Our profession does not provide for quiet situations. For those there are other organizations.
Master Sergeant Paratrooper Giampiero Monti 183rd Regiment Paratroopers "NEMBO"
Wounded in combat on July 2, 1993 and recipient of the Silver Medal for Military Valor.
Webmaster's Introduction
Reconstructing the glories of July 2, 1993 was not easy. Not easy at all.
I believe that after more than 20 years of research and with the collaboration (obviously) of those who lived through that battle, I have reached a version very close to reality.
Those who truly lived through it, because as General Paolo Riccò says in his book The Black Devils. The True Story of the Battle of Mogadishu, the via imperiale would have been "the highway of the sun" if we counted one by one all those who claim to have fought there.
The whole world, in words, fought at pasta, over the years I have listened to accounts from people who were not even in Somalia...
In any case, during my research I discovered that many things and many versions published here and there were far from reality.
There is a version published at the time in a well-known military magazine, therefore the most authoritative of the era, and also circulated on the web that even got the times wrong by reversing the chronology of the first two fallen.
Obviously many things are missing from the reconstruction, of course. But before writing important details I made sure that these had actually happened. Many things that day did not work as they should have.
However, it must be remembered that we had been "deprived" for fifty years, so it seems physiological to me... the last confrontation of these proportions in fact the Italian military had had at the end of the Second World War.
Despite everything, that day too, the Paratroopers of Italy and the military involved with them, kept Italian Military Honor high by demonstrating that they could bend yes, but never break.
But what really happened on July 2, 1993?
Let's take a closer look. It is 5 in the morning of a hot Friday in summer. It is July 2, 1993 and we are in Mogadishu, Somalia, IBIS mission and the Alpha and Bravo task forces under the command of General Bruno Loi are ready to carry out the umpteenth sweep.
Until June 1993 the Italian contingent had carried out thorough sweeps throughout its area of responsibility, but the large Aliwa area was missing, a neighborhood through which the Italians passed continuously having the Brigade command in Mogadishu, in the former Italian Embassy, in addition to the Italfor XX command at the old port while the largest camp at Balad, heading north.
Mogadishu and Balad are connected by the via imperiale, an artery that starts from the sea and reaches Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia. Built by the Italians in the 1930s, the via imperiale is the most important road of communication in Somalia and along its route the Italians held numerous check-points: bank, obelisk, national, demon, iron, pasta.
The pasta check point located at the intersection between via imperiale and via 21 ottobre takes its name from an old abandoned pasta factory that overlooks the vast Aliwa neighborhood, in the heart of the territory of Mohamed Farah Aidid.
I began to document the Battle in 1998 when I learned about it from a Marshal friend from the 11th Signals Regiment Leonessa present that day in the Somali capital.
I began collecting as much information as possible, both on paper from books (in truth few at the time, and few even now) and electronically with the help of the internet.
Subsequently enlisting in the Brigata Paracadutisti Folgore I was flattered to come into contact with those who had truly fought that Battle.
In Mogadishu, two fierce battles were fought at that time: the one on 3 October 1993 (from which the film Black Hawk Down was drawn) which saw deployed the American soldiers of the 75° Rangers and Delta Force, and precisely the one on 2 July 1993.
In recent years, information has emerged that almost completely completes the puzzle of 2 July.
But the most important information remains to this day a mystery: it is still not officially known, and we probably will never know, why the Somalis reacted that way, in that manner. It seems that an Italian Intelligence squad had located him, but it was not the intention of the Italians to capture him.
Certainly not by the Paratroopers deployed by General Loi. Their task was "only" to sweep the pasta factory area, to complete operation Canguro 11. The Paratroopers had seized a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, that was their task that day. Canguro 11, in a sense, had accomplished its mission. What happened next was not foreseen in the operation. But hell, in these cases, is always around the corner.
But as always, wounded in spirit, the FOLGORE was not defeated that day either. Wounded, offended, but not defeated.
5:00 AM: the sweep begins
Dawn of 2 July 1993, operation Canguro 11 is about to start. It is 5 in the morning and from Balad the Italian convoy begins to move towards Mogadishu.
