Al Anbar campaign

Al Anbar campaign

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Anbar province campaign
colour_scheme=background:#ffcccc
partof=the Post-invasion Iraq
caption=


date=April 28 2003 - August 14, 2007
place=Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq
result=Coalition victory
combatant1=flagicon|United States United States

combatant2=Iraqi insurgency
commander1=flagicon|United States James T. Conway
flagicon|United States James Mattis
commander2=
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=flagicon|United States 1,300 killed [http://icasualties.org/oif/ProvinceMap.aspx]
flagicon|Iraq Few thousand killed
casualties2=Several thousand killed
The Al Anbar province campaign was a series of battles between US forces and Sunni insurgents in the western Iraqi governorate of Al Anbar. The majority of the fighting took place between April 2004 and December 2006.

Background

Although the majority of the inhabitants of the province were Sunni and had supported Saddam Hussein's ruleFact|date=September 2008, the area was one of the most peaceful areas of the country just after his fall. Espeacialy one of it's largest cities, Fallujah. There was very little looting and the new mayor of the city — Taha Bidaywi Hamed, selected by local tribal leaders — was pro-United States. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url = http://www.usmc.mil/magazine/304/Feature1stPerson.pdf
title =A Combat Correspondent’s Tale of the Battle for Fallujah
format = PDF
work =
pages =
publisher =Newfound Respect
language =
accessdate = 2006-05-15
accessyear =
Dead link|date=September 2008
] . When the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion / 2nd Brigade 82nd Airborne entered the town on April 23, 2003, they positioned themselves at the vacated Ba'ath Party headquarters, a local school house, and the Ba'ath party resort just outside town (Dreamland)— the US bases inside the town erased some goodwill, especially when many in the city had been hoping the US Army would stay outside of the relatively calm city.

The Insurgency is born, April 2003 - March 2004

The Fallujah massacre

On the evening of April 28 2003, several hundred residents defied the US curfew and marched down the streets of Fallujah, past the soldiers positioned in the Ba'ath party headquarters, to protest the military presence outside a local school. A US Army Psychological Operations team attempted to make the crowd disperse with announcements, but failed. According to locals, at this point the US soldiers fired upon the unarmed crowd, killing 17 and wounding more than 70 of the protesters. The US suffered no casualties from the incident. [cite web
last = Blair
first = Edmund
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 2003
month = April 29
url = http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0429-01.htm
title = Anger Mounts After U.S. Troops Kill 13 Iraqi Protesters
format =
work =
pages =
publisher = Common Dreams News Center
language =
accessdate = 2006-05-15
accessyear =
] According to the soldiers on the ground, the 82nd Airborne soldiers inside the school responded to "effective fire" from inside the protesting crowd. Two days later, on April 30, the 82d Airborne was replaced in the city by 2nd Troop (Fox) / U.S. 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment. The 3d Cavalry was significantly smaller in number and chose not to occupy the same schoolhouse where the shooting had occurred two days earlier. However, on the same day a daytime protest in front of the Ba'ath party headquarters and mayor's office (which are adjacent to one another) led to the death of three more unarmed protesters. At this point in time the 3d Cavalry had responsibility for the entire Al Anbar province, and it quickly became evident that a larger force was needed.Fact|date=September 2008

Chinook helicopter shotdown

Following the killings of the demonstrators in Fallujah the population in Anbar were becoming more and more hostile towards U.S. forces with roadside bombings and ambushes on U.S. military patrols. After several months of hit-and-run attacks the U.S. military decided that one of the most safest ways of travel was using the helicopters because the roads were just not safe anymore. However, on November 2 2003, a military Chinook transport helicopter was shot down with an SA-7 missile near Fallujah. 16 soldiers onboard were killed and another 26 were wounded. This was by then the most deadliest attack on U.S. tropps since the end of the invasion. [cite news
url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/11/02/sprj.irq.main/index.html|title=Helicopter crash kills 16 soldiers headed for leave
publisher=CNN.com|date=2007-11-03|accessdate=2007-06-08
]

Fallujah police station raid

After the helicopter was shot down, Anbar, and especially Fallujah, was seen by the U.S. military as one of the most deadliest places in Iraq. On February 12 2004, General John P. Abizaid, Commander of American forces in the Middle East, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when his convoy was attacked by insurgents in Fallujah. Two days later on February 14 2004, one of the most daring attacks by the insurgents was conducted in Fallujah.

