The Netflix docu-series Surviving Black Hawk Down looks at the most devastating moments of the Battle of Mogadishu

Surviving Black Hawk Down tells the true story of the Black Hawk Down Incident, and here are the 10 biggest takeaways from the docuseries.

In 1993, two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down over Mogadishu, resulting in an 18-hour battle that killed 18 American soldiers and over 300 Somalis

Ridley Scott’s 2001 film Black Hawk Down was a technically superb blockbuster bristling with thunderous action sequences and famous actors, though its gung-ho depiction of the heroics of American special forces during the appalling Somalian civil war always felt a little uncomfortable.

Surviving Black Hawk Down does its utmost to render the absolute chaos of the battle while still offering context and hindsight. It’s a high-wire act, marrying calm with carnage, but film-maker Jack MacInnes, who also directed the excellent Leaving Afghanistan, follows the good documentarian’s playbook to the letter.

It’s going to give a whole new perspective,” Tara Harris said. “These guys were literally boots on the ground.”

Surviving Black Hawk Down tells the famous story of the Battle of Mogadishu, but it only scratches the surface of one of its most important figures.