire,
11:54evacuating him
11:55via helicopter
11:55was deemed
11:56to be untenable.
11:57So,
11:58as the ground convoy
11:59that was containing
12:00the captured targets
12:01prepared a retreat,
12:02Lieutenant Colonel McKnight
12:03had three of the vehicles
12:04separate off
12:05in order to treat Blackburn
12:06and evacuate him
12:07safely back to base,
12:09a trip which,
12:10ideally,
12:11should have only taken
12:12about five minutes to do.
12:13At around 4.15 p.m.,
12:16Blackburn's medical convoy,
12:18along with a vehicle
12:18containing the 24
12:19captured targets,
12:21Salad,
12:21Ewale,
12:22and 22 other SNA members
12:24all began at a park.
12:25Meanwhile,
12:26Blackhawk Super 61,
12:28piloted by Chief
12:29Warrant Officer 3
12:30Cliff Wolcott
12:31and Chief Warrant Officer
12:323 Donovan Briley,
12:33hovered over the whole scene
12:34at a low altitude,
12:36firing their miniguns
12:37to contain the crowd.
12:38But only a few minutes later
12:40came the first big hit
12:41that would change everything.
12:42At around 4.20 p.m.
12:44local time,
12:45one of the Blackhawk
12:46Super 61's gunners
12:47noticed an armed man
12:48pointing an RPG
12:49their direction.
12:50Before the helicopter
12:51could move enough to react,
12:53the man let loose his shot.
12:54The RPG struck the tail
12:56of the helicopter,
12:57setting it into a spin.
12:58As the helicopter plummeted,
13:00Wolcott's last words
13:01were heard through the radio.
13:036-1 going down.
13:05With that,
13:05about four blocks north
13:07of the target location,
13:08the Blackhawk
13:09crashed down to the ground.
13:10Upon impact,
13:11both of the pilots
13:12were killed immediately.
13:14But two Delta IV snipers,
13:16Staff Sergeant Daniel Bush
13:17and Staff Sergeant Jim Smith,
13:19who had survived,
13:20did their best
13:21to defend the crash site,
13:23which had immediately
13:23become rushed
13:24by the crowds of Somalis,
13:26both armed and unarmed.
13:28Many of the armed fighters
13:29appear to be hiding
13:30behind the unarmed civilians,
13:32using them as human shields.
13:34The bad guys had a tendency
13:35to kind of close in
13:36around crash sites
13:37because they knew
13:38we were going to come to them.
13:40Brigadier General William C. David,
13:42then Lieutenant Colonel,
13:43commanding the 214 Infantry.
13:45The location of this
13:46particular helicopter crash
13:48also happened to be
13:49just outside of the home
13:50of Saida Omar Mohamud,
13:52a woman who just that morning
13:54had just given birth
13:56to her daughter.
13:57Immediately after
13:58Wolcott's helicopter crash,
14:00a dozen U.S. soldiers
14:01ran into her house,
14:03laying wounded soldiers
14:04on her table.
14:05Although they were afraid,
14:06they made us scared as well.
14:08They turned our house
14:09into a stronghold,
14:10she later recalled
14:11in the Netflix documentary
14:12Surviving Black Hawk Down.
14:14Above the chaos,
14:16another Black Hawk
14:17designated as Super 64
14:18and piloted by
14:20Chief Warrant Officer
14:21Michael Durant
14:21and Chief Warrant Officer
14:22Raymond Frank,
14:23then took the crashed
14:25Super 61's place
14:26in the sky.
14:27With this crash,
14:28what had begun
14:28as a targeted raid
14:29had now become
14:30something else entirely,
14:31a rescue and recovery operation.
14:34Only a few minutes
14:35after the first helicopter
14:36had crashed,
14:37as the fight
14:38on the ground broke out,
14:40the remaining ground forces,
14:41half of Chop 2
14:42and part of Chop 1,
14:43were ordered to run
14:44three blocks
14:45from the target building
14:46to reach and assist
14:47their comrades
14:48over at the crash site
14:49of Super 61.
