3rd Infantry Division Operations - Fort Stewart - U.S. Army

The Surge 63
As fall came, the enemy was degraded by attrition. In successive
coalition operations on the ground and from the sky,
insurgents lost key leaders, men with special skills and training,
finances, and safe houses. The number of attacks on coalition
forces had dropped and there were corresponding gains in the
capability of ISF.
October brought the return of 1-10 Field Artillery, fresh from
its duties in the south at Bucca where it had supported the Theater
(detainee) Internment Facility. 1-10 FA would be needed
right away.
1-10 FA Strike the Anvil
Narhwan, a city of nearly 120 thousand mostly Shia, lay in
the desert east of Baghdad. It was known as a transit point for
trafficking weapons and other "accelerants" to Baghdad. Shia
militias were in control and they were using the city to launch
attacks. Essential infrastructure was in desperate need of repair
and unemployment was rampant. The time had come to clear
extremists from the city.
On October. 15th, a B1 bomber dropped four precision
guided 2,000 lb bombs destroying the Diyala River bridge
used by insurgents to smuggle munitions into Baghdad. This
strike signaled the start of Operation Marne Anvil. The 3HBCT
served as the division's main effort and 1-10 FA was in the lead.
It conducted operations in order to deny Shia extremists a sanctuary
from which to stage attacks into Baghdad. Marne Anvil
demonstrated the CF’s resolve to target extremists and criminals
and simultaneously encourage the expansion of local security
initiatives.
During Anvil, the 3rd CAB conducted daily reconnaissance
operations and denied the enemy the use of terrain by using at-