Most daring, cunning, and successful hostage rescue mission.

[Zach R.]

In your OPINION, what was the most succsessful hostage rescue mission attemted? This is not a who's better poll it's just a question that needs to be answered(Not really, just curious).

[Gringo]

The most successful hostage rescues r those that end without violence and with nobody harmed.
Have to hand it to those negotiators who have to keep their cool and talk down the basterds!
And also, u could've added a few more options,

http://www.specialoperations.com/Counterterrorism/default.html
Plenty here

[Zach R.]

Very good point.

[mikec62001]

In my opinion one of the the most successul Hostage Rescue operation was Operation Nimrod (Iranian Embassy, Princess Gate (London). Proved to the world that Britain wasn't a soft touch when it came to terrorism. And Basically taught terrorists and other enemies to "not to piss us off". Perfectly planned, perfectly executed despite a few problems....and turned out very well.

[James]

Of the choices listed, I'd say Entebbe, simply because of the scale and the short duration in which it was put together.

[ibstolidude]

Do you mean like from a bad caterer or horrible guests?

cause this one time at a pre-mob party at our CO's house one of my teammates got roaring drunk and was making a scene infront of his wife, and was trying to piss in the backyard so to be gracious to the host (hostess actually) we.....
OH! nevermind..my bad

sorry u ---> :bash: ---> me

[martinexsquaddie]

probably the rescue of mussolinini by the Austerian commando
involved the Use of Gliders always thought they were the maddest form of way to go to war :roll:

[Tiger]

You also forget the rescue of a hijack Airbus by the French GIGN in Marseille in 94. It was a great operation. All four terrorists were killed and no hostages were lost...

[FrogMan]

GIGN intervention on Marignane airport, France, 1994.

Intervention on an Airbus A300 with 173 hostages held by 4 terrorists armed with AK47 and hand grenades.

all the 4 terrorists killed, no hostage casualties, 9 counter terrorist personnel wounded

Here (http://www.specialoperations.com/Counterterrorism/gign.html) is what happened.

[Ballistic]

Princess Gate.

[Argyll]

Martin
The Grann Sasso Raid was carried out by German Paratroopers reputed to be Waffen SS,under the command of Otto Skorzeny,for which he recieved the Knights cross.
Skorzeny was also instrumental in forming the "Kommando" style tactics used by his units(SS),and when he was tried at Nuremberg for war crimes,he simply stated that he took the doctrine and tactics from UK/US commandoes and Rangers,and that if he was guilty of such crimes,then so would be the Alllied commanders in charge of these units!
Although a Nazi,he was always a Soldier 1st and was fiercley loyal to his men!!

[Fargin]

Marignane airport, GIGN.

[Gringo]

What happened to Otto Skorzeny?

[Fargin]

http://www.acs.appstate.edu/~brantzrw/O_Skor.htm
Anyway, the war ended and Otto was put on trial for war crimes even though he never committed any. A surprisingly large amount of his time was spent in the rear planning operations (crucial to successful special operations). The accusations were groundless and at his trial the charges were eventually dismissed. He was held for another year after that in a denazification camp. He was no Nazi and so he eventually decided he'd had enough and escaped in July, 1948.

No one came after him.

Otto went back to his native Austria and stayed there for a time. He worried that the Allies were going to come looking for him at some point. He moved to Spain after a while and became a very successful businessman. Well, as far as I know, that is that and he's still alive.

[edit]

Otto Skorzeny died in Madrid(5 Jul 1975).

[Gringo]

Cheers

[Steve Andrews]

How can you leave out the conclusion to Iranian Embassy siege?

[Zach R.]

Hey, I'm gonna go with Tane Angle on this one.

[OzMan]

When it comes to CT/HR, I'm like a kid in a candy store. I think I'm gonna go with Prince's Gate, with the GSG-9 in Mogadishu coming in at a very close second.