14:50Together,
14:51this team formed
14:52a new defensive perimeter.
14:54Additionally,
14:55another combat
14:55search and rescue team
14:56fast roped
14:57from Black Hawk Super 68,
14:59piloted by Chief Warrant Officer 3,
15:01Dan Foyota,
15:02to assist the crew
15:03of the first crashed helicopter.
15:04As they approached,
15:06however,
15:06with men still on the ropes,
15:08Super 68,
15:09too,
15:10was hit by another RPG.
15:12An RPG
15:13has a very unique sound,
15:15Hoyota said.
15:16There was no doubt
15:17in my mind
15:18I had been hit
15:18by something pretty heavy.
15:20Fear took over,
15:21so I immediately
15:22took in power
15:23and I was getting
15:24out of there,
15:24he added.
15:25In the extremely
15:27unstable situation,
15:28Hoyota still managed
15:30to get the rangers
15:31off of the ropes
15:31and pilot the damaged
15:33helicopter all the way
15:34back to base.
15:35Once the rangers
15:36eventually arrived
15:37at the site
15:37of the crashed Super 61,
15:39however,
15:40they found both
15:40of the pilots,
15:41Wolcott and Briley,
15:43dead.
15:43And the two crew chiefs,
15:45Staff Sergeant Ray Dowdy
15:46and Staff Sergeant
15:47Charlie Warren,
15:48both severely wounded.
15:50The Black Hawk itself
15:51was also damaged
15:52to the point
15:53of being unrecognizable,
15:54looking more like rubble
15:55than a helicopter.
15:57All the while,
15:58around 4.30 p.m.,
15:59the Humvee evacuation
16:01convoy,
16:01also carrying the
16:02SNA prisoners,
16:03was making its way
16:04through the city.
16:05The convoy had initially
16:07planned to return
16:08back to base,
16:09but after the Black Hawk
16:10crashed,
16:10new orders came
16:11for the convoy
16:12to return back
16:13to the crash site.
16:14But this apparently
16:15simple task,
16:17merely traveling
16:17one block north
16:18and three blocks east,
16:20while navigating
16:21the congested roads
16:22of Mogadishu
16:23through heavy dust
16:24and smoke,
16:25along with the angry
16:26mobs surrounding them,
16:27became very difficult.
16:29SNA militiamen
16:30were firing at them
16:31from all sides,
16:32from streets
16:33and from windows
16:34and roofs above,
16:35and the large,
16:36five-ton trucks
16:37were easy targets.
16:39This all became
16:40extremely disorienting
16:42as they tried
16:42to get through.
16:43We made a mistake
16:44on the ground
16:45in the Humvee
16:46and didn't share the load
16:47in land navigation,
16:48said then-sergeant
16:49and squad leader
16:5024-year-old
16:51Jeff Stroker,
16:52who was leading
16:53the convoy
16:53at the time.
16:54I think most guys
16:55thought,
16:56five major roads,
16:57who can't figure out
16:58your way around the city
16:59with five major roads?
17:01But when you get in this,
17:02it gets real hard,
17:03real fast,
17:04he added.
17:05At one point,
17:06then,
17:07the convoy
17:07made a wrong turn
17:08and got lost
17:09among the city streets,
17:10sustaining heavy casualties
17:12by Somali snipers
17:13and RPGs
17:14who fired on them
17:15from all sides.
17:16It was here
17:17that the ground mission
17:18sustained its first,
17:19but not last,
17:20fatality,
17:21Staff Sergeant
17:21Dominic Pilla.
17:23Pilla,
17:24who was firing
17:24one of the Humvee's guns
17:25on top of the vehicle
17:26was shot in his head.
17:28Once we got on that ground,
17:30that real clear overhead view
17:32of the city
17:32became a maze
17:33of shacks and garbage,
17:35said Master Sergeant
17:36Norm Hoodin.
17:37Trying to navigate
17:38through that
17:39was pretty challenging.
17:40We moved up
17:41and started taking
17:42our first serious casualties.
