page_title: United States invasion of Grenada
section_title: Third day of the invasion and after
hierarchical_section_title: United States invasion of Grenada / Third day of the invasion and after
caption_attribution_description: An explosion during "Operation Urgent Fury", Grenada, 25 October 1983.
context_page_description: The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The U.S. and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, 100 miles north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the invaders, it resulted in military occupation within a few days. It was triggered by the strife within the People's Revolutionary Government which resulted in the house arrest and execution of the previous leader and second Prime Minister of Grenada Maurice Bishop, and the establishment of the Revolutionary Military Council with Hudson Austin as Chairman. The invasion resulted in the appointment of an interim government, followed by democratic elections in 1984. The country has remained a democratic nation since then.
  Grenada had gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1974. The Communist New Jewel Movement seized power in a coup in 1979 under Maurice Bishop, suspending the constitution and detaining several political prisoners. In September 1983, an internal power struggle began over Bishop's leadership performance. Bishop was pressured at a party meeting to share power with Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard.
context_section_description: By 27 October, organized resistance was rapidly diminishing, but the American forces did not yet realize this. The Marine 22nd MAU and 8th Regiment continued advancing along the coast and capturing additional towns, meeting little resistance, although one patrol did encounter a single BTR-60 during the night and dispatched it with a M72 LAW. The 325th Infantry Regiment advanced toward Saint George, capturing Grand Anse and discovering 200 American students whom they had missed the first day. They continued to the town of Ruth Howard and the capital of Saint George, meeting only scattered resistance. An air-naval gunfire liaison team called in an A-7 airstrike and accidentally hit the command post of the 2nd Brigade, wounding 17 troops, one of whom died.
  The Army had reports that PRA forces were amassing at the Calivigny Barracks, only five kilometers from the Point Salines airfield. They organized an air assault by the 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment preceded by a preparatory bombardment by field howitzers (which mostly missed, their shells falling into the ocean), A-7 Corsairs, AC-130s, and USS Caron. However, the Blackhawk helicopters began dropping off troops near the barracks but they approached too fast. One of them crash-landed and the two behind it collided with it, killing three and wounding four. The barracks were deserted.
  In the following days, resistance ended entirely and the Army and Marines spread across the island, arresting PRA officials, seizing caches of weapons, and seeing to the repatriation of Cuban engineers. On 1 November, two companies from the 22nd Marine Amphibious Unit made a combined sea and helicopter landing on the island of Carriacou 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Grenada. The 19 Grenadian soldiers defending the island surrendered without a fight. This was the last military action of the campaign.
caption: Bombardment of Point Calivigny
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