11:28 1er REP?

@@user-if9hg6xf2v well, you know algers isnt far from mali after all...

@@gabrielputz5851 :)

Really enjoy your content was wondering if you could do a rundown of the Danish Light Infantry. They were created after "lessons learned" in Afghanistan but are still pretty new in a Danish context and I feel in modern day people mainly talk about regular infantry, motor/mec or spec ops. Either way it's hard to find modern military channels that aren't super dry but your way of presenting stuff makes it easy to understand for a guy like me.

@@bernard8793 What is he even rambling about? lol. Please, get your whiny shit out of here. The guy made a purely tactical video about a military operation that ended 8 years ago. Because that's what his channel does. He's not a geopolitical analyst. Armed forces, their organization, weapons, tactics, historical battles... that's what we're about here. Now to address your comment: Indeed, the marriage deal is extremely odd and it is an interesting point to raise but your latter points just reeks of ideology. You know... the typical pseudo-anti-colonialist lad who spends his time spewing horseshit about something he is actually not much knowledgeable about.... "France has been meddling with Malian affairs for over 200 years"... Yeah, which is France had no involvement whatsoever in Mali until the very late 19th century and colonial rule over French Sudan was secured around 1905?! And Libya was certainly not embroiled in a civil war before the west got involved, right? France obviously started the Libyan Civil War. The Egyptian crisis was also France's fault and the Tunisian one too. The Maghreb was perfectly stable and nothing called the Arab Spring was occuring before Sarkozy saw an opportunity to have France militarily support the rebellion to cover his corruption. You even managed the good ol' bullshit about the FCFA as all ignorant dumbasses do. The FCFA is forced on French colonies? What happened to Guinea when it decided to leave it? Tell us. Having your currency tied to the French Franc, then later to the Euro... which were/are both among the most stable currencies in the world sure necessitated forcing them? Which is why countries that have never been French colonies such as Nigeria (the largest economy in the region and by far the most populous country in west Africa), Ghana, Cape Verde, Liberia, Gambia and Sierra Leone have chosen to be part of ECOWAS. Were they French colonies? Not British or Portuguese? Were they also forced by France? I am even surprised you stopped there with the claims. Where is the classic "eViL fRaNcE fOrCiNg AfRiCaN cOuNtRiEs tO pAy a CoLoNiAl TaX"? I am disappointed. Oh or may be that was you were hinting at with the FCFA?! Edit: Just noticed this now appears like strange rambling but I was replying to a certain Bernard below in the thread whose first comment was an entire dissertation full of horseshit and who has bravely deleted it since then.

Yeah, and even then, it was an insane compilation of bad luck, incompetence of the top, and miscommunication/bad doctrine technology... Like, the more I learned about what actually happened, the more I went "you cannot even make this shit up" (reality being stranger than fiction)

false

@@g3koot100 and ww1

the french got their asses whop'd by the vietnamese rice farmers who wanted their independence. After they got their asses whop'd so bad they called the americans to help them.

Are you taking the p*ss ?

So, detroit?

@@eldhaxan they are less heavily armed in Mali

@@Trubbl3 Battle Order was more focused on the operation itself and didn't go into more details in the introduction but those fuckers were blessed by the goldmine (or the mess in our case) we made out of Libya... most of their weapons are supplied from there. There was a documentary a few years ago about the origins of the Islamists groups and their networks, how they are supplied and the implications of some states (Qatar being the biggest culprit) in the whole process. I wouldn't call that "less heavily armed". Let me guess... you went with "Mali = Black Africa, Black Africa = poorer than poor, so Mali = more backward than primitive weaponry" hahahaha. The secessionist Tuareg community as a whole that rebelled against the Malian government was not that well-armed but they're not the ones the French actually mainly thought and are still fighting there. Their movement got hijacked by AQMI and its offshoots. AQMI is an Algerian faction. The likes of Droukdel and his buddies had a search warrant on them since the 1990s for their war crimes in the Algerian Civil War and involvement in the GSPC and GIA, before they were killed by the French. They weren't random secessionists or even Malians, but actual seasoned high-profile Islamists. The French didn't have much issues with the Tuaregs as a whole because they are secular and only had grievances with the government, which obviously was none of France problem as it didn't want to meddle in that aspect. Most Tuaregs obviously didn't belong to Islamist groups and weren't radicals. The actual extremists were a minority and their peers are from all over the Sahel and North Africa, they are not national groups. AQMI is mostly made up of Algerians, Morrocans and people from the Saharan communities (which include the some Tuaregs and Berabiche tribal clans of Mali for example).

@@Itachi951000 do not compare french logistics weaponry armour, vehicles and tech to solely infantry ak wielding fighters in mali, the french should have seized every inch of the enemy territory with their modern equipment but still managed to fail and allow the insurgency to recover gain power and support and overwhelm them