17:44I remember
17:44what that did to us
17:45as a unit.
17:46It demoralized me
17:47to the point
17:48that what it really did
17:49was infuriate me,
17:51he added.
17:52Finally,
17:53after struggling,
17:54driving around
17:55for nearly 45 minutes,
17:57the convoy managed
17:58to return near the Olympic.
18:00But by this point,
18:01it had been far too damaged
18:02to be of any help
18:03to the crash site.
18:04Judging this,
18:06then Task Force Commander
18:07Major General
18:08William F. Garrison
18:09ordered the convoy
18:10to, this time,
18:11definitively return to base.
18:13By the time
18:14the convoy
18:15had actually managed
18:15to retreat
18:16around 5.15pm,
18:18it was in very bad shape.
18:20All of the vehicles
18:21in it
18:21were severely damaged,
18:23and the convoy
18:23had sustained
18:24seven casualties,
18:26four soldiers,
18:27and three
18:27of the Somali prisoners.
18:29Twenty minutes
18:30after the first helicopter
18:31had been hit,
18:32another rocket-propelled grenade
18:33found Black Hawk's
18:34Super 64,
18:35the one piloted
18:36by Chief Warrant Officer
18:37Mike Durant
18:38that had replaced
18:39Super 61.
18:40Super 64
18:41hovered about
18:42ten blocks south
18:43of the target location,
18:44and about half a mile south
18:45of the first crash site.
18:47As the RPG round
18:48hit the tail
18:49of Durant's helicopter,
18:50the vehicle began
18:51to spin uncontrollably,
18:52then plummeted,
18:53and crashed
18:54about a mile
18:55from where the first
18:55helicopter had fallen,
18:57smashing into several homes
18:59and killing those
18:59who were inside.
19:01And just like
19:02with the first crash site,
19:03this one immediately
19:04began being swarmed
19:05by angry,
19:06armed Somalis.
19:08Another Black Hawk,
19:09Super 62,
19:10began firing its midi guns
19:11to try and provide support.
19:13But now,
19:14with a second crash site
19:15to defend,
19:16the already scrambling
19:18U.S. forces
19:18would be spread
19:19dangerously thin.
19:21Desperately,
19:22they tried to gather up help.
19:24A ranger relief column
19:25tried to reach them,
19:26but was pushed back
19:27by heavy fire.
19:29Around 4.45 p.m.,
19:31Durant's crash site
19:32received some more
19:32small support.
19:33Two Delta IV snipers,
19:35Sergeant First Class
19:36Randy Shughart
19:37and Master Sergeant
19:39Gary Gordon,
19:40who had been providing
19:40cover fire
19:41from the Super 62 above,
19:43requested to be inserted
19:44directly into the crash site itself
19:46in order to help protect
19:47the injured Durant
19:48and his crew,
19:49all of whom
19:50had managed to survive.
19:51It was a huge gun battle.
19:53They say that 25 Somalis
19:55were killed by gunfire
19:57at crash site 2.
19:58So that gives you
19:59some insight
20:00into how much shooting
20:01was going on,
20:02Durant said later
20:03while speaking to the BBC.
20:05At around 5 p.m.,
20:07Major Stroiker,
20:08who had previously
20:09led the evacuation convoy,
20:10then was directed
20:11to lead a quick
20:12reaction force convoy
20:13to the second crash site
20:15and rescue any survivors.
20:17Having narrowly survived
20:18navigating the mob once,
20:20he saw returning to it
20:21as a one-way trip.
20:23Personally,
20:24I was thinking
20:25it was a suicide mission.
20:26If I drive back through
20:28what I just went through,
20:29I'm going to die
20:30in the next few moments.
20:31No question about it,
20:33Stroiker said.
20:35Nonetheless,
20:36Stroiker was determined
20:37to reach his comrades.
20:38Despite his resolve,
20:40though,
20:40it would be too late.
20:42Durant's crash site was,
20:43by this point,
20:44overrun by the mob
20:45and impossible to reach.
