Marine reacts to How France Fought a Lightning War in Mali

I'm thoroughly impressed by the coordination this operation had! Not everyday that you see a modern operation with mechanized infantry and airborne troops.
Original video: • How France Fought a Li...
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#france #frencharmy #operationserval

[@salvadorsallent1209]

I don’t understand why those ignorant seriously believe France is weak. France has a most impressive record of military history throughout the centuries. Damn during the wars of Louis XIV and Napoleon they fought coalitions after coalitions and remained on top and fearless. I really don’t how they managed to make war against so many opponents packed together and win at the end of the day. I haven’t seen a country yet that could fight a war in multiple fronts and remain undefeated as France during the 18 and early 19 century. To those who said the France has always been weak, grab a history book.

[@misarthim6538]

All true but their reputation was unfortunately tarnished by their defeatism in 1930s and collapse in 1940.

[@DieNextInLINE]

@@misarthim6538 Wasn't it essentially a few generals at the top who surrendered? Since other officers fled the country and started the Free French government.

[@misarthim6538]

@@DieNextInLINE Well, yes and no. French Army has been absolutely unprepared for modern war, from doctrinal, strategic and tactical perspective. It has been crippled by political meddling where civilian government propped up officers based on their loyalty rather then competence. It was also economically badly under-resourced. So it objectively performed badly and the defeatist attitude and incompetence has been widespread across the ranks. Obviously there still was a core of solid men and officers that fought well and later formed Free French forces which almost without exception were fine military instrument. But still, we can't blame it on 'few generals'. The French Army was unfit for the battle that it had to fight and the result spoke for itself.

[@johndoe-cd9vt]

@@misarthim6538 "So it objectively performed badly and the defeatist attitude" this is WRONG... and the comment before you is right, this was a decision from the top, not the soldiers... Also, there are multiple battles where the french fought till the end, like for example the battle of Dunkrik when they SAVED the british army by giving them time to RETREAT by any mean they could find... (if you don't know the story type "dunkrik movie" on youtube)

[@afcansf5996]

They have done a lot of good but also bad, for example back stabbing the their Dutch Nato partners in Bosnia in the 90ties. Which is why many Dutch are weary of the French. On the other side the Dutch did joined the French in Mali, so on a political level everything seems ok; but what I remember of the time most Dutch people werent all to happy the government deciding to help the French in Mali.

[@laurentnicolas1550]

Thanks for this video. May the 58 French soldiers who died for the freedom of Mali rest in peace. May their memory be honored in France and in Africa. Honor to you, soldiers of France!

[@monsieurp8229]

Merci !

[@ptiricar-pg6zm]

They are not respected like they deserve

[@FRSkyLaw]

@@ptiricar-pg6zm History will remember all of them and will not remember a single member of your family

[@ptiricar-pg6zm]

@@FRSkyLaw what are you saying ? Are you totally stupid ? I said ppl don't respect them like they deserve. Do you know what does it mean ?

[@anxomillaraveiga9404]

the problem is that it wasof no use, the islamist soldiers occupied the goverment and orderedthe french to leave

[@drifter2622]

The French military in general is an outstanding military. I don't understand why so many people have this idea the french military is weak and cowards. Their not ! They certainly deserve their place alongside the US and UK. The world is certainly a much safer place to live thanks to the US, UK and France.

[@raphaelfillos6120]

Because it's easier to spread lies and misconceptions than recognize things as they are. Also these people are mostly uneducated/unskilled (military-wise) people that just talk about something they have no clue about. This is the world's first problem, listening to anyone with an opinion rather than actual professionnal in the field.

[@AndyWoohoo666]

Well said I can only agree 100%

[@akkrezz2859]

i mean… france is actually stronger than uk…

[@Ghost7511]

Why? Because of WWII, colonial wars (Indochina, Algeria)... Not to mention several issues with aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle.. French Army was always seen from the wrong side.

[@derbigpr500]

@@Ghost7511 What about WW2? Educate yourself and you'll see any criticism towards France in WW2 is pointless.

[@AndyWoohoo666]

When I was in the legion 1988-1993 my regiment was part of such group, the FAR ( Force d'action rapide ) still today the 1 REC is part of this group ( GTIA 1 or 2 ). That is for example why we were deployed to Desert Storm with 2 other legion regiments. French army/ armed forces works very good together in big operations like this, by keeping the training pretty similar it makes it easy to integrate other units. I know the legion was a bit different with a bit harsher discipline and also got the more difficult missions. I know the average ignorant Xbox warrior often bash the French but they are some legit warriors and they have a lot of experience, sadly the Internet warriors rarely try to find out and the closest they've been to serving is on CoD and that makes them da shiznit! French army/ military is highly skilled and got tons of experience, I would say that they are among the better soldiers overall in the world but just let me put out this, I'm not French but I served 5 yrs in the legion then after that I've served alongside French military in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Chad, Congo to mention a few places. This has been done between 1995-2015, yes I'm an old fart, I joined the military back in 1981 and soon to retire.

[@ClodiusP]

My metricule began with 174, I joined in 87.

[@Itachi951000]

. Indeed but I believe back when you served, the French military wasn't an all-volunteer professional force yet. They still had conscription until the late 1990s if I remember correctly. So beyond the special forces, or commando/para units, the Legion at the time was still the only corps of the land army made up of fully professional troops. It would make sense for it to be a bit more trusted on difficult conventional tasks than regiments made up of many Pierre just doing their 1-year national service lol.

[@AndyWoohoo666]

@@Itachi951000 Good point, still back then the regular army was "Schlabor" for us and yes it was much harder discipline. However after the legion like I mentioned I worked alongside French troops in many places and they are overall top notch soldiers. Of course they have as any military does some units/ regiments/ what ever that is not as, that is just natural.

[@AndyWoohoo666]

@@ClodiusP I was 176 I joined early 88, your Mle sounds about right for an early 87 I would have guessed 86 though.

[@phyo1716]

@@Itachi951000 Legion still has a bit harsher discipline than the regular french army even today. There are a lot of things Legionairres cannot do but that a regular french soldiers can. If don't believe me you can ask the legionnaires on reddit. I'm not talking shit about the french army. I actually have a ton of respect to the French army.

[@glastonbury4304]

When the Brits, Americans and the French fight side by side they are unstoppable , the French have an amazing military and anyone who has been in the military will tell you that ...yes there will always be banter back and forth , but I can tell you for one that I've never come across any Brit in the military that doesn't have respect for them

[@kiliandervaux6675]

Military people always respect each other. This is something you don't necessarily see among civilians

[@blackdiamondbd2158]

You are wrong the day when Russia china and India will fight together no country will be in a position to protect itself..

[@POpperoni75020]

👏🏻

[@beetlejuice024]

Hello guys, some French former and actual soldiers will understand what i am talking about, French army can’t simply afford to conduct military opérations like US army does, so as we say in French we got to be « efficaces et rustiques » so i do understand your surprise when you see the way we do things :-) Thank you very much for showing and comentating this vidéo !! A former para from the 35 eme RAP ( the air controler in your vidéo). Pour les autres, je vous salue et que Saint-Michel veille sur vous……

[@neo21b21b]

Amen !

[@pyth3rex300]

Etre et durer... On as pas les frites mais on as les raskettes :P

[@iiii2903]

hum....on n'a plus une tune, c'est tout....tout le monde a profité du système français, les patrons, par le haut et l'évasion fiscale, et les crapules par le bas et les abus sociaux....On n'a pas d'autre choix que d'être "rustique", car la bite et le couteau, c'est tout ce qu'il nous reste.

[@blackout063]

pas besoin de matos high tech....les "anciens" me comprendront : quand t'as reussi a tourner pendant des années avec un trpp 11B ben tu t'en sortais pas si mal ça mdr blagues a part , que saint michel veille sur toi aussi .....un ancien des fuscos de l'air ;)

[@Azrael-Delta4]

Que saint Christophe te protège amen

[@tomfaiola7930]

The aircraft at 22:45 is a Mirage 2000, very capable single engine fighter jet part of the french Air force involved in the conflict The light you can see is the post combustion at the back of the engine to get more power ;)

[@FrLawRE]

"Post combustion" means afterburner.

[@Gratte-moi-le-dos]

Mirages have always been excellent weapons, efficient and powerful, but nowadays Rafale is the best fighting jet in the world. Forget the dangerous (for its pilot!) F-35 and its too heavy little brother F-22 😁. The « problem » is that Rafale is one of the most difficult device to master. Happily, French people are full of surprises 😉

[@TheMechaBuilder]

@@Gratte-moi-le-dos For me the f-35 is a piece of crap, even the USA doesn't order any more for them in favor of the superb F-15ex. On the other hand the F-22 is a monster! ^^ It's a pity that they stopped the production of the F-22 raptor! :(

[@killswitch8078]

F35 was put in line to soon... It's alpha project..

[@cheveuxjaunes2782]

@@TheMechaBuilder I don’t understand why they do that

[@katem2411]

I'd love to see how they managed the logistics for this one. The whole excersize was impressive - I have to say that seeing how the French Commander recognized his technological weak points and worked them into strengths by turning it into a running battle.

