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Second Battle of Fallujah
The Second Battle of Fallujah (code-named Operation Al-Fajr - "The Dawn" in Arabic, and Operation Phantom Fury) was a joint U.S.-Iraqi offensive led by the U.S. Marine Corps against the Iraqi insurgency stronghold in the city of Fallujah, authorized by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Interim Government. The U.S. military called it "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Hu? City in Vietnam."[1] This operation was the second major operation in Fallujah. Earlier, in April 2004, Coalition Forces fought the First Battle of Fallujah in order to capture or kill insurgent elements considered responsible for the deaths of a Blackwater Security team. When Coalition Forces (a majority being U.S. Marines) fought into the center of the city, the Iraqi government requested that control of the city be turned over to an Iraqi-run local security force, which then began stockpiling weapons and building complex defenses across the city during Summer 2004.
BackgroundFallujah was one of the most peaceful areas of the country just after the fall of Saddam. There was very little looting, and the new mayor of the city, Taha Bidaywi Hamed, selected by local tribal leaders, was staunchly pro-American. Pre-operation timeline leading is as follows:
TimelineU.S. preparation for the battle
Marines from Mike Battery, 4th Battalion, 14th Marines an activated reserve unit, operate the 155 mm M198 howitzer in November 2004. The battery was based at Camp Fallujah, Iraq and was supporting Operation Phantom Fury. Before beginning their attack, U.S. and Iraqi forces had established checkpoints around the city to prevent anyone from entering the city and intercept insurgents attempting to flee. In addition, overhead imagery was used to prepare maps of the city for use by the attackers. American units were augmented with Iraqi translators to assist them in the planned fight. After weeks of withstanding air strikes and artillery bombardment, the militants holed up in the city appeared somewhat vulnerable to a direct attack, and the U.S. Military was ready to finish the job they had been forced to abort the prior spring. Insurgent forcesIn April Fallujah was defended by about 500 "hardcore" and 2000+ "part time" insurgents. By November it was estimated that the numbers had doubled. The city grew from a small town in 1947 to a pre-war population of about 435,774 inhabitants in 2003, according to UN data; however, according to the former regime, there are about 600,000 inhabitants. By 2004 there were 300,000 estimated to have lived there in April of 2004. There were significant numbers of "part time" insurgents out of that 300,000 that stayed behind to fight the Army and Marine Forces. They had 6 months to prepare their city and enplace VBIED's, IED's, booby traps, trenches, RPG teams, sniper positions, ETC. DiversionGround operations began on the night of November 7, 2004. Attacking from the west and south, The Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion with their U.S. Army Special Forces advisers and the 3rd U.S. Marine Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, reinforced by Bravo Company from the Marine Corp Reserve's 1st Battalion, 23rd Regiment, and supported by Combat Service Support Company 113, from Combat Service Support Battalion 1, captured Fallujah General Hospital and villages opposite the Euphrates River along Fallujah's western edge. The capture and closure of the hospital caused much controversy, concerning whether or not it was a contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The same unit, operating under the command of the U.S. Army III Corps, then moved on the western approaches to the city securing the Jurf Kas Sukr Bridge. These initial attacks, however, were little more than a diversion, intended to distract and confuse the rebels defending the city. Attack
U.S. soldiers from 1st Infantry Division, prepare to enter a civilian building during fighting in Fallujah. Two Marine Regimental Combat Teams, Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) and Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) launched their attack along the northern edge of the city. There were also two U.S. Army heavy battalion-sized units, the 2nd Squadron, 7 Cavalry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment(Mechanized). These two battalions were to be followed by four infantry battalions that would clear the buildings. The Army's 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, equipped with newly-fielded M1126 Stryker Vehicles, were tasked to surround the city. The British Black Watch Battalion patrolled the main highways to the east. The six battalions of Army-Marine-Iraqi forces under the cover of darkness began the assault in the early hours of November 8 2004 with an intense bombing followed by an attack on the main train station that was used as a staging point for follow-on forces. By that afternoon, under the protection of intense air cover, Marines had entered the Hay Naib al-Dubat and al-Naziza districts. Shortly after nightfall on November 9 2004, Marines were reportedly along Highway 10 in the center of the city. While most of the fighting subsided by November 13 2004, Marines continued to face determined resistance from the enemy in and around the city. By November 16 2004, after nine days of fighting, the Marine command described the action as mopping up pockets of resistance. Sporadic fighting continued until December 23 2004. Despite its success, the battle was not without controversy. On November 16 2004, NBC News aired footage that showed a U.S. Marine, with 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, shooting dead a wounded Iraqi fighter. In this video, the Marine was heard claiming that the Iraqi was "playing possum". U.S. Navy investigators NCIS later determined that the Marine was acting in self-defense.[4] The AP reported that military-age males attempting to flee the city were turned back by the U.S. military.[5] By late January 2005, news reports indicated U.S. combat units were leaving the area, and were assisting the local population in returning to the now heavily-damaged city. Additionally, Operation Phantom Fury yielded a nominee for the Medal of Honor, Sergeant Rafael Peralta who was a Marine with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines. Sgt. Peralta was later awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest award a Marine can receive. AftermathFallujah suffered extensive damage to residences, mosques, city services, and businesses. The city, once referred to as the "City of Mosques", had 200+ pre-battle mosques of which 60 or so were destroyed in the fighting. Perhaps half the homes suffered at least some damage. Of the roughly 50,000 buildings in Fallujah, 7,000-10,000 were estimated to have been destroyed in the offensive and from half to two-thirds of the remaining buildings had notable damage.[6][7] While pre-offensive inhabitant figures are unreliable, the nominal population was assumed to have been 200,000?350,000. One report claims that both offensives, Operation Vigilant Resolve and Operation Phantom Fury, created 200,000 internally displaced persons who are still living elsewhere in Iraq.