Second Battle Of Fallujah Essay

The Second Battle of Fallujah, more commonly known as Operation: Phantom Fury, was a joint offensive between U.S., British, and Iraqi operational forces that was considered the peak of combat in Fallujah and the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War. The offensive was spearheaded by the United States Marine Corps to push into the city to eliminate the insurgency stronghold that had festered within the city. It is revered by the U.S. military as some of the heaviest urban combat the U.S. Marines had been involved in since the Battle of Hue City in the Vietnam War. It was also the second major operation to be conducted in Fallujah. Earlier in April 2004,, the coalition forces had moved in to eliminate the terrorists responsible for the death

U.S. forces had 54 killed and 425 wounded in the initial attack in November. By 23 December, when the operation was officially concluded, the casualty number had risen to 95 killed and 560 wounded. British forces had 4 killed and 10 wounded in two separate attacks in the outskirts of Fallujah while Iraqi forces suffered 8 killed and 43 wounded. Estimates of insurgent casualties are complicated by a lack of official figures. Most estimates places the number of insurgents killed at around 1,200 to 1,500, with some estimations as high as over 2,000 killed. Coalition forces also captured approximately 1,500 insurgents during the operation. Multiple medals of heroism were rewarded, such as First Sergeant Bradley Kasal and Sergeant Rafael Peralta, who both received Navy Crosses for actions made during the battle. The city itself suffered immensely from the loss of residences, mosques, city services, and businesses. Once called the "City of Mosques," Fallujah had around 200 mosques, of which sixty were completely destroyed during the fighting. Fallujah was held by U.S. forces until just recently, in which insurgents retook the city that the U.S. and allies had fought so hard to