A military raid is a mission where the main objective is to demoralize, destroy valuable enemy installations, free prisoners, gather intelligence, or capture or kill specific personnel. This contrasts to regular military operations where the end goal is to capture territory and advance. Raids are a quick attack, relying heavily on the element of surprise to achieve their objective. After the success or failure of the mission, the raiding force will attempt to retreat to friendly territory before the enemy is able to co-ordinate a counterattack.
Raids are favored by guerrilla, irregular, or special forces. Due to the disproportional affect that a raid can have on an enemy, relative to the attacker's strength and the duration of the attack, raids are a favored tactic in irregular warfare.
This article contains a list of military raids, not including air raids, sorted by the date at which they started:
| Name | Date | Attackers | Defenders | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mongol Raid into Hungary | 1241 | Mongol Empire | .svg){kind=small} Kingdom of Hungary
|
Parts of the Kingdom of Hungary controlled by the Mongol Empire |
| Mongol Raid into Lithuania | 1259 | Mongol Empire | Grand Duchy of Lithuania | Lithuania left mostly untouched by the Mongol raid |
| Mongol raid into Poland | 1259 | Mongol Empire |  Polish states and allies
|
Tactical Mongol victory |
| Mongol invasion of Byzantine Thrace | 1265 | Mongol Empire | Thrace | Thrace plundered by the Mongols |
| Second Mongol invasion of Lithuania | 1275 | Mongol Empire | Grand Duchy of Lithuania | |
| Third Mongol invasion of Poland | 1287 |  Golden Horde Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia
|
Kingdom of Poland Kingdom of Hungary
|
Polish victory; Mongol invasion repulsed |
| Chaseabout Raid | 26 August 1565 |  Kingdom of Scotland
|
Protestant rebels | Victory for Mary, Queen of Scots |
| Raid of the Redeswire | 7 July 1575 | Kingdom of Scotland
|
 Kingdom of England
|
Scottish victory |
| Raid of Ruthven | 27 August 1582 | Presbyterian nobles | Kingdom of Scotland | Short-lived Presbyterian victory |
| Raid on the Medway | 6 June 1667 |  Dutch Republic
|
Kingdom of England
|
Decisive Dutch victory |
| Raid on Deerfield | 29 February 1704 |  New England
|
 French colonistsAbenaki Iroquois Wyandot Pocumtuc Pennacook |
French and Native American victory |
| Raid on Pickawillany | 21 June 1752 | France
|
 Great Britain
|
French allied victory |
| Meigs Raid | 24 May 1777 |  United States
|
Great Britain
|
American victory |
| Carleton's Raid | 24 October 1778 | Great Britain
|
United States Vermont Republic
|
British victory |
| Cherry Valley massacre | 11 November 1778 | Great Britain Seneca tribe Mohawk |
United States
|
British victory |
| Battle of Paulus Hook | 19 August 1779 | United States
|
Great Britain
|
American Victory |
| Battle of Musgrove Mill | 18 August 1780 | United States
|
Great Britain
|
American Victory |
| Battle of Wahab's Plantation | 21 September 1780 | United States
|
Great Britain
|
American Victory |
| Royalton raid | 16 October 1780 | Great Britain
|
Vermont Republic
|
British victory |
| Battle of Fort St. George | 23 November 1780 | United States
|
Great Britain
|
American Victory |
| Raid on Gananoque | 21 September 1812 |  United States
|
 Upper Canada
|
American victory |
| Capture of HMS Caledonia and HMS Detroit | 9 October 1812 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| Battle of St. Regis | 22 October 1812 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| Battle of Frenchman's Creek | 28 November 1812 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| Battle of the Mississinewa | 17-18 December 1812 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| Raid on Elizabethtown | 7 February 1813 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| Battle of York | 22 April 1813 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| Raid On Philipsburg | 11-12 October 1813 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| Raid on Fort Oswego | 6 May 1814 | United Kingdom
|
United States
|
British victory |
| Raid on Alexandria | 20 August 1814 | United Kingdom
|
United States
|
British victory |
| Battle of Longwoods | 4 March 1814 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American Tactical victory |
| Raid on Port Dover | 14-16 May 1814 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| McArthur's Raid | 6 November 1814 | United States
|
United Kingdom
|
American victory |
| Andrews' Raid | 12 April 1862 |  United States (Union)
|
 CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| Newburgh Raid | 18 July 1862 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| Raid on Chambersburg | October 1862 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| Sinking Creek Raid | 26 November 1862 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| West Tennessee Raids | December 1862 – January 1863 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| Mosby's Raid on Herndon Station | 17 March 1863 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| Grierson's Raid | April – May 1863 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| Streight's Raid | April – May 1863 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Confederate victory |
| Stoneman's 1863 raid | April – May 1863 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Confederate victory |
| Jones–Imboden Raid | April – May 1863 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| Hines' Raid | June 1863 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Union victory |
| Raid on Combahee Ferry | June 1863 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| Morgan's Raid | June – July 1863 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Union victory |
| Wytheville Raid | 18 July 1863 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| Quantrill's Raid | 21 August 1863 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| Shelby's Raid (1863) | September – October 1863 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| Wheeler's October 1863 Raid | October 1863 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Inconclusive |
| Dahlgren Raid | February – March 1864 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Confederate victory |
| Wilson–Kautz Raid | June – July 1864 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Inconclusive |
| Gilmor's Raid | July 1864 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| Price's Raid | August – December 1864 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Union victory |
| Beefsteak Raid | September 1864 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| St. Albans Raid | 19 October 1864 | CSA (Confederacy)
|
United States (Union)
|
Confederate victory |
| The Burning Raid | November – December 1864 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| Stoneman's 1864 raid | December 1864 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| Stoneman's 1865 raid | March – April 1865 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| Wilson's Raid | March – April 1865 | United States (Union)
|
CSA (Confederacy)
|
Union victory |
| Fenian raids | April 1866 |  Fenian Brotherhood
|
British Empire
|
Stalemate; Fenian raids cease |
| Warren Wagon Train raid | 18 May 1871 | Kiowa |  United States
|
Native American victory |
| Jesse James Northfield Raid | 6 September 1876 | Law enforcement | James-Younger Gang | Destruction of the gang |
| Jameson Raid | 29 December 1895 | Cecil Rhodes Leander Starr Jameson Reform Committee
|
 South African Republic
|
South African victory |
| Bezdany raid | 26 September 1908 | Polish revolutionaries | Russian Empire | Polish success |
| Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby | 16 December 1914 |  German Empire
|
United Kingdom
|
German victory |
| Russian raid on Gotland | 2 July 1915 |  Russian Empire
|
 German Empire
|
Allied victory |
| Zeebrugge Raid | 23 April 1918 |  United Kingdom
|
German Empire
|
Indecisive |
| Malgaç Raid | 16 June 1919 |  Kuva-yi Milliye
|
 Kingdom of Greece
|
Turkish victory |
| Soviet raid on Stołpce | 3 August 1924 |  Soviet Union
|
 Poland
|
Soviet victory |
| Chittagong armoury raid | 18 April 1930 | Indian revolutionaries | Chittagong police force | Revolutionaries fail to complete objective |
| Christmas Raid | 23 December 1939 |  Irish Republican Army (IRA)
|
 Irish Army
|
Initial completion of objectives; equipment recovered shortly after |
| Operation Ambassador | 14 July 1940 | United Kingdom
|
 Nazi Germany
|
Nazi victory |
| Operation Colossus | 10 February 1941 | United Kingdom
|
 Italy
|
British victory |
| Operation Claymore | 4 March 1941 | United Kingdom Norway
|
Nazi Germany
|
British victory |
| Operation Savanna | 15 March 1941 | United Kingdom  Free France
|
Nazi Germany
|
Nazi victory |
| Bardia raid | 19-20 April 1941 | United Kingdom Australia
|
Nazi Germany Italy
|
Allied victory |
| Raid on Alexandria (1941) | 19 December 1941 | Italy
|
United Kingdom
|
Italian victory |
| Operation Anklet | 26 December 1941 | United Kingdom Norway Poland
|
Nazi Germany
|
Allied victory |
| Operation Archery | 27 December 1941 | United Kingdom Norway
|
Nazi Germany
|
Allied victory |
