Operation Vigilant Resolve
Soldiers during Operation Vigilant Resolve
| date | 4. bis 9. April 2004 |
|---|---|
| place | Fallujah ( Al-Anbar , Iraq ) |
| output | Victory of the rebels |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 20,000 | 1,300 |
| losses | |
|
625 rebels and civilians dead |
83 dead, |
.svg){kind=small}
Operation Vigilant Resolve ( German : vigilant determination ) describes a military attempt to retake the western Iraqi city of Fallujah . The operation began on April 4, 2004 after repeated violent attacks by rebels on US troops .
The operation is sometimes referred to as the 1st Battle of Fallujah . The 2nd battle is Operation Phantom Fury .
In advance
After the collapse of the Ba'ath Party in April 2003 as a result of the Iraq war, the residents of Fallujah elected a local council. The council should fight the looting and chaos and restore order. The local council was pro-American and the army leadership was of the opinion that a larger troop stationing in Fallujah was not necessary.
On the evening of April 28, 2003, a group of approximately 250 residents resisted the curfew and gathered at a school used as quarters by the 82nd Airborne Division . The crowd wanted to demonstrate that the US soldiers would open the school again so that school operations could be resumed. After several demonstrators opened fire with AK-47s, according to US information , the guards on the roof of the school felt threatened and shot back. 15 people were killed and another 59 injured. Two days later, a similar incident occurred at the former Ba'ath Party office, in which 2 Iraqis died. In both cases, the US soldiers involved claimed that they only returned fire.
The US Marine Corps replaced the US Army in this area at the beginning of March 2004 and the I. Marine Expeditionary Force (under Lieutenant General James T. Conway) with the 1st US Marine Division (under Major General James N. Mattis ) were responsible for the Fallujah area . At the end of March 2004, the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment took command in the city.
Former members of the Iraqi army began guerrilla warfare against the occupiers. The escalating violence against the American troops led to a temporary withdrawal from the urban area to the outskirts in March 2004. The people of Fallujah suffered from the increasing influence of these factions. During the same period, naval soldiers began to cordon off the city in order to encircle the militia .
On March 31, 2004, a convoy of four American civilians was ambushed while escorting a food transport through Fallujah. It later emerged that there were four Blackwater USA employees . This was followed by riots in the city in which the bodies of the men were mutilated and burned. The angry mob hung the violated bodies on a bridge at the height of the uprising. The military stopped working with local authorities and decided to carry out a military operation to resolve the situation in Fallujah.
Course of battle
On April 4, the United States launched a major attack ( Operation Vigilant Resolve ) with the aim of reoccupying Fallujah, holding the city and pacifying it permanently. The 1st Marine Division attacked with Combat Team 1 (RCT-1) under Col. John Toolan and the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment under Lt. Col. Gregg Olsen from the northwest and the 1st Battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment under Colonel Brennan T. Byrne from the southeast in a pincer motion to the city. They were subsequently supported by three other battalions, including the 1st light tank reconnaissance battalion. The US units were also supported by the 36th Command Battalion, which was predominantly occupied by Iraqi Kurds, and units of the Iraqi 1st Brigade of the National Guard. Fallujah could be completely cordoned off, and the US soldiers equipped with night vision devices wanted to penetrate the city center at night. On the third day of the battle, approximately 25% of the city was under the control of the US Marines, who were fought heavily by the insurgents. The 3rd Battalion of the 4th Marine Infantry Regiment under Colonel McCoy was deployed for reinforcement, as were around 700 soldiers from the Iraqi National Guard , who had to be withdrawn from the fight due to numerous losses, also because some of the soldiers joined the rebels. The US high command was not satisfied with the course of operations until April 6th, because their own losses were too high and the rebels still controlled large parts of the city, although key positions had already been captured by US marines. The command officers of the I. Marine Expeditionary Force announced on the same day that the city could not be conquered and held with the current troop strength. From April 7 to April 9, US forces tried to advance in Fallujah, but only managed to capture the industrial area in the southeast of the city.
A meeting between the local council and US forces took place on April 9th. The agreed fire break was intended to supply the population and for the residents so that they could rescue their dead and injured. There were repeated smaller firefights during the ceasefire, so that it was finally ended again. During the fighting in April 2004, the city's population fell from around 250,000 to around 30,000. The majority of the residents waited in refugee camps outside the city for an end to the fighting.
The city was fiercely contested throughout the month. The ground troops received support from the air. AC-130s flew during the night and F-15s and Bell AH-1 Cobras during the day . By April 13, 44 Marines had died and Operation Vigilant Resolve failed due to trench warfare with numerous street fights.
On May 1, 2004, American troops withdrew from Fallujah. The United States Central Command announced the following: The newly established Fallujah Brigade, under the command of General Jazim Mohammed Saleh, will restore security and order to the city. Operation Vigilant Resolve was over.
consequences
The use of white phosphorus and uranium ammunition resulted in far-reaching consequences of the war . There were increased cases of leukemia , meningitis , thalassemia , septicemia , malformations of the kidney, brain tumors , breast cancer and malignant lymphoma . The infant mortality rate increased and the ratio between male and female newborns changed. High levels of uranium were found in soil samples, in drinking water and other water sources, as well as in hair samples from parents of deformed children.
Involved troops
- 1st U.S. Marine Division
- 1st Battalion, 5th Marines
- 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines
- 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines
- 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines
- 1st Tank Battalion
- Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 (HMM-161)
- Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775 (HMLA-775)
- Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167 (HMLA-167)
- Strike Fighter Squadron 131 (VFA-131)
- Delta Force
- 1st Brigade of the Iraqi National Guard
- 36th Iraqi Command Battalion
References
literature
- Bing West, Francis J. West: No True Glory. A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah . Bantam Books, New York 2005, ISBN 0-553-80402-2 (English).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oif-vigilant-resolve.htm
- ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/05/iraq.main/index.html
- ^ Iraqis in deadly clash with US troops
- ^ Blackwater aids military with armed support ( Memento from April 4, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.stern.de/politik/ausland?id=523565&nv=cp_L1_rt_al
- ↑ Hannah Gurman: The_under-examined_story_of_Fallujah. In: Foreign Policy in Focus.
- ↑ US uranium to blame for deformed babies in Fallujah? In: Russia Today. October 26, 2011, accessed December 5, 2011 .