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Battle of Mosul (2004)
Encyclopedia
The Battle for Mosul was a battle fought during the Iraq War in 2004 for the capital of the Ninawa Governorate
in northern Iraq
that occurred concurrently to fighting in Fallujah
.
in 2003, a 21,000-strong force under General
David Petraeus
, the U.S. forces made a civil peace with the local Sunni
tribes. However, after its pullout, the CIA allied itself almost exclusively with the Kurds
, and the U.S. had been seen as essentially another tribal ally of the Kurds, making conflict inevitable. While one battalion of the 25th Infantry Division were heading out of Mosul to Fallujah to help in the attack on the city, insurgents were, ironically, coming in to the city from Fallujah where they were joined by foreign fighters from across the border. Attacks on coalition forces in the city intensified and the insurgents were planning on trying to take the city when the attack on Fallujah began.
vehicles were rendered useless as RPGs and machine gun fire had taken out their weapon systems. Kiowa Warrior
attack helicopters had also taken out several technical vehicles
that day.
On November 9, 2004, an Army Major and an Air Force Master Sergeant died as a result of an RPG attack and mortar attack on Forward Operating Base Courage in Mosul.
On November 10, 2004, hundreds of insurgents flooded the streets of the city. They started attacking Iraqi security forces and by the next day had taken the initiative. On November 11, the insurgents had captured one police station and destroyed two more. They broke into the stations' armories and distributed the weapons and flak jacket
s they could find. The Iraqi police force was overrun in a matter of hours, scattering and deserting from the street fighting. Security in the city almost completely broke down. Once again, the soldiers from Deuce Four on the west side of the city and the Gimlets on the east side of the city took the fight to the enemy. Notably, this time Bravo Co., Deuce-Four was set up to the west of the Yarmuk traffic circle as Alpha Co. and other elements from Deuce Four to the east, pushed west. The hammer against the anvil plan worked and once again the units were involved in intense urban combat. Jets flew overhead dropping JDAM bombs while the infantrymen below fought house to house
and held their ground against insurgent assaults and mortar attacks. Spec. Thomas K. Doerflinger from Bravo Co. 1-24th was among the casualties that day when he was shot in the head and killed by a sniper as he provided covering fire for his fellow soldiers. He was awarded the Bronze Star posthumously.
Before the end of the night, insurgent forces had managed to take one of the five bridges over the Tigris river before the Americans took control of the other four. Further insurgent reinforcements arrived at the city on November 12 in technicals
and other vehicles. Nine more police stations were attacked – one was destroyed and the others were taken. The headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party was also attacked and burned to the ground. The insurgents proceeded then to the party buildings of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
. Alarmed by the attacks, the Peshmerga
installed a heavy machinegun on the roof and 12 peshmerga fought off dozens, if not hundreds of insurgents, until 600 other Peshmerga reached the scene and managed to deny insurgents control over the Kurdish populated east side of Mosul. Nevertheless the insurgents managed to control the whole western Arab part of the City.
The Peshmerga sent another 2000 fighters into Mosul in response to a request by the Iraqi Defense Ministry in an effort to stop the insurgent advance. The United States Air Force began a bombing campaign on rebel positions in the city which continued into the next day. One of the targets hit was a cemetery.
