presents:

Operation Bulldog, Apr. 15-17, 2011

Phantom Fury - Fallujah, 2004

On March 31, 2004, four American Blackwater USA contractors were ambushed and killed in the city of Fallujah. Images of their mutilated bodies hanging from the Jurf Kas Sukr Bridge were broadcast around the world.

US reaction was swift. On April 4, 2004, U.S. Marine Corps forces launched Operation Vigilant Resolve to take back control of the city, and kill or capture those responsible for the murder of the contractors. However, the US offensive stalled. On April 28, 2004, Operation Vigilant Resolve ended with an agreement that a local force, the Fallujah Brigade, would keep insurgents out of the city. The Fallujah Brigade, under the command of Muhammed Latif, a former Baathist general, was allowed to pass through American lines and take over the city, with promises to root out insurgents and foreign fighters.

Instead, insurgent strength in the city grew, and rumors spread that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, a leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was operating out of Fallujah. Other militia and al Qaeda leaders, such as Abdullah al-Janabi and Omar Hussein Hadid, were also known to be active in the city. Insurgent numbers in the city were estimated at 5,000. The United States planned to attack Fallujah again.

In preparation for the impending attack, U.S. forces established roadblocks and checkpoints ringing Fallujah, and a tight cordon was drawn around the city. Many of the local population fled, fearful of the battle they knew was coming.

The USA and her British allies were poised to launch Operation Phantom Fury to pacify Fallujah.

Insurgent forces

By November, US intelligence sources put the number of insurgents at about 3,000. Insurgent forces were comprised of a hodgepodge of groups and nationalities. Intelligence agents warned US commanders that they would encounter fanatical Syrian, Saudi, Iranian, Pakistani, Chechen, Somali, Filipino, and Italian combatants, as well as native Iraqis. U.S. military officials estimated that 70-90% of the city's 300,000 civilian population fled before the attack.

Coalition forces

The US/UK Coalition entered Fallujah with 6,000 combat troops, including units of the US Marine Corps, US Army, US Army Special Forces, US Navy Seabees, and the UK Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment.