There’s a good chance you don’t know the Battle of Mogadishu outside of a not-so-little movie called Black Hawk Down. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator), the 2001 action film offered a fly-on-the-wall, scarily jittery portrayal of the very-real fight between U.S. soldiers and militia members in Mogadishu, Somalia, which took place from October 3 to October 4, 1993. It was itself adapted from Mark Bowden’s seminal 1999 nonfiction book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, albeit retold through a fictionalised lens, and featured a still-starry cast including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, and Tom Hardy (in his first film role!). It also went on to win two Academy Awards, for Best Film Editing and Best Sound at 2002’s Oscars ceremony.
But if the history of the shocking true war story has escaped you, Netflix’s new documentary, Surviving Black Hawk Down, fills in the gaps. In a full-circle moment, the three-part series, from Ridley Scott himself (through his Ridley Scott Associates company) and directed by Jack MacInnes, debuted on the streamer on February 10. It trains its eye on both soldiers and Somali individuals who survived the skirmish and whose lives were irrevocably changed as a result. In addition to interviews with those involved, the docuseries uses reenactments and contemporaneous on-the-ground footage to provide a comprehensive, multi-pronged perspective on the devastating bloodshed.
It’s a different-but-crucial take on a lesser-known battle in American and global war history, but what are the key facts you need to know? And what is the broader legacy of this moment, as seen in Surviving Black Hawk Down? We break it all down here.
Stream Surviving Black Hawk Down Here
Watch Black Hawk Down (2002) Here
What Was the Battle of Mogadishu?
While the battle happened over a two-day period, it was actually the culmination of a U.S.-led intervention in Somalia that started in 1992. American military entered Somalia with the purpose of protecting food aid to civilians. Local warlords had overtaken any kind of functional government after the dictator Mohammed Siad Barre had been pushed out the year prior, according to Brittanica. At the same time, the United Nations had stepped in, attempting to form a coalition government. Work on the ground was overseen by the U.S. Army in an effort known as Operation Restore Hope, backed by President George H.W. Bush and successor Bill Clinton.
While the battle crisis became the focus, especially in the U.S., the U.N. did estimate that 250,000 lives were ultimately saved by the overall effort, per Smithsonian.
American forces decided that their main objective would be to neutralise the warlord Muhammad Farah Aydid and his Habr Gidr militia. This meant Major General William Garrison coordinating a raid using special forces on a hotel in Mogadishu, where Aydid was believed to be hiding out. And so Operation Gothic Serpent commenced on October 3, with forces who landed in helicopters securing the hotel and taking prisoners – though notably not Aydid, who was nowhere to be found.
The operation only got worse from there. Vehicles trying to extract the prisoners faced roadblocks and ammunition on the streets. Worse, two Black Hawk helicopters (among the most-equipped military helicopters) were shot down by rocket-propelled grenades, giving both the Black Hawk Down book and film their menacing names. As a result, surviving crew members from the air had to fight through combatants – and in some cases, wait out gunfire in nearby homes until morning. Two American soldiers who fought off Somalis were killed, and a helicopter pilot was captured.
What Were the Consequences?
In the morning of October 4, 1993, following what was clearly a disaster, 100 vehicles sent by the U.S. and U.N. barreled through the gunfighting and wreckage to retrieve survivors, with more threatening skirmishes underway.
Not surprisingly, given how it was seen as an utter failure, the operation marked the end of America’s mission in Somalia. Clinton quickly pulled troops out of the region.
How Does Surviving Black Hawk Down Reframe the Story?
More than 30 years after the events that would inspire Scott’s Black Hawk Down, Netflix’s Surviving Black Hawk Down – with Scott’s own production company orchestrating the renewed action – is detailed in its reporting and retrospective look at what happened. The three episodes include interviews with members of the Army Rangers and Delta Force, who acted as special operation units during the Battle of Mogadishu. Additionally, Somalians appear throughout, among them militiamen who went against American forces, women exposed to the violence and mayhem, and a war photographer.
What they all share is a sense of the importance of remembering such a harrowing event, long after it has receded in many people’s minds.
Paul Schrodt is a freelance writer and editor covering pop culture and the entertainment industry. He has contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Men’s Health, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles magazine, and others.