​@@Bellasrius You thought I was saying that AQIM was as well equipped as the French military? lmao. I was merely saying they were as well armed as the major Islamist groups in the middle-east the west has fought the last two decades. And that's exactly the whole point of counter-insurgency warfare, Einstein: lesser equipped guerillas being able to survive against superior professional militaries. When the war was still fairly conventional, France made easy work of the enemy. That was not unexpected. It wouldn't be considered a top military if it failed at doing that. The issue here is that the war turned into a huge mess when it became a counter-insurgency focused conflict from one end of Africa to the other. Operation Serval was solely in Mali, a country 3 to 4 times the size of mainland France. Its successor, Operation Barkhane, became even more ridiculous as it encompassed Mauritania, Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger and Chad. Take a look at their size on a map. The insurgency spreading is notably due to ISIS trying to expand in the Greater Sahara after their shortcomings in the middle-east and all these new offshoot groups that weren't there a decade ago seeing light, not just in the Sahel but as far as southern Africa as you know. For France, it became like trying to pacify Europe from Portugal to Moscow with 5,200 men (which is what France's peak strength during the entire thing was and why it started asking for more assistance from other European countries and the US). The UN mission (MINUSMA) is obviously not there for combat and to hunt down the Jihadist groups with the French and only has a presence in Mali. They are there to keep watch and protect the population/patrol. The EU mission is solely a training mission and the Task Force Takuba, based in Mali, was only recently created. It is only made up of a few hundreds special forces from France and some EU countries and didn't even get to be fully operational as we're all now leaving Mali. Tell us, strategic genius! How easy is it to win such wars? Give us an example of who has been winning them. I'm waiting. Winning asymetrical wars is impossible unless you level up the place for real and don't care about the population, and even when you care like right now, collateral damages still occasionally happen. France is there to fight AQIM, IS-GS and the affiliated groups, not to kill random Malians, Mauritanians or Chadians in the process.

Aka Virgin French Surrender memer vs Chad modern French military.

Real strategists study both.

@@vnolan633 very chad

I’ve always been so interested in troop movement in cities. Can you imagine the logistics involved to take a city like Kyiv, block by block?

@@joeyyc8515 You have to be very methodical basically; take a block, secure it, bring ammo and troops up and then move to the next block, then to the next neighborhood etc

I don't know where you are from but I am also grateful having you as an ally. Vive wherever you are from

Britain was out of WWII game up until 1944... geography saved them and the sacrifice of the French Army that allowed Dunkirk to be accomplished

"WW2 stained the French military's reputation". Everyone forgets that France _won_ WW2. Yes, they lost the battle of France (so did the UK), but that wasn't the end of the war.

@@TheMrcassina Britain hasn't got that great of a land army because it always used its control of the sea more It's an island, you cannot just swim there and hope to be effective in conquering it Were they not an island history would be much different

Ummm you do realise France isn't part of the NATO force. They left in the early 50s because they couldn't lead the military force instead of America. Funnily enough that's why Macron is a huge advocate for an EU combined military force. Amazing how people don't know this fact.

And yet people think we can cover this huge theater.

@@Klliansimabras GTIA 3 pulled a 5000 Km uninterrupted Thunder Run. They basically crossed the Atlantic Ocean! People make fun of our wheelies but you can't pull that off with tracked vehicles without stopping to change tracks every 500kms or so!

At this rate we should of just paid France to fight the Taliban.

@@risingmoon893 Lol no way.

@@Frencho9 Error in my comments. I wrote can't but i wanted to write can.

The French foreign legion.

@@centurymemes1208 Battle Order went out of its way to mention throughout the video nearly all the regiments deployed and how the French army operates and you still managed to miss it? How many times did you hear the words "Marine" or "RIMa" compared to "Foreign" here for example? And did you notice "Foreign" being mentioned anymore than "Chasseurs", "Hussars", "Engineer", "Artillery" or (regular) "Infantry" regiments? What he did is a welcomed surprise as those not too familiar with the French military borderline speak as if the Legion was all there was to it and that France wouldn't have one of the best trained, experienced and fully professional militaries around if it were to get rid of its tradition of having a specific corps of its land force opened to foreigners 😂. The French Foreign Legion is an integral part of the French army and also only represents a tiny part of it as clearly shown in the video. It isn't an independent corps regardless of symbolic pledges to honor history/tradition. Elements of the FFL regiments and elements drawn from the much more numerous standard French regiments are deployed together. The various units get mixed to form cohesive tactical groups. They all operate under the same high-command.... because again, it is the French Armed Forces, nothing more, nothing less. You'll be surprised to learn that the overwhelming majority of people serving in the French military are French (shocking, I know) and that ALL generals and officers are also French (yes, even those of the Legion). In other words... In case you still don't get it.... It is a French operation.... planned by the French. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Yeah they kick arse against third world peasants

@@wozza77able funny thing is third world peasants CAN actually kick first world and second world asses. Unless your living situation resembles that of third world conditions, you can't kick ass.

@@Itachi951000 no i wasn’t referring to this video or any comment i just mentioned french foreign legion cuz it sounds cool.

I remember when we flew to Mali we stopped in Stockholm and picked up Swedish soldiers as well but we diverged in Bamako, idk where they went but we went to Gao.

I don't think the Swedes were there for Operation Serval, were they? IIRC the 150 men Sweden sent to support France took part in the subsequent counter-insurgency operation (Barkhane).

French foreign legion going there? If not i might just buy a ticket to defend mali from the french

@@ASH12B Are you aware of how dumb you sound considering the video you're commenting on? Whether it is the Legion or the other French corps, you won't do shit lmao.

@@Itachi951000 they did the Swed had send around 200 man for operation Minusma

Absolument merci de le rappeler Absolutely thank you for reminding

Yeah well we have other things to do than spend our money on military operations thousands of kilometers away. For securing a cheap supply of uranium, why not, but if there's nothing for us, we'll just leave, fuck spending money we don't even have

Radical Islam rots everything it touches.

@@jeanladoire4141 Et encore. L'Uranium c'est au Niger , pas au Mali. C'était surtout pour éviter la contagion aux pays voisins. Et encore on est entrain de se retirer de l'Uranium au Niger justement.

@@jeanladoire4141 Oui mais on peut pas laisser un califat et un daesh 2.0 s'installer ça ne sera pas bon pour nous au final non plus

Well we lost one spec ops in this first assault... the copilote was taken out by a dushka

But it was necessary for French forces to determine the tempo of the conflict, by breaking the enemy advance and making them retreat the French dictated the pace of the conflict into the one they wanted. If the insurgents kept going it would have been more difficult on the French forces since they would not have been as able to stablish they C&C network and logistics, making the enemy retreat meant that it gave French forces breathing time to gather and get ready for offensive operations

The pilot of the first Gazelle that crashed was from my hometown, he didn't survive the crash unfortunately but he contributed greatly to the effort to push back the insurgents who committed atrocities everywhere they went. Sacrifices have to be made in these types of missions.

@@ilo3456 Absolutely necessary to intervene to blunt the rapid advance though it was still exceptionally risky to use Gazelles on an armed convoy ground attack though you always work with the assets you have in theatre. The incredible skill and daring of those pilots and crew ensured a successful mission.

This episode reminded me of the loss of I think two armed gazell helicopters on the day of the San Carlos landing in the 1982 Falklands war. After that incident the gazells present were no longer used in an armed escort role.

I was going to make this comment, but you beat me to it :)

NGL, that made me chuckle.

ww2 moment

Spotted the american.....

Actually the french pretty much created lightning warfare. Especially during the Napoleonic wars. They just fucked up during WW2 era but it doesn’t change the fact that they fought back and they came back to their mainland not even 4 years after the battle of France ( helped of course but still)

Of course they do: people are mostly stupid

What a fool

@@AaliyahNassirou-to9ww In what ?

@@13thdivision70 nice botting

Thanks for your positive imput ! This is becoming rare in the region. France in Africa has made mistakes in the past, and is not perfect, but has improved a lot i think. This operation was a miltary success, thanks also to the neigbors of Mali who also helped and paid with their soldiers lives in some cases. This was also a moral victory. France, an ally, was asked to intervene and did so without asking any favor in return. Of course it had interests in the region, (uranium mines in Niger) but so do all countries. I is sad to see how all have turned out. Ressentment against France, fuelled by the new regime, corruption, and Russia pulling the string in the shadow...

Western media only covers what is beneficial for them. France has a heavy neo-colonial presence in modern Africa. The only reason they got involved here is because they wanted to retain that economical grip on Mali. There was no reason for the media to cover it, because they weren't fighting against another superpower. They didn't need to gather popular support on the world stage, because US and Europe already back them, while Russia and China have no interests there.

@@13thdivision70 I saw a video on your channel. Are you also from the Caucasus?

@@13thdivision70 Anyone who wants to force their ideology onto others is not a freedom fighter.

at least they knew the importance to get local troops involved from the beginning. At nearly every step they were accompanied by african troops when entering cities, showing that there does not come a white colonist army but also lots of african soldiers for an african people and this were the soldiers that stayed mostly (i know, subsaharan and arabic are not the same, but they learned from afghanistan)

occupation ? If they didn't want us they will tell us to leave but even the military junta didn't ask us to leave. They even accuse us to abandon them in UN.

Unfortunately, modern sensibilities and government interference prevents the measures which need to be taken for a stable outcome after an invasion.

Yeah in part it looks like from this video they forgot about the army completely... Like how is a highly mobile force suposed to defnd a city? Which unlike the US which could have defnded South Vietnam and Afgastan forever the French unless they brought the army in recnt imes(This is my first time hearing of this conflict at all.) I doubt they could hold any land.

@@GreenBlueWalkthrough It's not our job to hold any land.

Thanks brother🇫🇷🤝🇬🇧

@Bullett-Tooth Tony. Thanks for this warm comment. Soon enough, it might be that we'll be fighting alongside each other against the new tyrant from Eastern Europe. I cite no-one, just follow my stance!

You helped a lot with your chinooks. Thx GB for that

a Briton complementing us ? Philippe ! Sabre le champagne, le jour est arrivé !

@@cebonvieuxjack You were our greatest rival ever for 1000 years, and as much as our nations lock horns with each other we are allies in this day and age. Even old enemies can show respect.

They learned it from Argentina not to mess with Western European powers.

And because Brazil has absolutely no rights on French Guyana and its people. They could have asked their independence as for the other two guyanas but they have chosen to stay French

But what does it cost you to allow the french in ????? The french are obviously not doing it out of the kindness of their hearts !!! You really think the french decided to risk french lives because they love you and are defenders of democracy.....lol....????? If only you had oil, then the USA will also 'help' you !!!!!!

@@supa3ek But we do have oil in Nigeria and we do have security deals with America, though not as extensive as that of Israel and Taiwan. So what are you talking about? ALso, you didn't answer my question. If these local governments cannot keep their countries stable and keep terrorism in check, why should I not support France doing their job? I know France is not altruistic but you think I want more insecurity in my country because Chad, Niger and Mali are too stupid to fix their own?

@@supa3ek Having US and France is better than having radical islamists , ruskies or CCP

@@supa3ek There is no country that is altruistic. When USA joined allies in ww1, it was because France and UK can't reimburse what they owned to america if they lose.

@@leduoanime9156 Exactly. Wilson legitimately believed in the democratic cause, but the bottom line was that the US economy would be in trouble if the Allies lost WWI. People like Danny strawman the US and France and apply a false moral narrative. He probably doesn't apply such moral standards to Russia and China, let alone the Islamists that France is helping to fight.

Organised, highly trained professional soldiers are almost always superior to conscripts. Who in turn are almost always superior to militias. When you add in total air supremecy it's totally lopsided. There is a reason the US replaced their militias with the state national guards, they simply aren't as effective in modern war. It's not a European vs non as well. The Canadian military utterly defeated the Croatian mixed soldiers-militia forces in the single time they fought in Former Yugoslavia. First World western militaries have time to train and train, while militias often win by the enemies moral failing them.

Can you guys stop self congratulations and just admit for a second that the insurgents / terrorists has no state backing or wealthy patrons and all the surrounding nations are squeezing them and France is a part and leader of this alliance.

Because the french are some type of angels that came from the sky to help humanity right?,any country that the baguette eaters have touched crumbled,my country tunisia can't even build a highway or decide the prices of their own resources without consent from france.They called everybody that went against their colonialism terrorist while the terrorists were them.What would you call somebody that came from overseas to eliminate your leaders,install a puppet regime and leave?

Condition is so bad that one African village tried to protest French presence, France dispatched fighter jets to disperse the unarmed protestors. Had their been any civilian casualties they'd have been labelled "terrorists ".

@@zaiedchaalali1939 Are you living in the 1950's ? If the Tunisian government can't build a highway, maybe stop electing terrible leaders. Didn't you have a revolution in 2011 ? Stop blaming a country that you gained independance from more than 60 years ago.

Lucky they had British aircraft to help because they had zero heavy lift capabilities

@@MrTangolizard and that makes it less impressive how?

@@ognjenbegicevic6298 because without it they wouldn’t have been able to do it

@@MrTangolizard 30% isn't 100%, and then the goal of France has never been to be the only one to fight in Africa. Actually, the more international the operation was the more successful our operation would have been.

@@MrTangolizard France relies more on Ukranian and Russian private contractors for heavy lift via Antonovs than the UK to be honest. And the heavy lift was not primordial as A) you need a proper international airport with a huge runway to land a C17 or Antonov . A rarity in the Sahel region B) all the French kit that was deployed during Serval can fit in a A400M Atlas, Transall or Hercules. AMX-10C, VBCI, CAESAR, VAB, Sagaie, all fit in those tactical lift planes! Heavy lift just allows you to fit a couple of these vehicles per plane instead of a single one per plane. As we did not deploy the 52 ton Leclerc tank, not necessary. TLDR, heavy lift was a welcomed luxury but not indispensable for Opération Serval.

well technically the united states would be the strongest military in europe as it has a large military presence in europe

@@kindlytoxic1472 bruh no it's not an European country, just because some of your forces are stationned in an European countries doesn't mean your military is considered an European militarh

When faced vs another conventianal foe like a European army France wont hold up well. We have to note that their army and doctrine is fully made for fighting in Africa vs rebels whit no organisation and low technology. France dosnt have doctrines, numbers or even undustrial capasity for a big conventional war, but it dosnt need to since it fights rebels only and is part of NATO so one will attack it soon. I also must add that there isnt many nations and armies that are ready for a conventional war in the world at this moment.

@@guil7290 The french have the strongest military in europe, the US has a stronger military presence.

@@stefankatsarov5806 true

As a French I aslo fill super disappointed regarding the lack of gratitude and respect for the fact that for 9 years French soldiers fought and 53 of them die for the security/prosperity of these people. They would have been the most retarded Kalifa in the world, there is nothing in Mali...

Germany will be in paris in 7 days.

@@eliasziad7864 yeah, to support france since we are allies and all that

@@TheMasterOfCornedy Alsace Lorraine is German.

@@eliasziad7864 Imperial Germany and Nazi Germany lost both world wars, France won both of them

¿Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh?, ¿Mexico?, ¿España?, ¿Rusia?.

@@WECR everyone lost in Vietnam. They won against Mexico, they just weren’t able to maintain control. The peninsular war in Spain was a guerilla war, not a conventional one. No one successfully invaded Russia since the Mongol empire.

@@mrworldwide7387 those are still loses in Mexico and Spain

@@mrbrainbob5320 they would’ve probably won in Spain if they weren’t distracted by the invasion of Russia and if Britain and Portugal didn’t reinforce the Spanish. As for Mexico, the invasion was a success but the peoples that stayed in Mexico to maintain control of the country weren’t able to.

@@mrworldwide7387 lmaooo that's literally what happened in Afghanistan and Vietnam not really an excuse. They gave up and went home still a lost

France failed at both when it surrendered to Germany in 6 weeks and almost caused the British army to get captured

@@johnnyboy3410 you mean allowed the british army to retreat in Dunkirk

Merci à vous.

Thank you for your service !

*Long live FRANCE 🇫🇷* thank you for your dedication comrade!!

So what exactly did you achieve?

@@tamamatu6395 *go to Africa*

Britain or the US could do it

@@gar50172 yes but not 1 lot more.

@@gar50172 britain can't barely do anything without the US making the first move. COuld barely operate in Lybia 2011

@@Ben-ek1fz I'm not sure what you mean by more effective per capita, but the US has done plenty of Operations similar to the one in Mali. Operation Inherent Resolve and Grenada come to mind. The US also has supported South American nations against their freedom fighters and cartels for decades now.

@@gar50172 could do it but would they? As quickly as the French did

@@carkawalakhatulistiwa do you know the difference between s e x and r@pe? When Mali invited France in 2013 and france is leaving when Mali asks it was consensual when Russia invaded Ukraine it's not consensual it's very simple really. I hope you can understand.

I think we call that GTIA (groupepement tactique inter armée) but not shure if it is the équivalent of the Kampfgruppen

Yes, it is basically the same concept like that of the Wehrmacht Kampfgruppe which are nowadays called task force, battle group, tactical battle group etc. These are adhoc units, usually in battalion size, which compose of various attached elements of mixed types (inf, tanks, recon, arty, sappers, SOPs etc) to enable them act independently on their task. It is basically the idea to put in use the theory of combined weapons usage in small unit level.

Yes, I noticed ECOMOG is now replaced by ECOWAS, presumably due to their horrendous reputation gained in conflicts like Sierra Leone, where they were summarily executing and extorting the local population, and of course, turning and running at the first sign of trouble

@@BootneckAlphaKilo Well, to be fair, early UN Peacekeeping missions has their failing too. Peacekeeper deploymet is a whole study by itself. The systems seems work well for African countries so far, otherwise they'd stopped doing it a long time ago.

well its in theyr own interest to not to allow establishment of extremist islamic "state" right next to theyr own, these extremists are threat to all of them so it makes sense for them to cooperate.

@@Rvoid no. It works because aside from rare interventions from former colonial powers (UK Belgium France etc) they have no choice. Comparing UN peacekeepers to ECOMOG/ECOWAS is ridiculous

Worked twice with them (both in Mali and CRA the next year) they still have a long way to go to be an effective military tool for local stability and sovereignity. But definitely a very good step forward to assure their full independance against the former colonial powers.

The platoon mentionned in the video isn't actually a unit of its own, like the rest of the force, it was merged into the joint tactical groups for the duration of the mission depending on who was the closest, most ready and in that case, what the needs were. They didn't need to deploy the full 17th Engineers Parachute Regiment, not even a company, so they just took a platoon

@@augustinneel778 Did they have special equipment or were they used as regular infantry?

It sounds like flexibility and preparedness were allowed to meet.

The airborne engineers were deployed piecemeal to clear runways of obstacles initially so aircraft could be landed on them

@@BattleOrder That makes sense. I would imagine they would have some portable mine-clearing equipment then. Thanks for the response. On a side note: I've always thought long ago, before your channel's existence, that if I ever started a youtube channel, it would be exactly what you guys are doing right now, except your production quality is very next-level than what I would have done. Thanks for all the content. Out of the thousand+ subscriptions, you are one of less than ten that I have the bell notifications for :)

Wow! Good job France for winning against weak unorganized rebels with barely any technology! Wow so strong!!! They definitely won't fold and surrender when fighting against an actual strong military

🤣🤣

I used to visit Mali regularly in late ‘90s, early 2000’s - they kicked zero ass. It was a small scale Afghanistan for France. Mali is less safe now than it’s been in decades. What a bunch of gullible gits! Seriously. Edit: Mali was a safe country. A very welcoming and safe country. AQM beat France out. They’re still there. Where are the French?Fkn Russian mercs are doing a better job. Seriously perturbed by your comment 🤷🏻‍♂️

@@TheGonzogibby exactly

@@zangrygrapes4571 I got censored. Again here Edit: repost original comment: I used to visit Mali regularly in late ‘90s, early 2000’s - they kicked zero ass. It was a small scale Afghanistan for France. Mali is less safe now than it’s been in decades. What a bunch of gullible gits! Seriously. Edit: Mali was a safe country. A very welcoming and safe country. AQM beat France out. They’re still there. Where are the French?Fkn Russian mercs are doing a better job. Seriously perturbed by your comment 🤷🏻‍♂️

@@TheCoolCucumber How do you mean ? In the context of an actual open war ?

@@jenji6658 I think he means more in the context of a conventional conflict.

@@vonblunder Well yes ? An open war then, an actual battle context ?

@@TheCoolCucumber Depending on where it takes place and the context, I do think France could win against Russia. I am no military expert but the russians' logistics are terrible their equipment and tactics don't enable them to fight too far from their borders while French have many assets through the world and are able to project their force anywhere on the globe

@@TheCoolCucumber is Russia a peer opponent?

Meh, truth is, Schwarzkopf was mad about the French (and the US 82 Airbone on their right) being too slow. Honestly, they were not, and he blamed almost everyone to be too slow, it was just Schwarzkopf not realizing how much time it take time to clear fortified position.

The 96 AMX-10 RCs were the most numerically important armored component of the 6th Light Armored Division. The division covered the left flank of the invasion force, protecting the Coalition forces against an enemy counter-attack. During the attack, also named Operation Daguet, the French forces clashed with the Iraqi 45th Infantry Division, which was defeated. The French also captured the As-Salman airfield. The results of the fighting are impressive. Almost 3000 Iraqis were captured, with twenty enemy tanks being destroyed and two captured. Multiple other light vehicles and artillery pieces were destroyed or captured. The French didn’t lose a single vehicle, and no losses were suffered due to enemy action.

Lol no

@@gar50172 France triggers you

Well as a French. I do recognize the level of our British neighbors too. But it is right that the empire history of our two states explains a lot as rapid interventions is part of our military forces for a long time

Portugal,Spain,Japan (limited), Netherlands, Belgium, British Empire/UK -

Agree with you but you will descover that many people mainly from Algeria, are so mad about France historical dominance, that they are creating since the independent, a ferry tail about how France was an horrible incompetent monster and how your military tradition is weak. And this stupidity is spreading like shit in all uneducated mind... Interesting to compare and understand how the former countries of Indochina became what they are nowdays, regarding how Algeria/Africa became.

Those above usually don't want the war to end quickly

Mobility means lack of armor, which means body bags, which means political suicide. Its also harder to use air support when highly mobile. Also take into consideration high mobility is very volatile. You might over shoot the enemy and then they are hitting your supply lines or ambushing you in unexpected places. The key to victory is just dont be an imperial POS in the first place.

@@Deno2100 I’m sorry, what? “It’s also harder to use air support when highly mobile.” Technically true, but literally what air support was invented for because it was possible to use when highly mobile whereas heavy artillery wasn’t

@@Deno2100 Not necessarily. The French were always moving even with their larger formations, which made them harder to pinpoint and isolate. Logistics was rightfully considered an afterthought as the ability of any insurgency to interdict logistics is usually pretty limited and rudimentary.

@@farmerboy916 To say that air support was used to replace artillery rings false with me. The first planes have very little fire power and the ones that eventually did have firepower were not used in a way similar to or in a way that mimicked artillery.

Funny story thx for your sharing

If you can occupy a sapper unit for 30 mintues with an empty bag, I'd say it's worth it.

@@janbo8331 by the time we were there, our job was to maintain military presence and carry routine patrols. So we stayed there, going out and getting back every other day. More of police than what in this video showed a rapid advancing war. We have a lot of time can waste but not enough man to risk

@@janbo8331 here i will give more details of how an empty harmless bag took us 30mins, first the infantry made such requests as they should ( it could be an IED who knows), but to start investigating a 100meter perimeter must established, that setting up took time. The real investigation was quick, using binocular watch it from 10meters and we already know it wasn't a weapon. But since we were already there, so we still checked the surrounding of that tree with metal detector too, that took another 10min. Then in the end we reported said it was no danger, but convoy commander prefer we actually hands on that bag, totally legitimate order, but we were equipped with helmet and body armor, climbing that tree was also tricky.

@@xiaoc.4117 Thanks, that was interesting. In case I gave the wrong impression, I wasn't criticizing the conduct or operations of your unit. Just that, if the strategy of the opponent is to make it a prolonged low-intensity conflict with the purpose of wasting the opponent's resources, tricks such as those empty bags seem like a legitimate tactic.

100% Sad this country is now ruled by a military junta, they count on Wagner mercenary company to protect them, they could have asked the French to leave but didn't dare. French president decided to leave this week. All the West African countries which fought to save Mali sanctionned Mali economically and are pulling out. We'll soon see how well the Malian military junta deal with the jihadists.

@@BruneSixtine Oh they didn't asked, they gave the order to french to leave, wich they did. I'm sad that my country became so weak in international relationships, because of shitty gouvernements.

@@mehmetii8527 The French decided to leave. The following day the Malian military junta asked them "to leave immediately". The French answered "no, we'll leave in an orderly fashion, it will take between 4 and 6 months". Sorry Mehmet, the French are still in Mali.

@@mehmetii8527 you're wrong, the Malian junta was refused unconditional support by France because they were no plans for elections in the country so France was organizing a withdrawal of French forces for the country. Which the Malian junta cried about at the UN GA back in september, saying France was abandoning them. After they accepted that France wouldn't support their regime they told France to leave (which they were already doing) to save face. The timeline is clear.

@@mehmetii8527 Mali "ordered" the French to leave after Macron officially decided to leave. That was for the colonels a pitiful way to not lose face in front of its people, so they can pretend they kicked out the French but they didn't. And when the junta ordered the French forces to leave Mali immediately, Macron said nope and that they will take the time they need to remove their troops safely, dismantle their bases and move their equipment to Niger.

Wagner and the Malian Junta deserve themselves honetsly.

for the people who don't know the actual malian governement is from a military coup d'etat who forced french army to leave and the situation today is not really good. JNIM and AQMI have more and more recruit thanks to wagner and they attacked the governement place in Kati with SVBIED something that never happened when the french was in Mali also a lot of country are leaving their ambassade in Mali since the security deteroriorate by day

Russia ain't defending shit, wagner forces are having a field day in Mali All that money , instead of actually doing serious work in Ukraine they slack off here in Mali

well, it is a big region, but it's mostly empty, the north of mali is pretty much a big desert

@@AlexDerange true

@@AlexDerange Doesn't that make the whole thing even more impressive, especially in terms of logistics required to sustain the operation? The point you made is actually merely reinforcing his. I mean it is a vast, arid, sparsely populated territory with not much infrastructure or vital ressources (shelter, food, water) beyond some densely populated areas such as Gao or Timbuktu regions and ridiculous gigantic mountains to easily hide into in the north. That's a logistical nightmare. And very few places on the planet if any reach that level of heat. The northern part of the country where the final battle took place was the "Adrar des Ifoghas" (that's what I got when I googled "Ifoghas mountains" as I was intrigued by the rocks shown in the video) and having taken a look at a few pictures I for sure wouldn't want to fight there lmao.

easy to fight against unorganized insurgents with no advanced weapons and armour

and all those people who make french surrender memes seethe and cope and mald when hearing it

@@adankmeme651 it was like 80 years ago bruh

At least they didn’t surrender this time.

@@stoggafllik fucking funny aren't you

@@stoggafllik If comedian was the only job available in the world, we can tell you'll die unemployed for sure.

@@stoggafllik you are unfunny and should think sometime before writing a comment

@@stoggafllik and guess what they did there job less gooooo that hasn't happened since the napoleonic wars

They do have colonial anti-insurgency experience, and it shows.

Interesting video 👍

@@josefmengele181 I think they where asked to leave. I may be wrong someone may know why they left.🙂

@@josefmengele181 Nothing's changed and it will keep happening unfortunately maybe one day they will wake up.🙂 (Maybe)

@@josefmengele181 haha.Your probably right 🙂

Smells like colonialism and imperialism with a dash of militarism in this bad boy. I don’t blame them for fighting back hell we would do the same.

We should leave ffs. They don't want us, and I don't want to see any European dying for a country that hate us. If they want to be an Islamist caliphate with ethnic genocide and mass oppression, its their choice. No European should die for this.

@@mrsupremegascon The problem arises afterwards. Someone would fill the gap left by the French/other Europeans. Mainly the Chinese.

@@chrismath149 the Russians have just taken over Mali and Sponsoured a Coup in Burkina Faso. Well not the Russians officially The Wagner PMC. SHocking just how many Russian Flags you can get in Mali all of a sudden to wave in front of the camera Let the Russians enjoy the neverending war. Let's see how long until the locals turn against them like they did the French. Just last month the Russians slaughtered 70 civilians in Aïgbado in the CAR.

@@cjthebeesknees Then go to Mali and join the religious extremist (Ansar Dine) or the ethnonationalist militias (MNLA) . Don't be too shy about crime against humanity tho, and prepare to treat local minorities as piece of meat. Maybe France neo colonialism is not great, but only a fool or an Europhobic would prefer a Mali ruled by Ansar Dine.

Chadians troops are the only competent ones. Legit CHADS pun intended and the only capable sub-Saharan African army besides South Africa.

@@Frencho9 the Nigerians aren’t bad either.

@@kurousagi8155 considering the tribal state of Nigeria which is near implosion like Ethiopia I am a bit skeptical. They are Africa's richest country due to oil revenues which allows the purchase of entry level military tech but little national cohesion, this adversely trickles down into low military cohesion and morale. I mean they have lost control of huge parts of the country to Boko Haram! Military kit < Morale and cohesion. Chad has little in advanced military kit but they are tough warriors that rarely rout and have excellent tactics, and can stomach casualties. Amazing will to fight! Actually I think Rwanda takes spot number 3 for subsahran african armies, good cohesion to the point they are doing power projection in the Mozambique conflict.

@@Frencho9 the Nigerians did well in Sierra Leone a while back. I’d definitely accept Rwanda as one of the best trained Sub-Saharan armies. I’d rate Uganda rather highly as well.

@@kurousagi8155 Yes but that was 20 years ago. Sadly in the meantime Nigerian capabilities have fallen low. Meanwhile Rwanda intervene in both congo wars, minusma and another bunch of military ops non stop since 1999. And Rwanda is safe and stable country without internal insurgents.

@@purpleblastoise should open a history book

@@purpleblastoise Yet in WW1 the French military stopped the Germans dead in their tracks eventually defeating the German Empire. Or how about the Napoleonic wars when France took on most of Europe and won only being defeated when Napoleon made mistakes with age.

@@planderlinde1969 RUssia in winter was a very bad idea

@@planderlinde1969 defeated the germans with the help of russia, uk, and us

fun fact, westerners call this colonial invasion a ""saving operation"".

@@ujox3720 yeah right. If not for France millions would not have head for being infidels.

@@ujox3720 Mali literally asked for french help

@@ujox3720 Malí asked for support, coming from someone who is originally from third world

@@ujox3720 Mali asked for it u dumb

Merci pour les services rendus. Respect à toi.

Merci à toi pour ce que tu as fait pour la France.

merci pour votre service rendu a la patrie ! respect !

The French are well respected amongst nato’s armys.

the internet puts me into the "francophile pipeline" (which means i am slowly but steadily getting interested into their achievements throughout history), *oh no...*

It is telling they Still use The FAMAS and it's variants, seems like their M4-M16

That's why they admit that they are't ready to fight peer enemy?

@@Year_of_the_Dell i have to disagree sir , we are replacing the Famas by the HK 416 since 5-6 years now (while the famas is still in use in some few units now )

@@hidakazuya2796 ...so like the M4/M16 then. We have been Phasing it out for years..never takes fully just always winds up being back in use we tried with the 416(probably most successful) SCAR(one of the lessers...) you get the idea

@@matt_pigeonowsky1734 yes. Because they question themselves and correct themselves. France just invested 2 billions in armoured vehicles... A country knowing it's weaknesses is not an argument to bash it but to praise it.

Well last time we did a blitzkrieg, it was with Napoleon, when he conquered Prussia in 30 days, on foot.