General Loi deploys an impressive force: 550 Paratroopers and 400 Somali police officers, transported aboard VCC and Fiat 6614.
Eight Centauro B-1 armored vehicles of the Lancieri di Montebello and seven M-60 tanks of the 132° Ariete come to their aid. The operation, organized in two groups, Alfa and Bravo, is followed from above by A-129 Mangusta attack helicopters and AB-205s.
The dusty streets of the Somali capital are dominated by the tracks of Italian vehicles and after passing the Pasta Check Point, the Italian military take position within the target area, a quadrilateral of 400 by 700 meters between "Pasta" and "Ferro", an Italian stronghold in a neighborhood inhabited by Aidid's "Ha-ber-ghidir" tribe. The squads descend from the vehicles and the Paratroopers isolate the area. Other squads, supported by Somali police, begin house-to-house sweeping in search of weapons.
The tension between the two major Somali leaders, Aidid and Ali Mahdi, is very high and the warlords do not seem willing to end the continuous clashes, and there is the risk that fighting could break out with the multinational contingent at any moment. Precisely for this reason, the deployment implemented by General Bruno Loi is impressive.
Our soldiers know they are on a peace mission, but also that a peace-keeping operation between two factions hides considerable pitfalls. No one wishes for it but anything can happen.
The sweep is almost over. The Paratroopers, around 6:30, find a large arms depot: three Somalis are arrested and taken to the base for questioning. But precisely at this moment the situation worsens. Tension begins to rise and the first shots in the air are heard, but without understanding where they come from.
The first casualty
Just a few dozen meters from the end of the sweep and suddenly the Somali police disappear.
There is something differently tense in the air. A previously solid balance, the foundation of friendly relations between Somalis and Italians, seems to have suddenly broken, giving rise to an unexpected wave of tension.
It is Friday 2 July 1993, and it is 7:40 in the morning when, unexpectedly, the inhabitants of the neighborhood begin to pour into the streets, hurling insults at the Italians. The first barricades become the scene of intense stone-throwing and sporadic gunfire.
Today there is something different in the air. A previously solid balance, the foundation of friendly relations between Somalis and Italians, seems to have suddenly broken, giving rise to an unexpected wave of tension. It is Friday 2 July 1993, and it is 7:40 in the morning when, unexpectedly, the inhabitants of the neighborhood begin to pour into the streets, hurling insults at the Italians. The first barricades become the scene of intense stone-throwing and gunfire.
Italian paratroopers try to maintain calm; General Loi, in an attempt to restore control over the territory, orders fire actions for intimidation purposes. However, every attempt seems futile, with tension intensifying by the moment. For the Italian contingent, the episode ends here, perhaps as a warning: the atmosphere is changing, even for the Italians.
But suddenly, the last part of the Italian column finds itself blocked by new barricades, and the troops come under crossfire.
The militiamen hide among the crowd, in houses, on rooftops. This time it is a genuine armed clash. The harmony previously existing between Italians and Somalis has definitively shattered. After fifty years, Italy finds itself involved in an armed clash, in what was supposed to be a context of a peace mission.
Raiders from the Col Moschin rush in. The third company of special forces sends two detachments of parachute raiders. Their task is to flush out Somali snipers and unblock the column pinned down under enemy fire.
A very violent firefight begins with bursts of SCP fire and hand grenade blasts. During the umpteenth assault, at approximately 9:30, Sergeant Major Raider Stefano Paolicchi is hit by a burst of Kalashnikov fire. He had just destroyed a mortar position with a precise throw of two OD-82 grenades.
Hit at the level of the spleen, in the only part not protected by the body armor, he will cry out, dying, to the men of his squad, to continue fighting. Transported to Mogadishu hospital, he will die a few hours later.
It is the first victim of July 2.
Return to pasta
At this point General Loi orders the Bravo grouping, which had meanwhile almost reached Balad, to reverse course and return to Mogadishu, heading for pasta to defend it from any attacks: the men on duty at the outpost had been left alone. Captain Riccò, commander of the XV Company Black Devils of the 186th Par. Rgt. Folgore, will recount in his book, had already noticed this during the withdrawal.
A column of vehicles is then created composed of three AR76s that would open the way followed by as many APCs and two Centauro armored vehicles. Sgt. Maj. Monti asks to be able to return to the Pasta Factory with his squad. His Paratroopers follow him voluntarily, among them Massimiliano Zaniolo. No one refuses to participate in the operation.
The column composed of Paratroopers of the XV of the 186th Rgt. and XII of the 183rd Par. Rgt. Nembo is approaching hell.
Eyes open, round chambered and moving along Via Imperiale. Further ahead, near a crossroads, there is the pasta checkpoint, so called because it was set up near an abandoned pasta factory.
The street is initially deserted, along the sides of the road the remains of barricades and some burning cars, echoes of bursts can be heard in the distance. Beyond the intersection there is an obstacle. Upon arriving at "pasta" the situation seems "quiet", but three hundred meters ahead barricades are being raised. Others are being built behind the column.
Trapped
Captain Riccò realizes he is trapped. He then takes the initiative and with his Non-Commissioned Officers and Paratroopers tries to clear the area by flushing out the Somalis one by one, house by house, roof by roof.
Now they are in full combat. The Italian Paratroopers gain ground, but more and more Somalis arrive. It is clear they are trying to encircle them.
The armored vehicles are positioned in a staggered formation along Via Imperiale to ensure effective crossfire.
Second Lieutenant Romeo Carbonetti on the first APC, and Paratrooper Pasquale Baccaro on the second fire with the MGs cleaning out everything they find in front of them. Sgt. Maj. Giovanni Bozzini instead wields the Browning on the third APC. The armored vehicles begin to advance, gaining ground.
However, more Somalis arrive, also firing from the pasta factory. One of the APCs, that of the young second lieutenant Romeo Carbonetti, which exposes its flank toward that source of fire, becomes a magnet for bullets. Now it is the Italians who find themselves under crossfire.
Then an instant. An instant that changes everything. The life and future of a group of young soldiers. It is 10:40 on July 2, 1993.
From a side road comes a deadly blow. An RPG-7 hits the second VCC and the shaped charge pierces the armor, striking it just above the top of the track. These are moments that feel like long years. Serg. Magg. Bozzini jumps immediately from the VCC, inside the vehicle is hell: the hatch opens suddenly and the first wounded come out, Paracadutist Massimiliano Zaniolo first, with his hand devastated, behind him Serg. Magg. Monti with his abdomen torn open and deep wounds to his legs. But Paracadutist Pasquale Baccaro at the MG fares worse: he has a leg mangled by the fiery dart generated by the anti-tank rocket. He is laid outside the vehicle, he is still alive, but loses consciousness.
The wounded are laid in a nearby safe zone. However, Captain Ricchò is convinced that if he can evacuate the wounded quickly, Baccaro could be saved, perhaps they might even be able to reattach his leg.
But now they must continue to defend themselves and counterattack because the Somalis, galvanized by the RPG strike, are closing in. They intensify the assault, shots ricochet off the newly hit VCC which is still exposed to the militiamen.
The vehicle is restarted with difficulty, then removed from position to avoid being hit again by anti-tank rockets.
Minutes pass, ambulances and rescue teams are blocked by heavy enemy fire and barricades.
A military helicopter tries to land nearby to pick up the wounded. The positions are signaled with red smoke, but there is no possibility: it will try twice, but will be heavily targeted by Somali fire and will have to withdraw to base.
They must do it on their own to get out of the situation.
It is at this point that a very serious military fact occurs:
Captain Ricchò notices that his AR76 is moving away along with other vehicles including the Centauro armored vehicle toward Pasta. The Battalion commander and the commander of the XII° Leopardi Company have been lightly wounded by the wave of shrapnel produced by the rocket on the armor of Baccaro's VCC. So the Battalion commander thinks of a withdrawal to pasta taking with him a good portion of the vehicles and men, WITHOUT WARNING THE XV° COMPANY. Now the Black Devils are alone, without radio, stationed on the AR76 (the one on the VCC communicated on different frequencies) and without the support of the Centauro armored vehicles.
It's approaching 11 in the morning and the fighting continues relentlessly.
The Paracadutists of the XV° Company fire bursts with their assault rifles and throw grenades to prevent the Somalis from gaining the upper hand.
