Second Battle of Fallujah

For other uses, see Battle of Fallujah (disambiguation).

Second Battle of Fallujah (Operation Phantom Fury)
Part of the Iraq War
U.S. Marines fight in the city of Fallujah, Iraq during the Second Battle of Fallujah, in 2004.
Date 7 November 2004 – 23 December 2004[1] Location Fallujah, Iraq Result Decisive coalition victory
Belligerents
United States Iraq United Kingdom	Iraqi insurgency Mujahideen Shura Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Richard F. Natonski James Mattis James Cowan	Abdullah al-Janabi Omar Hussein Hadid
Strength
10,500 troops[2] 2,000 troops[3] 850 troops[4] Total: 13,350 troops	~2,000–4,000 insurgents[5][6]
Casualties and losses
American: 95 killed, 560 wounded[7][8] (54 killed and 425 wounded from November 7 to November 16)[9] Iraqi: 8 killed, 43 wounded[10] British: 4 killed, 10 wounded[11][12][13] Total: 107 killed, 613 wounded	1,200–1,500 killed[14][15] 1,500 captured[16]
~800 civilians killed[17]

The Second Battle of Fallujah (code-named Operation Al-Fajr (Arabic, "the dawn") and Operation Phantom Fury) was a joint U.S., Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S. Marine Corps against the Iraqi insurgency stronghold in the city of Fallujah and was 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 Huế City in Vietnam in 1968."^[18][19]

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 (the majority being U.S. Marines) fought into the center of the city, the Iraqi government requested that the city's control be transferred to an Iraqi-run local security force, which then began stockpiling weapons and building complex defenses across the city in mid-2004.^[20] This was the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War to date, and is notable for being the first major engagement of the Iraq War fought solely against insurgents rather than the forces of the former Baathist Iraqi government.

Background

In February, 2004, control of Fallujah and the surrounding area in the Al-Anbar province was transferred from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division to the 1st Marine Division. Shortly afterward, on 31 March 2004, four American Blackwater USA contractors were ambushed and killed in the city. Images of their mutilated bodies were broadcast around the world.^[21]

Within days, U.S. Marine Corps forces launched Operation Vigilant Resolve (4 April 2004) to take back control of the city from insurgent forces. On 28 April 2004, Operation Vigilant Resolve ended with an agreement where the local population is ordered to keep the insurgents out of the city.^[20] The Fallujah Brigade, composed of local Iraqis under the command of Muhammed Latif, a former Baathist general, was allowed to pass through coalition lines and take over the city.

Insurgent strength and control began to grow to such an extent that by 24 September 2004, a senior U.S. official told ABC News that catching Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, said to be in Fallujah, was now "the highest priority," and estimated his troops at 5,000 men, mostly non-Iraqis.^[22]

Timeline

• 7 November 2004: U.S. Marines stage just north of Fallujah. In the city, now under complete insurgent control with no American presence since April, there is a large number of booby traps and IEDs constructed and set in place.^[20][23] Additionally, elevated sniper positions have been created along with heavily fortified defensive positions throughout the city, in preparation for a major offensive. American UAVs observed insurgents conducting live-fire exercises in the city in preparation for the coming attack.

• 8 November 2004: Operation Phantom Fury begins.

• 16 November 2004: American spokesmen describe fighting in the city as mopping up isolated pockets of resistance.

• 23 December 2004: Last pockets of resistance are neutralized. Three U.S. Marines are killed in the last skirmish, along with 24 insurgents.^[24] Operation Phantom Fury is the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War.

Preparations

Coalition forces

U.S. Marines from Mike Battery, 4th Battalion, 14th Marines, an activated reserve artillery unit, operate the 155mm 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 to 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 by Iraqi interpreters to assist them in the planned fight. After weeks of withstanding air strikes and artillery bombardment, the militants holed up in the city appeared to be vulnerable to direct attack.

