Coalition forces conduct a 12-hour air bombardment focusing on the city’s south and southeast to mislead the insurgents about the direction of the attack.
After the airstrike, U.S. troops follow with artillery or mortars. Next, combined arms teams of armor, infantry, and engineers work together to advance across the city. Insurgents realize the U.S. has more firepower, so they fight from inside buildings using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and IEDs.
