The Brutal 2004 Siege of Fallujah

After weeks of preparation, the U.S. launches a full-scale assault to take back Fallujah. TIME follows one platoon as it carries out the most dangerous operation since the beginning of the war

By Michael Ware Monday, Nov. 22, 2004

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    The insurgents had studied the Americans' methods well. To negate the U.S.'s preference to fight in the dark using night-vision equipment, the insurgents focused their attacks in the dim light of dawn and dusk. As the sun set, a decrepit warehouse suddenly sparkled with at least a dozen muzzle flashes. Bullets flew thick over the unit's commandeered building. "Look at the industrial complex," Bellavia yelled at his men. "I want you to shoot, shoot." The Wolf Pack lashed back with chattering automatic-weapons fire. A sister platoon, bunkered down a few hundred yards to the west, joined in, bringing a deadly cross fire to bear on the insurgents. Streams of red tracers scorched into the building as a soft golden sun emblazoned a graying sky.

    "The enemy picture is so murky we just don't know anything for sure except for what you see with your own eyes," Alpha Company's commander, Captain Sean Sims, told his officers. The soldiers pushed south into the industrial zone along the eastern corridor, moving into the thick of the cement plants and metal-strewn yards. The soldiers geared up to drive into the teeth of the resistance--the kind of fight the military had been spoiling for. JDAMs rocked the earth and artillery carved a path forward as the sounds of fire fights resonated in all directions.

    Winding their armor through the desolate buildings bound for their first target--Objective Bud, identified as a congregating point for foreign fighters--the Wolf Pack started taking fire immediately. A Bradley vehicle piloted by Sergeant First Class James Cantrell shuddered and filled with dust as it ran over a roadside bomb. The blast was so powerful it was at first mistaken for a bomb dropped by one of the many warplanes screeching overhead. "Goddam," said Fitts, locked down inside the mechanical beast, his shotgun nestled under his chin.

    Within minutes, a thumping clunk beat the vehicle's left side. "Damn, an RPG," shouted a soldier. When they reached Objective Bud, a figure was seen scurrying through a window. The 3rd Platoon spilled into the compound, cutting off any escape. Cantrell maneuvered his Bradley to face the building. The high-explosive rounds set the bottom floor ablaze. First Lieutenant Joaquin Meno called up for the first story to be torched as well. "Let the f_____ burn," said a squad leader. When a group of insurgents brandishing RPGs was spotted 400 yds. south, Meno called in mortar fire from the rear and Abrams tank fire from the front. The insurgents had no chance. "Hey, LT, good call. That's perfect," said Bellavia. As if to punctuate the score, a direct hit on the building where the insurgents had taken cover set off repeated secondary explosions.

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