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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 4–May 1, 2004 Location Fallujah, Iraq Result Insurgent victory
Belligerents
United States	Iraqi insurgents
Commanders and leaders
James T. Conway	Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Strength
1,300	20,000
Casualties and losses
Between 20 and 53 KIA (reported as 83 by The Guardian (disputed), 90+ WIA	Approximately 184 insurgents and 616 civilians killed

The First Battle of Fallujah, sometimes referred to as Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an unsuccessful 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

While Fallujah had grown wealthy and influential under the regime of Saddam Hussein, he was not a well-liked figure in the city.

Following the collapse of the Ba'ath infrastructure in early 2003, local residents had elected a town council led by Taha Bidaywi Hamed, who managed to keep the city from falling into the control of 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.

Although Fallujah had seen sporadic air strikes by American forces, public sentiment was not galvanized until 700 members of the 82nd Airborne Division first entered the city on April 23 2003, and approximately 150 members of Charlie Company occupied al-Qa'id primary school. On the evening of April 28, a crowd of approximately 200 people gathered outside the school, demanding that the Americans vacate the building and allow it to re-open as a school. After smoke gas canisters failed to disperse the crowd, four US soldiers stationed on the roof began firing into the gathering, killing 17 and wounding more than 70 of the protesters. US forces said that the shooting took place over 30-60 seconds, while Human Rights Watch has concluded that is is more likely to have been extended over approximately ten minutes.

Two days later, a protest at the former Baath party headquarters decrying the American shootings was also fired upon by US troops resulting in three more deaths. In both incidents, US soldiers assert that they did not fire upon the crowds until they were first fired upon, and were the subject of an After Action Review.

The 82nd Airborne troops were replaced by forces from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and 101st Airborne Division, and on June 4 the 3rd Armoured Cavalry was forced to request an additional 1,500 troops to help quell the growing resistance faced in Fallujah and nearby al-Habaniyya. The city would be later turned back over the 82nd Airborne.

At the same time, municipal officials began registering complaints with the US forces, explaining that the population was growing agitated by growing reports that individual US soldiers were ogling Iraqi women, and had handed out bubble gum to local children, with scantily-clad women on the wrappers.

In June, US forces began confiscating motorcycles from local residents, claiming that they had potential to be used by suicide bombers.

On June 30, a large explosion occurred in a mosque in which the imam, Sheikh Laith Khalil and eight other people were killed. While the local population claimed that Americans had fired a missile at the mosque, US forces insisted that it was an accidental detonation by insurgents training recruits.

In March, 2004, the 82nd Airborne's Major General Swannack transferred authority of the al-Anbar province to the I Marine Expeditionary Force commanded by Lt. General Conway.

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.

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. At least four homes were hit in aerial strikes, and there was sporadic gunfire throughout the night. By the morning of April 5, American troops blockaded roads leading into the city, with humvees and concertina wire, and took over a local radio station, and handed out leaflets urging residents to remain inside their homes, and help American forces identify insurgents and any Fallujans who were involved in the Blackwater deaths.

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. American troops also closed down Fallujah's two main hospitals, Fallujah General Hospital and the Jordanian Hospital.

In the opening days, it was reported that up to a third of the civilian population had fled the city.

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.

At noon on April 9, Paul Bremer announced that the US forces would be unilaterally holding a ceasefire, stating that they wanted to facilitate negotiations between the Iraqi Governing Council, insurgents and city spokespersons, and to allow government supplies to be delivered to residents

However, US General Mark Kimmitt insisted that as a condition to the ceasefire, Arabic media Al-Jazeera had to order the withdrawal of its reporter Ahmed Mansur and his cameraman Laith Mushtaq as the only two non-embedded journalists covering the conflict, who had been broadcasting from the city since April 3.

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 bombardments rained on insurgent positions throughout the city, Lockheed AC-130 gunships attacked targets with their gatling guns and howitzers a number of times. and 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 negotiations between various Iraqi elements and the Coalition forces, punctuated by occasional firefights.

On April 13, US Marines fell under attack from insurgents located within a mosque. An airstrike destroyed the mosque, prompting a public outcry.

On April 15, an American F-16 aircraft dropped a 2000lb (900 kg) laser-guided bomb over the northern district of Fallujah.

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, and Lieutenant General James Conway announced that he had unilaterally decided to turn over any remaining operations to the Fallujah Brigade, under the command of former Baathist Army General Jasim Mohammed Saleh. Several days later, when it became clear that Saleh had been involved in military actions against Shi'ites under Saddam Hussin, US Forces announced that his role would instead be turned over to Muhammed Latif.

Aftermath and effects

The largest combat mission since the declaration of the end of the war, 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 disastrous, 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 83 American soldiers killed in and around Fallujah, as well as approximately 731 to 800 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.

Widespread media and independent reports that the United States had used chemical weapons such as white phosphorus or napalm in the First and Second Battle of Fallujah were rebuffed by US sources, who admitted that Mark-77s had been used in the war the year prior, but no similar weapons had been employed in Fallujah. Several days later, this was contradicted by the admission that white phosphorus had been used in Fallujah, though only for "illumination", "screening" and "psychological" purposes.

Participating Units

• 1st Marine Regiment

1st Battalion, 5th Marines

2nd Battalion, 1st Marines

2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines

3rd Battalion, 4th Marines

1st Tank Battalion

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74

• Combat Service Support Battalion 1
• HMM-161
• HMLA-775
• HMLA-167
• VFA-131

See also

• Operation Phantom Fury

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 operation.

• 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.

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2. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oif-vigilant-resolve.htm
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15. "US strikes at Iraqi resistance". BBC News. 2003. Retrieved 2006-05-15. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear= and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
16. "Bush firm despite Iraq attacks". BBC News. 2003. Retrieved 2006-05-15. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear= and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
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24. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oif-vigilant-resolve.htm
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28. "AP toll says 1,361 Iraqis killed in April".
29. http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive_Index/Illegal_Weapons_in_Fallujah.html
30. http://www.tradoc.army.mil/pao/ProfWriting/2-2AARlow.pdf

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