And it's Marseilles, France, not Marignane or whatever. I still really like that one, but the fact that it took the GIGN 22 minutes to clear that plane makes me drop it a few places on the list. The GSG-9 in '77, now that is how to do a linear assault.

And the Lima, Peru raid was performed by a multi-unit task force, not by a single CT unit.

[raid]

Eagle 1-1, it was indeed marignane airport.
It was certainly the best mediatised hostage rescue, along with the japanese embassy in Lima, Peru. But it could have gone better (or worse, of course). One of the operator had one of his hands blown away by his own grenade... But in fact, the assault ended pretty quickly, as the first operator entering the aircraft with his manurhin revolver took out three of the four tangos...he got shot 5 or 6 times in arms and legs, and then had an offensive grenade detonated one meter away from him... he still managed to survive...

But if I had to chose, I'd say the Iranian embassy, as it set many of the hostage rescue doctrine...

[Gringo]

And the Lima, Peru raid was performed by a multi-unit task force, not by a single CT unit.
What units?

[raid]

it was reported that there were american CT units present there, for counselling purpose "only".
It is also possible that the japanese SAT was also in the vicinity...

[MEGR]

Rangers recuing POWS from the Japenese in WW2. I am no sure where it was, but it was pretty darn amazing.

[James]

It was in the Phillipines.

[He219]

The Grann Sasso Raid was carried out by German Paratroopers reputed to be Waffen SS,under the command of Otto Skorzeny,for which he recieved the Knights cross

The Duce was being held in the Hotel Albert Rifugio on Gran Sasso high in the Abruzzi Apennines. The rescue was dubbed Operation 'Eiche' (http://www.luftwaffe-hist.demon.co.uk/mainscreens/1Para-Ops-Gran%20sasso43.htm). An airborne assault was a practical approach. The entire Gran Sasso mission was planned by Gen. Kurt Student (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERstudent.htm) and the Fallschirmjäger Lehr Battalion under the command of Oberleutnant Georg von Berlepsch. Only 2 gliders contained Skorzeny and his men from the Jagdverbande with the rest from Fallschirmjäger Lehr Battalion. Skorzeny was responsible for Mussolini's safety and his delivery to Hitler but the mission itself was in overall command of the Paras. Not surprisingly, they were somewhat annoyed when Skorzeny and the SS received all the glory.




Skorzeny (extreme left),dressed in Luftwaffe officers uniform, Mussolini and Fallschirmjäger pose for the camera after the successful mission. It was the success of this mission that put Skorzeny at the head of Germany's special forces.

More information Here (http://www.eliteforces.freewire.co.uk/Fallshirmjager/Rescue.htm).

Skorzeny (http://www.forces70.freeserve.co.uk/Waffen%20SS%20Text+Images/kcholders/skorzeny.htm) later went on to capture Hungarian leader Admiral von Horthy in Operation Panzerfaust and organized English speaking German infiltrators dressed in US uniforms during the 'Battle of the Bulge' to stir fear, suspicion and confusion in the entire rear area through 'application of special and psychological warfare tactics'. Ten days after the war's end Skorzeny gave himself up to the Americans who had launched a massive search for "The most diabolically clever man in Germany". He was put on trial held prisoner until July 27th 1948. It was on this day that in true commando fashion he escaped.


Another great story is Operation Rösselsprung and Tito's near capture from his own headquarters.

[SHOOTERB]

It was the Peruvian SEALS that did the "actual" raid, however all the Peruvian CT Units were involved. There was some U.S. envolvement, only as advisers and we did give them some kit. The SAS was also there acting as advisers as well. The Jap government was no where near that place. Fujimori would barely let the U.S. and U.K. help out as advisors. The U.S. forces there were mostly Army Special Forces (7th SFGA) and a few CAG.

[a. enders]

When John McLain single-handedly took out a team of East German terrorists in the Nakatomi building with nothing but a mp5,Beretta,and wrapping tape.

Hardcore man,hardcore.You -know- Delta learned from him.

