The 2008 Battle of Sadr City: Reimagining Urban Combat by David E. Johnson M. Wade Markel Brian Shannon

Author:David E. Johnson, M. Wade Markel, Brian Shannon [Johnson, David E.; Markel, M. Wade; Shannon, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8330-8419-4
Publisher: RAND Corporation
Published: 2013-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Augmented U.S. Forces Seize Launch Sites South of Route Gold

3-4 BCT reoriented, concentrating 1-2 SCR on Ishbiliyah and sending TF 1-68 CAB into Ur and Habbibiyah. To enable TF 1-68 CAB to increase the area of operations for which it was responsible, Colonel Hort augmented the task force with Team C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment; A Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment (Stryker); and C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, all provided to Hort by MND-B.47 By now, all armored and mechanized units were operating in tanks like those depicted in Figure 4.13.

At this point in the battle Moqtada al-Sadr issued a call for JAM to cease fighting and cooperate with government security efforts. Intelligence analyses, however, warned U.S. units to expect continued combat by JAM elements who disapproved of the cease-fire.48 From the subsequent fighting’s intensity, it is not clear whether al-Sadr issued his proclamation for effect or for show. Fighting in Shaab and other outlying areas did, however, decline dramatically. Al-Sadr’s cease-fire may have reflected an assessment that the uprising had failed to achieve its strategic objectives and that it was time to cut his losses.

If so, continued fighting indicates that his interests and those of his nominal subordinates in Sadr City had begun to diverge. Local commanders told Western reporters that the cease-fire placed them in a bind. A low-level JAM commander told Reuters that

Figure 4.13

Abrams Tanks During the Battle of Sadr City

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