- Also called:
- Operation Urgent Fury
- Date:
- October 25, 1983 - October 28, 1983
- Location:
- Grenada
- Participants:
- Grenada
- United States
U.S. invasion of Grenada
-
What was the U.S. invasion of Grenada?
In October 1983, the U.S. led an invasion of Grenada to depose a military government that had seized power in a coup. Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was deposed and executed by radical members of his leftist New Jewel Movement.
U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan, who considered Grenada a Soviet-Cuban colony, ordered Operation Urgent Fury to protect American students at the medical school and prevent the country from becoming a dangerous Soviet outpost. U.S. forces, joined by troops from neighboring Caribbean countries, quickly subdued Grenadian army elements and Cuban soldiers and construction workers. By mid-December, all U.S. combat forces had been withdrawn.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where is Grenada located?
Grenada is an island country in the West Indies, specifically the southernmost island of the Lesser Antilles. It is situated in the eastern Caribbean Sea, approximately 100 miles (160 km) north of the coast of Venezuela. The island is oval-shaped, about 21 miles (34 km) long and 12 miles (19 km) wide. The capital of Grenada is St. George’s, which is located on the southwest coast.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why did the United States decide to invade Grenada in 1983?
In 1983, the United States invaded Grenada to overthrow a military government that had taken power in a coup. President Reagan justified the intervention by citing the need to prevent Grenada from becoming a Soviet-Cuban outpost and to protect American students at the medical school there. The invasion occurred shortly after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was deposed and executed by radical elements of his leftist New Jewel Movement.
The U.S. feared the construction of a large airstrip would be used by Soviet aircraft. Grenada's governor-general, Paul Scoon, requested military action from friendly states to restore peace, which provided a legal basis for the intervention.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who were the main groups involved in the invasion?
The U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983, also known as Operation Urgent Fury, involved several key groups. The primary invading force consisted of the United States military, with initial landings by U.S. Army Rangers and subsequent reinforcements from the 82nd Airborne Division and U.S. Marine Corps.
These forces were accompanied by approximately 300 soldiers from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries, including Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent. Resistance came from the Grenadian armed forces and Cuban construction engineers, some of whom were trained for combat.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What happened during the invasion itself?
Operation Urgent Fury began in the early hours of October 25, 1983, with 200 U.S. Army Rangers parachuting to seize the Point Salines airstrip now Maurice Bishop International Airport. They were followed by 500 more Rangers and 5,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division.
A U.S. Navy SEAL team freed Governor-General Paul Scoon from house arrest, while others prepared landing sites for 2,000 U.S. Marine Corps troops. The combined forces moved to occupy airfields, power stations, and broadcast facilities, and secured St. George’s University School of Medicine, where over 600 American students were enrolled.
Initial resistance was strong, especially at the Point Salines airstrip, but the Cuban army construction engineers were outnumbered and mostly surrendered after two days. Comparatively few members of the Grenadian armed forces resisted. The U.S. expeditionary force was accompanied by about 300 soldiers from the OECS countries.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What were the results and effects of the U.S. invasion of Grenada?
The U.S. invasion of Grenada, also known as Operation Urgent Fury, began on October 25, 1983, with the goal of overthrowing the military government that had recently taken power in a coup.
The U.S. justified its invasion by stating the need to protect American students at the medical school and prevent the country from becoming a Soviet outpost. Joined by troops from neighboring Caribbean countries, the U.S. forces quickly took control of Grenada.
By mid-December 1983, all U.S. combat forces were withdrawn. Casualties for the U.S. totaled 19 killed and 116 wounded. Cuban forces suffered 24 killed and 59 wounded. 21 members of the Grenadian army were killed in action, while civilian casualties numbered 24 dead and 337 wounded. Nicholas Brathwaite led the country until democratic elections were held in December 1984.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
U.S. invasion of Grenada, (October 25, 1983), U.S.-led invasion of the Caribbean country of Grenada to overthrow a military government that had taken power in a bloody coup days earlier.
From independence to the October 1983 coup
Grenada achieved independence from the United Kingdom on February 7, 1974, and the transition was marked by violence, strikes, and controversy centering upon Eric Gairy, who was named Grenada’s prime minister. Gairy’s autocratic rule was characterized by widespread corruption, and his paramilitary Mongoose Gang conducted a campaign of extralegal violence against his political opponents. Resistance to Gairy continued to mount, and a coalition called the New Jewel Movement (NJM), along with other opposition parties, succeeded in reducing Gairy’s parliamentary majority in the 1976 election.
At the time of the coup that deposed him, Gairy, who was widely known for his interest in the paranormal, was at the United Nations in New York, pressing his case for the creation of an international committee to study unidentified flying objects.
On March 13, 1979, while Gairy was out of the country, the NJM staged a bloodless coup, proclaimed a People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG), and named their leader, Maurice Bishop, as prime minister. The new government faced opposition from Western countries because of its socialist principles and the substantial aid it had begun receiving from Cuba, but it embarked on a program to rebuild the economy, which had been left in disarray by Gairy. Over the next several years the Bishop regime implemented social and economic reforms, signed mutual-assistance agreements with Soviet-bloc states, and hastened construction of a large airstrip that the United States feared would ultimately be used by Soviet aircraft. Bishop, for his part, asserted that the airport was critical for the development of Grenada’s tourism sector, as current facilities could not accommodate direct flights from the U.S. or Europe. Some 800 Cuban troops were dispatched to provide security and construction assistance with the airfield.
The administration of U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan tried to counter Soviet influence in the region with its 1983 Caribbean Basin Initiative, a trade and development agreement, and Bishop seemed open to the possibility of closer ties with the United States. In June 1983 Bishop traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with U.S. officials; this attempt to thaw relations with the U.S. was fiercely opposed by hard-line Marxists within the NJM. On October 13, 1983, Bernard Coard, Bishop’s deputy prime minister, moved to topple the government. Bishop was placed under house arrest at his home in Saint George’s, and Gen. Hudson Austin, commander of the Grenadian armed forces, declared himself head of a revolutionary military council.
On October 19 massive throngs of supporters gathered at Bishop’s house, overpowered his guards, and freed him. The crowd then traveled to the city’s market square before proceeding to Fort Rupert (now Fort George), the headquarters of the Grenadian army. Coup supporters among the armed forces opened fire on the crowd, and Bishop and several of his cabinet ministers were seized and executed. Paul Scoon, Grenada’s governor-general, invited “military action by friendly states” to restore peace, and much of the legal basis for the subsequent invasion would hinge on this request. Scoon was promptly placed under house arrest. On October 22 representatives of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) met in Barbados and pledged to remove “the outlaw regime on Grenada,” an endeavor for which they formally requested U.S. assistance.
Operation Urgent Fury
On October 25, 1983, the U.S. launched Operation Urgent Fury, its largest military action since the end of the Vietnam War. Initial landings were made in the predawn hours by 200 U.S. Army Rangers, who parachuted from an altitude of less than 500 feet (150 meters) to avoid fire from Cuban antiaircraft guns at the Point Salines airstrip (now Maurice Bishop International Airport). The airport was seized, and 500 more Rangers were flown in, followed by an additional 5,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division who were airlifted directly from U.S. bases. Meanwhile, a U.S. Navy SEAL contingent freed Scoon from house arrest, while other SEAL operators prepared beaches and landing sites for 2,000 U.S. Marine Corps amphibious and helicopter troops. The combined forces quickly moved to occupy the island’s airfields, power station, and broadcast facilities. U.S. troops also secured the St. George’s University School of Medicine, where more than 600 American students were enrolled.
Initial resistance was sharp, especially at the Point Salines airstrip. Many of the Cuban workers who were helping to build the runway were army construction engineers, fully trained and equipped for combat. They were outnumbered, however, and most surrendered after two days. Comparatively few members of the Grenadian armed forces resisted. The U.S. expeditionary force was accompanied by some 300 soldiers from the OECS countries of Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
Casualties and legacy
In a televised address on October 27, Reagan characterized Grenada as a “Soviet-Cuban colony” and claimed that the invasion had occurred “just in time.” The invasion came just 48 hours after a suicide truck bomb attack on the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that claimed the lives of 241 service members.
By mid-December 1983 all U.S. combat forces had been withdrawn from Grenada, with some 300 noncombat troops remaining in the country as advisers for the OECS peacekeeping contingent. Scoon, as the acting head of government, appointed an interim advisory council under Nicholas Brathwaite, a Grenadian education official who had been serving as the regional director for the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Brathwaite led the country until democratic elections could be held in December 1984.
Casualties in the U.S. invasion of Grenada were relatively few. Among U.S. troops, 19 were killed and 116 were wounded. Cuban forces suffered perhaps 24 killed and 59 wounded. There were 21 members of the Grenadian army killed in action, while Grenadian civilian casualties numbered 24 dead and 337 wounded.