2003 – 2011
A United States-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003 without a new Security Council authorization, after intelligence claims about active Iraqi weapons programs that were not borne out. Saddam Hussein’s government fell quickly, but occupation policy, state collapse, insurgencies, foreign jihadists, sectarian violence, coalition and Iraqi government operations, and militia politics produced a prolonged war. The 2011 U.S. withdrawal did not end Iraqi violence; casualty totals vary sharply by method and scope.
Chapter-by-chapter narrative with maps, primary sources, and key events.
Explore battles on a live map with a timeline slider and territory overlays.
Deep-dive into every major engagement — commanders, casualties, significance.
Biographical flip cards with real portraits, facts, and full biography pages.
Trace each figure's full life journey — birth, education, battles, and death — on a live map.
Scroll-driven visualization of casualties — each dot a thousand lives.
Weapons, war machines, and the military innovations that defined how this conflict was fought.
Cause-and-effect chains tracing the war's long shadow on history.
War crimes, massacres, and the darkest chapters of this conflict — documented for history.
A United States-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003 without a new Security Council authorization, after intelligence claims about active Iraqi weapons programs that were not borne out. Saddam Hussein’s government fell quickly, but occupation policy, state collapse, insurgencies, foreign jihadists, sectarian violence, coalition and Iraqi government operations, and militia politics produced a prolonged war. The 2011 U.S. withdrawal did not end Iraqi violence; casualty totals vary sharply by method and scope.
Iraq War was fought from 2003 to 2011.
Iraq War was fought between US-led Coalition and Iraq / Insurgency / AQI.
An estimated 255,000 people died in Iraq War, including roughly 70,000 military and 185,000 civilian deaths. Figures are scholarly estimates and vary by source.
Major engagements included Fall of Baghdad, Battle of Ramadi, Second Battle of Fallujah, and Siege of Sadr City.