;) :P

[Zach R.]

It wasn't SEALs, it was Delta. The 1st SFOD-D trained Peru's CT unit themselves. And yes, CAG was on sight as advisors. Peru named it's CT unit after Delta Force because it was Delta that trained them. Am I getting through to anyone?

[Gringo]

When John McLain single-handedly took out a team of East German terrorists in the Nakatomi building with nothing but a mp5,Beretta,and wrapping tape.

Hardcore man,hardcore.You -know- Delta learned from him.

;) :P

"Yippie Ki Yay, Hanz!"

[andrew45c]

Whitout a shadow of a doubt the Iranian Embassy seige and hostage rescue was the most succesful ever. All teammembers survived all live hostages stayed that way and all Terrorists KIA or captured brilliant SAS rock.

[Gringo]

Whitout a shadow of a doubt the Iranian Embassy seige and hostage rescue was the most succesful ever. All teammembers survived all live hostages stayed that way and all Terrorists KIA or captured brilliant SAS rock.

One terrorist survived but is serving life in prison.
One hostage was killed during the rescue, and another wounded.

[Argyll]

Nice little snippet about Skorzeny ther He 219!

[Zach R.]

Yeah but when the SAS did the the assault, it was on their own turf (England). But when the Israelis assaulted the old airport terminal in Uganda they were in completely hostile territory. And only lost one guy. Not to mention kill 28 terrorists and Ugandan soldiers, destroyed four Mig-21 aircraft, and an aircraft control tower. You gotta admit, that was most cetainly the most cunning and daring, but you are right, the SAS does kick a whole lotta butt.

[SHOOTERB]

Hey Zach, delta didnt train the peruvians. A company from 3/7 SFG did. They always have. I know because I was in that unit based in Panama. The boys from Bragg showed up to conduct the raid but left after the american hostages were released and my company watched the situation as it progressed, to include keeping our advisors down there till the end of the Peruvian hit. The CT unit is not named after Delta. As a matter of fact there are 4 Peruvian CT units all together. The one responsible for the actual hit was the Navy Peruvian Unit. Ive spent most of my Army tour in 7th Grp and know this **** for a fact. So sell your tripe else where.

[budanski]

Hostage takeover in Peru (http://www.emergency.com/peruhos2.htm)

[Gringo]

Anyone have any more info on the Uganda rescue as it sounds interesting.

But the way it describes the hostage rescue it seemed more like a raid then a hostage rescue.

[He219]

It sounds like quite a few guided the Peruvians...


British security forces, including the SAS, reportedly played a role in bringing the siege to an end. A team of Scotland Yard negotiating experts and SAS operators had been on stand-by during the ordeal. The police officers, hostage crisis experts, did advise the Japanese government during the siege.

A small team of six SAS counterterrorism experts flew to Peru shortly before Christmas as part of a British advisory team. British sources on Tuesday night said the British presence had been scaled back to just two hostage negotiators from Scotland Yard. Other British personnel had left the country some weeks ago.

The British Foreign Office said, "We provided a small team of advisors from the Metropolitan Police who have experience in negotiating strategy." Their job was to advise the British ambassador and Peruvian authorities.

ENN sources said that Israeli counterterrorism experts were also believed involved in the planning of the operation and that U.S. special forces personnel took part in the training of the Peruvian commandos.

In the end result, this assault was highly successful because outstanding planning and intelligence gathering measures were undertaken prior to the initiation of the final operation.



At a news conference, Peruvian President Fujimori did say that the commandos were trained by British and U.S. counterterrorism experts. In recent weeks, the Peruvian security forces had trained over and over for the rescue. They knew that stealth and timing were the key to success.


From Budanski's Reference (http://www.emergency.com/peruhos7.htm).

I wonder why the Moscow Theater Rescue wasn't mentioned yet; a lesson in what not to do?

[richardben23]

you should have most daring.

[OzMan]

My apologies about the Marignane thing. Spoke too soon.