| Operation Biting | 28 February 1942 | United Kingdom
|
Nazi Germany
|
British victory |
| St. Nazaire Raid | 27 March 1942 | United Kingdom
|
Nazi Germany
|
British victory (all objectives complete) |
| Indian Ocean raid | 31 March 1942 |  Empire of Japan
|
United Kingdom Australia Netherlands Netherlands United States Canada
|
Japanese victory |
| Operation Albumen | 7-8 June 1942, 4–5 July 1943 | United Kingdom
|
Nazi Germany
|
Allied victory |
| Makin Island raid | 17 August 1942 | United States
|
Empire of Japan
|
American victory |
| Dieppe Raid | 19 August 1942 | Canada United Kingdom Poland
|
Nazi Germany
|
German victory |
| Tatsinskaya Raid | 16 December 1942 |  Soviet Union
|
Nazi Germany
|
Soviet victory |
| Operation Chestnut | 12 July 1943 | United Kingdom
|
Italy
|
British failure |
| The Gran Sasso Raid | 12 September 1943 | Nazi Germany
|
Italy
|
Mussolini successfully rescued |
| Operation Jaywick | 26 September 1943 | Z Special Unit (Allies) | Empire of Japan
|
Allied victory |
| Operation Begonia | 2 October 1943 | United Kingdom
|
Italy
|
50 POWs rescued |
| Operation Candytuft | 27 October 1943 | United Kingdom
|
Italy
|
British victory |
| Operation Saxifrage | 27 October 1943 | United Kingdom
|
Italy
|
Rail lines successfully cut |
| Raid on Choiseul | 28 October 1943 | United States Australia
|
Empire of Japan
|
Indecisive |
| Raid on Koiari | 28-29 November 1943 | United States
|
Empire of Japan
|
Japanese Victory |
| Operation Baobab | 30 January 1944 | United Kingdom
|
Italy
|
British victory |
| Brécourt Manor Assault | 6 June 1944 | United States
|
Nazi Germany
|
American Victory |
| Operation Cooney | 7 June 1944 | Free French Forces
|
Nazi Germany
|
Tactically indecisive
Strategic Allied victory |
| Operation Gaff | 25 June 1944 | United Kingdom
|
Nazi Germany
|
Objective not completed |
| Raid on Symi | 13-15 July 1944 | United Kingdom Kingdom of Greece
|
Nazi Germany Italian Social Republic
|
Allied victory |
| Operation Dunhill | 3 August 1944 | United Kingdom
|
Nazi Germany
|
Objectives completed |
| Raid at Ožbalt | 31 August 1944 |  Slovene Partisans
|
Nazi Germany
|
Slovene victory |
| Operation Greif | 16 December 1944 | Nazi Germany
|
United Kingdom
|
German failure |
| Raid at Cabanatuan | 30 January 1945 | United States
|
Empire of Japan
|
Allied victory; 552 POWs liberated |
| Operation Cold Comfort | 17 February 1945 | United Kingdom
|
Nazi Germany
|
British failure |
| Raid at Los Baños | 23 February 1945 | United States
|
Empire of Japan
|
Allied victory; 2,147 Allied civilians and military personnel liberated |
| Granville Raid | 8 March 1945 | Nazi Germany
|
United States
|
German victory |
| Operation Tombola | 23 March 1945 | United Kingdom
|
Nazi Germany
|
Allied victory |
| Operation Roast | 1 April 1945 | United Kingdom
|
Nazi Germany
|
British victory |
| Operation Claret | July 1964 - July 1966 | United Kingdom
|
 Indonesia
|
Objective complete; Indonesian forces kept off balance |
| Operation Danube | 20-21 August 1968 |  Warsaw Pact
|
 Czechoslovakia
|
Mission successful
|
| Operation Bulmus 6 | 19 July 1969 |  Israel Defense Forces
|
| |
| Operation Ivory Coast | 21 November 1970 |  United States
|
 North Vietnam
|
Mission failure |
| Operation Green Sea | 22 November 1970 |  Portuguese Military Guinean dissident forces
|
Guinean People's Militia PAIGC
|
Limited Portuguese success; liberation of all 26 POWs and enemy naval and air assets destroyed
|
| Operation Entebbe | 3 July 1976 | Israel
|
Mission successful; 102 of 106 hostages rescued | |
| Operation Eland | 9 August 1976 |  Rhodesia
|
 ZANLA (ZANU)
|
Decisive Rhodesian victory |
| Operation Dingo | 23-25 November 1977 | Rhodesia
|
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army
|
Decisive Rhodesian victory |
| Coup of the Republic of Afghanistan | 27-28 April 1978 |  PDPA
|
 Republic of Afghanistan
|
Mission successful; Mohammed Daoud Khan overthrown and assassinated |
| Operation Storm-333 | 27 December 1979 |  Soviet Union
|
 Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
|
Soviet victory; Hafizullah Amin assassinated |
| Operation Eagle Claw | 24 April 1980 | United States
|
 Iran
|
Mission failure |
| Operation Nimrod | 5 May 1980 | United Kingdom
|
Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRFLA) | Mission successful; 24 of 26 hostages rescued |
| Raid on Pebble Island | 14 May 1982 | United Kingdom
|
 Argentina
|
British victory |
| Operation Destroy | 19 November 1985 |  Malaysia
|
 Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party
|
Malaysian victory
|
| Operation Flavius | 6 March 1988 | United Kingdom