20:47Stroiker's convoy
20:48would never make it
20:49to Super 64's crash site.
20:51Ambushed by fighters
20:52along the way,
20:53the attempted assistance
20:54got stuck deep
20:55in a 30-minute-long
20:57battle of their own,
20:58during which
20:59the roughly 100 U.S. soldiers
21:01fought back
21:01with nearly 60,000 rounds
21:04of fired ammunition
21:05and hundreds
21:06of thrown grenades.
21:08Depleted
21:08and with no path
21:09to Durant
21:10at around 5.30 p.m.,
21:12the convoy
21:12ultimately pivoted
21:14to retreat back
21:14to base.
21:15At the second crash site
21:17at around 5.40 p.m.,
21:18meanwhile,
21:19the Delta snipers,
21:20Sugar and Gordon,
21:21had run out of ammunition.
21:23And another RPG
21:24had also hit the side
21:25of their air support,
21:26Super 62,
21:27knocking the co-pilot
21:29unconscious
21:29and forcing the pilot,
21:31Chief Warrant Officer,
21:32Michael A. Goffetta,
21:33to make a crash landing
21:34over in Mogadishu's port.
21:36Then,
21:37as the mob
21:37of armed Somalis
21:38overtook the second crash site,
21:40Sugar and Gordon
21:41were both killed.
21:42Eventually,
21:43both of them
21:44would posthumously
21:44receive the Medal of Honor.
21:46But before being overrun,
21:48the two men
21:49had still managed
21:50to extract Durant
21:51from the wreckage.
21:52Before running back
21:53into the fray,
21:54Gordon then handed Durant
21:56a fully loaded rifle.
21:58Shortly after that,
21:59both he and Sugar
22:00would be gone,
22:01leaving Durant
22:02as the only
22:03sole survivor
22:04who was present
22:05at the second crash site.
22:07This, however,
22:08wouldn't be known
22:08until much later.
22:10And so evacuation teams
22:11would return
22:12in search of other survivors.
22:14I spent the rest
22:15of the night
22:15flying over that city,
22:17getting rocked
22:18by RPGs,
22:19looking for those guys
22:20only to find out later
22:22that the Somalis
22:23had found their radios
22:24and turned them on
22:25to give us
22:25false indications.
22:27Chief Warrant Officer 3,
22:29Dan Foyota,
22:30would later report.
22:31Durant himself,
22:32who suffered
22:33a broken leg
22:33and an injured back
22:35after being beaten
22:35by the mob
22:36that overtook the snipers,
22:37was taken captive
22:38by Somali militiamen,
22:40who recognized
22:41the value
22:41of possessing
22:42a living American hostage.
22:44By 5.45 p.m.,
22:46both the first
22:47and second evacuation
22:48convoys
22:49had returned
22:49back to the U.S. base.
22:51But back in hostile territory
22:52deep in Mogadishu,
22:54some 99 soldiers
22:55still remained,
22:56in defensive positions,
22:58trapped,
22:58and surrounded
22:59at the site
23:00of the first
23:00crashed Blackhawk Super 61.
23:02During this firefight,
23:0421-year-old Ranger Corporal
23:06Jamie Smith
23:07was shot
23:08in his femoral artery.
23:09As Smith began
23:10to lose significant
23:11amounts of blood,
23:12attempts began
23:13to evacuate him.
23:14But U.S. forces
23:15had been worn thin.
23:17They were stuck
23:18in a long-haul battle
23:19without having
23:19prepared for one.
23:21Task Force's
23:22apparent confidence
23:23in their ability
23:23to carry out
23:24the operation
23:24in a short amount
23:25of time
23:25had left the soldiers
23:27without backup supplies
23:28that were now
23:28proving critical.
23:29Despite the temperature
23:31rising to over
23:32100 degrees Fahrenheit,
23:33the soldiers
23:34didn't even carry
23:35any water with them.
23:36And so,
23:37re-entering the fray
23:38at around 7.08 p.m.,
23:40another Blackhawk
23:41designated Super 66
23:43returned to resupply
23:45the pinned-down forces.
