The OIF GenerationA field guide to the Iraq War and the generation that fought it
Battles and Operations

Fallujah, 2004: Vigilant Resolve and Phantom Fury

A Marine M198 155mm howitzer fires during the Second Battle of Fallujah, November 11, 2004.
A Marine M198 155mm howitzer fires during the Second Battle of Fallujah, November 11, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Samantha L. Jones (public domain)

The first battle: Vigilant Resolve

Dates: April 4 – May 1, 2004. Trigger: the killing of four Blackwater contractors on March 31. Lead U.S. force: I Marine Expeditionary Force.

After the killing and mutilation of four American contractors in Fallujah on March 31, 2004, Marines launched Operation Vigilant Resolve on April 4. Fierce fighting continued for weeks. On May 1, the operation ended with security handed to a local Iraqi force, the Fallujah Brigade. Insurgents used the following months to fortify the city.

The second battle: Phantom Fury

Dates: November 7 – December 23, 2004. Names: Operation Phantom Fury; Operation al-Fajr ("the Dawn"). Forces: U.S. Marine Corps and Army, Iraqi forces, British support. U.S. losses: approximately 95 killed and 560 wounded.

On November 7, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched an assault to retake the city. Marines and soldiers cleared it house by house. The battle was later described as some of the heaviest urban combat American forces had seen since Hue in Vietnam in 1968, and as the bloodiest single battle of the war for U.S. troops.

Valor

During the second battle, Staff Sgt. David Bellavia cleared a house occupied by insurgents on November 10, 2004, actions for which he received the Medal of Honor in 2019. See Medal of Honor.

Legacy

For the Marines and soldiers who fought there, Fallujah remains a defining name. The battles also shaped American urban warfare doctrine for years afterward.