Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Fallujah Railroad Breach
The railroad breach was a key opening action of the main assault in the Second Battle of Fallujah, where the attacking forces breached the railroad embankment that ran along the northern edge of the city to open lanes for the armored and infantry assault to pour through.
Engineers and assault units blew gaps in the berm and cleared paths through the obstacles, allowing the Marine and Army columns to cross the rail line and drive south into the city. The breach was the jumping-off point for the main attack, the controlled penetration of the city's northern defensive perimeter that launched the deliberate clearing of Fallujah. Forcing the railroad line under fire was the act that committed the assault force to the battle, opening the way into the urban fight beyond. It marked the transition from the shaping operations to the main effort, the moment the assault into Fallujah began in earnest.
Record no. 753