Second Battle of Fallujah [OIF]
On the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in Iraq lies the city of Fallujah. The First Battle of Fallujah in April of 2004 had left the city largely subject to insurgent control. Those opposed to the U.S. campaign to oust Saddam Hussein flocked to the city to keep it from falling into coalition hands, these included members of the Baath Party and foreign Muslim volunteers. The U.S. Army decided to retake the city in November 2004. The strategy was to encircle the city and stop all movement into the city while allowing civilians to leave, it would be called Operation Phantom Fury. The insurgents prepared for the eventual invasion by establishing snipers nests and setting booby traps; they also dug trenches, tunnels, and buried IEDs all over the city. The army entered the city after destroying the substations supplying electricity to the city. They first secured the train station which was used as a base of operations. Then, they began the dangerous effort of securing Fallujah block by block, building by building.
On November 10th, Staff Sgt. David Bellavia was leading A Company house to house when he opened a door and was met with machine gunfire. He bravely entered the house and opened fire on the insurgents who had to take cover, which allowed his men to enter the house. Bellavia shot down an insurgent loading a rocket launcher. He then exchanged fire with another insurgent who he was forced to gun down. Then killed an insurgent on the floor above him. He then wounded another insurgent who jumped from a closet and attacked him. He followed this insurgent and found him in a room filled with propane containers. Not wanting to risk an explosion, Bellavia engaged in hand to hand combat with the insurgent who he was able to kill. Bellavia was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and was nominated for the Medal of Honor.
It took a few days to secure the city center of Fallujah and several weeks to defeat the many pockets of resistance all over the city. The insurgents in Fallujah were destroyed, Operation Phantom Fury had been a success. However, the cost was high. 110 coalition forces were killed and 600 were wounded in battle. 3,000 insurgents were killed or captured. The number of civilians killed is unknown and the city suffered extreme damage caused from almost continual close air strikes and various explosive devices used on both sides. The Second Battle of Fallujah is often considered the heaviest urban combat seen by U.S. troops since Hue City, Vietnam in 1968. There were approximately 13,500 American service members deployed for the operation along with British and Iraqi allies. Of that total, 6,500 were Marines. It was the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War. Though the Second Battle of Fallujah had been thorough, by 2006 there would be another attempt to retake the city after insurgents had infiltrated, this would be the Third Battle of Fallujah. In 2014, the city would fall to the Islamic State of Iraq, but be retaken by the Iraqi Army and Special Operations Units in 2016.
Works Cited
Evans, Jessica. “History of the Second Battle of Fallujah.” We Are The Mighty, 7 November 2022, https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/second-battle-of-fallujah/. Accessed 2 December 2022.
Villa, Pablo. “November, 2004 - Into the hot zone at the Second Battle of Fallujah.” US Army, 7 June 2019, https://www.army.mil/article/178601/november_2004_into_the_hot_zone_at_the_second_battle_of_fallujah. Accessed 2 December 2022.
Zeidan, Adam, and John Swift. “Fallujah | Iraq, Battles, & History.” Britannica, 31 October 2022, https://www.britannica.com/place/Fallujah. Accessed 2 December 2022.
