a force of elite American troops on board Blackhawk helicopters strike Into the Heart of the City of madesu Somalia we were Invincible we were Superman and these were the captain Kirks of Army Aviation their task to abduct two sidekicks of a brutal Somali warlord we just came out of nowhere and dropped into the city this special forces mission is supposed to last less than an hour but the operation spirals out of control we got to Black off down we're going to Black off down and then everything changed then it became a whole another mission thousands of Somali surround the troops trapped inside enemy territory once that blackhaw crashed it was immense it was a mob the Americans launch a rescue mission that will push them to the Limit The Hornet's Nest so to speak had been stirred up and we were receiving fire at every intersection the battle would become the legend of Blackhawk Down [Music] on the east coast of Africa lies the country of Somalia its capital city marad [Music] disu it is about to witness one of the bloodiest chapters in its history US forces are launching a raid into a slum neighborhood near the city's bakara Market on board the helicopters are the Elite Special Forces Unit Task Force Ranger their mission to capture and extract two henchmen of a suspected war criminal it was pretty simple to get in capture the targets and to get out if the leadership of the country said this is what we want you guys to go do that's what I wanted to go do for the young American soldiers it's just another day of the office we were certainly mentally prepared for it and we were certainly ready for whatever that they could throw at us we went where we wanted to go and there wasn't anyone there that could tell us or make us do otherwise there simply wasn't 24 Pakistani un 3 mil away at the American headquarters senior officers are directing the raid where are heading up Task Force Ranger is two Star General William Garrison William Garrison was an expert infantryman he had served in the Airborne he had been an advisor in Vietnam Garrison has fought battles all over the world for nearly three decades General Garrison was a very much well respected in in the field of Special Forces despite his men's confidence Garrison has experienced enough to know this mission is full of risk he's sending Task Force Ranger into one of the most dangerous cities in the world but if it succeeds he will strike a blow against one of the most ruthless men in Somalia Muhammad Farah adid [Music] aded hits the headlines in 1992 when he tries to seize control of a famine ravaged Somalia a United Nations relief Force including American troops arrives to help feed the starving Millions theaction but Aid's Clan attempt to control the supply of food food was power clans were would raid food convoys take food distribute it onto their own members this then forced United Nations to look at security measures adids men Massacre 24 un peacekeepers it makes him a wanted [Music] man but a deed just disappears General deed had basically gone underground and so so some of the thoughts of Task Force Ranger was if we can't get a deed let's look for the lieutenants Garrison has Intelligence that two of ad's most trusted Associates have been spotted in Mad disu these are the men the Task Force Ranger have been sent in to snatch if you could cut off th those leaders then that would make it very tough for AED Garrison's Task Force Ranger seems perfect for this extraction Mission at its heart are the Rangers the US Army's Elite light infantry fighting alongside them are highly trained helicopter teams and members of the secretive Special Forces Unit Delta Force Delta is arguably the the best in the world of Special Operations so when we're engaging what we considered gangs or street level thugs the battle was ours to lose the assault force of 160 men knows exactly what's expected of them the mission has been planned to the finest detail it is supposed to last less than an hour speed and surprise was the most important elements of any of these Rays Delta operators will land on the target building in Little Bird helicopters storm inside and arrest aed's men at the same time Ranger units known as chalks will rope in from Blackhawk helicopters chalks 1 2 3 and four will each secure a corner of the building and form a defensive perimeter a convoy will drive to the Target building pick up the prisoners and the assault team and bring them back to base the operation will be monitored live from Garrison's headquarters video cameras mounted on helicopters follow the men as they go into action by mid-afternoon the Airborne assault Force has maneuvered above the target building on board Rangers Kenny Thomas and Randy Ralia prepare to fast rope in very orchestrated and very rehearsed kick the Rope out and then everybody just starts going and it's a very fast and very efficient way to get people out we just came out of nowhere and dropped into the City and it was almost that calm before the storm the Rangers secure the area around the target Building inside the Delta team move in on aed's men [Music] it's no contest it took Delta Forest about 15 minutes or so to to get everybody secured The Raid is going like clockwork it brought all the guys out of the building and we were like yes we scored like we we knew we had done a good thing so that left us on the target waiting for our ride with the the exception of one injured private the Special Operations mission is a massive success it was another Sunday drive home that you would be able to complete the the mission and uh let's go home now [Music] boys the Americans and their prisoners begin to load up onto the Convoy but the males are quickly amassing forces chalk 3 the ranger unit including Kenny Thomas and Randy Ralia are waiting near the target building soon they are taking fire started with one weapon being fired at at you from one direction to multiple directions but it really wasn't that bad at that point reason it wasn't bad it was because they were missing but as Kenny discovers the somalis are becoming more accurate I was