You know what was even more hardcore about John Mclain? He wasn't even wearing shoes half the time, wore no body armor, and cleverly signaled and communicated with police. Also, many props to the guy for using the sling from the MP5 to rappel down an airshaft (using no gloves, and no harness) to leap across to a ventilation duct, which he used to maneuver throughout the building.

And also for the use of the phrase "Yippee-ky-aye, mother f**ker!!" when talking to the head terrorist, which he eventually threw off the top of the building.

[SHOOTERB]

Good article. I also have one from the same time frame, from Lima that states that the "Top Secret police Anti-Terrorist team Delta Force" is in Panama waiting to assault the Jap embassy with their "poison gas" that kills the hostage takers and hostages. We thought it was funny and keep the article. This was printed just 24 hrs after the arrivial to Howard. Dont take for gospel everything you read in the papers and magazines

[SABER 2-3]

WTF OVER!! How about OP: Urgent Fury. As I recall the commanders intent was to sucessfully rescue all American/Allied personel from St. George Med. college (if you can call it that) and evacuate any American personalities working w/ offficial authorization in denied area. Or was it to secure prime beach front island property for future time-share condo developement.

[pkeating]

I'd plump for the rescue of Mussolini in September 1943 but would like to add a few remarks to those already posted here, including the contributions from Martin and Balboa.


Martin
The Grann Sasso Raid was carried out by German Paratroopers reputed to be Waffen SS,under the command of Otto Skorzeny,for which he recieved the Knights cross.
Skorzeny was also instrumental in forming the "Kommando" style tactics used by his units(SS),and when he was tried at Nuremberg for war crimes,he simply stated that he took the doctrine and tactics from UK/US commandoes and Rangers,and that if he was guilty of such crimes,then so would be the Alllied commanders in charge of these units!
Although a Nazi,he was always a Soldier 1st and was fiercley loyal to his men!!

The Gran Sasso mission was planned at 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division HQ in Italy and carried out by I./Fallschirmjäger-Rgt 7, also known as the Fallschirm-Lehr-Bataillon. SS-Hauptsturmführer Skorzeny had also been entrusted by Hitler with finding out Mussolini's whereabouts and formulating a rescue plan. In the end, Otto Skorzeny only managed to get to the plateau with a detachment of his commandos by turfing a couple of gliderloads of regular Luftwaffe paras out of their gliders. The SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon had nothing to do with it as the unit had not yet been formed in September 1943.

Skorzeny claimed the credit for the mission, to the disgust of the Luftwaffe veterans of the operation, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Hitler, along with promotion to SS-Sturmbahnführer (Major). So was Hauptmann Gerlach, the Luftwaffe pilot who flew Mussolini and, against Gerlach's best efforts, Skorzeny off the plateau. They almost crashed because of Skorzeny's additional weight. Skorzeny certainly didn't lack courage and he was an effective special forces commander but he tended to exaggerate and he was nothing if not a highly accomplished self-promoter. The Friedenthal unit, which evolved into the SS-Jagdverbände, was Himmler's answer to the Heer's Abwehr and Brandenburger special forces. Skorzeny was obviously inspired by British special forces tactics in the Mediterranean TO but he took just as much of a lead from some of the Brandenburger exploits.

As far as Skorzeny's trial is concerned, he was specifically on trial, from 18.8.1947 to 9.9.1947, for being involved in the "improper use of American uniforms by entering into combat disguised therewith and treacherously firing upon and killing members of the armed forces of the United States". Ten of his officers, from SS-Jagdverband "Mitte" were in the dock with him. The charge related to the Ardennes Offensive and "Panzerbrigade 150". They were also accused of stealing US uniforms and Red Cross parcels intended for delivery to US POWs. In the end, British Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas GC of the Special Operations Executive severely embarrassed the American court by testifying that Allied combattants and units had also fought in enemy uniform. Skorzeny and his comrades were acquitted. However, Skorzeny remained a prisoner of the Americans until sprung from jail on 27.7.1948 with the assistance, according to rumour, of former SS-Jagdverbände and SS-Fallschirmjäger men.

The irony is that it was the American use during the Battle of Aachen of three captured German tanks, in German colours, against German positions that inspired Hitler, on 21.10.1944, to order Skorzeny to form Panzerbrigade 150, using captured American vehicles, to take part in the planned Ardennes breakout, known to Americans as the Battle of the Bulge. In the end, only about two dozen German commandos in US uniforms, broken down into jeep teams, were assembled. PB 150 had three working Shermans and a couple of half-tracks but mechanical and transportation problems apparently prevented their transfer from the testing and evaluation grounds to PB 150's forming-up area.

Most of the Waffen-SS commandos captured in American uniform were subjected to summary justice but three were dragged before a court martial before being shot. Some of them managed to spread the rumour of a mission to assassinate Eisenhower, safely installed in his Paris HQ. Extreme paranoia resulted and Eisenhower was confined to his HQ for weeks. Skorzeny was consequently labelled "the most dangerous man in Europe" by the American media, a status in which he naturally revelled.

PK

[pkeating]

Double Post

[Bacilluspolymyxa]

probably the rescue of mussolinini by the Austerian commando
involved the Use of Gliders always thought they were the maddest form of way to go to war :roll:Have you ever seen the strip of grass that they landed on, its not big enough to graze two goats.:)

[pkeating]

They had to use assault gliders as a parachute drop was out of the question. When the Fiesler Storch took off, the FJ had to move a load of boulders to create a runway. Then they all held onto the plane as Hauptmann von Gerlach gave the motor full throttle. They let go, the plane rolled off...and fell over the 2,000 foot cliff. Gerlach managed to control the dive, pulled out and avoided piling in. Mussolini's insistence on getting on that plane nearly killed them. Gerlach earned his Knight's Cross that day. As a pilot, he knew it was odds against surviving the take-off. There are some interesting photos in the ECPA-D showing Skorzeny and Gerlach together and they don't look as if they're having a friendly chat. Skorzeny also seems to have insisted on redoing Mussolini's walk to the plane so that he could be in the photos.

PK

[LRPV]

Comparing these operations across time and with extremely different training and resourcing is interesting but still like comparing apples and oranges

But being a team-player, I voted for Entebbe.:)

[AKS]

I really respect what GSG9 did in Africa andwhat Israelis did in Uganda and the SAS's princes gate, but I think one of you mentioned Moscow's theatre seige as a lesson in what not to do. Well in my opinion the theatre hostage rescue was brilliant, the problems came later on as NOT ENOUGH of the vacine was availabe for the hostages hence so many hostages died.

But NO OTHER operation in the world can compare to the theatre seige, nearly 900 people guarded by bombs and 50 battle hardned fighters, I think given the circumsatnces it is in top of my list, if no hostages were killed I think it would be the number one on my list.

[bluffcove]

not quite a hostage.

But a rescue - the fallshmirjaeger (noot a hope of spelling that right) pulling Mussolini out of a mountain top through an air assault behind enemy lines. - and making the escape?

[jeffe]

Although no prisoners were found, the Son Tay raid was a classic operation that provided "lessons learned" for the U.S. and other countries. Also, the Chinese were inadvertently bloodied in this raid by U.S. Army Special forces.

[KB]

Of the choices listed, I'd say Entebbe, simply because of the scale and the short duration in which it was put together.

No brainer.

[KB]

I'd plump for the rescue of Mussolini in September 1943 but would like to add a few remarks to those already posted here, including the contributions from Martin and Balboa.



