Description

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The two battles for the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004 were turning points in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Elements of the US Marine Corps began an offensive in April to destroy enemy forces in the town, but the battle ended prematurely with the Marines being replaced by the "Fallujah Brigade," followed soon after by a complete enemy takeover of the city. Some units of the new Iraqi Army were also committed to the first battle; they were found wanting and the entire Iraqi training program significantly changed in response. In November 2004, a combined USMC, US Army, and Iraqi Army offensive succeeded in eliminating the enemy in Fallujah in a destructive urban battle. In Operation AL FAJR: A Study in Army and Marine Corp Joint Operations, Mr. Matt Matthews focuses on the ways in which Army and Marine forces operated together in the second Battle of Fallujah. Among the many Army units that participated, Task Force 2-2 Infantry and Task Force 2-7 Cavalry spearheaded the attacks of two Marine regimental combat teams into and through the city. Matthews' gripping narrative describes their role in the battle from notification, to planning, and through the fighting to the conclusion of their role in the battle. With access to first-person accounts and unit histories from both task forces, Matthews' monograph illuminates many aspects of the battle which have been missing from popular journalistic accounts. Army - Marine interoperability is the theme around which Matthews bases his account. Well-educated and professional Army and Marine leaders at the Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel levels overcame many ingrained cultural differences to synchronize operations. Army senior NCOs and junior officers displayed tremendous initiative, flexibility, and courage in fighting alongside their Marine counterparts. They skillfully exploited the incredible firepower, survivability and urban mobility of Army heavy forces to destroy enemy resistance in some of the most brutal urban combat of the war. Matthews also addresses areas in which the Army and Marines must continue to improve their ability to fight side by side. Operation AL FAJR is a compelling case study of combat at the tactical level in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Army - Marine relations have improved greatly since the acrimony that sometimes plagued the WWII era. As Matthews makes clear, there is more work to be done.

About the Author

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Matt M. Matthews joined the Combat Studies Institute in July 2005 after working for 16 years as a member of the World Class Opposing Force (OP-FOR) for the Battle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Mr. Matthews graduated from Kansas State University in 1986 with a B.S. in History. He served as an Infantry enlisted man in the Regular Army from 1977 to 1981; a Cavalry officer in the US Army Reserve from 1983 to 1986; and as an Armor officer in the Kansas Army National Guard from 1986 to 1991. Mr. Matthews has coauthored numerous scholarly articles on the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi to include "Shot All To Pieces: The Battle of Lone Jack," "To Play a Bold Game: The Battle of Honey Springs," and "Better Off in Hell: The Evolution of the Kansas Red Legs"; he is a frequent speaker at Civil War Roundtables; and he recently appeared on the History Channel as a historian for Bill Kurtis' Investigating History. Mr. Matthews was the mayor and city commissioner of Ottawa, Kansas, from 1993 to 1999.