New Dawn: The Battles for Fallujah by Richard S Lowry

Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, Iraq, 2004 was a pivotal point in the War in Iraq.  Many great books have been written about the battles of Fallujah, including House to House by David Bellavia, On Call in Hell by Richard Jadick, and Shadow of the Sword by Jeremiah Workman.  Many Heroes were proven on the streets of Fallujah.

Wars are not won solely on the firefights of squads, nor the decisions of Generals, but on the whole of the Military, across many ranks, based on the situation on the ground.  What sets this book apart is the meticulous detail of a brilliant historian in sewing these stories together.  He includes Bellavia, Jadick, Rubio, and the Generals & Colonels in the story of the Battle of Fallujah.  Lowry recognizes and states how the media role impacted the battlefield and the plans. 

He gets into the minds of Squad Leaders, Medics, Platoon Leaders, Commanders, and Generals showing us what they were thinking as shells and bullets exploded around them, as they tricked the enemy into expecting an attack from the opposite direction, as they planned and executed the battle. 

This battle may have been the major if not the only major battle against an entrenched Al-Qaeda enemy.  With a detailed look at the tactics that worked for varied commanders in a combined arms campaign against terrorists, it should be required reading for every level of leader from Squad Leader to General.  It should be combined with other books on the battle to give greater details of specific levels and specialities, but it is written in the style of Keegan's "Faces of Battle," the modern historical standard.  It supports rather than replaces the previous works on Fallujah.

And "New Dawn" was the name given the battle by the Iraqi Government.  It is based on a Koranic Verse about Muslims regaining their righteousness, after a period of sinfulness.  That too is explained in the book.

 

Other Books by this author: