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Fighting for Fallujah A New Dawn for Iraq
John R. Ballard
Book Code: C9055
ISBN: 0-275-99055-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-99055-8
184 pages, 18 photos; 7 maps
Praeger Security International General Interest-Cloth
Publication: 4/30/2006
List Price: $44.95 (UK Sterling Price: £25.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • For anyone seeking to learn about Operation AL FAJR and how it came about, how it transitioned to reconstruction, and what it meant for the emerging IIG's identity at the time, Fighting for Fallujah is a good place to start....[t]he book performs a monumental feat. It helps Marines understand why and how civil-military operations are not merely activities performed by the CAG. So while some would browse Fighting for Fallujah with more of an interest in the urban assault than the civil-military operations that followed, it is possible that this less appreciated and essential aspect of Operation AL FAJR is the one unique thing this book offers from which future MAGTF commanders and their staffs can learn the most.
    —Marine Corps Gazette     April 2007
  • The November 2004 battle for the city of Fallujah forces the U.S. military to work on a large scale in an urban environment against prepared insurgent forces. Ballard examines in detail the entire operation, from the attack on the Blackwater contractors in March to the elections held the following January. Relying on firsthand accounts and official documentation, he offers recommendations for future operations based on lessons learned in Fallujah.
    —Middle East Journal     Autumn 2006
  • Much deeper than just a story about the most intense urban combat Marines have participated in since Hue, Ballard's insider narrative educates readers on how Coalition forces learned from early mistakes and were then able to gain the support of the Sunni population despite destroying their city.....Written in a style that is both educational and easy to read, Fighting for Fallujah is an important contribution to understanding the complexity of urban operations in Iraq.
    —Military Review     July-August 2006
  • [A]n intense and vivid chronicle of a turning point in the counterinsurgency fight....Employing a framework of reportorial realism based upon eyewitness accounts, interviews with military leaders and recently declassified records and documents, the somewhat scholarly narrative and its 22 pages of informative footnotes in no way interfere with placing the reader shoulder to shoulder with Marines, soldiers and Iraqi troops as they fought house to house through more than 20,000 structures over three weeks to clear out enemy forces....[a] powerful but balanced analysis of the significant actions, innovative strategies and techniques, and varying requirements for engagements in an urban sea of one- and two-story houses....Today, Fallujah remains one of the safest cities in Iraq. In describing how that came to be, Ballard's first-rate Fighting for Fallujah is as inspiring as the men and women who served during that fight.
    —Air Force Times/Army Times/Marine Corps Times     June 5, 2006
  • This compilation of first-person accounts, interviews, and official documents tells of the hard-fought battle for the insurgent-controlled city of Fallujah in November 2004....Having commanded the Marine Corps' 4th Civil Affairs Group during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Al Fajr, John Ballard's credentials are solid. His extensive research and well-written work will be of great value to serious students, both military and civilian.
    —PROCEEDINGS     June 2006
  • Endorsement From Patrick C. Sweeney
    Professor of Joint Military Operations
    U.S. Naval War College:     A must read for anyone that seeks to understand the complexity of warfare being faced by our armed forces in Iraq. This is an exceptional recounting of one of the coalition's greatest operational successes and it provides the reader with an insider's view of the varying modern requirements of fighting in city combat, civil affairs operations, and the ever-important information operations.
Description: The vicious urban battle for the insurgent-controlled city of Fallujah in November 2004 was a turning point in the ongoing counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. It demonstrated the resolve of the Iraqi government to fight terrorists domestically, using both multinational and Iraqi forces, and its results included a returning population willing to vote in national elections held in January 2005. Ballard tells the story of the Fallujah campaign, beginning with the horrific deaths of the American Blackwater contractors in March 2004 and continuing through the battle, the painstaking reconstruction of the city, and the precedent-setting elections that followed. Based on first-person accounts, interviews, and official documents, this book gives readers rare insight into the significant actions and innovative techniques of the year-long fight for the city. Opening with a historical overview of the initial crisis in Fallujah and the similar coalition battle in Najaf, the book includes a detailed account of the planning and execution of the operation to retake the city. Finally, it describes the political and military lessons proven in Fallujah, including coalition force integration, information operations, urban combat techniques, interagency coordination and innovative reconstruction procedures. This is the story of real combat in Iraq--told in a way every American should understand.
LC Card Number: 2006001235
LCC Class: DS79
Dewey Class: 956
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