U.S., Iraqi, and British forces totaled about 13,000. The U.S. had gathered some 6,500 Marines and 1,500 Army soldiers that would take part in the assault with about 2,500 Navy personnel in support roles.^[25] U.S. troops were grouped in two Regimental Combat Teams: Regimental Combat Team 1 comprised 3rd Battalion/1st Marines, 3rd Battalion/5th Marines, Naval Moble Construction Battalion 4 and 23 (Seabees) as well as the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion/7th Cavalry. Regimental Combat Team 7 comprised the 1st Battalion/8th Marines, 1st Battalion/3rd Marines, and the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion/2nd Infantry.^[26] About 2,000 Iraqi troops assisted with the assault.^[27] All were supported by aircraft and Marine and Army artillery battalions.

The 850-strong 1st battalion of the British Black Watch regiment was ordered to help US and Iraqi forces with the encirclement of Fallujah.^[28]

Insurgent forces

In April, Fallujah was defended by about 500 "hardcore" and 2,000+ "part time" insurgents. By November it was estimated^[who?] that the numbers had doubled. Another estimate put the number of insurgents at 3,000; however a number of insurgent leaders escaped before the attack.^[29] By the time of the attack on Fallujah in November 2004, the number of Insurgents in the city was estimated at around 3,000 to 4,000.^[30]

The Iraqi insurgents and foreign mujahadeen present in the city prepared fortified defenses in advance of the anticipated attack.^[20][23] They dug tunnels, trenches, prepared spider holes, and built and hid a wide variety of IEDs.^[20][23] In some locations they filled the interiors of darkened homes with large numbers of propane bottles, large drums of gasoline, and ordnance, all wired to a remote trigger that could be set off by an insurgent when troops entered the building. They blocked streets with Jersey barriers and even emplaced them within homes to create strong points behind which they could attack unsuspecting troops entering the building.^[31] Insurgents were equipped with a variety of advanced small arms, and had captured a variety of U.S. armament, including M14s, M16s, body armor, uniforms and helmets.^[31]

They booby-trapped buildings and vehicles, including wiring doors and windows to grenades and other ordnance. Anticipating U.S. tactics to seize the roof of high buildings, they bricked up stairwells to the roofs of many buildings, creating paths into prepared fields of fire which they hoped the troops would enter.^[31]

Intelligence briefings given prior to battle reported that Coalition forces would encounter Chechen, Filipino, Saudi, Iranian, Italian, and Syrian combatants, as well as native Iraqis.^[32]

Civilian presence

Meanwhile, most of Fallujah’s civilian population fled the city, which greatly reduced the potential for noncombatant casualties.^[31] U.S. military officials estimated that 70–90% of the 300,000 civilians in the city fled before the attack.^[29]

The battle

Diversion

U.S. Army soldiers from TF 2–7 CAV, prepare to enter a building during fighting in Fallujah.

Ground operations began on the night of 7 November 2004. Attacking from the west and south, the Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion with their U.S. Army Special Forces advisers and the U.S. Marine Corps Scout Platoon, 2nd Infantry Division's 3rd Platoon Alpha Company 2/72nd Tank Battalion, and 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, reinforced by Bravo Company from the Marine Corps 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.^[33] Troops from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines fired 81mm mortar in an operation in south Fallujah. The same unit, operating under the command of the U.S. Army III Corps, then moved to the western approaches to the city and secured the Jurf Kas Sukr Bridge.^[33] These initial attacks, however, were a diversion intended to distract and confuse the insurgents holding the city.

Attack

A M1 Abrams, fires its main gun into a building to provide suppressive counter fire against insurgents

After Navy Seabees from NMCB-23 at the substation located just northeast of the city shut off electrical power to the city, two Marine Regimental Combat Teams, the Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) and Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) launched an attack along the northern edge of the city. They were assisted by two U.S. Army heavy battalion-sized units, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment (Mechanized). These two battalions were followed by four infantry battalions who were tasked with clearing the remaining buildings. The Army's mechanized Second Brigade, First Cavalry Division, augmented by the Marine's Second Reconnaissance Battalion and, for a few days, the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment [Stryker], was tasked to surround the city.^[34] The British Black Watch Battalion patrolled the main highways to the east. The RCT's were augmented by three 6-man SEAL Sniper Teams from Naval Special Warfare Task Group-Central and one Platoon from 1st Recon who provided advance reconnaissance and overwatch throughout the operation.