[8] Reports claim that up to 6000 civilians died throughout the operation.[9] While damage to mosques was heavy, Coalition forces reported that 66 out of the city's 133 mosques had been found to be holding significant amounts of insurgent weapons. In mid-December, residents were allowed to return after undergoing biometric identification, provided they wear their ID cards all the time. Reconstruction is progressing slowly and mainly consists of clearing rubble from heavily-damaged areas and reestablishing basic utilities. Only 10% of the pre-offensive inhabitants had returned as of mid-January, and only 30% as of the end of March 2005.[10] The recapture of the city itself proved to be largely a success for U.S. forces, with a large number of local insurgent fighters being killed, and the momentum the Sunni rebellion had gained from controlling the city being dashed in the face of overwhelming U.S. firepower. Furthermore, al-Qaeda's foothold in Iraq had been seriously degraded, even though its leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi managed to escape. Insurgent elements almost immediately began to attempt to re-group their power base in the city, with limited results. Nevertheless the battle proved to be less than the decisive engagement that the U.S. military had hoped for, some of the nonlocal insurgents were believed to have fled before the military assault along with Zarqawi, leaving mostly local militants behind. Subsequent U.S. military operations against insurgent positions were ineffective at drawing out insurgents into another open battle, and by September 2006 the situation had deteriorated to the point that the Al-Anbar province that contained Fallujah was reported to be in total insurgent control by the U.S. Marine Corps, with the exception of only pacified Fallujah, but now with an insurgent-plagued Ramadi[11][12] After the U.S. military operation of November 2004, the number of insurgent attacks gradually increased in and around the city, and although news reports were often few and far between, several reports of IED attacks on Iraqi troops were reported in the press. Most notable of these attacks was a suicide car bomb attack on 23 June 2005 on a convoy that killed 6 Marines. Thirteen other Marines were injured in the attack. However, fourteen months later insurgents were again able to operate in large numbers. A third and ultimately successful push was mounted from September 2006 and lasting until mid-January 2007. Tactics developed in what has been called the "Third Battle of Fallujah," when applied on a larger scale in Ramadi and the surrounding area lead to what can be called "the Great Sunni Awakening." After four years of bitter fighting, Fallujah was turned over to the Iraqi Forces and Iraqi Provincial Authority during the Fall of 2007. CriticismWhite phosphorus usage
On 26 November 2004, independent journalist Dahr Jamail was perhaps the first to report on the use of "unusual weapons" used in the November 2004 Battle of Fallujah.http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/iraq/000137.php U.S. media watchdog group Project Censored awarded Jamail's story as contributing to the #2 under-reported story of the year, "Media Coverage Fails on Iraq".http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2006/index.htm#2 On 9 November, 2005 the Italian state-run broadcaster RAI ran a documentary titled "Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre" depicting what it alleges was the United States' use of white phosphorus (WP) in the attack causing insurgents and civilians to be killed or injured by chemical burns. The effects of WP are very characteristic. The resulting bodies were partially turned into what appears to be ash, but sometimes the hands of the bodies had skin or skin layers peeled off and hanging like gloves instead. The documentary further claims that the United States used incendiary MK-77 bombs (similar to napalm). While the use of incendiary weapons against civilians is illegal by Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (1980), this is not binding on the United States because it not a signatory. The documentary stated:
The US State Department initially denied using white phosphorus as a munition, a claim later contradicted by the Department of Defense when bloggers discovered a US Army magazine had run a story detailing its use in Fallujah. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, quoted by the RAI documentary, WP is allowed as an illumination device, not as an offensive weapon if its chemical properties are put to use. The OPCW has also stated that it is the toxic properties of white phosphorus that are prohibited and the use of its heat may not be prohibited.[13][14] The US government maintains its denial of WP use against civilians, but has admitted its use as an offensive weapon against enemy combatants.[15] An article in Washington Post exactly a year before also pointed out the use of White Phosphorus in the battle, but attracted little attention. The Guardian (George Monbiot) critically assessed the white phosphorous stories and added interesting additional information on weapons used by U.S. forces.[16] White phosphorus, when used for screening or as a marker, or used as an incendiary against combatant forces, is not banned by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. But if used as a weapon in a civilian area, it would be prohibited. The protocol specifically excludes weapons whose incendiary effect is secondary, such as smoke grenades. This has been often read as excluding white phosphorus munitions from this protocol, as well. The United States is among the nations that are parties to the convention but have not signed Protocol III. Graphic visual footage of the weapons being fired from helicopters into urban areas is displayed, as well as detailed footage of the remains of those apparently killed by these weapons, including children and women. The filmmakers interview ex US military soldier Jeff Englehart of Colorado who discusses the American use of white phosphorus, nicknamed "Willie Pete" (codification of "WP" - White Phosphorus) by U.S. servicemembers, in built-up areas, and describes the Fallujah offensive as "just a massive killing of Arabs." However, it was subsequently revealed that Englehart was nowhere near Fallujah at the time. Participating unitsU.S. forcesRegimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) built around the 1st Marine Regiment:
Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) built around the 7th Marine Regiment:
2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division
1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry, 36th Infantry Division (Texas Army National Guard)
US Army Special Operations Command(embedded) Iraqi Forces
British Forces
ReferencesBooks
ArticlesRoman O. Reyhani, "The Legality of the Use of White Phosphorus by the United States Military during the 2004 Fallujah Assaults" (January 24, 2007). Berkeley Electronic Presss Preprint Series. Working Paper 1959. Films
See also
External links
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