Caribbean Crisis: The Invasion of Grenada, 1983

In 1983, President Reagan's military intervention in Grenada, under the guise of rescuing U.S. citizens, led to a botched operation, exposing political and military missteps.

In 1983, Grenada, a small Commonwealth Island in the Caribbean, had strong ties with Communist Cuba. Bernard Coard and a group of hard-line Marxist-Leninists overthrew the unelected Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and then executed Bishop and his entourage.

President Ronald Reagan displayed a paranoic concern as he believed that, in Grenada, Cuba was building a powerful military base. To eliminate what he saw as a threat, he resolved to initiate regime change in Grenada. To justify an armed intervention, he made the safety of US citizens on the Island his casus belli.

The poorly trained, lightly-armed and unmotivated military forces of Grenada were only hundreds strong. Nevertheless, Reagan assembled a major fleet and 7,500 troops to invade the island and rescue his citizens. This was an overly massive hammer to crack a miniscule nut.

Reagan misled the British Government as to his intentions, ignored the trenchant views of Prime Minister Thatcher and, having assembled a cosmetic coalition of other Caribbean states, US forces invaded the island.

This well-researched and perceptive book by an experienced historian examines what he describes as, ‘a masterclass in political and military ineptitude’. The invasion was judged by the United Nations to be illegal and, during the USA’s three-day Operation URGENT FURY, anything that could go wrong – did. However, the courage of American servicemen is not in question although the quality of their senior leadership is.

In this far-reaching book, the author covers the trial of the murderers, and the impact of Reagan’s belligerent rhetoric that, following URGENT FURY, very nearly triggered World War III.

This is a crisp, incisive summation and very readable account of an incident in modern history that restored democracy to Grenada, and led to major changes in the manner that the armed forces of the USA conduct their business.