The Gran Sasso mission was planned at 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division HQ in Italy and carried out by I./Fallschirmjäger-Rgt 7, also known as the Fallschirm-Lehr-Bataillon. SS-Hauptsturmführer Skorzeny had also been entrusted by Hitler with finding out Mussolini's whereabouts and formulating a rescue plan. In the end, Otto Skorzeny only managed to get to the plateau with a detachment of his commandos by turfing a couple of gliderloads of regular Luftwaffe paras out of their gliders. The SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon had nothing to do with it as the unit had not yet been formed in September 1943.

Skorzeny claimed the credit for the mission, to the disgust of the Luftwaffe veterans of the operation, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Hitler, along with promotion to SS-Sturmbahnführer (Major). So was Hauptmann Gerlach, the Luftwaffe pilot who flew Mussolini and, against Gerlach's best efforts, Skorzeny off the plateau. They almost crashed because of Skorzeny's additional weight. Skorzeny certainly didn't lack courage and he was an effective special forces commander but he tended to exaggerate and he was nothing if not a highly accomplished self-promoter. The Friedenthal unit, which evolved into the SS-Jagdverbände, was Himmler's answer to the Heer's Abwehr and Brandenburger special forces. Skorzeny was obviously inspired by British special forces tactics in the Mediterranean TO but he took just as much of a lead from some of the Brandenburger exploits.

As far as Skorzeny's trial is concerned, he was specifically on trial, from 18.8.1947 to 9.9.1947, for being involved in the "improper use of American uniforms by entering into combat disguised therewith and treacherously firing upon and killing members of the armed forces of the United States". Ten of his officers, from SS-Jagdverband "Mitte" were in the dock with him. The charge related to the Ardennes Offensive and "Panzerbrigade 150". They were also accused of stealing US uniforms and Red Cross parcels intended for delivery to US POWs. In the end, British Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas GC of the Special Operations Executive severely embarrassed the American court by testifying that Allied combattants and units had also fought in enemy uniform. Skorzeny and his comrades were acquitted. However, Skorzeny remained a prisoner of the Americans until sprung from jail on 27.7.1948 with the assistance, according to rumour, of former SS-Jagdverbände and SS-Fallschirmjäger men.

The irony is that it was the American use during the Battle of Aachen of three captured German tanks, in German colours, against German positions that inspired Hitler, on 21.10.1944, to order Skorzeny to form Panzerbrigade 150, using captured American vehicles, to take part in the planned Ardennes breakout, known to Americans as the Battle of the Bulge. In the end, only about two dozen German commandos in US uniforms, broken down into jeep teams, were assembled. PB 150 had three working Shermans and a couple of half-tracks but mechanical and transportation problems apparently prevented their transfer from the testing and evaluation grounds to PB 150's forming-up area.

Most of the Waffen-SS commandos captured in American uniform were subjected to summary justice but three were dragged before a court martial before being shot. Some of them managed to spread the rumour of a mission to assassinate Eisenhower, safely installed in his Paris HQ. Extreme paranoia resulted and Eisenhower was confined to his HQ for weeks. Skorzeny was consequently labelled "the most dangerous man in Europe" by the American media, a status in which he naturally revelled.

PK

A lot of Skorzeny's troops in the Ardennes were recent conscripts from non-Waffen SS units, since an important requirement for the unit was the ability to pass themselves off as Americans, to include familiarity with US slang. In fact, a number of his troops were former sailors who had spent time in the US before the war.

[8thidpathfinderpower]

I too have to say the son toy raid in Vietnam. But, when it comes to rescues, the SS Mayeguez(sorry for the spelling) comes to mind. And lets not forget the raid to free the radio station operator down in panama...great flying by TF160 and good op by the SF guys that were there.

[Koen]

Nobody mentionned the Belgian/US hostage rescue operations in the Congo in 1964.
Operation "Dragon Rouge" on Stanleyville, combined with "Ommegang".
And a few days later operation "Dragon Noir" on Paulis.

http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/odom/odom.asp

About 2000 european & US expats in the heart of africa in a civil war, rescued by 5x US C-130's and some 340 belgian paracommandos.