on a knee firing down the road and it hit me right here damn it just knocked me [Music] backwards and I looked over and Kenny is holding a magazine and shaking I thought think was going to blow up or something I'm pulling the magazine I looked over across the street and ran and's over there he's like almost laughing at me cuz he must have looked silly to him and the magazine kept that round from going through and hitting him in a chest Center Mass shot on Kenny and there's a perfect hole in it and then on the back side the whole back end of it blown out and it's you're like wow it's a game of inches you know every second the Americans spend in the D Zone gives the Somali time to bring in more militia men and they have a lethal surprise for Task Force Ranger I looked up and I saw the black smoke coming from the tail section of the blackhaw and it went into a spin it looked odd like it shouldn't be flying like that in the back of your mind you knew that it was going down heard of impact we got a blackhog crash to the city Black Hog crash to the city we're just waiting to go home when the first helicopter got shot down and then everything changed then it became a whole another [Music] mission the Somali near the crash site swarm towards the injured men of the downed helicopter you saw masses of people blocks away from us moving in that direction at his headquarters Garrison and his team watch the disaster unfold among his staff is Ranger Larry Moos it was very busy especially once the helicopter crashed in the city uh everybody's uh anxiety goes up a notch we are very focused on how can we evacuate everybody from the city the two pilots are dead but there are some survivors at the site now General Garrison has has to react he has to now put in forces this is a major concern because where the shoot on occurred the situation is all the more difficult because the helicopter has crashed deep inside hostile territory Task Force Ranger has in an urban area that might be very difficult to get forces in and conversely get forces out Garrison orders another helicopter to drop Medics and snipers onto the crash site but that just buys time he will also have to divert the Convoy that's loaded up with the prisoners to pick up the survivors but no one knows how long the Convoy will take to arrive he mobilizes the Rangers and Delta operators that are still on the ground near the target building they follow orders to move to the crash site and form a protective Cordon as soon as they can chalk 3 with Randy Ralia and Kenny Thomas are just 500 yard away from the crash site and immediately you knew you would run to help them that would be your immediate reaction go help them you see the bird coming down we got to go but task force rangers raid has already stirred up a hornet's nest so you have a whole mobilized City that could potentially be used against you at the crash site there was a sense of urgency for sure because you could see people moving down on the on the side streets heading towards the crash so it was a foot race it's now that ranger training kicks in each man goes up to the wall up to the corner and you run across one at a time it's shoot move communicate put you guys in a position where they can get an effective Field of Fire identify the bad guys it was it very automatic we all knew what we needed to do as the American troops move close to the crash site the fire intensifies I heard like a shrieking yell and I looked over and I saw a Delta operator his head flipped back and he just fell it was probably the shortest most violent thing I've ever witnessed you remember that we we really viewed Delta as the Superman the only thing they didn't have were capes so to see him shot and dropped like that was very sobering when people start going down and you see how matter of fact to death is you realize oh well if I die here I die here but I'm not going to let it happen to the guys around me man we weren't fighting for the flag and we weren't fighting for Freedom at this point you're fighting for each other that's it and that's when I I turned around went back and I was like hey you guys take care of each other we're going to make it out of here that's that's the only way we're going make it out of here Kenny and Randy's unit continue to fight their way towards the Americans at the crash site but they're still a block away all the while the somalis are gaining in confidence and numbers be advised we're coming on heavy fire at headquarters General Garrison gets more bad news the Convoy that's been diverted towards the crash site has run into trouble unfortunately because of problems with Direction the Convoy actually became lost within the city then add on people shooting at you add on blockades of Roads it becomes a very difficult job Garrison realizes it will take far longer than he thought to get the Convoy to the men at the crash site he will have to use helicopters to support them for now and this is [Music] risky Somali lie in wait with rocket propelled grenades all over the city a half mile away from the crash site a second Black Hawk is targeted Garrison and his team watch in horror as the second helicopter goes down got another helicopter now we need combat search and resue when the second one went in it just uh ramped up the intensity again there are survivors one of them is the Blackhawk's pilot Mike Durant uh whatever it took uh whatever Force we needed to put together uh we were going to do that and and bring everybody back off of the the objectives another Blackhawk ropes in two Delta snipers to protect jant and his crew they are quickly surrounded the two black hawks have crashed half a mile away from each other making the rescue mission even harder and the Convoy is still unable to break through to the first crash [Music] site half its's force is now either wounded or dead we kept hearing on the radio the amount of casualties all I wanted to do was be out there with them and and be a part of the effort Garrison reaches a devastating decision the rescue Convoy is becoming combat ineffective he has no choice but to