Timeline of the raid:

08:00am Someone calls an incident into the police station, and many officers take off to handle it.

08:15am An accomplice severs the station's communication lines. Gunmen pull up in cars and jeeps and form a horseshoe around the compound. They open fire.

25 gunmen wearing masks and shouting "God is great" storm the compound and blow open a metal gate with rocket propelled grenades. They move from room to room, tossing grenades and shooting every police officer they find.

Insurgents release 87 prisoners from jail cells in the station.

At the same time as the police station raid, another two dozen insurgents hold Iraqi Civil Defense Outpost forces from rushing to the officers' aid.

The United States' 82nd Airborne Division hears the gun battle and offers help. They're told to just send ammunition, no manpower.

09:15am The station raid ends and 23 people are dead, including: 17 police officers, 4 attackers, and 2 civilians. Authorities capture only 2 wounded insurgents.

Later that night U.S. forces arrested Fallujah Mayor Raad Hussein on suspicion that the police raid was an inside job. 82nd Airborne Division Lt. Col. Brian Drinkwine calls Hussein not "adept enough" to have pulled off the attack but suspects he may know something about it.

The Uprising, April 2004 - December 2004

The start of 2004 was marked by a relative lull in violence. Guerrilla attacks lessened in intensity while insurgent forces reorganized, studying the multinational forces' tactics and planning a renewed offensive.

Blackwater massacre

American troops withdrew from Fallujah after intense fighting on March 26 2004 (at which point Fallujah had already been declared insurgent-occupied) killed one Marine. The troops retreated to the city's outskirts. On March 31, four military contractors were guarding food shipments for a U.S. base on the outskirts of Fallujah, when they took a wrong turn and entered the city. They were killed in a grenade attack by suspected insurgents, and their corpses were mutilated by cheering crowds and hung on the main bridge into the city. The incident was highly publicised and video footage of the killings was seen across the world.

First Battle of Fallujah

In response to the killing of the four Americans on March 31 and intense political pressure, the U.S. Marines commenced Operation Vigilant Resolve. They surrounded the city with the intent of capturing the individuals responsible for the killings, as well as others in the region who might have been involved in the insurgency or terrorist activities. It was planned that the Iraqi National Guard would fight alongside the U.S. Marines in the operation, but on the dawn of the invasion they discarded their uniforms and deserted. Heavy fighting lasted until April 9, 2004, when, again under enormous public pressure, the offensive was called off because of great civilian losses. At that point, the Marines had only managed to gain control of about 25 percent of the city. Coincidentally, the offensive against Fallujah started on the same day that the Shia uprising by the Mahdi Army began.

First Battle of Ramadi

During the fighting in Fallujah there was also a major insurgent attack on the city of Ramadi on April 6, 2004, which began when a force of 300 insurgents attacked Marine patrols throughout the city in an attempt to relieve pressure on Fallujah. In heavy street fighting over four days 16 U.S. Marines and an estimated 250 insurgents were killed. [cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-07-12-ramadi_x.htm|title=Fight for Ramadi exacts heavy toll on Marines]

Battle of Husaybah

Immediately following the Battle of Ramadi there was another insurgent attack on the town of Husaybah on the Syrian border on April 17, 2004. Like in Ramadi, insurgents attacked the Marine garrison and were repulsed; 5 Marines and 150 insurgents were killed.

Ramadi falls

On June 24, 2004, a massive coordinated attack by insurgents was underway in the Sunni territories throughout Iraq. Specifically in Anbar insurgents once again attacked Ramadi and this time managed to take control and laid siege to Marine bunker positions. The city was under insurgent control by the end of the day. [http://www.defendamerica.mil/cgi-bin/bye.cgi?http://www.mnf-iraq.com/media-information/june2004/040625b.htm]