Meanwhile Captain Ricchò is already thinking about how to withdraw. They are alone, unable to communicate by radio and with several wounded including Pasquale Baccaro in very serious condition.
But there is no more time for the young Paracadutist from Puglia: he will die in his arms within minutes as he tries to quench his thirst.
He was 21 years old. He is the second victim of July 2. But now they must evacuate and quickly. The situation is becoming increasingly dangerous.
Withdrawing to pasta
The hit vehicle is restarted and Captain Ricchò orders pilot Carmelo Mandolfo to take the wounded away.
That of Corporal Paracadutist Carmelo Mandolfo will be a heroic race toward the Italian Embassy, destined to remain in the history of the mission in Somalia.
Mandolfo departs at full speed along the Imperial Road with his VCC. Under the bursts of Kalashnikovs from Somali militiamen and RPG fire, which fortunately miss, he breaks through the barricades blocking the route, crosses the Puddle Way Point and the Iron Check Point and continues his long and dangerous race while the vehicle continues to be targeted by enemy fire.
He finally manages to reach the Italian Embassy and bring the wounded to safety.
For that action, Paracadutist Carmelo Mandolfo from Ragusa will be decorated with the Silver Medal of Military Valor.
Meanwhile the Black Devils of the 186° Regiment finally reach Pasta, where they also find the Regiment Commander and other Paracadutists. But at that moment, no one seems to have full awareness yet of the clashes that occurred and the losses already suffered.
But chaos reigns at pasta. There are too many vehicles and men concentrated in one space. Too much and too much confusion.
In these moments it is a whirl of abrupt maneuvers, shots, shouted orders. And all within reach of the Somali militiamen who are about to complete the encirclement. Fighting occurs everywhere along the Imperial Road, shots are fired from side streets, particularly from the pasta factory.
Meanwhile Second Lieutenant Gianfranco Paglia boards the VCC driven by Paratrooper Renzo Polifrone and takes away the last wounded from pasta with the order not to return.
A few dozen meters away Paratroopers Giuseppe Zivillica and Marco Vicenzetto have been wounded by Somali fire.
They lose a lot of blood and cannot move: they lie on a Centauro armored vehicle commanded by Second Lieutenant Fabio Tirolo of the 8th Lancers Regiment of Montebello.
Captain Paratrooper Emilio Ratti observes the scene and, despite having received an order not to move and await radio instructions, decides to use the armored vehicle to evacuate the wounded: Second Lieutenant Tirolo refuses. He too has been ordered to stay there.
But Captain Ratti will not accept it. He gives an even more peremptory order, as Tirolo reported in a recent interview in a television documentary, with these exact words: "Sir, there are two options, either you get these Paratroopers to safety or I'll shoot you". Only then does the vehicle move forward, but it encounters numerous barricades and gunfire.
Meanwhile, however, Italian soldiers at pasta are completely surrounded.
The A-129 MANGUSTA helicopters and armored vehicles request permission to use their weapons.
If the 105/51 mm guns of the M-60s and the 105/52 mm guns of the CENTAURO armored vehicles entered action and if the helicopters could fire TOW missiles, the task of the troops on the ground would be facilitated and the siege broken with less risk for the IBIS soldiers.
But General Loi does not feel up to risking a bloodbath. Cannon shots among the houses would certainly cause a massacre also involving innocent civilians. Authorization to open fire does not arrive. "Identify and neutralize the fire positions" the Command responds.
This is very risky work that can only be entrusted to professional soldiers. Snipers and positions are reported from the ground and by helicopters. The QRF consisting of operators of the Col Moschin arrives at the VM, to whom falls the most difficult task, that of silencing mortars and rocket launchers by attacking them with individual or squad weapons, but without the support of heavy weapons.
Two detachments of commandos comb through all the side streets parallel to the main road, eliminating the militiamen one by one.
House-to-house combat develops against militiamen in ambush.
During a disengagement, Master Sergeant Stefano Ruaro, a Paratrooper Commando, is hit in three points of his body in the lower limbs, by a burst of Kalashnikov while he is driving his VM.
He loses a lot of blood and has deep wounds to his legs and an arm, but he hides behind a vehicle allowing his comrades to continue fighting.
