Editing First Battle of Fallujah (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:2 1 in Fallujah.jpg|thumb|During the First Battle of Fallujah, U.S. Marines from the [[1st Marine Regiment (United States)|1st Marine Regiment]] take cover as an [[M1A1 Abrams]] from the [[1st Tank Battalion]] fires at a building where insurgent snipers are positioned.]]

The largest combat mission since the declaration of the end of "major hostilities",<ref>{{cite web|author=Alice Hills |url=http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/4/623.pdf |title=Armed Forces & Society – Sign in Page |doi=10.1177/0095327X05281460 |publisher=Afs.sagepub.com |s2cid=144554561 |access-date=19 May 2011}}</ref> the First Battle of Fallujah marked a turning point in public perception of the ongoing conflict. This was because [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–11)|insurgents]], rather than Saddam loyalists, were seen as the chief opponents of U.S. forces. It was also judged by both military and civilian agencies that reliance upon U.S.-funded regional [[militia]]s, such as the failed Fallujah Brigade, could prove disastrous.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cpp.usmc.mil/press/kit/OIFII.asp |title=Official Website for Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton – The Scout Newspaper |publisher=Cpp.usmc.mil |access-date=19 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604092252/http://www.cpp.usmc.mil/press/kit/OIFII.asp |archive-date=4 June 2011}}</ref> Colonel John Spencer, a military analyst, exposed the lack of appropriate intelligence preparation and adequate gathering of forces and armoured assets to carry out an assault on a densely populated area. Spencer also pointed out the hasty political decision to conduct a show of force motivated by retaliatory intent, without taking into consideration the unfavorable environment. He wrote that "The First Battle of Fallujah was a loss for the US forces not because of fighting capability, but due to insufficient planning, force ratios, information operations, and ultimately political support for the operation."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spencer |first=John |last2=Geroux |first2=Gerson |date=28 October 2022 |title=Fallujah I |url=https://mwi.westpoint.edu/urban-warfare-case-study-6-first-battle-of-fallujah/ |website=Modern Warfare Institute}}</ref>

The battle also pushed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi into the public spotlight as the best-known commander of anti-Coalition forces in Iraq, and brought public attention to the concept of a [[Sunni Triangle]].

27 U.S. servicemen were killed during the battle in Fallujah.<ref name="icasualties">{{Cite web|url=http://icasualties.org/Iraq/Fatalities.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326034327/http://icasualties.org/Iraq/Fatalities.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Iraq Coalition Casualties: Military Fatalities|archive-date=26 March 2010|access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> Iraq Body Count estimated that around 800 Iraqis died in the battle as well, of which 572–616 were civilians and 184–228 insurgents.<ref name="IBC1"/><ref name="IBC2"/> Many of the Iraqis killed were buried inside the city's former football stadium, which became known as the [[Martyrs' Cemetery]].