23:46It dropped a bundle
23:47including water,
23:48ammunition,
23:49and medical supplies.
23:50This, at least,
23:52brought the troops
23:53some stamina.
23:53But that was all
23:54the help it could offer.
23:56Super 66
23:57was too damaged.
23:59And the situation
23:59on the ground
24:00was too dangerous
24:01to attempt
24:02any kind of evacuation,
24:03including of the
24:04critically injured
24:05Corporal Smith.
24:07And indeed,
24:07about an hour later,
24:09in the thick of the battle,
24:10Smith ultimately
24:11succumbed to his injuries
24:12and died.
24:14Ultimately,
24:15it wasn't more support
24:16the stranded soldiers needed.
24:18They just needed
24:19to get out.
24:20But with a plan
24:21that had spiraled
24:21so far out of control,
24:23and with contingency plans
24:24that were ineffective,
24:25they were essentially
24:26trying to recreate
24:27a brand new plan
24:29all on the fly.
24:30All while the forces
24:31on the ground
24:31just were trying
24:32to hold out.
24:34Helicopters couldn't land,
24:35so what they really needed
24:36were armored vehicles
24:38down on the ground.
24:39And here in Mogadishu,
24:40those belonged
24:41to the Pakistani
24:42and Malaysian forces
24:43with the UN.
24:45Both stationed
24:45at the city's port
24:46several miles away.
24:48So at around 9pm
24:50at night,
24:51Task Force Ranger
24:51and the 10th Mountain Division
24:53departed to gather
24:54reinforcements
24:54with the Malaysians
24:55and the Pakistanis.
24:57And at this time,
24:58deep in the Mogadishu
24:59battlefield,
25:00there was an internal debate
25:01going on within
25:02the SNA forces themselves.
25:04With the Americans
25:05hauled up in their
25:06defensive positions
25:06across roofs,
25:07trees,
25:08and within residential areas,
25:09the best way
25:10to target them,
25:11Yumale surmised,
25:12was with a barrage
25:13of mortars.
25:14But as he ordered
25:15his men to prepare
25:16for such an attack,
25:17he was approached
25:18by one of his own officers,
25:20joined by relatives
25:21of those held captive
25:22by the Americans
25:23in their homes,
25:23who begged him
25:25to reconsider.
25:26A mortar barrage
25:27on the Americans' positions
25:28would absolutely,
25:30certainly,
25:31also kill Somali civilians,
25:33including many children.
25:34So they pled with Yumale
25:36to reconsider.
25:37And so with this,
25:38it was ultimately decided
25:39that the mortars
25:40would only be used
25:41against the U.S.
25:42reinforcements instead.
25:44Elsewhere,
25:45at around 11.15pm,
25:47the Quick Reaction Force
25:48rescue convoy
25:49attempted to mount
25:49their rescue.
25:50Now with four Pakistani tanks
25:52and 28 Malaysian
25:54armored personnel carriers,
25:55the convoy moved out
25:57with 70 vehicles total.
25:59Ideally,
26:00they could have reached
26:00the trapped forces quickly.
26:02After all,
26:03they were only located
26:04three miles away
26:05as the crow flies.
26:06But this situation
26:08was far from ideal.
26:10SNA roadblocks
26:11and ambushes
26:12with RPG fire
26:13turned this three-mile stretch
26:14into a deadly slog
26:16of nearly two and a half hours.
26:18The language barrier
26:20between the various units
26:21participating
26:22didn't help either.
26:23And the soldiers
26:24struggled to communicate
26:25with each other.
26:26At one point,
26:27the Malaysian vehicles
26:28that were leading the convoy
26:29took a wrong turn.
26:30And when they did,
26:32both of the lead vehicles
26:33were hit by RPGs,
26:35destroying the vehicles,
26:36killing their Malaysian drivers,
26:38and wounding others
26:39who were inside.