pull them [Music] [Music] out back at the first crash site Kenny Thomas hears that the Convoy is being hauled back to base I can't believe it's happened but the the reality of it is that it is happening and now what are you going to do about it most of the American troops have made it to the roads and alleys surrounding the first crashed Black Hawk now they begin to form a defensive perimeter around the downed aircraft and wounded men it was just putting guys in the right Vantage points to minimize the amount of fire we're receiving from the enemy Kenny and ry's chalk 3 take up their positions near a main road they are surrounded by a bing mob they have to find a way to hold them off so they turn to the squad's M60 heavy machine gun we needed that M60 there and we were going to do whatever it took to keep that M60 there enemy fire strikes the M60 Gunner k takes over there was these two guys that were just popping their heads up over a little retaining wall just popping up and doing the Mishu Machine Gun Man which is not even aiming and just spraying rounds so I got behind the gun I waited for those guys stick their heads up and fired off a couple round like and then the gun goes click click and I'm like what the it's out of rounds everybody's yelling at me you the law and I'm like what cuz the law and I had been carrying around this light anti-tank weapon the law I'm like oh I have a rocket launcher so he fired it off that took down that position that was very effective at uh dissuading Somali from coming back to that corner but now there are fewer than 100 men protecting the crash site [Music] the number of somalis are steadily growing and they outnumber the Americans at least 10 to one most of them with close links to aed's Clan the Somali Clan member believes in Clan first and last they're going to take that to the nth degree to such an extent that they're willing to die for it to make them even more fanatical some are high on the local drug of choice there was some use of an addictive drug called cat it's almost like being on a amphetamine you're going to provide you that extra uh oomph or that strength to to carry on you're fighting a tough foe we came in with the audacity that we could just kick indoors and take down who we wanted and they were going to fight back that's one of the places we went wrong we completely underestimated their ability to play the game of urban combat at the American headquarters a section of the original Convoy struggles back to base Garrison decides to send it straight back in with reinforcements Larry Moors gets his chance to fight we knew we were going immediately back in so uh very difficult to to let them know after they'd just been shot up pretty good hey we're we're heading right back in there was uh a nervousness but there also was uh a part of the way uh we do business in the Rangers [Music] the new Convoy rolls out but the Somali are ready the Somali had set up a huge roadblock there was no maneuvering around we were hit by a high volume of small arms fire to try and keep us from getting up there to that crash site it was a pretty constant fight Larry and his men tried to break through but the whole of the city is now against against them The Hornet's Nest so to speak had been stirred up and we were receiving fire at every intersection we knew that it was going to be a fight that day Larry's Convoy is held up in the middle of the city still short of the second crash site and even further from the men on the ground at crash site one the news of the Convoy slow progress comes through to the men surrounded there I could hear the radio transmissions and I remember we start looking at each other um with concern because we had never been on the ground this long and a convoy had never received this amount of fire that was where I really felt I believe [Music] discouraged not help you that's it at his base General Garrison can see his vehicles cannot find a way through the city's streets eventually he realizes he has no choice but to pull them back to base for a second time it must have been a most difficult decision for him because he knew that that potentially if he did nothing to save those individuals he would have another repeat of of maybe a massacre conversely he had to weigh weigh the risk of having even more casualties reluctantly the men in the Convoy follow General Garrison's orders from my perspective I wanted to fight into the objective but from a leadership perspective they're making a command and control decision do we really want to insert more Humvees who can't support themselves for a long fight uh we just create a bigger problem the surrounded men at the crash sites are no nearer to being [Music] rescued night falls on Morad dision it's been just 3 hours since the mission began near the first crash site Kenny and and Randy defend their positions against the mob in the darkness they would fire a randomly to try to see your muzzle flash and then at that point once they figured out where you were they would try to maneuver on you the somalis have a critical Advantage they know every inch of ground remember these are their neighborhoods they're not our neighborhoods the Americans realize they stand no chance on the City's streets thing that obviously made sense and the Delta guys had already done this was kicking a door take over the house and that's what we needed to do the men move inside and steal themselves for a long night [Music] ahead by now many of the men of Task Force Ranger are regretting not bringing an essential piece of kit into the battle we didn't anticipate being on the ground this long a lot of us didn't bring night vision basically we got complacent because we were happy not to carry more gear but we learned it's better to have and not need than to need and not have the Americans could have seen their enemy in near total darkness with their night vision goggles without them the Somas can close in the fighting along the fash side is very close combat it's almost eye to eye two to twoos the Americans are now fighting for their [Music] lives at