[sp2c]

on the 23rd of may 1977 Mollucan terrorists captured a school with 105 children and 5 teachers in Bovensmilde in the Netherlands. 5 days into the hostage crisis most of the children became very sick (some say the watersupply was poisened but the government denies it) and all were released (they all made a miraculous recovery shortly after being released, guess they were just sick of looking at the terrorists ;)) but the teachers remained captured. On the 11th of june (3 weeks after it started!) apc's from 43 armoured infantry battallion "Chasse" supposedly with marine special forces on board attacked the school.
They came in from a hill and it had rained so they couldn't stop in time and drove right in to the building ... shocked terrorists inside offered no resistance :D

little less succesfull but a lot better known was the capture of a train near de Punt by similar terrorists at the same time 86 people were inside of the course of the hostage crisis 40 people and the traindriver were released and a naked marine with supplies managed to plant some listening devices in or around the train!

on the 11th of june 6 F104 flew low over the train breaking the sound barrier (incidentilly making one to many passes causing the to run out of fuel on aproach back to the airbase ;)) while marine special forces made their way to the train marine snipers also opened fire at the train balcony seperating the compartment with the hostages from the one with the hostagetakers creating a "wall of fire" to prevent any retaliation against the hostages before the marines got into the train, unfortunately 2 passengers had decided to sleep on that balcony that night because of the heat and were killed.
The marines then stormed the train killing six out of 8 of the terrorists who got a 6 and 9 year prison sentence for possesion of illegal weapons and hostagetaking.

not the most daring, cunning and succesfull one in the world but definately in the Netherlands

[Zerodivider]

Nightmare scenario, brilliant resolution.

[mas36]

Not much has been made of this, or heard about either, but there was that one event about 4-5 years ago (??) where French troops drove a bunch of miles into the jungle to an outpost and rescued about 200 American Chritian missionaries from the Ivory Coast (or was it Liberia?) as a civil began to erupt all around them. They were then driven to an airport, loaded onto helicopters (Pumas, I think) and flown to a US troop carrier off shore. I thought that was an interesting event.

[Playtime]

In terms of timing, style, cinematic impact and sheer scale...

Gandalf's rescue of the remaining defenders of Helm's Deep. :)

[muttbutt]

Irish Rangers, rescued 38 people without firing a round in Liberia in 2003, speed surprise...ectp-), I'll check to find the news articles on it if anyone is interested?

[8thidpathfinderpower]

What about the USS Mayaguez? At the end of the Vietnam war, the intellegence ship USS Mayaguez was captured by Cambodian forces off the coast of Cambodia. The USAF, along with a contingent of marines exexuted the operation and got the ship and the crew back.

[pkeating]

Mussolini was very much a hostage.

PK

[Dominique]

What units?

IIRC, and don't quote me on this becuase it's been a while, the team was composed of commissioned SOF officers dawn from the Army (Batallón de Comandos “Comandante Espinar” Nº 19), the Navy (Fuerza de Operaciones Especiales - FOES), and the Marines (Unidad Especial de Combate -UEC). No enlisted troops were used at all as only the officers were considered dependable.

The Peruvian National Police provided snipers and perimeter security during the assault. I'll dig around and find the actual names for the Navy and Army CT units.

[Macs.]

Short Docu on the GSG-9 including the Lufthansa Hijack.

Creation:
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=2676635596662033283&hl=en

Lufthansa Hijack:
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=1186178729448096856&hl=en

Today:
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=9100059624923219287&hl=en

[3rdMillhouse]

Entebbe airport in Uganda.

[DeZzErX]

Nobody mentionned the Belgian/US hostage rescue operations in the Congo in 1964.
Operation "Dragon Rouge" on Stanleyville, combined with "Ommegang".
And a few days later operation "Dragon Noir" on Paulis.

http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/odom/odom.asp

About 2000 european & US expats in the heart of africa in a civil war, rescued by 5x US C-130's and some 340 belgian paracommandos.

Definatly worth mentioning!