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Urgent Fury: The Battle For Grenada
Little has been done on the subject. This is an interesting look at the Reagan administration's attitude toward the military and foreign policy. The point of view is somewhat biased, but the author is factual and precise in his opinions. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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About the author
Mark Adkin
31 books12 followersMark Adkin became a professional soldier in 1956. After leaving the British Army he was one of the last British District officers (in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands) and as the Caribbean Operations Staff Officer he participated in the US invasion of Grenada in 1983. He has written several books on military subjects, including Urgent Fury, Goose Green, Prisoner of the Turnip Heads and The Charge.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 19, 2023
If errors are portals to discovery, the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983, provided the American military with a multitude of Eureka! moments. Major Mark Adkin, a British staff officer, responsible for contributing to the Barbadian response to the political turmoil that was emanating from Grenada, provides a well-written, assiduously documented account of the U.S. incursion, in his study, “Urgent Fury.”
Adkin documents the grim reality of life in Grenada, under its dysfunctional Marxist regime, and dispels the romantic notions of those in the West, who apologized for the revolution. If one can ever assent to a foreign intervention, the Grenadian foray was surely justifiable. That said, Adkin presents a case study of the incompetence of the American national security state. Secrecy and compartmentalization hampered all aspects of operational planning. Intelligence, with respect to local conditions on the ground, was almost totally absent. Awareness of basic geographical knowledge was virtually nonexistent; and, those tasked with creating operational maps, despite possessing a nescience of data, were maligned, and still are to this day. Command and control, necessary for effective force projection, was completely inadequate. Objectives were not clearly defined, and frequently they were not adequately supported. Thus, in the end, it was only the luck and the pluck of intrepid soldiers and their units that prevented an unprecedented debacle; in short, the U.S. managed to win in spite of itself.
After action assessments of the U.S. execution of its Grenada campaign were troubling. However, throughout history many armies have benefited from hard lessons. In his memoir of the Great War, Ernst Junger, Germany’s most decorated soldier, concluded his memoir on a hopeful note, quoting John 12:24: “ Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” In a similar vein, Grenada served as a warning to the American national security state. In the decade following Urgent Fury, American forces quickly dispatched Manuel Noriega in a coup de main, and decapitated the world’s fifth largest army in 100 hours of ground combat.
Adkin’s “Urgent Fury” is a cautionary tale, and an important read for anyone interested in warfare in general, and the in the twilight of the Cold War, in particular.
Adkin documents the grim reality of life in Grenada, under its dysfunctional Marxist regime, and dispels the romantic notions of those in the West, who apologized for the revolution. If one can ever assent to a foreign intervention, the Grenadian foray was surely justifiable. That said, Adkin presents a case study of the incompetence of the American national security state. Secrecy and compartmentalization hampered all aspects of operational planning. Intelligence, with respect to local conditions on the ground, was almost totally absent. Awareness of basic geographical knowledge was virtually nonexistent; and, those tasked with creating operational maps, despite possessing a nescience of data, were maligned, and still are to this day. Command and control, necessary for effective force projection, was completely inadequate. Objectives were not clearly defined, and frequently they were not adequately supported. Thus, in the end, it was only the luck and the pluck of intrepid soldiers and their units that prevented an unprecedented debacle; in short, the U.S. managed to win in spite of itself.
After action assessments of the U.S. execution of its Grenada campaign were troubling. However, throughout history many armies have benefited from hard lessons. In his memoir of the Great War, Ernst Junger, Germany’s most decorated soldier, concluded his memoir on a hopeful note, quoting John 12:24: “ Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” In a similar vein, Grenada served as a warning to the American national security state. In the decade following Urgent Fury, American forces quickly dispatched Manuel Noriega in a coup de main, and decapitated the world’s fifth largest army in 100 hours of ground combat.
Adkin’s “Urgent Fury” is a cautionary tale, and an important read for anyone interested in warfare in general, and the in the twilight of the Cold War, in particular.
August 18, 2023
I've had this book in my possession since the early 90's. Now that I am retired, I've finally dusted off the cobwebs to read it.
Operation Urgent Fury took place nearly forty years ago (in October). Many reading this were probably not born yet or cared too little about it. Some may only know about it from the Clint Eastwood movie "Heartbreak Ridge" (1986).
This is a good in-depth read on what lead up to the invasion of this Carribean island, the invasion, and the aftermath. In the "Epilogue" chapter, this sentence sums up the operation. "Urgent Fury was an overall success politicly and militarily" (page 333). Yes, but I have a different take. From what I read in this book the military was anything but competent during this event due to lack of intelligence, planning errors, lack of surprise attack, communication problems, and many more.
Operation Urgent Fury took place nearly forty years ago (in October). Many reading this were probably not born yet or cared too little about it. Some may only know about it from the Clint Eastwood movie "Heartbreak Ridge" (1986).
This is a good in-depth read on what lead up to the invasion of this Carribean island, the invasion, and the aftermath. In the "Epilogue" chapter, this sentence sums up the operation. "Urgent Fury was an overall success politicly and militarily" (page 333). Yes, but I have a different take. From what I read in this book the military was anything but competent during this event due to lack of intelligence, planning errors, lack of surprise attack, communication problems, and many more.
February 4, 2016
A great, well-rounded account of an often overlooked military engagement. One of the great strengths of Adkin's work is going into significant detail about the background to the conflict, showing how it is that America ended up in this tiny corner of the Caribbean, suddenly needing to oust a communist government that had been in power for years.
It also shows that while we like to paint the mission as an unrivaled success, it was actually plagued by blunders that cost dozens of lives needlessly. It also exposes the extent to which America's success in the engagement depended on luck and coincidence. A great, eminently readable summary and analysis.
It also shows that while we like to paint the mission as an unrivaled success, it was actually plagued by blunders that cost dozens of lives needlessly. It also exposes the extent to which America's success in the engagement depended on luck and coincidence. A great, eminently readable summary and analysis.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews