11/21/2023 0 Comments Operation phantom fury after action“It was the Air Force, Marines Army and Navy all working together in a very short amount of time that made this mission successful.”įollowing the battle, Tyler moved on to other things within his Army career, eventually ending up at West Point as an instructor for a few years. The second battle of Fallujah was the largest urban battle since Hue City in Vietnam, which was, coincidentally, also a joint fight with Marines and units from the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division.Īccording to Tyler it was teamwork from all branches that won the day. Within three weeks of the start of the battle, Ghost Battalion’s mission was complete. Once they reached the south, 2-7 CAV provided security while the Marines continued to clear the city. RCT 1, with 2-7 CAV leading the way, were so successful that when word was sent that RCT 7 was having a more difficult time General Richard Natonski, 1st Marine Division commander, ordered the RCTs to stay online and clear all the way to the south of the city. To be able to say you’re the tip of the spear and know what the Marines thought about the capabilities of 2-7 CAV.” “For the 1st Marine Division, conducting the largest urban combat since Vietnam, to have your battalion-an Army battalion-attached to a Marine Regimental Combat Team and be the main effort has always struck me as special. “As a 2-7 alumni, to me the striking thing is, the main effort to the main effort has always struck me as very special,” Tyler said. The Ghost battalion’s primary purpose was to push south and then conduct a right turn toward the river and isolate that area. That RCT was the main effort for the battle and 2-7 CAV was the main effort for RCT 1. The “Ghost” Battalion was attached to RCT 1. The carefully designed and skillfully executed attack employed Marine Regimental Combat Teams (RCTs) 1 and 7 attacking south into the city. The second battle for Fallujah was code-named Operation Phantom Fury, and commenced Nov. You want to do well, you want to make the patch look good.” This was an opportunity for 1st Cav elements to show our stuff. “It wasn’t what we had been used to, it wasn’t what Iraq had been like in the recent past with the march up. It’s the ultimate test of your training and capabilities,” he recalled. Tyler, then a junior Captain serving as the battalion’s fire support officer, remembers this time vividly. “So, based upon the comradery we had established with the Marines we worked with, I felt that there was an opportunity to fill a gap in the literature.” “The first book I remember about the battle was Bing West’s No True Glory, and although a very good book, there was very little mention, if at all, of Army participation in the battle,” Tyler said. It is the story of one of those units, the 2nd Battalion 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division that is the basis for a new book by Lt. The 2nd Battle of Fallujah is associated, usually, with the Marines, but many are unaware that there were Army units that fought alongside the Marines during the fight. But, just as is the case with most historical moments, there is always more to the story. The Rangers at Pointe du Hoc, the 3rd Infantry Division and the Battle of the Marne, the Navy at the Battle of Midway and the Marines and Khe Sanh. Throughout military history there are battles that certain units or branches of the armed forces are known for.
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