[@killswitch8078]

Logistic did an incredible work. Always on duty. On Serval operation, that was quick, but when counter insurgency begin, they stayed on duty more and more to alloy combat patrol etc in a veeeery hard country for engines. In France, daily, news focused on them to show that.

[@olivierpuyou3621]

Hey men, the current French like their elders from Verdun are rustic warriors. no air conditioning, no Coca Cola stand. Mud, blood and tears are the daily life of the French soldier. We have been at war for over 1500 years and we are the nation that has won the most battles for 800 years. To underestimate France and its soldiers is to put oneself in great difficulty. We no longer attack anyone because those times are over. but never forget as Adolf said "We must absolutely win over the French to our cause with us they are the best soldiers in the world"

[@DoNMoSs2]

faut redescendre un peu sur terre l'armée française est bonne mais elle est entrain de mourir depuis que chirac a tué le service militaire malheureusement une décision qui a affaiblie l'armée et a donné un terreau incroyable aux réseaux de dealer des cités prendre les petits jeunes hors de leur quartiers pour 1 an peut être leur donné une carrière ou un métier et une attache a la france a la sortie est une chose qui manque aujourd'hui.

[@crackheadcampus8199]

Aucun sens, le service militaire éduque les jeunes hommes c'est sûr mais l'armée française c'est des militaires de métier, je t'accordes ses propos sont bien romancer mais est-ce qu'il a dit quelque chose de faux ?

[@DoNMoSs2]

@@crackheadcampus8199 par definition la conscription renforçait l'armée alors qu'aujourd'hui si demain plus personne ne s'engagent bye bye l'armée française C'est simple depuis 1996 on a perdus 50% d'effectif on est passé de plus de 550000 soldats a aujourd'hui un peu plus que 250000 et le seul service qui a grandis c'est la gendarmerie.

[@IndianaJade]

@@DoNMoSs2 Au contraire le professionnalisme, et donc les compétences, ont augmenté avec la fin de la conscription. Tout militaire engagé est là par choix, et les compétences acquises ne sont pas perdu au bout d'un an ou deux (fin du service militaire). En revanche on manque de masse en effet. La conscription ça prend du temps à des mili qui ont autre chose à faire que de babysitter des gens qui ne sont pas là par choix. Et le métier des armes étant plus technique qu'avant, un conscrit n'apporte que peu de valeur militaire à une unité. Le problème que vous sous entendez relève du budget. Et la conscription ne ferait qu'entamer un peu plus ce budget, avec pour effet d'affaiblir encore un peu plus notre armée. Edit : D'ailleurs, au temps de la conscription, les conscrits n'était pas envoyé en opex, exception de ceux volontaires qui ont fait le choix d'un service long. En un an de service, ils n'ont pas la maîtrise de compétences d'un soldat de métier qui est rarement envoyé en opex avant 2-3 ans d'expérience.

[@kolerick]

@@DoNMoSs2 le service militaire de conscription pouvait servir quand le matos n'était pas aussi pointu que maintenant... c'était bien pour l'insertion pour faire rentrer quelque valeurs et de la discipline, voir pour avoir plusieurs lignes de chair à canon à mettre en première ligne... maintenant que le matos à plus d'importance, est plus compliqué à manipuler, que les techniques de combat sont plus complexes, l'entrainement poussé d'un nombre plus limités de soldats est largement plus efficace... ce n'est pas 1 an de service qui permet de faire entrer dans le ciboulot toutes les connaissances tactiques et de maniement des armes... en tout cas pas à un niveau acceptable c'est aussi une question de budget: armer une armée de conscription coûte plus d'un saladier (car ça veut dire avoir le paquetage complet, armement compris pour 4 à 5 classes d'âge, sinon on envoit les 3/4 de nos conscrit au front avec des manches à balais pour toute arme) et on ne peut pas faire fonctionner la planche à billets comme ça.

[@jeanphiabeille]

At the time the commander in chief of the French Army was an admiral. So during operation Serval the French Military used navy tactics in the mix to maximize effectiveness. The French army is quite small in number but can do every things. Alpin troops, NRBC capability, nuclear weapons and so on and so forth. You had good and rustic training. Lots of units are among the best in their field.(Commando Hubert. GIGN. 2nd REC....) And they learn the hard way that logistic is everything. Last but not least for moral the best army ration!!!!!!

[@nox8730]

Small in numbers? As far as i know, the french army have more than 200 000 soldiers, 70 000 civil workers in the army, 40 000 in reserves, making it the largest in Europe. At least, it is the most powerful in Europe, and 7th in the world, that much is for sure. Although it looks like the overall population accounts for this rankings for some reason. I guess some countries may still have a conscription?