|
Provisional Irish Republican Army | 3 IRA paramilitaries killed |
| Operation Acid Gambit | 20 December 1989 | United States
|
 Panama
|
Mission successful; hostage rescued |
| Raid at Renacer Prison | 20 December 1989 | United States
|
 Panama Defense Force
|
Mission successful; 64 hostages rescued |
| Borovo Selo raid | 2 May 1991 |  Croatia
|
.svg){kind=small} SAO Krajina.svg){kind=small} White Eagles
|
SAO Krajina and White Eagles victory |
| Battle of Mogadishu | 3 October 1993 |  UNOSOM II
|
 Somali National Alliance (SNA) Al-Qaeda
|
Strategic SNA victory |
| Operation Chavín de Huántar | 22 April 1997 | .svg){kind=small} Peru
|
 Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
|
Peruvian victory
|
| Sauk siege | 5 July 2000 | Malaysia
|
 Al Ma'unah terrorist group
|
Malaysian military victory |
| Operation Barras | 10 September 2000 | United Kingdom
|
West Side Boys | Mission successful; 5 hostages and 21 additional civilians rescued |
| Alkhan-Kala raid | 22-28 June 2001 |  Russian Federation
|
 Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
|
Russian victory
|
| Operation Rhino | 19-20 October 2001 | United States
|
 Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
|
American victory |
| Operation Condor | 17 May 2002 | United Kingdom
|
Taliban insurgents Al-Qaeda
|
British victory |
| 2004 Nazran raid | 21 June 2004 |  Caucasian Front Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
|
Russian Federation
|
Chechen and Ingush separatist victory |
| 2004 Avtury raid | 12 July 2004 | Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Arab Mujahideen
|
 Chechen Republic Russian Federation
|
Rebel victory |
| 2004 Grozny raid | 21 August 2004 | Chechen Republic Russian Federation
|
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
|
Russian victory |
| 2005 Dagestan Raids | 15 January 2005 |  Russia Dagestan
|
Shariat Jamaat
|
Russian victory |
| Lake Tharthar raid | 23 March 2005 |  New Iraqi Army
|
 Iraqi insurgents
|
Iraqi security forces victory |
| 2005 Nalchik raid | 13 October 2005 | Yarmuk Jamaat | Russian Federation
|
Russian victory |
| Dalola raid | 1 May 2006 | Janjaweed | Chad | Janjaweed victory |
| 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid | 12 July 2006 |  Hezbollah
|
Israel Defense Forces
|
Mission successful |
| Tyre raid | 4 August 2006 | Israel Defense Forces
|
Hezbollah
|
Mission failure |
| Karbala provincial headquarters raid | 20 January 2007 |  Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
Supported by: |
 United States
|
Mission successful |
| Raid on Poti | 12 August 2008 | Russia
|
 Georgia
|
Russian victory
|
| 2009 Baraawe raid | 14 September 2009 | United States
|
Al-Qaeda Al-Shabaab
|
American victory
|
| 2010 Tsentoroy attack | 29 August 2010 |  Vilayat Nokhchicho
|
Kadyrovtsy Pro-Moscow Chechen Law Enforcement
|
Russian victory
|
| Death of Osama bin Laden | 2 May 2011 | United States
|
Al-Qaeda
|
American victory
|
| Rescue of Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted | 25 January 2012 | United States
|
Somali Pirates | American victory
|
| Kunar Raid | 17 February 2012 |  NATO
|
Taliban
|
Mission failure; 6 civilian casualties |
| Al-Otaiba ambush | 26 February 2014 |  Hezbollah
|
 Al-Nusra Front
|
Successful ambush
|
| Crimean Parliament raid | 27 February 2014 | Russia
|
 Ukraine
|
Russian victory
|
| Simferopol raid | 18 March 2014 | Russia
|
Ukraine
|
Russian victory
|
| May 2015 U.S. special forces raid in Syria | 15 May 2015 | United States
|
 Daesh
|
American victory
|
| 2015 Myanmar cross-border raid | 9 June 2015 |  India
|
 NSCN-K Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup
|
Indian victory |
| 2016 Indian Line of Control strike | 28-29 September 2016 | India
|
 Lashkar-e-Taiba
|
Indian victory |
| Mohmand Valley raid | 26-27 April 2017 | United States
|
Daesh
|
American victory
• Emir of ISIL-KP killed |
| Al Hathla Raid | 23 May 2017 | United States
|
 Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
|
American victory |
| Barisha raid | 26-27 October 2019 | United States
|
Daesh
|
American victory
• Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed |
| 2020 Nigeria hostage rescue | 31 October 2020 | United States
|
Nigerian Bandits | American victory
• Hostage Successfully Rescued |
| 2022 Panjgur and Naushki raids | 2 February 2022 |  Pakistan
|
Baluch Liberation Front | Mission successful |
| 2023 Alaqsa Flood raids | 7 October 2023 |  Hamas
|
Israel | successful, Hamas were able to capture high ranking military officers, military reserves and civilians to exchange with Palestinian hostages. |
