Coups are a frequent occurrence of the twentieth century. Some of them were successful, but there were those that ended in complete collapse. We will tell you about the three most notable unfortunate coups of the 20th century.
3. Attempt to overthrow Saddam Hussein, Iraq
In early 1996, US authorities spent $ 120 million (according to Newsweek) to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power. The operation was planned to be carried out with the help of the joint efforts of the CIA, British intelligence, as well as a large number of Kurdish and Iraqi agents.
However, the Iraqi secret services did not eat their bread for nothing. In July 1996, Saddam Hussein arrested 200 Iraqis, including 80 officers. They were tortured to death, and the CIA representative in the Jordanian capital, Amman, received a message saying “Pack your things and get out!” We have information about every step of the CIA. ”
Two months later, Iraqi forces entered Kurdistan, which the CIA did not warn its employees about. Over 100 of them were killed, and hundreds of Kurds working for the CIA fled the country and received asylum in America.
2. Incident at the Imperial Palace, Japan
After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese emperor Hirohito had to decide to sign the Potsdam Declaration. She demanded unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Japan to the allies.
This step did not meet with the approval of the imperial guard, which feared that the imperial system would be abolished after signing the declaration.
On the night of August 14-15, 1945, a group of officers led by Major Kenji Hatanaki seized the palace and cut it off from communications, depriving them of communication with the outside world. Hatanaka and his people hoped to maintain the imperial system and form a new government with the army minister at the helm. But due to the fact that the recordings of the emperor's surrender speech were securely hidden, their efforts were in vain.
At 11 a.m., shortly before the emperor’s address to the people, Hatanaka put a bullet in his head.
1. August putsch, USSR
Headed the top 3 unsuccessful putsch of the 20th century, a turning point in the history of the Soviet Union.
When Mikhail Gorbachev began reforms leading to the division of the USSR into separate states, they were not warmly received by the entire leadership of the country.
The coup in order to remove Gorbachev from power began on August 18, 1991. It was attended by a group of senior government and officials, known as the State Committee on Emergency (GKChP). Gorbachev was placed under house arrest. Boris Yeltsin's country cottage was surrounded by fighters of the Alpha unit, but the commander was ordered not to impede Yeltsin’s departure and arrival in Moscow.
In Moscow, protesters led by Yeltsin took to the streets to condemn the coup attempt. And the Russian army, which occupied key positions on the streets of the capital, did not receive further clear orders from the conspirators. As a result, there was a fraternization of local soldiers and demonstrators. After the turmoil subsided, members of the Emergency Committee were imprisoned.