The six battalions of Army, Marine and Iraqi forces, moving under the cover of darkness, began the assault in the early hours of 8 November 2004 prepared by an intense artillery barrage and air attack. This was followed by an attack on the main train station that was then used as a staging point for follow-on forces. By that afternoon, under the protection of intense air cover, Marines entered the Hay Naib al-Dubat and al-Naziza districts. The Marines were followed in by the Navy Seabees of NMCB-4 and NMCB-23 who bulldozed the streets clear of debris from the bombardment that morning. Shortly after nightfall on 9 November 2004, Marines had reportedly reached Phase Line Fran at Highway 10 in the center of the city.

An air strike is called in on a suspected insurgent hideout in Fallujah.

The 3rd Bn 5th Marines cleared the Northern Sector Highway 10 city blocks of infiltrated pockets of resistance. Some units deemed combat ineffective handed clearing operations to Darkhorse Marines. 3/5 spearheaded the assault into the harshest area of the city known as the 'Julan District.' The Battalion sustained 26 Marines killed in action and 353 wounded during the operation.

While most of the fighting subsided by 13 November 2004, Marines continued to face determined isolated resistance from insurgents hidden throughout the city. By 16 November 2004, after nine days of fighting, the Marine command described the action as mopping up pockets of resistance. Sporadic fighting continued until 23 December 2004.

Despite its success, the battle was not without controversy. On 16 November 2004, NBC News aired footage that showed a U.S. Marine, with 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, killing 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.^[35] The AP reported that military-age males attempting to flee the city were turned back by the U.S. military.^[36]

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.

Recognition

The US Army's 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for actions during the battle^[37] Additionally, Operation Phantom Fury yielded two nominees 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.^[38] First Sergeant Brad Kasal of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines was also awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the battle. SSG David Bellavia of Task Force 2-2 Infantry was also nominated for the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle.

Aftermath

U.S. Army soldiers rush a wounded soldier to a waiting U.S. Marine CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter during the Second Battle of Fallujah, in 2004.

The battle proved to be the bloodiest of the war and the bloodiest battle involving American troops since the Vietnam War. Comparisons with the Battle of Hue City and the Pacific campaign of World War II were made.^[39] Coalition forces suffered a total of 107 killed and 613 wounded during Operation Phantom Fury. US forces had 54 killed and 425 wounded in the initial invasion in November.^[40] By December 23 when the operation was officially concluded the casualty number had risen to 95 killed and 560 wounded.^[41] British forces had 4 killed and 10 wounded in two separate attacks in the outskirts of Fallujah.^[42][43] Iraqi forces suffered 8 killed and 43 wounded^[44] Estimates of insurgent casualties are complicated by a lack of official figures. Most estimates places the number of insurgents killed at around 1,200^[45] to 1,500^[46], with some estimations as high as over 2,000 killed.^[47][48] Coalition forces also captured approximately 1,500 insurgents during the operation.^[49] The Red Cross estimated directly following the battle that some 800 civilians had been killed during the offensive.^[50]

Fallujah suffered extensive damage to residences, mosques, city services, and businesses. The city, once referred to as the "City of Mosques", had over 200 pre-battle mosques of which 60 or so were destroyed in the fighting. Many of these mosques had been used as arms caches and weapon strongpoints by Islamist forces. Of the roughly 50,000 buildings in Fallujah, between 7,000 and 10,000 were estimated to have been destroyed in the offensive and from half to two-thirds of the remaining buildings had notable damage.^[51][52]

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.^[53] Reports claim that up to 6000 civilians died throughout the operation.^{[54][dubious – discuss]} 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.^[55]

A city street in Fallujah heavily damaged by the fighting.

In mid-December, residents were allowed to return after undergoing biometric identification, provided they wear their ID cards all the time. Reconstruction progressed slowly and mainly consisted 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.^[56]

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 success.

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^[57][58]

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 led to what became known as "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.

White phosphorus controversy

A US M-109A6 self-propelled howitzer fires at insurgent positions in Fallujah

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.^[59] 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".^[60] 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 were claimed to be very characteristic. Bodies were shown which 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). The use of incendiary weapons against civilians is illegal by Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (1980). The documentary stated:

WP proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions at two breaches and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes when we could not get effects on them with HE. We fired 'shake and bake' missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out. .. We used improved WP for screening missions when HC smoke would have been more effective and saved our WP for lethal missions.^[61]

The U.S. State Department initially denied using white phosphorus as a munition, a claim later contradicted by the Department of Defense when bloggers discovered a U.S. Army magazine had run a story detailing its use in Fallujah. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), 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.^[62][63] The US government maintains its denial of WP use against civilians, but has admitted its use as an offensive weapon against enemy combatants.^[64] An article in Washington Post exactly a year before also pointed out the use of white phosphorus in the battle, but attracted little attention.

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. Washington has not signed the treaty among countries in the world which prohibits the use of white phosphorus.(Trone)^[65]

Graphic visual footage of the weapons allegedly being fired from helicopters into urban areas is displayed, as well as detailed footage of the remains of those apparently killed by these weapons. Questions have been raised concerning this footage since white phosphorus can not be delivered by helicopters in the manner shown in the film. The helicopters in the film are more likely dispensing illumination flares or counter measures to divert heat seeking surface to air missiles.

Participating units

U.S. forces

Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) built around the 1st Marine Regiment:

• 3rd Battalion 1st Marines (Infantry)
• 3rd Battalion 5th Marines (Infantry)
• 1st Battalion 24th Marines- augmented by 3rd Battalion 24th Marines
• 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry (US Army Infantry)
• Company's C and D, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion (Armored)
• 1st,2nd and 3rd Platoon, Company A,3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion Armored
• 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (Mechanized)(Armored)
• Combat Service Support Company 113, Combat Service Support Battalion 1
• Combat Service Support Company 122, Heavy Equipment Platoon, 1st Maintenance Battalion
• Counter Battery Radar Platoon, 14th Marine Regiment (Artillery)
• 4th Battalion 14th Marines— Battery "M" (Artillery)
• Company C, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, (US Army)
• 2nd Platoon, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry (US Army)
• 2nd Tank Battalion – Co C
• TOW Platoon (-), 23rd Marines
• Scout Platoon, Headquarters & Service Company, 4th Tank Battalion
• Scout Platoon, 2nd Tank Battalion (Attached 2/10 MAR HQ BTRY)
• Company A, MP Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Division
• Company B, (reinforced), 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division
• Military Police Company A, 4th Marine Logistics Group, 4th Marine Division
• Detachment 4, 4th Civil Affairs Group
• Combat Logistics Company 115, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group
• Shock Trauma Platoon, 1st Marine Logistics Group
• Company B, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines
• Company B, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines
• Evac Platoon, Company C, 181 SPT Battalion, 81 HBCT
• 2nd Battalion 11th Marines, Kilo 3/12, Golf, HQ Btry (Artillery- Serving as Provisionary Rifle Companies)
• 1st Battalion 10th Marines, Charlie Btry (Artillery- Serving as Provisional Infantry Company)
• 4th Battalion 14th Marines, Kilo Btry (Artillery- Serving as Provisional Infantry Company)
• Motor Transport Platoon, 2nd Battalion 10th Marines, HQ Btry
• Task Force ECHO (NMCB (Naval Mobile Construction Battalion) FOUR, NMCB TWO THREE, and Company A, 120th Engineer Battalion Oklahoma National Guard

• Marine Aircraft Group 39 – HMLA-367, HMM-161, HMM-364 and HMM-268 at Al Taqaddum Airbase
• H&S and C Cos. 4th Combat Engineer Battalion
• Naval Special Warfare Task Group-Central (Sniper Element Alpha and Bravo)
• Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 (Seabees)
• Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 23 (Seabees)
• 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon, A Co, 44th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Inf Div
• 3rd Platoon, A Co, 2/72 Tank Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division (US Army)

Regimental Combat Team 7 (RCT-7) built around the 7th Marine Regiment:

• 1st Battalion 3rd Marines (Infantry)
  • Tactical PSYOP Team 1171(USAR), attached to 1/3 Marines, 1 NOV-15 DEC 2004
• 1st Battalion 8th Marines (Infantry)
• Task Force 2-2^[37]
  • 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment (US Army Infantry)
  • 2nd Platoon, Alpha company, 82nd Engineer Battalion
  • F Troop, 4th Cavalry (Brigade Reconnaissance Troop)
  • 2nd Battalion, 63rd Armored Regiment
• 1st Battalion 12th Marines – Battery "C" (Artillery)
• F Troop 4th Cavalry 3rd Brigade Reconnaissance Troop 1st Infantry Division (US Army)
• 2nd Tank Battalion – Co A (Armored)
• Company C, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion
• 2nd Platoon, C Company, 44th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (US Army)
• Company C, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion (Armored)
• Company B, MP Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group
• 3rd Platoon, Combat Engineer Company, Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division
• 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company
• 2nd Platoon, Company C, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion
• 1st Platoon, Engineer Company C, 6th Engineer Support Battalion
• Company C, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
• Company A, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
• MEU Service Support Group 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit
• Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit THREE

2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (US Army)

• 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (US Army)
• A Troop 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry (US Army)
• 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment (US Army)
• 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry (US Army)
• 759th Military Police Battalion Composite (US Army)
  • 148th Military Police Team
  • 21st Military Police Company (Airborne)
  • 630th Military Police Company
  • 984th Military Police Company
• 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion (US Marine Corps)
• 15th Forward Support Battalion
• 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division TAC(Bravo Company, 13th Signal, E-31; Bravo Company, 312th Military Intel)

1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry, 36th Infantry Division (US Army)

• CROWS Team One

US Special Operations Command (embedded)

• Naval Special Warfare Task Group-Central (Sniper Element Charlie)

• Small Craft Company Special Operations River Recon

Iraqi forces

• 1st Specialized Special Forces Battalion (Iraqi National Guard), Companies D and B^[66]
• Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion^[67]
• Iraqi Counterterrorism Force
• Emergency Response Unit (Iraqi-Ministry of Interior) – Attached to RCT-7^[68]
• 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, Iraqi Intervention Force (ICDC) – Operated independently of Coalition forces^[68]
• 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, Iraqi Intervention Force (IIF) – Attached to RCT-7^[68]
• 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, Iraqi Intervention Force (IIF) – Attached to RCT-1^[68]
• 5th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, Iraqi Intervention Force (IIF) – Attached to RCT-7^[68]
• 6th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, Iraqi Intervention Force (IIF) – Attached to 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division^[68]

British forces

• 1st Battalion, The Black Watch Regiment^[69]
• Special Boat Service
• Various Royal Air Force Tornado squadrons

Related documentaries and popular media

Documentaries

• Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre, a documentary alleging the use of white phosphorus and the Mk-77 by the U.S. Army against civilians in the city.
• Occupation: Dreamland, a 2005 documentary film that follows soldiers of the 1/505 of the 82nd Airborne Division in Fallujah, Iraq, in the beginning of 2004.
• Shootout! - D-Day: Fallujah (UPC: 733961741353), a 2006 A&E History Channel Special detailing various gun battles that occurred during the Second Battle of Fallujah.

Dramatizations

• Games:
  • Six Days in Fallujah, is a video game that follows a squad of Marines from 3rd Battalion 1st Marines over the span of the six bloodiest days in the battle for Fallujah. It was designed with input from active-duty and retired marines from 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, as well as interviews from the U.S. Marines, Iraqi insurgents, and Iraqi civilians involved in the battle. Currently the game has no publisher after being dropped by Konami for the controversy surrounding it and remains in limbo.^[70]
  • Close Combat: First to Fight, is a video game that was also designed with input from active-duty and retired Marines from 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, who had participated in combat around Fallujah, Iraq during Operation Phantom Fury.