26:40So,
26:41as midnight passed
26:42into the early hours
26:43of the 4th of October,
26:44dozens of U.S. Rangers
26:46were still trapped
26:46inside of Mogadishu,
26:48tired,
26:48injured,
26:49and now ill-equipped
26:50to fight at night.
26:51In addition to not having
26:53brought any water,
26:54having foreseen this
26:55to only be a short,
26:56simple daytime operation,
26:58they had also not brought along
26:59their night vision goggles either,
27:01nor any extra batteries
27:03for their radios.
27:04Finally,
27:05nearing 2 a.m.,
27:06the Quick Reaction Force unit
27:08had managed to fight through
27:09just enough
27:10to reach Task Force Ranger.
27:12But even with their rescue
27:13now imminent,
27:14many still opted to stay,
27:16because there was still
27:17the matter of Super 61's pilot,
27:20Cliff Wolcott.
27:21At around 3 a.m.,
27:23in the pitch black of the night,
27:25half a dozen men
27:26were still struggling
27:27to extract Wolcott
27:28from the wreckage of his crash,
27:30to prevent his body
27:31from becoming desecrated
27:32by the SNA.
27:33This particular concern
27:35was well-founded,
27:36as after the previous
27:37shooting down
27:37of a U.S. Black Hawk
27:38that occurred in September
27:39in 1993,
27:41Somali militiamen
27:41had reportedly carried
27:42around the bodies
27:43of the helicopter's
27:44crewmen in Saks,
27:45displaying them
27:46to passerbys.
27:47Now,
27:48Wolcott's comrades
27:49refused to let
27:50the same fate
27:51befall anyone else.
27:53Meanwhile,
27:53the rest of the men
27:54had holed up
27:55in four homes
27:55on a street nearby,
27:57where they hoped
27:57to find shelter
27:58from the gunfire
27:59and treat their wounded.
28:01The house's inhabitants,
28:02which were mostly women
28:03and many children,
28:04were locked in
28:05and prevented from leaving.
28:07In later interviews,
28:08the U.S. soldiers involved
28:10stated that there was
28:11equal part fear
28:12that if they left,
28:13they would assist the militias
28:14in fighting against them,
28:15and also that they might
28:16become injured
28:17in the crossfire.
28:18If we could have
28:19taken those families
28:20and just moved them
28:21out of there,
28:21we would have,
28:22one senior officer
28:23later explained.
28:25We obviously
28:25couldn't do that
28:26because it was as dangerous
28:27for them out there
28:28as it was for us.
28:29It's not a part
28:30of our mindset
28:31to take hostages,
28:32especially women
28:33and children,
28:34the officer later added.
28:36Finally,
28:37at around 5.45 a.m.
28:39in the early morning,
28:40after trying for hours,
28:42using a Humvee
28:43with a tow rope,
28:44Task Force Ranger
28:45was able to retrieve
28:46Wolcott's body
28:47from the wreckage
28:48of Super 61.
28:49The 14th Infantry
28:512nd Battalion
28:52then made for
28:53Durant's crash site,
28:54where they found
28:55the entire crew missing,
28:57leaving behind
28:58only trails of blood.
29:00As the sun began to rise,
29:01there was finally
29:02an opportunity
29:03to get out.
29:04But since there
29:05wasn't enough room
29:05for everybody
29:06on board the convoy,
29:07the Rangers began
29:08a trek on foot
29:10towards the Pakistani stadium,
29:12where some 4,000
29:13Pakistani troops
29:14were stationed.
29:15This journey
29:16would later become
29:17known as the
29:18Mogadishu Mile.
29:19At around 6 a.m.,
29:21they convened
29:21at a rendezvous point
29:22at a bus stop,
29:23where the rest
29:23of the vehicles
29:24loaded everyone up
29:25and drove the rest
29:26of the way
29:26to the Pakistani stadium.
29:28They arrived
29:29by 6.30 a.m.,
29:30exhausted,
29:31having endeared
29:32SNA gunfire
29:33all along the way.
