During Operation Iraqi Freedom a coalition of American and Iraqi forces conducted two operations with the goal of seizing the city of Fallujah from an inferior rebel force that were defending the city. The first operation was unsuccessful, while the other operation succeeded. The bulk of the coalition force consisted of units from the American Marine Corps which has explicitly adopted maneuver warfare in its doctrine since 1989.
The purpose of the study was to identify the central principles within maneuver warfare and test if these principles were applicable as explanations to the difference in outcome of the two operations.
The result shows that maneuver warfare consists of a large amount of principles tied to numerous theories within maneuver warfare. Three of these principles can be identified as central according to modern theories. The use of these central principles contributes to successful modern operations with ground forces and can explain the outcome of the two operations in Fallujah in part.