Battle for Fallujah - "Get in there and get down to business"

[DoYouEverWonder]

I found this on a site called Talking Proud!, so keep that in mind when you read this story. This is a blow by blow account of the Battle for Fallujha from a man who was there. Add another log to the evidence pile.

Battle for Fallujah, our warfighters towered in maturity and guts

April 28, 2005

It was called "Operation Dawn - al Fajr." D-Day was November 7, 2004, 1900 hours (7 pm Baghdad time). The fighting that followed was to be among the fiercest urban warfare battles fought in American history. There is and has been a great deal of controversy surrounding this attack on Fallujah. This report will address none of that controversy. Our primary focus is on the American military people who participated in Operation Dawn. We want to help our readers understand the kind of environment our forces faced in this battle, what the strategy and tactics were, and what the fight was like. We are going to do this in as detailed a way as our resources permit. Know this. It all came down to that 18 -19 year old who led his fire team into battle. These young men "towered over their peers outside the military in maturity and guts."


Operation Dawn - Al Fajr

Phase III - The Attack

D-Day for Operation Dawn-al Fajr was scheduled for November 7, 2004, at 1900 hours (7 pm Baghdad time).

During the evening of November 7, the Marines and Iraqis had to take care of one important piece of business prior to launching the full scale attack. Together they moved at night against the Fallujah General Hospital on the peninsula to the west of the city, across the Euphrates, and they moved against two major bridges crossing the Euphrates, one going to the hospital, the other serving main Highway 10 on its way to Ramadi, Iraq and Ammam, Jordan to the west.

This next photo is of the same area as the above photo but taken from a different angle, shot by an airborne platform rather than a satellite. That is a Marine Corps F/A-18 from VMFA (AW)-242 in the center and the photo was probably shot by his wingman. Photo provided by a VMFA (AW)-242 member.

The Iraqis concentrated on taking the hospital, while the Marine 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion from RCT-1 concentrated on taking the bridges.

The objectives were to be sure that the enemy in retreat could not use the bridges or the hospital. Some have written that the objective with the hospital was to assure that accurate reporting of civilian casualties during the upcoming assault came out of the hospital. Perhaps so, but from a military vantage, denying the enemy access to the hospital and an escape route were far more important. It is worth noting that the British "Black Watch" Regiment had earlier moved into positions east and south of the city to block retreat.

Marines secured this bridge over the Euphrates River outside of Fallujah. Photo credit: Shawn Baldwin for The New York Times

This hospital-bridge mission was accomplished promptly and efficiently. The hospital and the two bridges were seized. Soon thereafter, all bridges across the river in the Fallujah area were taken and secured, such as is shown in the photo above.

On November 8, US aircraft and artillery began their major assault on the city. Massive strikes were executed for about 12 hours prior to launch.



In this night-vision image taken on the early morning of November 9, 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq, U.S. troops launch an offensive to destroy key rebel strongholds in the beleaguered Iraqi city. Photo credit: APTN, Pool - AP photo. Presented by Air Force Times

http://www.talkingproud.us/Military042805B.html

[acmavm]

1. I wonder if Superman thinks they would have taken the place without

things like white phosphorus and bombs being dropped from the air?

I wonder if they think they can hold it when the civil war breaks out?

[madrchsod]

2. pride in the murder of thousands?

pride in the useless destruction of a city? what honor is there in an illegal war?

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Don't you know

it's all just a video game.