June - November, Fallujah under siege and insurgents gain control

At this point Ramadi, Fallujah and a whole string of towns and villages along the Euphrates river valley up to the Syrian border fell under the control of the insurgents. In Ramadi, Marine positions were surrounded and under constant mortar and sniper fire. While in Fallujah, the city was under virtual siege by the Marines with near constant dialy air and artillery attacks on insurgent positions in the town leaving some 300 civilians dead between June and November.Fact|date=September 2008

econd Battle of Fallujah

The offensive against Fallujah was resumed on November 7, 2004, in the bloodiest battle of the war so far: the Second Battle of Fallujah, described by the U.S. military as "the heaviest urban combat (that they had been involved in) since the battle of Hue City in Vietnam." [ [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2005/n01112005_2005011103.html ScanEagle Proves Worth in Fallujah Fight] , "DefenseLINK News"] Intelligence briefings given prior to battle reported that Coalition forces would encounter Chechnyan, Filipino, Saudi, Iranian, Italian, and Syrian combatants, as well as native Iraqis.Bellavia, David & Bruning, John. "House to House: An Epic Memoir of War" Free Press. (2007) ISBN-10: 1-4165-7471-9.] During the assault, U.S. forces used white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon against insurgent personnel, attracting controversy. The battle ended on December 23, 2004. The 46-day battle resulted in a victory for the coalition, with 95 Americans killed along with approximately 1,350 insurgents. Fallujah was totally devastated during the fighting, though civilian casualties were low, as they had mostly fled before the fight. [Thomas Ricks (2006) "Fiasco": 398-405]

River campaign, January 2005 - December 2005

Following their victory in Fallujah the Marines decided to clear out insurgents from the Euphrates river valley and take back control. 2005 was marked by a string of military operations in Al Anbar.

Battle of Al Qaim

One of the first Marine offensives was against the towns near the city of Al Qaim. Al Qaim was on the border with Syria and had been taken by the insurgents in September of the previous year. The operation, codenamed Matador, was focused on eliminating insurgents and foreign fighters in a region known as a smuggling route and a sanctuary for foreign fighters and started on May 8 2005.

Many of the insurgents encountered during the offensive were wearing uniforms, and in some cases were wearing protective vests. Furthermore coalition officials noted that the training, tactics and organization displayed by the insurgents battled in the Syrian desert exceeded that which had been seen in other engagements further east, with only the exception of the former members of the Fedayeen (that comprised a large portion of insurgents fought by the Coalition in Operation Vigilant Resolve.) Thus it is plausible to believe that the Fedayeen made a large portion of the insurgents fought in Matador.

The Marines managed to take all of their targets but because of insufficient numbers to setup a permanent garrison in Al-Qaim and the other insurgent held towns they had to withdrew. As a result the insurgents retook the towns. 9 Marines were killed and 40 wounded.

Hit convoy ambush

On May 9 2005, Iraqi insurgents ambushed a convoy that was carrying military supplies for U.S. forces near the town of Hit. The convoy was escorted by private military contractors. The ambush ended with the death of all 17 of the contractors. One of the mercanaries was a Japanese, Akihiko Saito, who was wounded and captured. At the time he was the only surviver from the convoy, but the died of his wounds three days later. His capture and death became a controversial topic back in Japan over wheather Japanese troops should be withdrawn from Iraq or not.

Battle of Haditha

In early August, 2005, insurgents scored some mayor victories over the Marines in fighting at Haditha, another insurgent held town.

On the morning of August 1 2005 a six-man Marine sniper unit on the outskirts of Haditha was attacked by a large insurgent force from the Ansar al-Sunna group and in less than 10 minutes was overrun.

Two days later a massive roadside bomb hit a Marine amphibious assault vehicle. The vehicle was completely destroyed and 15 out of the 16 people that were inside it were killed, with only one Marine surviving. Among the killed was also an Iraqi civilian interpreter.

Operation Steel Curtain

On November 5 2005, the Marines conducted another offensive against the towns near Al Qaim. This time they managed to take and hold the towns of Husaybah, Karabilah and Ubaydi, at the cost of 10 Marines killed and 30 wounded. However, Al Qaim itself still remained in insurgent hands.

The Second Battle of Ramadi, June 2006 - December 2006

Since the fall of Fallujah in 2004, Ramadi had been the center of the insurgency in Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq, a front group for Al-Qaida in Iraq, had declared the city to be its capital. The city of 400,000, located 110 kilometres west of Baghdad, had been under the control of the insurgency except for a few places where the Marines had set up remote outposts, that were virtually under siege. Law and order had broken down, and street battles were common. An offensive was planned in mid-2006 to take the city. Preparations for the attack had been under way for weeks. The objective of the operation was to cut off resupply and reinforcements to the insurgents in Ramadi by gaining control of the key entry points into the city. U.S. forces also planned to establish new combat outposts and patrol bases throughout the city, moving off their forward operating bases in order to engage the population and establish relationships with local leaders.

