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First Battle of Fallujah
Part of the Post-invasion Iraq
A U.S. Marine from the 1st Marine Division mans an M-240G outside the city of Fallujah, April 5, 2004.
Date April 04–April 09, 2004 Location Fallujah, Iraq Result Insurgent Strategic victory. (Unable to capture the city, United States withdrew its forces.)
Belligerents
United States	Iraqi insurgents
Commanders and leaders
James T. Conway	Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Strength
1,300	20,000
Casualties and losses
83 KIA , WIA 90+ (U.S)	615 military and civilian KIA

The First Battle of Fallujah, sometimes referred to as Operation Vigilant Resolve, was a failed attempt by US troops to recapture the city of Fallujah in April 2004, as part of the occupation of Iraq.

The chief catalyst for the operation was the highly-publicized killing and mutilation of four Blackwater private military contractors, and the killing of 5 US soldiers in Habbaniya a few days earlier.

Events before the campaign

Following the collapse of the Ba'ath infrastructure in 2003, local residents had elected a town council led by Taha Bidaywi Hamed, who attempted to bring control the streets which were overrun with looters and common criminals. The town council and Hamed were both considered to be nominally pro-American, and their election originally meant that the United States had decided that the city was unlikely to become a hotbed of activity, and didn't require any immediate troop presence.

On the evening of April 28, 2003, a crowd of 200 people defied the curfew and gathered outside a school that housed US troops, demanding that the Americans vacate the building and allow it to re-open as a school. After several protestors fired weapons, US soldiers stationed on the roof began firing into the gathered crowd, killing 13. Two days later, a protest at the former Baath party headquarters decrying the American shootings was also fired upon by US troops resulting in two more deaths. In both incidents US soldiers assert that they did not fire upon the crowds until they were first fired upon.

By March 2004, the increasing violence against the American presence in the city resulted in the complete withdrawal of troops from the city. The city began to fall under the increasing influence of guerilla factions led by former members of the Iraqi Army. US troops now remained on the outlying boundaries of the city, forming roadblocks to try and stem the growing strength of the city's militias.

Blackwater deaths

On March 31, 2004, a convoy of four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA was ambushed as it escorted a food transport through Fallujah. Following the attack, an angry mob mutilated and burned the bodies, dragging them through the streets before they were hung on a bridge. This attack took place during a time when Marines were taking over responsibility for al-Anbar province from the U.S Army. The intended Marine strategy of foot patrols, less aggressive raids, humanitarian aid, and close cooperation with local leaders was suspended on orders to mount a military operation to clear guerillas from Fallujah.

The campaign

On April 4, the United States launched a major assault in an attempt to occupy the city. In the defense of Fallujah during the April 2004 siege by U.S marines, it was noted that insurgent forces used Soviet-style defense in depth tactics.

By April 6, the United States had announced that it might not be able to penetrate and successfully hold the entire city

After three days of fighting, it was estimated that the United States had gained control over only 25% of the city, although it was suggested that insurgents had lost a number of key defensive positions.

Headed by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, American units surrounded the city with an aim towards retaking it. This set off wide-spread fighting throughout Central Iraq and along the Lower Euphrates, starting on the morning of 7 April 2004. An American helicopter fired a missile into a mosque rebels were using as a base, killing at least a dozen insurgents.

On April 9, an unofficial temporary ceasefire was declared by the United States, who stated that its purpose was to facilitate negotiations between the Iraqi Governing Council, insurgents and city spokespersons, to allow government supplies to be delivered to residents, and to allow the collection of dead and wounded.

At noon on April 9, Marines and Coalition forces unilaterally suspended combat in Fallujah in order to hold meetings between members of the Governing Council, the Fallujah leadership and the leadership of the anti-coalition forces, to allow the delivery of additional supplies by the relevant departments of the Iraqi government and to allow residents of Fallujah to tend to their wounded and dead.

The resulting fighting spread throughout the country with various elements of the Iraqi insurgency taking advantage of the situation and commencing simultaneous operations against the Coalition forces; this period marked the emergence of the Mahdi Army militia of Shiite firebrand cleric Muqtada as-Sadr as a major armed faction which at that time actively participated in anti-Coalition operations, the happenings were also puncuated by a surge of Sunni rebellion in the city of Ramadi. During this period, a number of foreigners were captured. Some were killed outright, others were held as hostages in an attempt to barter for political or military concessions. Elements of the Iraqi police and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (the militia set up by the Coalition to form the core of a future Iraqi Army) also turned on the Coalition forces or simply abandoned their posts.