In the midst of total chaos, with bullets flying everywhere, the Commandos leave a VM90T with the ignition keys inserted. The special forces were the only ones to have this type of vehicle with the 12.7 Browning mounted. A group of Somalis seizes it.
The militiamen board the vehicle, exult, flee away with their prize and fire the powerful machine gun at the Italians. They immediately hit an AB 205 helicopter which will be forced to return to base.
However, they are spotted by a combat helicopter A-129 Mangusta piloted by Captain Gianni Adami. The gunner frames them and requests authorization to fire. Curses echo on the intercom, now the vehicle disappears into the maze of narrow streets of the neighborhood.
But the helicopter pilot does not let go of the prey. It flies low, skimming the rooftops of the houses, and, aware of being able to be shot down, engages in close combat. The Somalis react with violence: they brandish the large machine gun and hit the helicopter on the front glass.
The officer will not accept it. The vehicle seems to disappear, but it is only a moment: it is spotted again and this time aimed at to be shot down. That VM, as will be known later, carries several kilograms of C-4 explosive in use by the Col Moschin Commandos inside.
The A-129 tilts, frames the target, requests authorization to fire. The "Ok" arrives. The pilot does not hesitate. The TOW missile hits it and, aided by the presence of explosives on board, completely disintegrates it, killing all occupants.
Around Pasta the fighting continues relentlessly.
From the old port a column of vehicles forms to reach Pasta again: a VCC-1 of the Parachute Carabinieri Battalion TUSCANIA, one from the 186th Regiment with on board the pilot, Paratrooper Polifrone and Second Lieutenant Paglia and a CENTAURO armored vehicle of the 8th Lancers Regiment of Montebello. They overcome Ferro and launch at full speed on the Imperial Road.
Some obstacles stand in their way, more gunfire and the Italian vehicles break through the barrier with momentum. Second Lieutenant Andrea Millevoi is the crew chief of the CENTAURO, coordinates the action, leans his torso out of the turret to better control the situation. He is hit by a burst and dies on the spot.
It is 11:30 and it is the third victim of July 2. Almost simultaneously Second Lieutenant Paglia is also hit.
Five minutes killing zone
The Tuscania armored vehicle has already disengaged on the imperial road so that Polifrone's VCC and the Centauro armored vehicle arrive alone at Pasta with a fallen officer (Millevoi) and one seriously wounded (Paglia). Captain Riccò cannot believe his eyes: he had asked Paglia to stay at the old port, but instead he finds him at death's door lying in the vehicle. He orders the additional wounded loaded onto the armored vehicles and assigns one of his second lieutenants to head back to the old port and never return to the combat zone. This time the order is more peremptory and so it will be.
The Italians, however, progressively disengage. The raiders have created a security perimeter, but everything is very precarious. Aidid's militiamen receive new reinforcements and the Italian vehicles pull back on Command orders but from some positions Aidid's men threaten the column.
Command continues to not allow the use of heavy artillery.
The response, however, comes from the sky: two Cobra helicopters of the American contingent fly over Pasta. On radio you hear "Five minutes killing zone".
Five minutes and everything present within the range of action of the Cobras is a target to be eliminated.
The Italians, some truly convinced that they would never get out of that situation, raise their heads and notice the Cobras hovering in front of the pasta factory.
A few minutes later fire at will. The old pasta factory is hit by missiles and 20mm shells. It is time to leave Pasta.
A column is formed, heading south, old port, through the imperial road, where the battle still rages. The armored vehicles cross it with momentum, while Captain Riccò, together with Sergeant Major Bozzini, will have to fight yet another battle within the battle before reaching the old port with the badly damaged Fiat AR76.
It is around 13:00 and the Italians abandon the area and the checkpoints Pasta and Ferro. Holding them in those conditions would mean unleashing a pitched battle with the Somalis. The toll is tragic, with three Italian dead and twenty-three wounded.
But Aidid cannot claim victory. He paid a high price to the UNOSOM troops, with 187 dead and more than 400 wounded in the clash, proof that the action of Italian military personnel, even if severely limited, was effective.
From July 2 onwards, nothing in Mogadishu will be the same.
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