By November 13, the insurgents had assumed control of two-thirds of the city. They began to hunt down members of the new Iraqi security forces and publicly execute them, usually by beheading. 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. 25th Infantry Division was diverted from the attack on Fallujah to help in retaking the city. Also, 300 members of the Iraqi National Guard from the Syria
n border, an Iraqi special forces battalion from Baghdad and a number of Kurdish Peshmerga
fighters were called in to assist. All established U.S. Forward Operating Bases in Mosul held. Two more police stations were taken by the insurgents on November 14, though their forces withdrew from one, and the Ninewah Provincial Governor's house was burned down. However, thanks to Colonel James H. Coffman
and the Iraqi Special Police Commandos, the police station known as Four West was spared. For his actions that day, Colonel Coffman was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
At approximately 1030 hours on November 14, Colonel Coffman moved with a Commando Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to reinforce a Commando platoon under attack at the Four West Police Station in Mosul. As the QRF neared the besieged platoon, it came under intense rocket-propelled grenade, mortar, machinegun, and AK-47 fire by a large insurgent force. Over the next four hours, the enemy repeatedly assaulted the Commandos' position, at times culminating their attacks twenty meters from Colonel Coffman's location. With all but one of the commando officers killed or seriously wounded by the initial enemy fire, Colonel Coffman exhibited truly inspirational leadership, rallying the Commandos and organizing a hasty defense while attempting to radio higher headquarters for reinforcements. Under heavy fire, he moved from Commando to Commando, issuing them orders with hand signals. At one point, an enemy round shattered Colonel Coffman's shooting hand and rendered his M4 rifle inoperable.
After bandaging his hand, Colonel Coffman picked up AK-47s from Commando casualties and fired them with his other hand until each ran out of ammunition. With the assistance of the one remaining Commando officer, Colonel Coffman redistributed ammunition among the uninjured commandos until he had only loose ammunition. Four hours after the start of the battle, a second Commando element arrived and Colonel Coffman guided them to his position. Shortly thereafter, attack helicopters also arrived, followed closely by a Stryker Brigade QRF, and Colonel Coffman used Iraqi radios to direct air strikes. After supervising the evacuation of several dozen wounded Commandos, Colonel Coffman led a squad-sized element to the Four West Iraqi Police Station, fifty meters ahead of the Strykers, to make contact with the Commandos still in the station. After they linked up, the Strykers moved forward, and attack helicopters engaged the buildings occupied by the enemy, following which Colonel Coffman returned to his original position where he was evacuated with the rest of the Iraqi commando casualties. During the fierce four-hour battle, twelve Commandos were killed and 42 were wounded. Twenty-five enemy were killed and many dozens more were wounded.
Two days later, on November 16, U.S. forces managed to break through across the insurgent-controlled bridge, and went on to take back the northern, eastern and southern part of the city. The Americans reported that they met little resistance, though three of the ten police stations were burned down by withdrawing insurgent forces. By late in the evening the city was partly secured by the 25th Infantry. The city, nor any part of the city was ever in insurgent hands - most of this story has run a bit ahead of common sense and good memory.
The insurgents managed to make a safe haven out of the western part of the city from where they continued to conduct hit and run
attacks over the coming months. One of the more notable attacks came just a month after the fighting ceased, when a suicide bomber dressed like an Iraqi soldier managed to get in to the mess tent on an American base called Forward Operating Base Marez, and detonated himself – killing 22 people, including 14 American soldiers. The insurgent group known as Jaish Ansar al-Sunna
claimed responsibility for the attack. The battle resulted in the city complement of security forces deserting leaving the area insecure. The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) was on their own in the city until they were able to build up the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Military presence once again.
Ninawa Governorate
Ninawa is a governorate in northern Iraq, and the Arabic name for the biblical city of Nineveh in Assyria. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people in 2003. Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient...
in northern Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
that occurred concurrently to fighting in Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
.
Prelude
During the occupation by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
in 2003, a 21,000-strong force under General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
, the U.S. forces made a civil peace with the local Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
tribes. However, after its pullout, the CIA allied itself almost exclusively with the Kurds
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
, and the U.S. had been seen as essentially another tribal ally of the Kurds, making conflict inevitable. While one battalion of the 25th Infantry Division were heading out of Mosul to Fallujah to help in the attack on the city, insurgents were, ironically, coming in to the city from Fallujah where they were joined by foreign fighters from across the border. Attacks on coalition forces in the city intensified and the insurgents were planning on trying to take the city when the attack on Fallujah began.