headquarters General Garrison has already seen his operation descend into chaos not only are the men still trapped at the first crash site but at the second crash site all the men are dead or captured desperate to salvage something Garrison concentrates on the first crash site before it's too late the only way to get his men out is to launch another Convoy but having failed twice Garrison begins to realize he now needs support from other United Nation troops in Somalia how do you get the forces out well you had to rely on something else that something else for armored vehicles to break through those blockades and to protect the Convoy who could provide that it would only be the UN getting this multinational Force together will take time it's something that the men on the ground may not have back at the first crash site the men of chalk 3 are reaching their lowest air I was exhausted at this point and I got against the wall and I just slid onto the floor and it looked like the floor was wet and it was it was wet from blood you could actually smell the blood in the room once I realized I was sitting in it I was tired enough to where I didn't even care to move and then I remember picturing the White House at night just like we've all seen on the news where it's all lit up in white light at night beautiful and I remember thinking no matter what decision is made there right now there is nothing that can be done to help us and that was very sobering knowing that you're part of the the greatest fighting force in the world and no matter what decision is made at the highest level of government there is nothing that can be done to help you in that particular situation or in time to help get you out of that situation [Music] the Americans are paying the price for their overconfidence before the mission they are now lacking more than just night goggles so at this point in the night it was quite clear that we were running out of stuff they allow on ammunition food water and medical supplies at chalk 3's position one of their men is bleeding to death they desperately need more more morphine and IV bags they have to be [Music] resupplied Garrison faces another crucial decision he has already lost two black hawks in the city but a helicopter drop is the only way he can resupply his men doing nothing is not an option so he takes the responsibility I have to send a helicopter out there to to drop supplies and that's what he [Music] does Garrison orders the launch of another Blackhawk helicopter the pilot will need to be guided in by the men on the ground you have to land those supplies in a certain area where you can get access to them you land on the wrong place then all you're doing is giving supplies to the Somali the mission's success depends on an infrared strobe carried by the American troops invisible to the somalis this small device's signal allows the pilot to spot the landing Zone using his night vision [Music] sights at the crash site the men prepare for the drop this is super 66 calling in for radio check over R your out clear the Rangers Tor the helicopter in until the Pilot can spot the strob okay watch my altitude it's 100 ft into the wind altitude's good okay that's 75 ft and you're in a good position it looks like it's going to plan then a Hal the fire takeing Small Arms fire takeing Small Arms fire he just had to sit there hover and take it he knows that Bird's getting hit man you know and he has to sit there and take it because he knows there's guys counting on him it's not about like I don't know man it's pretty hairy I don't want to go in there what are you kidding me that's not how it works [Music] the Blackhawk just manages to stay in the air and makes the drop the Rangers receive their Lifeline well the bir was hovering right over the building so they just kicked them out and there was you know much needed supplies that you could argue kept one of our guys alive and he was going low on fluids they didn't have anything else to to keep his body from collapsing and without IVs he he wouldn't have made it the Black Hawk struggles back to base riddled with bullets the men on the ground can hold out a while longer but they need General Garrison to find them a way out at his headquarters harison has had a breakthrough other UN forces have agreed to let him use their tanks and armored personnel carriers in the next Convoy the Malaysians and the pakistanis were committed to going in with us which we give them a lot of credit for uh they didn't have any uh trapped Personnel on that objective uh but they accepted that role to go out there with us and and fight all night this heavily armored multinational Convoy will leave from Newport and head into the city half of the force will steer towards the second crashed helicopter to blow it up they want to make sure its high-tech Weaponry doesn't fall into enemy hands the rest will push north towards the surrounded men of the first crash [Music] site the rescue Convoy moves out 8 hours after the original raid was launched once again Larry Moors is going in anybody that was able to go out and fight that night uh we took with us so there was some uh Intel analysts there was a couple of wounded Rangers who were able to take a you know a cast off their arm because they wanted to be part of the mission Corporal Robert lad a Humvee driver assigned to the 10th Mountain division joins the rescue effort it didn't matter if it were Special Operations Rangers or even a 10th Mountain division it was just we had people in trouble and at that point we knew it was us against the country we didn't have time to think about it we just did it the Convoy battles towards the surrounded men again the somalis are ready it was a major firefight uh from block to block they running out the street taking pot shots at us you could look up on a roof or into a window and see them shooting you would see guys get shot right in front of you it was chaos this multinational Force has never train together and the result is confusion as people start driving toward the crash site the first two Malaysian armored