Additionally known as Operation Al-Fajr or Operation Phantom Fury, the Second Battle of Fallujah came about from November 7, 2004 till December 23, 2004. Throughout this battle, joint American, Iraqi, and British forces attacked Islamic insurgents within the Sunni province of Al-Anbar. Each the Marines and the Army led coalition forces. Many historians thought-about the Second Battle of Fallujah the heaviest city fight skilled by American service members for the reason that Battle of Hue Metropolis in Vietnam in 1968.
Many contemplate the Second Battle of Fallujah the bloodiest battle of the Iraq Struggle for American service members. It’s additionally traditionally important as a result of it was the primary main engagement of the Iraq Struggle fought completely towards insurgents and never towards the federal government army forces.
Why Fallujah mattered
Earlier than the First Battle of Fallujah, each the 82nd Airborne Division and the first Marine Division managed town.
After the deaths of 4 Blackwater contractors in March, American political leaders requested a major response.
So, inside days, the first Marine Division launched Operation Vigilant Resolve to take again management of town, and the First Battle of Fallujah was underway. Then, rebel forces began stockpiling weapons and constructing defenses throughout town. Management of town went to an area Iraqi-run safety drive.
The November follow-up marketing campaign aimed to retake town and forestall additional opposition to the US-led occupation of Iraq.
Battle preparations
Almost 13,500 service members had been available for the Second Battle of Fallujah. Of these, Marines totaled about 6,500, Army totaled round 1,500, and the Navy had 2,500 sailors available. American troops included the Regimental Fight Group 1 and Regimental Fight Group 7. Marine fastened and rotary-wing plane, Navy and Air Pressure fixed-wing plane, and Sniper Components supported the bottom troops.
American and Iraqi forces established checkpoints across the metropolis to stop anybody from coming into and to catch these making an attempt to flee. Intel from overhead imagery helped create maps of town. An air strike and artillery marketing campaign lasted a number of weeks. Nonetheless, not like different Iraqi cities, the Battle of Fallujah didn’t embody inner disputes between insurgents. Insurgents and Mujahideen fortified defenses prematurely of the assault by digging tunnels and trenches. They constructed and hid numerous IEDs and ready spider holes. In some places, properties had been crammed with propane, drums of gasoline, and ordnance wired by a distant set off. Insurgents booby trapped buildings and automobiles. Bricked off stairwells restricted American exit methods.
The Battle
SEAL and Marine Recon sniper groups offered recon and goal marking. Then, floor preparations began on November 7, 2004. The Iraqi thirty sixth Commando Battalion and their Army Special Forces, Marine Scout Platoon, SEAL, and Naval Particular Warfare advisors engaged the enemy on the peninsula. The Fallujah Basic Hospital, ING, and several other villages reverse the Euphrates River and Fallujah’s western aspect had been captured comparatively shortly. All of those techniques had been a diversion to confuse the enemy forward of the all-out offensive. Two Marines died throughout this preliminary offensive.
After Navy Seabees disabled electrical energy at two substations outdoors town, two Marine Regimental Fight Groups launched alongside the northern a part of town. A number of Army heavy battalion mechanized items additionally joined the battle. The Army’s First Cav and the Marine Second Reconnaissance Battalion infiltrated town. In the meantime, the Black Water, the British Army’s 1st Battalion, patrolled the primary highways. The Air Pressure offered shut air help by way of F-15 Strike Eagles, F-16 Combating Falcons, and different plane.
The six U.S and Iraqi battalions moved into town at dusk, and the assault started on November 8 at daybreak. After almost 2,500 155mm projectiles had been fired, the coalition attacked the central prepare station. This was then used as the primary staging space for all follow-on forces. By the afternoon, Marines entered the Hay Naib al-Dubat and Al-Naziza districts. Shortly after, Navy Seabees adopted to clear the streets of particles. By dusk, Marines reached Freeway 10 within the heart of town.
Many of the preventing completed by November 13. Nonetheless, Marines and Special Forces confronted remoted resistance for a number of days after. Sporadic preventing continued till December 23, 2004. By January 2005, items had left the realm.
Aftermath
The Second Battle of Fallujah was the bloodiest battle of the Iraq Struggle. When the operation formally led to December, ultimate counts confirmed 95 service members killed and 560 wounded. Fallujah suffered intensive harm. Nearly 60 of town’s famed 200 mosques had been destroyed.
After this operation, rebel assaults progressively elevated in and across the metropolis. A 3rd push to retake town began in September 2006 and lasted till the center of January 2007. Typically known as the Third Battle of Fallujah, the 2006-2007 offensive included Ramadi and surrounding areas. After 4 years of preventing, Fallujah returned to Iraqi fingers within the autumn of 2007. In early 2014, al-Qaeda-linked insurgences from the Islamic State of Iraq, and the Levant took management of town. Two years later, town was reclaimed by Particular Operations Units and the Iraqi Army.
Second Battle of Fallujah observances
As with many battles fought throughout OEF and OIF, there aren’t any nationwide observances to honor those that misplaced their lives within the Second Battle of Fallujah. Units that participated within the Second Battle would possibly maintain inner observances to commemorate those that died. Notably, the DoD has solely awarded 16 Medals of Honor to Struggle on Terror veterans. Right here’s an inventory of a number of service members who many consider deserve America’s highest honor.
Monuments devoted to the Second Battle of Fallujah
A monument at Camp Pendleton honors the Marines who fought within the Battle of Fallujah. The statue is on the Wounded Warrior Battalion West complicated on base. It’s based mostly on a Lucian Learn picture of two lance corporals carrying an injured sergeant out of a home in Fallujah. Hope for the Warriors, a nationwide non-profit donated the statue. An identical monument exists at Camp Lejeune.
Presently, there aren’t any large-scale monuments on the Nationwide Mall to honor Operations Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Resolve, or every other campaigns related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. In 2022, President Joe Biden licensed a invoice that accepted the development of a memorial on the Nationwide Mall devoted to those that participated in and sacrificed for America’s longest struggle. Discover out extra in regards to the memorial plans right here.
Frequently Requested Questions in regards to the Second Battle of Fallujah
How lengthy did the Struggle in Iraq final?
The struggle lasted from March 2003 till December 2011.
What was the reason for the Iraq Struggle?
After the 9/11 terrorist assaults, American president George Bush decided America was susceptible to future assaults.
When was the struggle in Afghanistan?
Triggered by the 9/11 assaults, the struggle in Afghanistan lasted from 2001 till 2014.
What number of People died through the International Struggle on Terror?
Greater than 59,000 service members had been wounded or killed through the International Struggle on Terror.
