Raid

Raids are short, targeted strikes aimed at disruption or capture rather than capture of terrain objectives. This tag links to battles where surprise, precision, and withdrawal under pressure defined success.

⚔️🔒Operation HIRONDELLE, (Raid on Lạng Sơn), Vietnam,
17-21 July 1953

Operation HIRONDELLE, 17 July 1953. The French High Command in Indo-China, acting on time-sensitive intelligence, deployed 2000 paratroopers more than 100km behind enemy lines, destroyed a major Viet Minh logistic hub, then deployed another parachute battalion, a mechanised brigade, and a Naval task force to get them out again. All in the space of 72 hours. The operation did not change the course of the war, but demonstrated the decisivenes and agility of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps

"The Raid, Blueboy Element,” by Mikhail Nikiporenko. Banana-1 crash landed in the compound. Captain Dick Meadows uses the bullhorn to announce the rescue to potential American prisoners.

⚔️🔒The Son Tay Raid, North Vietnam,
21 November 1970

Operation KINGPIN, the Son Tay Raid, on the night of 20/21 November 1970, was a meticulously planned U.S. military operation to rescue American prisoners of war (POWs) from the Son Tay prison North Vietnam. It was one of the most audacious operations in military history. The operation involved a joint force of U.S. Army Special Forces and Air Force personnel. Despite the operation’s almost flawless execution, it failed to achieve its primary objective, as the POWs had been relocated to other sites.

Pointe du Hoc - scene from the 1962 movie 'The Longest Day' shot on the actual site of the Pointe du Hoc landing

⚔️ D-Day: US Ranger assault on Pointe du Hoc,
6 June 1944

by Michael Prictor

Pointe du Hoc, a prominent headland between Utah and Omaha Beaches, was a critical objective on D-Day. The German position was equipped with a battery of 155mm howitzers capable of targeting the American landing beaches.

The mission to assault Pointe du Hoc was assigned to the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. The Rangers would scale the 100 feet high cliffs under fire, destroy the German guns, and hold the position until relieved by forces from Omaha Beach.

⚔️ Battle of Riyadh – Al Masmak Fortress, Saudi Arabia,
16 January 1902

by Michael Prictor

The Battle of Riyadh in January 1902 was a critical moment in the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Al Saud family had previously established two states centered on the Diriyah/Riyadh area of Arabia, each of which was destroyed by rival powers. The capture of Riyadh in 1902 was the first in a series of wars that led to the third Saudi state in 1932.

⚔️🔒Capture of Aqaba by T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Army,
06 July 1917

By capturing Aqaba, Lawrence and the Arab Army had closed off the last Turkish-held port on the Red Sea, threatened the entire length of the Hejaz Railway, and made the many Turkish garrisons in the Hejaz vulnerable to being cut off. They had also eliminated a potential source of threat to the right flank of General Allenby’s army

100th Anniversary of the Dalton Gang Raid on Coffeyville - poster from the Dalton Defenders Museum

⚔️ Dalton Gang Raid on Coffeyville, Kansas,
5 October 1892

by Michael Prictor

The day the Dalton Gang rode into Coffeyville and into the history books! Not actually a battlefield; more of a Wild West shootout. In a place even many of my American friends have never heard of! This little town in southeast Kansas was the scene of one of the great good guy-bad guy confrontations of the Wild West.

⚔️ Battle of Black Jack, Kansas,
2 June 1856

by Michael Prictor

The Battle of Black Jack was a small skirmish with just a few casualties, but it was really the first violent confrontation between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces. It presaged the Civil War that engulfed America in 1861.

‘George Washington Crossing The Delaware’ by Emanuel Leutze. The original painting is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

⚔️ Battle of Trenton, New Jersey,
26 December 1776

by Michael Prictor

The Battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776 was a much-needed victory for General George Washington and the Continental Army. After being driven out of New York and New Jersey during the 1776 campaign, the surprise attack and victory at Trenton was a great boost for the Patriot cause.