Operation Marne Torch

Part of the Iraq War (Operation Phantom Thunder)

Soldiers from 1-30 Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, storm one of the thousands of structures that was cleared during Operation Marne Torch.

Date	16 June 2007 – 14 August 2007 (Marne Torch 1) 15 September 2007 – 14 October 2007 (Marne Torch II)
Location	Babil Province, Iraq
Result	U.S. military raids successful; Disruption of insurgent supply lines; Holding operations delayed

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

General Rick Lynch (Task Force Marne)

Colonel Terry Ferrell (2-3BCT)

Colonel Wayne W. Grigsby Jr. (3-3HBCT)

Strength

3000 (2000 Coalition, 1000 Iraqi)

Unknown

Casualties and losses

13 killed (U.S.),
3 killed (Iraqi security forces),
1 OH-58 Kiowa shot down

88 killed, 278 detained

Operation Marne Torch refers to two operations launched by Coalition forces in 2007 against al-Qaeda in Iraq in the Arab Jabour area of Babil province. This campaign is named after Operation Torch, the joint US/British invasion of French North Africa in 1942, presumably because of the two operations' similar thrust in to the enemies southern underbelly.

The first operation, Marne Torch I began on 16 June 2007, when Multinational Division Central launched offensive operations against Sunni and Shi'ia extremists, as well as insurgents with Iranian influence in the city and surrounding regions of Arab Jabour in Babil province. The action was intended to clear terrorist sanctuaries southeast of Baghdad as well as reduce the flow of accelerants into that city by both combat and civil-military operations. 2000 coalition and 1000 Iraqi army soldiers disrupted insurgent operations by capturing, seizing, and clearing caches that support instability in the area.

Marne Torch II was launched on 15 September 2007 in the Hawr Rajab area. Supported by a newly created Sons Of Iraq group from Arab Jabour, Coalition forces continued their push along the west bank of the Tigris river, killing or capturing 250 insurgents, destroying 12 boats being used by the insurgents to funnel weapons into Baghdad, and uncovering 40 weapons caches, often with tips from the Sons of Iraq.

The 2nd BCT of the 3rd infantry division was the 20th and last of the "Surge" brigades to arrive in Iraq. Their mission was to clear and hold the Arab Jabour area to the south-east of Baghdad, through which insurgents had been supplying forces in Baghdad. Coalition forces adopted a new counter insurgency strategy of moving out of forward operating bases and living with the population, to provide security and gain more useful intelligence.

As part of the much-vaunted "troop surge" in the summer of 2007, MND-C initiated Operation Marne Torch I on 15 June 2007. Consisting of both kinetic and non-kinetic operations, Marne Torch I was launched to establish a security presence on both sides of the Tigris River valley, an area that had not seen a large coalition presence and was under insurgent control. According to MND-C Commander Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch the operation sought specifically to "block accelerants of violence into Baghdad, secure the population and defeat sectarian violence." Lynch said "Accelerants are defined as anything -- insurgents, weapons, materiel, IEDs, VBIEDs, ideology, anything -- that, left uncontrolled, would affect the security in Baghdad." While being intelligence-driven, Marne Torch had three primary characteristics:

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