In late March 2008, a Shi'a uprising in Baghdad's Sadr City district challenged the authority of the Government of Iraq (GoI) at its heart. The Jaish al Mahdi (JAM) overran GoI outposts in the district and barraged the International Zone with short-range rockets. The eruption of violence threatened to draw U.S. forces into a battle in a closely packed urban area inhabited by an estimated 2.4 million people, many of whom strongly supported the GoI's main antagonist, Moqtada al-Sadr. U.S. casualties and collateral damage could have been substantial. Instead, through innovative tactics combining high-technology airborne surveillance and strike, elements of siege warfare and vigorous exploitation through civil military operations, coalition forces managed to subdue the uprising with minimum loss to U.S. forces and the civilian population. Success in this battle solidified Iraqi government control over all of Baghdad and throughout Iraq, creating conditions that enabled the United States to realize contemporary operational objectives in Iraq. The authors present the first full operational analysis of the battle and distill insights and lessons that can inform a broader understanding of urban operations, particularly those conducted as part of irregular warfare. This new paradigm can help the Army focus on what capabilities it will need in the future for such operations.

"Prepared for the United States Army"--T.p.

Introduction. Background to the study -- Methodology -- Monograph organization / Setting conditions for the 2008 battle. The surge and the Baghdad Security Plan -- Regaining control of Baghdad and isolating Sadr City -- Summary and conclusion / Conditions on the eve of the Battle of Sadr City. Political and strategic context -- Physical and human terrain -- The combatants -- A change in context -- Summary and conclusions / The battle begins. JAM's initial onslaught -- Stopping JAM -- Seizing the initiative: Operation Striker Denial -- Summary and conclusions / Defeating JAM: Operation Gold Wall. The decision to build a wall -- Going after JAM leaders: the MND-B "deep fight" -- Summary and conclusions / Exploiting the success of battle. The two components of exploitation -- Summary and conclusions / Assessing the outcome of the battle. Sadr City in the aftermath of the 2008 battle -- Why coalition forces prevailed -- Summary and conclusions/ Reimagining urban combat. Key insights from the fight -- Reimagining urban operations as wide-area security missions -- Final thoughts / Appendix: analysis of contemporary Arabic language sources on the Battle of Sadr City.