29:35By the time
29:35they had safely
29:36arrived at the stadium,
29:37it had been
29:38a grueling 17 hours
29:41since they had first
29:41sent out
29:42for what they
29:42initially expected
29:43was only going
29:45to be a 30-minute mission.
29:47Nominally,
29:48the Battle of Mogadishu
29:49was deemed a failure
29:50for both the losses
29:51in equipment
29:52and in lives.
29:54As the casualties
29:55were tallied up,
29:5618 American soldiers
29:58would ultimately
29:58be confirmed
29:59to have been killed
30:00during it.
30:01One Malaysian soldier
30:02was also killed.
30:03Another American soldier,
30:05Durant,
30:06was taken as a prisoner
30:06of war.
30:0784 American soldiers
30:09were also injured,
30:11all with 7 Malaysians
30:12and 2 Pakistanis.
30:14But the operation
30:15had also managed
30:16to capture
30:16their intended targets.
30:18And despite
30:18their own losses,
30:19had also killed
30:20a significant number
30:22of Idid's fighters
30:23as well.
30:24Of the Somalis
30:24who were also killed
30:25by the fighting
30:26were also many civilians.
30:28The numbers of fighters
30:29and civilians
30:30declared by Somali leaders
30:32would put the total
30:32death toll
30:33at 312
30:34and those injured
30:36at 814 people.
30:38And the battle
30:39would leave deep,
30:40lasting scars
30:41on the people
30:42of Mogadishu as well.
30:43It was the Americans
30:45who destroyed my house,
30:46killed my husband,
30:47my two sons,
30:48and my brother,
30:49and left my family
30:50in lasting misery,
30:52said Binti Aliwardhere,
30:55who was just 24 years old
30:56at the time,
30:57speaking in Netflix's
30:592025 documentary.
31:01Binti's four-year-old son
31:03who survived
31:04was also permanently
31:05blinded by the fighting.
31:07At the very least,
31:08they must admit
31:09what they have done
31:10and compensate us,
31:11she later added.
31:13Durant,
31:13who was captured
31:14as a prisoner of war,
31:15was eventually released
31:1711 days after his capture
31:18with the help
31:19from the Red Cross.
31:20He shared that,
31:21while a prisoner,
31:23his captives,
31:23quote,
31:24beat him violently
31:26with their fists
31:26and with sticks,
31:28end quote.
31:28He also reported
31:30being stripped,
31:31carried around naked,
31:32blindfolded,
31:33and restrained
31:33across exuberant crowds.
31:36The Black Hawk Down
31:37fiasco spelled
31:38the beginning of the end
31:39for U.S. involvement
31:40in Somalia.
31:41On the 7th of October,
31:43President Bill Clinton
31:44announced that
31:45all U.S. troops
31:46would be pulled
31:46entirely out of the country.
31:48The United States
31:49has long had to face
31:50the challenge
31:51of determining
31:52to what degree
31:52it wants to participate
31:53in global peacekeeping efforts
31:55and whether or not
31:56U.S. lives
31:57should be put at risk
31:58for peacekeeping.
31:59Events in Somalia
32:00between 1992 and 1994
32:02threw that debate
32:04in a sharp relief,
32:05he said.
32:06Then,
32:07in January of 1994,
32:09the men
32:09whose attempted capture
32:10had cost so many lives,
32:12military and civilian,
32:14were ultimately released.
32:15On the 18th of January,
32:17Olar Salad Elmi
32:18and Mohamed Hassan Awale
32:20were both freed
32:21to the enthusiastic celebrations
32:23of hundreds of Somalis
32:25who gathered on the 20th.
32:26And only a few months later,
32:28on the 25th of March of 1994,
32:31the U.S. had fully withdrawn
32:33all of their remaining forces
32:34from Somalia.
32:36And indeed,
32:37the man who all of this chaos
32:39had been for
32:40was ultimately killed
32:41just two years later
32:42in August of 1996,
32:45succumbing to a gunshot wound
32:46after a battle
32:47with his former allies.
32:49And as always,
32:51thank you for watching
32:52this episode on Nebula.
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