Some of the most mindblowing military operations have been so ublievable that many don’t believe they even happened. But I promise you that everything on this list is true. These military operations really happened, however hard that is to believe. Some of these are amazing in the skill and bravery necessary to carry them out, and some of them are just strange beyond belief. From the KGB blackmailing presidents with sexy footage, to “The Great Locomotive Chase”, this is a list of the 10 most mindblowing military operations.
Blackmailing the President of Indonesia, Goes Horribly Wrong
The KGB hatched a plan to exert influence over Indonesia, by blackmailing President Sukarno with dirt they found on him. They hired a group of attractive women to go to his hotel room, and seduce him while dressed as air stewardesses. He slept with all of them that night, but had no idea the whole thing was filmed by the KGB. The KGB told him that the whole thing had been filmed, and threatened to release the footage to public, knowing that this would ruin his reputation and leave him with no choice but to do their bidding. However, far from being concerned about this, he said he didn’t care that they filmed it and even asked for them to provide copies for him to enjoy.He didn’t care about them releasing it to the public, and in the end they didn’t do it because of this. Likely it was a bluff all along, as they wouldn’t want to hurt the communist party in Indonesia. Perhaps Sukarno realised this, and called their bluff.
Camp Century
The US launched Project Iceworm in 1960, claiming to be building an research base known as Camp Century, this was actually just a cover for the nuclear launch sites they were building underneath the ice. This was all kept secret from the Danish government who own the island. They wanted to build medium range nuclear missile that could hit the Soviet Union if it ever became necessary. The project was ambitious but had to be abandoned in 1966, because the conditions weren’t stable enough to continue. The Danish government didn’t find out any of this happened until years later in 1995. The camp was abandoned under the assumption that snowfall would leave the base hidden for years to come. However, due to global warming, the base began to slowly be revealed.
Assassination of Josip Broz Tito
The KGB in the Soviet Union attempted to kill the head of Yugoslavia. Tito had wanted Yugoslavia to be more independent and attempted to distance himself from Stalin. Stalin was outraged by this, and decided to make an example out of him. He sent an assassin, but he was caught. He then sent another one, but he was also caught. In total he sent 5 assassins, and they were all caught. Tito sent a message to Stalin warning that if he didn’t stop sending assassins he would send one of his own, and wouldn’t have to send another. Despite the countless attempts of the Soviet Union, Tito lived to a ripe old age.
Operation Nimrod
1980, six terrorists take hold in an Iranian embassy in London with a group 26 hostages. The SAS, elite soldiers who usually remain secretive pull off an amazing rescue, which led to secret agencies all over the world copying their techniques. The terrorists made a lot of demands which were refused by the Thatcher government. The terrorists agreed to release 5 hostages if their demands would be broadcast on television. They were getting increasingly annoyed about none of their demands being met, and killed one of the hostages. This is when the SAS were called in to stop the terrorists. During a raid lasted only 17 minutes they killed 5 of the terrorists, and saved almost everyone of the hostages.
Hannibal Crossing The Alps
Hannibal Barca did something no one had ever done before, and most men though was impossible, he crossed an army including elephants across the Alps to attack Rome. This was one of the most difficult journeys in military history. Atop the Alps they didn’t just have to compete with the bitter cold, and rocky terrain, but also hostile tribes who attacked anyone crossing into their territory. Somehow the army and the elephants managed to cross it alive, and Hannibal went on to crush Roman armies with that same army.
Operation Jericho
Operation Jericho is famous for being one of the most precise and impressive military campaigns in history. Allied bombers planes performed precision strikes in order to free French Resistance and political prisoners. The planes literally just flew in an blew up the walls allowing the prisoners to escape, but also killing 102 of them, and wounding 74. 258 escaped, but the majority were recaptured later on. It’s debated whether the attack was necessary and whether it helped anything. Amazingly the whole thing was caught on camera, which is rare for military operations.
The St. Nazaire Raid
The St. Nazaire Raid is famous for being one of the most daring and inconcievable military operations in history. It started with a plan to destroy the sister of the Bismarck known as the Tirpitz, which was docked at St. Nazaire as that was the only dock capable for holding such a large ship. The plan? Load the HMS Campbeltown with explosives, ram it into the dock, and blow it to bits. The batteship had 265 men aboard who would jump off when it docked and destroy many of the buildings in the local area. The ship was made to look like a German one, so it would blend in. The plan worked, and the ship successfully blew up the docks, subsequently killing 250 Germans who had boarded it.
The Great Locomotive Chase
During the American Civil War, a group of soldiers in disguise boarded a steam train with dangerous intentions. They made sure to blend in with the crowd and wait until the train had stopped so the employees could have lunch. Without missing a beat they hijacked the train for the purposes of the Union. They continued moving along the trains original trajectory, but this time with the Confederates causing as much damage as possible along the way, including cutting telegraph wires. This meant that no one had anyway of communicating with each about what was going on. So when they arrived at each train station, they simply pretended nothing was going on at all. They were chased by the Confederates for 87 miles until they were eventually caught, and some of them executed.
Operation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe was one of the most famous hostage rescue military operations carried out in history. Israel Defense Forces flew 5000 km to Uganda and managed to successfully save hostages who had been aboard a plane, high-jacked by terrorists, who landed in Entebbe Uganda. Impressively they flew all that way without alerting Egypt, Sudan, or Saudi Arabia.
The Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid was a brave attempt at ruining Japanese feelings of invulnerability by pulling a trick that had never been done before, and would in all likelihood, go terribly terribly wrong. It involved taking off in B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, from an aircraft carrier. Normally these planes would take off from runways, where there is a lot of ground to take off from. No one, in known memory, had ever taken off from a such a small runway using this type of plane, and the chances of it working seemed slim. However, if it would burst the bubble that Japan couldn’t be struck, then it would be worth trying.
They all took off, and went on to bomb Japan, which only caused negligible damage, and the man in charge, Colonel James Doolittle was convinced he would be court-martial, because while trying to land, every single one of the aircrafts was lost, and many of the men died. Yet it worked; American morale was raised, the Japanese sense of invulnerability had been thwarted, and the US had gained revenge for Pearl Harbour. Doolittle was given the Medal of Honour, and promoted; twice.