Other

• Christmas in Fallujah, song by Jefferson Pepper (2005) (UPC: 669910486467)
• Christmas in Fallujah, song by Cass Dillon and Billy Joel (2007) (Digital download, CD single)

Books

• No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah, by Bing West (2005) (ISBN 978-0-553-80402-7)
• We Were One: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Marines Who Took Fallujah, by Patrick O'Donnell (2006) (ISBN 978-0-306-81469-3)
• Fighting For Fallujah: A New Dawn for Iraq, by John R. Ballard (2006) (ISBN 978-0-275-99055-8)
• Fallujah With Honor: First Battalion, Eighth Marine's Role in Operation Phantom Fury, by Gary Livingston (2006) (ISBN 1-928724-06-X)
• Battle of Fallujah: Occupation, Resistance And Stalemate in the War in Iraq, by Vincent L. Foulk (2006) (ISBN 0-7864-2677-2)
• Among Warriors In Iraq: True Grit, Special Ops, and Raiding in Mosul and Fallujah, by Mike Tucker (2006) (ISBN 978-1-59228-732-1)
• Iraq 1941: The Battles For Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad, by Robert Lyman (2006) (ISBN 978-1-84176-991-2)
• My Men Are My Heroes: The Brad Kasal Story, by Brad Kasal as told to Nathaniel R. Helms (2007) (ISBN 0-696-23236-7)
• On Call In Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story, by Cdr. Richard Jadick (2007) (ISBN 0-451-22053-6)
• House to House: An Epic Memoir of War, by SSG David Bellavia (2007) (ISBN 978-1-4165-7471-2)
• The Navy Cross: Extraordinary Heroism in Iraq, Afghanistan and Other Conflicts, by James E. Wise, Scott Baron (2007) (ISBN 1-59114-945-2)
• Marakat Al-Fallujah: Hazimat Amrika Fi Al-Iraq, by Ahmad Mansur (2008) (ISBN 978-977-427-309-4)
• Sunrise over Fallujah: A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008 (2008) (ISBN 978-0-439-91625-7)
• Fallujah: Shock & Awe (2009) (ISBN 978-0-85124-706-9)
• Inside Fallujah: The War on the Ground, Ahmed Mansour (2009) (ISBN 978-1-56656-778-7)
• The Daily Thoughts of a Fallujah Marine: by Josh Daugherty (2009) (ISBN 978-1-60836-044-4)
• Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery, by Nicholas Popaditch, with Mike Steere (2008) (ISBN 978-1-932714-47-0)
• Operation Phantom Fury: The Assault and Capture of Fallujah, Iraq, by Dick Camp (2009) (ISBN 978-0-7603-3698-4)
• New Dawn: The Battles for Fallujah, by Richard S. Lowry (2010) (ISBN 1-932714-77-4)

See also

	United States Marine Corps portal
	Iraq portal

• Iraqi Insurgency
• History of Iraqi insurgency
• Fallujah during the Iraq War
• 2004 in Iraq
• 2003 Invasion of Iraq
• Battle of Mosul (2004)

References

1. ^ "Operation Phantom Fury: The Assault and Capture of Fallujah, Iraq". Motorbooks.com. http://www.motorbooks.com/Store/ProductDetails_42280.ncm. Retrieved 19 May 2011. 
2. ^ Ricks, Thomas E. (2007). Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. United States: Penguin Books. p. 399. ISBN 9780143038917. 
3. ^ Ricks, Thomas E. (2007). Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. United States: Penguin Books. p. 399. ISBN 9780143038917. 
4. ^ "Black Watch ordered to join US cordon for assault on Fallujah". The Independent (London). 22 October 2004. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/black-watch-ordered-to-join-us-cordon-for-assault-on-fallujah-544600.html. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
5. ^ John Pike. "Operation al-Fajr (Dawn) / Phantom Fury [Fallujah,". Globalsecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oif-phantom-fury-fallujah.htm. Retrieved 19 May 2011. 
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External links

• Shootout: Fallujah – History Channel documentary about the Battle of Fallujah
• Eyewitness Fallujah : A British TV Cameraman's account of Operation Phantom Fury
• Unusual Weapons used in Fallujah
• The Legality of the Use of White Phosphorus by the United States Military during the 2004 Fallujah Assaults" (24 January 2007). Berkeley Electronic Press Preprint Series. Working Paper 1959.
• 3/1 Update from Fallujah, 29 Dec. 2004., Marine Corps Moms

Coordinates: 33°21′N 43°47′E / 33.35°N 43.783°E / 33.35; 43.783