The attack on Ramadi started on June 18 2006. The Marines and soldiers cleared some sections of the city and set up a base at the Ramadi Government Center and some other outposts. The operation had some initial success but the effect that the Americans wanted to achieve did not happen. Very soon the American forces were bogged down in heavy street fighting throughout the city. Insurgents launched hit and run attacks on the newly established outposts, which were sometimes assaulted by as many as 100 insurgents at a time.

By mid-November, the offensive had stalled with both sides at a stalemate. U.S. forces managed to take some parts of the city but the majority was still in insurgent hands. The fighting in Ramadi was so intense that some Marines compared it to the Battle of Stalingrad of World War Two. As a result of the offensive at least 75 U.S. troops and 750 insurgents were dead.

A report by the U.S. Marine corps described the battle in Al Anbar as a loosing one with Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups on the rise and U.S. forces had no military means to stop them. The report said that not only were military operations facing a stalemate, unable to extend and sustain security beyond the perimeters of their bases, but also local governments in the province had collapsed and the weak central government had almost no presence.

Awakening Councils and Ramadi taken, January 2007 - August 2007

Formation of the Anbar Awakening Council

On August 21, 2006, insurgents killed Abu Ali Jassim, a Sunni sheik who had encouraged many of his tribesmen to join the Iraqi Police. The insurgents hid the body in a field rather than returning it for a proper burial, violating Islamic law and angering Jassim's tribesmen. Following this, 40 sheiks from 20 tribes from across Al Anbar organised a movement called the "Sahwa Al Anbar" (Anbar Awakening). On September 9, Sheik Sittar organised a tribal council attended by over fifty sheiks and Col. MacFarland. During this council, Sittar officially declared the Anbar Awakening underway. [cite journal |last=Smith |first=Niel |authorlink= |coauthors=Sean MacFarland |year=2008 |month=March-April |title=Anbar Awakens: The Tipping Point |journal=Military Review|url=http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/MarApr08/Smith_AnbarEngMarApr08.pdf |accessdate=2008-08-24 p.48]

Shortly after the council, the tribes began attacking al-Qaeda in Iraq insurgents in the Ramadi and the rest of Al Anbar. [cite journal |last=Smith |first=Niel |authorlink= |coauthors=Sean MacFarland |year=2008 |month=March-April |title=Anbar Awakens: The Tipping Point |journal=Military Review|url=http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/MarApr08/Smith_AnbarEngMarApr08.pdf |accessdate=2008-08-24 p.49] . By December, attacks had dropped 50% in Ramadi according to the U.S. military. [cite journal
url=http://www.understandingwar.org/files/reports/IraqReport03.pdf
title=The Anbar Awakening:Displacing al Qaeda from its Stronghold in Western Iraq
first=Kimberly|last=Kagan
month=April|year=2007
accessdate=2008-08-31
] [cite news
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601497_2.html
title=Sheiks Help Curb Violence in Iraq's West, U.S. Says
first=Joshua|last=Partlow
publisher=Washington Post
date=2007-01-27
accessdate=2008-08-31
] cite web|url=http://www.fumento.com/military/ramadireturn.html|title=Return to Ramadi|first=Michael|last=Fumento|publisher=The Weekly Standard|date=2006-11-27|accessdate=2008-08-31]

"Raider" Brigade takes over Ramadi

In January 2007, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, on its third tour to Iraq, arrived in Ramadi and assumed responsibility from Macfarland's brigade on February 18 at a transfer ceremony at Camp Ramadi. During the ceremony, which was attended by Sheikh Sattar, MacFarland said that his brigade had lost 86 soldiers, sailors and Marines during the 8 month campaign. [cite news
url=http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=42666&archive=true
title='Raider Brigade' takes over Ramadi
publisher=Stars and Stripes
first=Monte|last=Morin
date=2007-02-19|accessdate=2008-08-31
] [cite web
url=http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17734&Itemid=128
title=First Brigade Combat Team Transfers Authority
publisher=Multi-National Force Iraq
date=2008-03-20
accessdate=2008-08-31
] .

