Grenada 1983
A detailed look at the 1983 American invasion of Grenada, the largest and most significant US military operation since the end of the Vietnam War.
When a hardline Marxist faction overthrew Grenada’s existing communist regime in October 1983, a coalition of Caribbean countries requested US military assistance. With many American students on the island, President Ronald Reagan and military leaders were forced to plan the operation with minimal warning and poor intelligence. Operation Urgent Fury – the US invasion of Grenada – began on October 25, and was the only time that President Reagan deployed American ground forces in combat during his presidency.
This was the first major deployment of the post-Vietnam all-volunteer force and involved the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and special forces. Despite international criticism and UN disapproval, the US maintained that rescuing the American citizens trapped in Grenada was reason enough to invade. This book examines the tricky political situation Reagan faced, the three-day battle against Grenadian and Cuban forces, and how this operation led to the modernization of the US military and prepared it for post-Cold War conflicts. With detailed maps, diagrams, and stunning artwork, this book explores the legacy of this small but crucial military campaign in US history.
Matthew A Frakes is a historian of US foreign relations and national security and an assistant professor in the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at the Ohio State University. He earned a PhD in history from the University of Virginia and also holds degrees in history from Princeton University, Columbia University, and the London School of Economics. His research focuses on the evolution of the United States’ role in the world and how American leaders have framed their strategies and made decisions at moments of global change. He is the author of Rogue States: The Making of America’s Global War on Terror. He lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University.