vehicles get hit by [Music] RPGs under heavy fire the Malaysians head off in the wrong direction causing more delay at the first crash site The Waiting troops are feeling the strain there was no mistaking where that Convoy was because the exchange of gunfire was unbelievable the rescue operation is less than half a mile away but it may as well be on the other side of Africa and the radio is like they're on Route they're not in route they're in route they're not in route you know at some point you just gave up the Convoy Battles Through through the night for nearly 3 hours if you can imagine people on the rooftops and in the Alleyways and every door shooting at you that's what they were trying to get through finally it breaks through [Music] I believe at that point we thought it was pretty much over and we were all very tired and you kind of get the sense okay well this thing's finally down we get our W guys out of here the men at the crash site load up their casualties and prepare to head off everybody thinks they're about to go home but General Garrison has one final challenge for them the Ranger Creed dictates the Americans can't leave a man behind he wants his men to bring the body of the pilot of the crashed helicopter home this was something we had to do it was the right thing it was not a question that we're going to leave the body behind but the body is still trapped inside the crushed cockpit and it will take time to free it the delay could mean they lose the cover of Darkness it became a fight against time dismantling that aircraft uh to remove him uh to bring him home with us Robert Lads humy is called into action to try and free the body from the wreckage we would start attaching the tow strap the parts of the helicopter to try to pull you know different parts of the frame apart so we could get more free access to the body the delay gives the somalis more time to attack in the house Randy and Kenny's nerves are becoming shredded why is it not happening that's what you want to know let's get it done get Ricky tick come on we're all very antsy yeah and bad guys are starting to shoot again it was definitely the longest night in my life after 3 and 1 half hours the rescue team finally recovers the dead Pilot's body only then can they head home we're getting the hell out of here I don't care what's in front of us the Convoy now has to fight through a heavily defended Maze of streets towards a un held stadium in the north of the city worse there's not enough vehicles for all the troops at that point the plan was to run out next to Vehicles Randy Ralia and Kenny Thomas now have to run a gauntlet of enemy fire and they tried to use the vehicles as cover it was a pretty intense fight still that morning it sounded like someone had picked up a handful of Pebbles and were throwing it against sheep metal that Tink Tink Tink Tink tin Tink Tink Tink which was bullets bouncing off vehicles but soon the men on foot are left behind we got to the first intersection and that vehicle didn't stop for us it kept going and I'm a pretty fast guy but I'm not that fast they put the pedal down man took off and that left about 30 of us ran from that City with their cover gone Kenny and Randy suddenly find themselves more exposed to enemy fire it felt like somebody had walked up and struck me looked like someone hit him with a baseball bat on the shoulder like he just kind of did this thing so once I realized I had been shot I reached into my body armor to check for an exit wound and I started breathing in and out deeply um expecting to hear a gurgling lungs were still intact I could still move I could still breathe um which was of relief but I knew that I was okay enough to keep moving forward [Music] eventually Kenny and Randy managed to scramble on board un Vehicles half an hour later the Convoy finally forces its way back to the safety of the UN held Stadium [Music] task force rangers 14-hour ordeal is over as our taskforce came back together it was a very emotional sight you know when you look at each other you don't have to say anything because you know you gave it everything you could that was the first time I felt safe but the reality of what had just taken place was starting to set in and the emotion just comes out of you and I I remember I started tearing up and Randy walked up to me and he was asking me if I was okay like he was worried about me and he was a guy with a a hole in his back but I at that time it was enough to know he was alive cuz I Knew by then you know we had lost guys and I knew it was it was pretty it was a big deal General Garrison now counts the cost of the mission 18 Americans one Malaysian peacekeeper and 500 somalis are dead worse still the bodies of the crew from the second crash site are mutilated and dragged through the streets in front of video cameras [Music] and Garrison would later write to President Clinton saying full responsibility rested with him and not in Washington the situation gets worse the Somali broadcast images of the captured helicopter pilot Michael Durant Michael Durant was held cap 11 days after the raid he is [Music] released but the humiliation causes outrage in the US in March 1994 US troops withdraw from somal a year later the UN also pulls [Music] [Music] out in the years since the Blackhawk Down Mission the men who fought in Somalia remained proud of what they achieved adids two sidekicks were both captured alive we were there to accomplish a mission and we did accomplish the mission yeah we got our nose blooded in the fight but we won the fight the man of Task Force Ranger did everything they could to bring their comrades home [Music] [Applause] their fighting spirit will ensure this operation will go down in Special Forces history you know that you had every opportunity to step out of the fight but nobody did because they were fighting for each other because they knew if they stepped out of it it would leave someone hanging and it you weren't going to do that to your Ranger buddies you weren't going to do it to anybody and that feeling sticks with you for life [Music] a