At this point, Ramadi was averaging around 35 attacks a day. Following heavy fighting over an 8-week campaign by the brigade, also known as Task Force Raider, attacks in the brigade's area of operations dropped to one a day. At one point in August 2007, Ramadi had gone 80 consecutive days without a single attack and the brigade commander, Col. John Charlton, stated that "al-Qaida had been defeated in Al Anbar". However, insurgents continued to launch attacks on Ramadi. On June 30, a group of between 50 and 60 insurgents trying to enter the city were intercepted and destroyed, following a tipoff from Iraqi Police. By March 2008, Ramadi had gone 300 days without an attack. [cite web
url=http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=6585
title=Iraq: COL John Charlton Commander 1st BCT, 3rd ID
publisher=QAndO.net
date=2007-08-03
accessdate=2008-08-31
] [cite web
url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/07/coalition_forces_rou.php
title=Coalition Forces Rout al Qaeda Elements South of Ramadi
first=Bill|last=Roggio
publisher=Long War Journal
date=2007-07-03
accessdare=2008-08-31
] [cite web
url=http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17613&Itemid=132
title=DoD News Briefing: Col. John Charlton, March 13
publisher=Multi-National Force Iraq
date=2008-03-14
accessdate=2008-08-31
]

Operation "Alljah"

In June 2007, as part of an overall offensive throughout Iraq codenamed Operation Phantom Thunder, U.S. forces in the western Al Anbar province attacked insurgent supply lines and weapons caches, targeting the regions of Fallujah, Karma and Thar Thar. Commanders of the operation expressed belief that Fallujah would be cleared by August and that the regions of Karma and Thar Thar would be cleared by July. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_anbar_province] On June 17, a raid near Karma killed a known Libyan Al-Qaeda fighter and six of his aides and on June 21 six al-Qaeda members were killed and five were detained during early-morning raids also near Karma. Also on June 23, a U.S. airstrike killed five suspects and destroyed their car bomb near Fallujah. Insurgents also struck back in Fallujah with two suicide bombings and an attack on an off-duty policeman that left four policemen dead on June 22. On June 29, U.S. forces killed a senior al-Qaeda leader east of Fallujah. Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Masri, an Egyptian, was a veteran of both battles of Fallujah. On July 6, a raid west of Fallujah resulted in the killing of an Al-Qaeda in Iraq battalion commander and two of his men and the captured of two more insurgents. [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12458&Itemid=21 Multi-National Force - Iraq - Al-Qaeda foreign fighter killed ] ] [ [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23457267.htm Reuters AlertNet - FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, June 23 ] ] [ [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12496&Itemid=21 Multi-National Force - Iraq - Six al-Qaeda killed, five detained near Karmah ] ] [ [http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=48728&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1 Aswat Aliraq ] ] [ [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12609&Itemid=21 Multi-National Force - Iraq - Another senior al-Qaeda leader identified, killed ] ]

References

External links

*Bill Roggio, " [http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2005/08/the_anbar_campa_3.php The Anbar Campaign] ", The Long War Journal


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Diyala campaign — Diyala province campaign Part of the Iraq War Soldiers take cover behind a Stryker vehicle during a firefight …   Wikipedia

  • Ninawa campaign — Part of the Iraq War, (Operation Phantom Phoenix) Date January 23, 2008–July 28, 2008 Location Ninawa Governorate, Iraq …   Wikipedia

  • Post-invasion Iraq (2003 to present) — See also: Iraq War, 2007 in Iraq, 2008 in Iraq, and 2009 in Iraq Post invasion Iraq (2003 to present) Part of the Iraq War …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Al Qaim — Operation Matador (Iraq) Part of the Iraq War A large weapons cache in New Ubaydi is destroyed …   Wikipedia

  • Operation Sayeed — Part of Al Anbar campaign and Iraq War U.S. Marine Lcpl. Raphael Hernandez, and Iraqi Army soldiers wa …   Wikipedia

  • Multi-National Forces West — The logo for MNF W Active March 2004 January 23, 2010 Country …   Wikipedia

  • Operation Steel Curtain — Part of the Iraq War U.S. Marine Lcpl. Raphael Hernandez, and Iraqi Army soldiers watch over the surrounding streets f …   Wikipedia

  • Operation Alljah — Part of the Iraq War (Operation Phantom Thunder) An Iraqi policeman talks with two Iraqi civilians as they wait in line to receive new i …   Wikipedia

  • List of coalition military operations of the Iraq War — Operation Aloha redirects here. For the band, see Operation Aloha (band). Nordlicht redirects here. For the Kriegsmarine ship, see SS Nordlicht. Operation Falcon Freedom redirects here. For the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Ramadi (2006) — Part of the Iraq War US soldiers take up positions on a street corner during a foot patrol in Ramadi, A …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”