Battle
By November 8, 2004, insurgents were conducting coordinated attacks and ambushes in an attempt to take over the city. That same day, units from the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, known as "Deuce Four", fought with the insurgents in the vicinity of the Yarmuk traffic circle, in the heart of western Mosul. The battle lasted throughout the day and the insurgents proved to be both determined and coordinated. The 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, known as "Gimlets" to the north was hammered with mortars while insurgents attacked from the west, east, and south with small arms fire, RPGs, and machine gun fire. As a testament to the intensity of combat that day, a 30 man Platoon (2nd PLT) from Bravo Co. 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment sustained 9 casualties and 2 out of their 4 StrykerStryker
The IAV Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled, 4-wheel-drive , armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III and produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, in use by the United States Army. The vehicle is named for two American servicemen who posthumously received the Medal of Honor:...
vehicles were rendered useless as RPGs and machine gun fire had taken out their weapon systems. Kiowa Warrior
OH-58 Kiowa
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. Bell Helicopter manufactured the OH-58 for the United States Army based on the 206A JetRanger helicopter. The OH-58 has been in continuous use by the U.S...
attack helicopters had also taken out several technical vehicles
Technical (fighting vehicle)
A technical is a type of improvised fighting vehicle, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to provide an offensive capability similar to a military gun truck...
that day.
On November 9, 2004, an Army Major and an Air Force Master Sergeant died as a result of an RPG attack and mortar attack on Forward Operating Base Courage in Mosul.
On November 10, 2004, hundreds of insurgents flooded the streets of the city. They started attacking Iraqi security forces and by the next day had taken the initiative. On November 11, the insurgents had captured one police station and destroyed two more. They broke into the stations' armories and distributed the weapons and flak jacket
Flak jacket
thumb|300px|The two components of an obsolete British military flak vest. On the left, the nylon vest. On the right, the several layers of [[ballistic nylon]] that provide the actual protection...
s they could find. The Iraqi police force was overrun in a matter of hours, scattering and deserting from the street fighting. Security in the city almost completely broke down. Once again, the soldiers from Deuce Four on the west side of the city and the Gimlets on the east side of the city took the fight to the enemy. Notably, this time Bravo Co., Deuce-Four was set up to the west of the Yarmuk traffic circle as Alpha Co. and other elements from Deuce Four to the east, pushed west. The hammer against the anvil plan worked and once again the units were involved in intense urban combat. Jets flew overhead dropping JDAM bombs while the infantrymen below fought house to house
Close quarters battle
Close quarters combat or close quarters battle is a type of fighting in which small units engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range, potentially to the point of hand-to-hand combat or fighting with hand weapons such as swords or knives...
and held their ground against insurgent assaults and mortar attacks. Spec. Thomas K. Doerflinger from Bravo Co. 1-24th was among the casualties that day when he was shot in the head and killed by a sniper as he provided covering fire for his fellow soldiers. He was awarded the Bronze Star posthumously.
Technical (fighting vehicle)
A technical is a type of improvised fighting vehicle, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to provide an offensive capability similar to a military gun truck...
and other vehicles. Nine more police stations were attacked – one was destroyed and the others were taken. The headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party was also attacked and burned to the ground. The insurgents proceeded then to the party buildings of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded on June 1, 1975, by coordinations between Jalal Talabani and Nawshirwan Mustafa...
. Alarmed by the attacks, the Peshmerga
Peshmerga
Peshmerga or Peshmerge is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been in existence since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman...
installed a heavy machinegun on the roof and 12 peshmerga fought off dozens, if not hundreds of insurgents, until 600 other Peshmerga reached the scene and managed to deny insurgents control over the Kurdish populated east side of Mosul. Nevertheless the insurgents managed to control the whole western Arab part of the City.
The Peshmerga sent another 2000 fighters into Mosul in response to a request by the Iraqi Defense Ministry in an effort to stop the insurgent advance. The United States Air Force began a bombing campaign on rebel positions in the city which continued into the next day. One of the targets hit was a cemetery.
