Battle of Ramadi ( 2004 ) The Battle of Ramadi was fought in the spring of 2004 , during the same time as the First Battle of Fallujah . In April 2004 , Fallujah was under siege by Coalition Forces and insurgents were looking to relieve pressure on the city by attempting an offensive of their own . Ramadi , the capital of Al Anbar province , was seen as a center of gravity to coalition forces , and thus a prime target to attack . Before the battle started , insurgents cut off the highway out of Al Anbar to Baghdad . 2nd Battalion 4th Marines , 1st Marine Division . February 2004 , the 2nd Battalion 4th Marines was tasked with stability operations in the Al Anbar capital city of Ar Ramadi , Iraq . The 2nd Battalion 4th Marines fall under the 1st Marine Division home based in Camp Pendleton , California . Under command of Lt . Col . Kennedy and Sgt . Maj . Booker , the 2nd Battalion 4th Marines conducted missions know as “ IO ’ s ” ( Information Operations ) prior to the events of April 6 , 2004 . The primary role of the Marines in these mission swas to “ win the hearts and minds ” of the locals . While the Marines were acting as policemen , ambassadors , and peacekeepers , they were still able to conduct full scale combat operations in the city , if necessary . Before April 6 , the Marines had seen very little combat , mainly improvised explosive device ( IED ) attacks and small scale ambushes . They had only a few casualties , including one Marine who lost his jaw in an IED attack . On the morning of April 6 , the attack by the Iraqi insurgents was initiated by an ambush on a squad from Golf Company ’ s 3rd platoon . The ambush took place south of main supply route , Route Michigan , and east of Easy Street in downtown Ar Ramadi . The ambush killed three Marines within minutes and wounded almost all the rest of the squad . The squad called for the QRF ( Quick Reaction Force ) to come to their aid . At this time most of the U . S . Forces were engaged in Operation Vigilant Resolve in Fallujah , so the Marines had no access to air power or artillery , so he only available support was Marine Infantry and a small Army unit that remained on the outskirts of the city . Marines from Golf Company ’ s 1st platoon , commanded by Lt . Donovan Campbell , responded to the aid of the cut off squad . The number of enemy forces was unclear as 1st platoon left friendly lines , but it was soon discovered to be larger than anyone expected . 1st Platoon encountered enemy forces just west of Easy Street , who had established hardened fighting positions in anticipation of the reinforcements . After a brief but intense fight with insurgents , the Marines were able to break through and kill several insurgents and link up with the cut off squad . At the same time , Golf Company had been called to rescue one of its cut off squads ; Echo Company had come under intense fire in their observation post west of the Combat Outpost . Echo Company responded to the west , which was more rural than the urban , built up area where Golf Company was fighting . Echo Company encountered nearly the same number of insurgents to the west of the Combat Outpost as Golf did to the east . At this point , Lt . Col . Kennedy called out all 2nd Battalion 4th Marines to the city to push out the insurgents . Almost all 2nd Battalion 4th Marines were in the fight ; even cooks were put on post so all the Infantry could be pulled to fight . The fighting lasted until darkness fell , when the insurgents were severely outgunned by the Americans ' night vision capabilities . For the next four days , the insurgents would only fight in daylight hours in an effort to avoid giving the Marines the advantage of using night vision devices . After four days of intense fighting in the city , the insurgents were pushed out or killed . This was one of the few major fights that took place in 2004 , in which Marines had only their rifles and no air support or indirect fire support to push out the insurgents . While the Army had armor on the outskirts , their participation was minimal . Aftermath . Marines killed an estimated 1500 - 2000 rebels from April 6 to April 10 in fighting that shattered the insurgent offensive . Thirteen Marines were killed and 25 were wounded in the battle on April 6 . Another four were killed over the next four days . Lance Cpl . Deshon Otey , the sole survivor of the relief convoy ' s lead vehicle , was killed six weeks later . Another veteran of the fight , Sgt . Kenneth Conde , was killed in a roadside bomb blast three months later . A week after the battle the insurgents struck again ; this time a force of 300 fighters attacked Marine positions in the town of Husaybah , on the Syrian border . External links . Zoroya , Gregg . “ Fight for Ramadi exacts heavy toll on Marines . ” " USA Today " . 12 July 2004 . URL : http : / / www . usatoday . com / news / world / iraq / 2004 - 07 - 12 - ramadi _ x . htm . Accessed : 2009 - 10 - 09 ( archived by WebCite at http : / / www . webcitation . org / 5kPS9x7tW ) .