Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Fallujah Main Assault Begins
The beginning of the main assault marked the launch of the deliberate drive into Fallujah in the Second Battle, when the Marine and Army assault forces pushed south across the breached northern edge of the city to begin clearing it block by block.
After weeks of shaping operations and the isolation of the city, the main attack committed multiple battalions to the urban fight, advancing on parallel axes through the dense streets against insurgents prepared to defend to the death from fortified houses and prepared positions. The opening of the main assault set in motion the grinding, methodical clearance that would define the battle, the careful reduction of a defended city one building at a time. It was the moment the long-anticipated battle was truly joined, the assault force descending into the most intense urban combat the Marines had faced in decades. From this point the fight became a relentless push through the heart of Fallujah.
Record no. 754