First Battle of Fallujah

First Battle of Fallujah
	Part of the Iraq War and the war on terror
	; A U.S. Marine from the 1st Marine Division mans an M240G machine gun outside the Fallujah city limits in April 2004.
Date	4 April – 1 May 2004; (3 weeks and 6 days)
Location	Fallujah, Iraq
Result	Insurgent victory
Belligerents
United States	Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad ; Islamic Army in Iraq ; Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
Commanders and leaders
James T. Conway; James Mattis; John A. Toolan	Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; Abu Ayyub al-Masri
Units involved
I Marine Expeditionary Force; 82nd Airborne Division; 101st Airborne Division; 3rd Cavalry Regiment; 10th Mountain Division; 1st Infantry Division; 5th Special Forces Group; Delta Force; Blackwater USA	Islamic Army in Iraq; Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
Strength
10,000+	3,600
Casualties and losses
27+ killed	184–228 killed (Iraq Body Count)
	572–616 civilians killed (Iraq Body Count)

The First Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an American-led operation of the Iraq War against militants in Fallujah as well as an attempt to apprehend or kill the perpetrators of the killing of four U.S. contractors in March 2004.

The chief catalyst for the operation was the highly publicized killing and mutilation of four Blackwater USA private military contractors, and the killings of five American soldiers in Habbaniyah a few days earlier.

The battle, and especially the images of Iraqi civilians killed or injured in the fighting, caused many Iraqis to become resentful of the US presence. Western journalists found that even some Iraqis who previously supported the US invasion, and welcomed American state-building efforts, became increasingly alienated and skeptical of such promises.