The rebels in Fallujah held on as the Americans tightened their noose on the city. Air and artillery bombardment rained on insurgent positions throughout the city, Lockheed AC-130 gunships strafing targets with their gatling guns a number of times. U.S. snipers kept insurgents at bay, their night vision technology providing them with an important tactical edge. The U.S. attacks were taking a great toll on civilians as well as the insurgents however, and on April 9, the combat operations at Fallujah were halted in the face of protests by the Iraqi authorities. The Coalition forces, which had by then only managed to gain a foothold in the industrial district to the south of the city proper, declared a unilateral ceasefire. As a consequence, much-needed humanitarian relief which had been held up by the fighting and blockade finally managed to enter the city, notably a major convoy organized by private citizens, businessmen and clerics from Baghdad as a joint Shi'a-Sunni effort. Several hundred rebel fighters had been killed in the U.S. assault, but their grip on the city remained steadfast. The end of major operations for the time being led to complex negotiations between various Iraqi elements and the Coalition forces, punctuated by occasional exchanges of fire.

On April 19, the ceasefire seemed to be strengthened with a plan to reintroduce joint US/Iraqi patrols into the city. Over time this arrangement broke down and the city remained a major center of opposition to the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Interim Government. Additionally, the composition of the armed groups in Fallujah changed during the following months, shifting from domination by secular, nationalist and ex-Ba'athist groups towards a marked influence of warlords with ties to organized crime and groups following a radical Wahhabi stance.

On May 1, 2004, the United States withdrew from Fallujah, announcing that they were turning over any remaining operations to the Fallujah Brigade.

Aftermath and effects

The Battle of Fallujah marked a turning point in public perception of the on-going conflict, as suddenly insurgents, rather than Saddam loyalists, were seen as the chief opponents of US forces. It was also judged, even by the US military, that reliance upon US-funded regional militias might prove disasterous, as the Fallujah Brigade proved a failure.

The battle also pushed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi into the public spotlight as the best-known commander of anti-US forces in Iraq, and brought public attention to the concept of a Sunni Triangle which might prove to be un-winnable for US forces.

The battle saw 120 American soldiers killed, as well as approximately 615 Iraqis, although it is unknown how many of the Iraqis were insurgents and how many were civilians. Many of the Iraqis killed were buried inside the city's former football stadium, which became known as the Martyrs' Cemetery.

Participating Units

• 1st Marine Regiment

1st Battalion, 5th Marines

2nd Battalion, 1st Marines

2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines

3rd Battalion, 4th Marines

1st Tank Battalion

• HMM-161
• HMLA-775
• HMLA-167
• VFA-131

Notes

1. http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/05/iraq.main/index.html
2. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oif-vigilant-resolve.htm
3. ^ Guardian Unlimited
4. Operation Vigilant Resolve, GlobalSecurity.org.
5. http://www.cpp.usmc.mil/press/kit/OIFII.asp?http://www.cpp.usmc.mil/press/kit/OIFII.asp
7. http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/29/sprj.irq.falluja/index.html]
8. http://web.archive.org/web/20040404001111/http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/03/31/civilian.deaths.ap/index.html
10. http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/05/iraq.main/index.html
11. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oif-vigilant-resolve.htm
12. http://www.cpp.usmc.mil/press/kit/OIFII.asp

References

• Operation Vigilant Resolve at GlobalSecurity

• Iraq: The Siege of Falluja, Guardian Unlimited. Detailed interactive on the Fallujah battles.

External resources

• "U.S. Launches 'Vigilant Resolve'", Associated Press, April 5, 2004. News article published at the start of the opperation.

• Hardball with Chris Matthews, April 7, 2004. MSNBC transcript of a television report providing information on Operation Vigilant Resolve and the rest of the spring uprisings.

• Vigilant Resolve: Remembering the First Siege of Fallujah with Dahr Jamail . An op-ed highly critical of US media treatment of the operations which provides some details on the 2003 developments.

• "Private Warriors", PBS Frontline.

• Image of the "Martyrs' Cemetery"

• Battles and operations of the 2003 Iraq conflict
• Iraqi insurgency
• Urban warfare