Grenada 1983 (Men-at-Arms)

The "center of gravity" was the 10,000 foot runway under construction at Point Salines which would be used to land Soviet transport planes loaded with armaments as a way station to latin America to arm the "revolution" there. The Cubans in charge of the defenses miscalculated as the authors showed and dug-in on the beaches awaiting a seaborne assault by marines, which never came as we wisely avoided a public confidence-defeating frontal attack bloodbath and dropped in from the sky by parachutes using Airborne forces. American audacity carried the day, as the runway was cleared and began to accept C-141B Starlifter transports full of ragtop-helmet camouflaged Paratroopers of the 82d Airborne who together with the Rangers rescued the American medical students, captured the Soviet arms and ammunition and swept north to link up with the marines, securing the island. The victory on Grenada signaled that the "Reagen doctrine" of rolling back communism had teeth and America had the will to put men on the ground to stop evil from over-running the planet. The victory we enjoy in the Cold War began those dark days of October in 1983.

The authors of this fine book have illustrated these events with numerous pictures and color plates by Paul Hannon showing the equipment and uniforms of the combatants. What's good for the military professional is that each illustration is scrutinized for important details--from the beret-clad Paratrooper scout who used tape patterns to camouflage his M16 rifle to the STABO extraction harness worm as load bearing gear on the SFOD-Delta trooper. You can pick up insights on how to bind prisoners all the way to gain an appreciation of tactics--don't attack gun positions with helicopters using TOW missiles that require steady guidance or else you might get shot down like the two marine Cobras were, always carry anti-tank weapons to incinerate not just deflate the tires of enemy armored cars (Rangers brought 90mm Recoilless rifles for this, SEAL Tm 6 didn't for the Sir Paul Scoon recovery mission).

This is a must-have reference book for the student of modern warfare.

Airborne!


A fairly objective account   June 17, 2000
Dilip Susruta Samarasinghe (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

I liked this book because it is fairly objective in its account of the US invasion in 1983 in Grenada. Though the book justifies the American invasion it does not cast Maurice Bishop in a totally negative light. It also shows the Cubans as reluctant adversaries: they were backers of Bishop but were forced into supporting the Junta that overthrew and assassinated him. Also, the US intervention is shown as not all that well executed: there were many fiascos and unecessary casualties in a relatively small war. The photos of the book are clear and the colour plates are also nicely done.