By November 13, the insurgents had assumed control of two-thirds of the city. They began to hunt down members of the new Iraqi security forces and publicly execute them, usually by beheading. 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. 25th Infantry Division was diverted from the attack on Fallujah to help in retaking the city. Also, 300 members of the Iraqi National Guard from the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n border, an Iraqi special forces battalion from Baghdad and a number of Kurdish Peshmerga
Peshmerga
Peshmerga or Peshmerge is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been in existence since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman...
fighters were called in to assist. All established U.S. Forward Operating Bases in Mosul held. Two more police stations were taken by the insurgents on November 14, though their forces withdrew from one, and the Ninewah Provincial Governor's house was burned down. However, thanks to Colonel James H. Coffman
James H. Coffman, Jr.
Colonel James Henry Coffman, Jr., USA is an American Army officer who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.He is a 1978 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.His citation for the Distinguished Service Cross reads as follows:...
and the Iraqi Special Police Commandos, the police station known as Four West was spared. For his actions that day, Colonel Coffman was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
At approximately 1030 hours on November 14, Colonel Coffman moved with a Commando Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to reinforce a Commando platoon under attack at the Four West Police Station in Mosul. As the QRF neared the besieged platoon, it came under intense rocket-propelled grenade, mortar, machinegun, and AK-47 fire by a large insurgent force. Over the next four hours, the enemy repeatedly assaulted the Commandos' position, at times culminating their attacks twenty meters from Colonel Coffman's location. With all but one of the commando officers killed or seriously wounded by the initial enemy fire, Colonel Coffman exhibited truly inspirational leadership, rallying the Commandos and organizing a hasty defense while attempting to radio higher headquarters for reinforcements. Under heavy fire, he moved from Commando to Commando, issuing them orders with hand signals. At one point, an enemy round shattered Colonel Coffman's shooting hand and rendered his M4 rifle inoperable.
Two days later, on November 16, U.S. forces managed to break through across the insurgent-controlled bridge, and went on to take back the northern, eastern and southern part of the city. The Americans reported that they met little resistance, though three of the ten police stations were burned down by withdrawing insurgent forces. By late in the evening the city was partly secured by the 25th Infantry. The city, nor any part of the city was ever in insurgent hands - most of this story has run a bit ahead of common sense and good memory.
Aftermath
Over the next three weeks, 76 bodies of executed Iraqi soldiers were found throughout the city. 122 people were killed during the street fighting; 4 U.S. soldiers, 31 members of the Iraqi security forces, 9 Kurdish peshmerga fighters, at least 71 insurgents, five civilians, one British security contractor, and one Turkish truck driver. With that the final death toll of the insurgent uprising in Mosul is an estimated 198 killed. However, other estimates are much higher and other sources say many more insurgents and civilians were killed in the battle. Actual casualty figures remain unknown.Hit-and-run tactics
Hit-and-run tactics is a tactical doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory, but to inflict damage on a target and immediately exit the area to avoid the enemy's defense and/or retaliation.-History:...
attacks over the coming months. One of the more notable attacks came just a month after the fighting ceased, when a suicide bomber dressed like an Iraqi soldier managed to get in to the mess tent on an American base called Forward Operating Base Marez, and detonated himself – killing 22 people, including 14 American soldiers. The insurgent group known as Jaish Ansar al-Sunna
Jaish Ansar al-Sunna
Ansar al-Sunnah or Jamaat Ansar al-Sunnah or Group of the Followers of Sunnah , is a terrorist salafi group in Iraq that is fighting the U.S.-led occupation and the elected government led by Nouri al-Maliki. The group is based in northern and central Iraq, and includes mostly Iraqi fighters...
claimed responsibility for the attack. The battle resulted in the city complement of security forces deserting leaving the area insecure. The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) was on their own in the city until they were able to build up the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Military presence once again.