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The First Battle of Fallujah, also known as Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an operation to root out extremist elements of Fallujah and an act of retaliation to, as well as an attempt to apprehend the perpetrators of, the killing of four U.S. contractors in April 2004. The chief catalyst for the operation was the highly publicized killing and mutilation of four Blackwater USA private military contractors,〔Operation Vigilant Resolve, GlobalSecurity.org.〕 and the killings of five American soldiers in Habbaniyah a few days earlier.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Official Website for Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton – The Scout Newspaper )〕 The battle polarized public opinion within Iraq.〔Christian Science Monitor, (Siege of Fallujah polarizing Iraqis ), 15 April 2004〕 ==Background== (詳細はSaddam Hussein, and many residents were employed as military and intelligence officers by his administration. However, there was little sympathy for him following the collapse of his government, which many residents considered oppressive.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Violent Response: )〕 The city was one of the most religious and culturally traditional areas in Iraq. Following the collapse of the Ba'ath infrastructure in early 2003, local residents had elected a town council led by Taha Bidaywi Hamed, who kept the city from falling into the control of looters and common criminals. The town council and Hamed were both considered to be nominally pro-American, and their election originally meant that the United States had decided that the city was unlikely to become a hotbed of activity, and didn't require any immediate troop presence. This led to the United States committing few troops to Fallujah from the start. Although Fallujah had seen sporadic air strikes by American forces, public opposition was not galvanized until 700 members of the 82nd Airborne Division first entered the city on 23 April 2003, and approximately 150 members of Charlie Company occupied ''al-Qa'id'' primary. On 28 April, a crowd of approximately 200 people gathered outside the school past curfew, demanding that the Americans vacate the building and allow it to re-open as a school. The protesters became increasingly heated, and the deployment of smoke gas canisters failed to disperse the crowd.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Violent Response: )〕 The protest escalated as gunmen reportedly fired upon U.S. forces from the protesting crowd and U.S. Army soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division returned fire, killing 17 people and wounding more than 70 of the protesters. There were no U.S. Army or coalition casualties in the incident. U.S. forces said that the shooting took place over 30–60 seconds, however other sources claim the shooting continued for half an hour. Two days later, a protest at the former Ba'ath party headquarters decrying the American shootings was also fired upon by U.S. forces, this time the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which resulted in three more deaths.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Violent Response: )〕 Following both incidents, coalition forces asserted that they had not fired upon the protesters until they were fired upon first. The 82nd Airborne soldiers were replaced by soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and 101st Airborne Division 2/502nd B.CO Renegades, and on 4 June,the Renegades came under attack after a presence patrol. The Renegades were hit with an RPG while mounting vehicles to take them back the base.The attack resulted in 6 injured soldiers and one KIA. PFC. Brandon Oberleitner was killed on impact as the RPG struck the lead vehicle he was sitting in. His death marked the only loss of life for B.Co for the deployment. Soon after this attack the 3rd Armoured Cavalry was forced to request an additional 1,500 troops to help quell the growing resistance faced in Fallujah and nearby al-Habaniyya. In June, American forces began confiscating motorcycles from local residents, claiming that they were being used in hit-and-run attacks on coalition forces.〔 〕 On 30 June, a large explosion occurred in a mosque in which the imam, Sheikh Laith Khalil and eight other people were killed. While the local population claimed that Americans had fired a missile at the mosque, U.S. forces claimed that it was an accidental detonation by insurgents constructing bombs. On 12 February 2004, insurgents attacked a convoy carrying General John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, and the 82nd Airborne's Major General Charles Swannack, firing on the vehicles from nearby rooftops with RPGs, after seemingly infiltrating the Iraqi security forces. Eleven days later, insurgents diverted Iraqi police to a false emergency on the outskirts of the city, before simultaneously attacking three police stations, the mayor's office and a civil defence base. At least 17 police officers were killed, and as many as 87 prisoners released.〔 During this time, the 82nd Airborne was conducting regular "lightning raids" inside the city, where Humvee convoys would destroy road barriers and curbs that could hide IEDs, and oversee searches of homes and schools, which frequently saw property damage, and led to shoot-outs with local residents. In March 2004, Swannack transferred authority of the Al-Anbar province to the I Marine Expeditionary Force commanded by Lt. General Conway. By early March 2004, the city began to fall under the increasing influence of guerrilla factions. The rising violence against the American presence resulted in the complete withdrawal of troops from the city, with only occasional incursions trying to gain and reinforce a "foothold in the city" being attempted. This was coupled with one or two patrols around the outer limits of FOB Volturno, the former site of Qusay and Uday Hussein's palace.〔Mortenson, Darrin. North Carolina Times, 2 April 2004. ''Marines make a home near Fallujah''〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「First Battle of Fallujah」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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