France invented the tactics of Blitzkrieg after ww1, the old senile ww1 generals preferred to build the Maginot line and hope that the british would hold their ground for once and not retreat in land of France. We all know how it went...

@@ommsterlitz1805 France's bulk of mobile troops were encircled around Dunkirk, not around the Maginot. The "old senile ww1 generals" knew very well the germans were going to pass in belgium, the problem is that they expected the german tanks to pass in the flatter areas, not the Ardennes

Fun fact : Charles de Gaulle actually theorized the Blitzkrieg, no one decided to believe him in France but one german dude read his book, this man was Heinz Guderian.

@ they expected the germans to attack through the ardennes, its the general in charge of it that did not warn the high command of the danger and completely fucked his soldiers's defence

Sempe Fi Regards from France 🇨🇵

check out the défense of Dunkerque, a forgoten part of the dynamo operation in ww2

They already did hence all the wheeled APCs and IFVs in western armies

When you're fighting a technologically inferior force that doesn't have APCs or tanks of their own, yes.

The French AMX 10 RC's (wheeled vehicles) during operation Desert Storm: The 96 AMX-10 RCs were the most numerically important armored component of the 6th Light Armored Division. The division covered the left flank of the invasion force, protecting the Coalition forces against an enemy counter-attack. During the attack, also named Operation Daguet, the French forces clashed with the Iraqi 45th Infantry Division, which was defeated. The French also captured the As-Salman airfield. The results of the fighting are impressive. Almost 3000 Iraqis were captured, with twenty enemy tanks being destroyed and two captured. Multiple other light vehicles and artillery pieces were destroyed or captured. The French didn’t lose a single vehicle, and no losses were suffered due to enemy action.

Ah, that's it. That's what I was thinking of.

I can see why this was regarded as a speedy operation.

And a German combat vehicle. They like cat combat vehicles.

@@scratchy996 Although, they also named some after Rodents. I wonder when they'll make a Lion, Jaguar, or Cheetah?

@@walangchahangyelingden8252 They had a Lion, "Löwe" tank project during ww2. The Jaguar tank destroyers during the cold war : kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qNeZp5uVxpOWmpc.html The German word for Cheetah is "Gepard", this thing here : kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mZh_kppz08Wzimw.html

Hahaha WW2 without US

@@johnlongcop8512 hahaha read a book hahaha without France the US would have lost the American Revolution so shut up Ami

@@johnlongcop8512 ww2 was over 80 years ago. France was prepared for ww1 style fighting, not the combined arms that took place. Also, the US doesnt exactly have a sterling record in War. Just opportunists who jumped in when everyone else already blasted the hell out of each other.

@@johnlongcop8512 I mean, the US hasn't got that great a military record. They lost in vietnam, lost in Afghanistan, almost lost in Korea. The only successful war they've really had in the recent years is dunking on Iraq twice. And that's not really saying the US military is bad, it isn't. I've worked with alot of American military and they are excellent. It's just that war is hard, and often even overwhelming firepower can fail when the plan hits first contact.

@@johnlongcop8512 Do you know what cherry picking is? You didn't counter his argument at all.

The French doctrine really love speed

@@Yomohayaru Guess they learned their lesson from 1940

@@novus1589 The blitzkrieg was imagine by DeGaulle, it was originally a french doctrine. And Napoléon was well known for moving his armies fast, conquering Prussia and reaching Berlin in 2 weeks by foot. The french army have always loved speed.

Outside of WW2. The French are not known to be pushovers. WW1, Algeria, etc....the French move with speed and efficiency to accomplish their goals. It's impressive to learn about.

In fact, it could be said that part of the reason WWI was so bloody and WWII was a loss for France early on was the lack of manoeuvre warfare. WWI was almost entirely a war of attrition on the Western Front, and French high command subsequently abandoned war of movement for a more reactive posture (no seperate tank entities, as tanks in WW1 were never used as a force independent of infantry, the Maginot). France previous to WW1 was always about movement, and it seems as if France has regained its expertise in command organisation and high mobility warfare.

did you not hear of Napoleon? France is the country that has won the most wars in the world. only americans make fun of the french and it's such a shame

@@vd12 mexicans also because they won a battle lol France was fighting all around the world at that time but mexicans think they've beaten Napoleon lol

France also has the most beautiful light armoured recon/ fighting vehicle, the amx10rc. A shame that the army is replacing them though

@La cachette des musiques perdues BRRRRRTTT

@@1e9t4r3c Replaced by EBRC-Jaguar, it's pretty cool looking aswell!

@La cachette des musiques perdues gotta agree on that one yep

@@Arthur-sf1go yeah, but I'm disappointed. They replace a scout tank destroyer ( amx's role before) by an infantry fighting vehicle and scout. The cannon goes from 105mm to 40mm, so yeah. It is cool looking, but not as beautiful and powerful as the 10rc

Recent two decades gave me the clear picture of "Terrorists" as those who bring terror on civilians. Im looking at you Russia , China, Turkey, North Korea.

@@HanSolo__ Dont forget the USA

surtout qu'ils se font remplacer par le groupe Wagner, connu pour ses crimes de guerre, entre autres

@@joak9755 Quand on sera totalement parti ils vont surement se rendre compte de leur bêtise, mais ce sera trop tard

@@thracese9877 c'est beaucoup en demander d'africains. Ils n'apprennent jamais rien.