Review
"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."
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PROCEEDINGS
"[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."
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Air Force Times/Army Times/Marine Corps Times
"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."
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Military Review
"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."
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Middle East Journal
"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."
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Marine Corps Gazette
Review
"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."
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Patrick C. Sweeney, Professor of Joint Military Operations, U.S. Naval War College
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