[@tyga3130]

It’s Fals, CEMA don’t work on Operations. He made just the link between Army and Government. General De Saint Quentin made all the operation planification. He is from 1st RPIMA

[@jda755]

@@nox8730 No more conscription in France. But a plan have a target to up reserve to 100 000 people because of the war in Ukraina.

[@nox8730]

@@jda755 Yes, i was refering to countries like India, ranked higher than France when it comes to military power, mostly because of their overall population being over 1 billion. Which is why i was questioning conscription. Population would be a useless factor to consider when calculating military power, if not for conscription, after all.

[@lesflynn4455]

Yes, I've heard the French Army are VERY well fed.

[@NerdishNature]

The capabilities and experience plus expertise the modern French army has by now is pretty outstanding. And they can work so adaptive. It’s impressive.

[@Maxxim218]

I was there with the 2nd REP. One of my proudest moments

[@smal750]

🙏👍

[@drefhill]

I've seen interviews of Britishes, Americans, canadians who've been in Ukraine and they all said the frenchs and ex soldiers of the french foreign legion are the bests for various reasons. Even the russians say it. The russians are scared when they hear soldiers talking in french at the radio.

[@pyridonfaltis9761]

Total surface area of Mali is 478,841 sq mi, so it's almost as big as Alaska, and much bigger than Texas. Mercator projection strongly shrinks the countries near the Equator.

[@eksa3539]

The closer the country to equator, the closer they are to their actual size. Countries further than equator are the one that get stretched out.

[@pyridonfaltis9761]

@@eksa3539 You are correct but my main point was that Mali is much bigger than it appears on maps.

[@andrewthompson5728]

While everyone has been marveling about the supply and logistics of the French in their push, has anyone noticed how the French move forward almost immediately after capturing an objective and placing reinforcements from other countries who seemingly are instantly there for relief?

[@MC-cg2rr]

what are you trying to say? (genuine q)

[@andrewthompson5728]

@@MC-cg2rr They are organized to the Nth degree and everyone working with them was also on their A-game. Such does not happen often.

[@ducona7891]

​@@andrewthompson5728 A tad bit late but all those contries were part of the french empire and we still have ties (and troops) there

[@christopheb.6121]

@andrewthompson5728 ?? We have troops in these countries since decades !

[@jpc7118]

As a former french NCO having served 7 years in the 126th Infantry Regiment (motorised inf), 5th Infantry Regiment (mech inf) then in the elite 16th BCP (Chasseurs Batalion, mech inf equivalent to US Rangers I think), I can tell you that working with other regiments troops is truly frequent inf rench army. In Ex-Yugoslavia, we mixed often infantry companies from different regiments... sometimes, we even mixed troops at the platoon level ! we call a mixed company : une compagnie de marche (literraly a company to walk) which means that we take what we need but we took what we can also, if we haven't all the needed troops of a regiment, we mix it with another unit. The interoperability in french army is truly high. french army is rather small, then we have to be flexible and the master words are : réactivité et adaptibilité (reactivity and adaptibility). France hasn't the resurces of USA, that may explain this.

[@Gatto751]

people underestimate the french army but they maybe are not a lot but they do a lot, efficently and with an high mobility.

[@srdragan317]

stop saying BS bro they are right at the south of my country i hear and see what they do and they are incompetent and mali ppl want to kick them out no one like them where they go it always end even worst than before let's not forget the fact that their is case of them raping woman in mali etc ... if they are so good why don't they fix the shit they start in lybia first before going for another country to destroy

[@justeunfan3364]

@@srdragan317 Yes of course, being executed in streets by crazy extremist is so much better than 2-3 rapes by a**holes who are discrediting an entire army.

[@srdragan317]

@@justeunfan3364 hahahah the extremist ur talking they could kill them easy but they don't kill them all so they have reason to stay there and steal ressource

[@zermati]

@@srdragan317 I hear the french are leaving to be replaced with extremely competent russian mercs who love and respect Mali people, c/d ?

[@srdragan317]

@@zermati exactly they are here to kill the bad guys have better deal (not stealing like the franch) and dont middle in politique and they have good start point where they never colonized them and did what hitler did to the jew

[@abraham2172]

This operation truly is very impressive. The french military is extremely capable.

[@isoropia5224]

It was not against a real army

[@fatgoldenboy6986]

@@isoropia5224 80 years ago

[@Samy-bu1ze]

@@isoropia5224 It is dude wtf is wrong with u lmao

[@cerberoc392]

@@fatgoldenboy6986 oublie jamais que la France est le pays ayant le plus de victoire militaire au monde

[@fatgoldenboy6986]

@@cerberoc392 have no idea what you wrote

[@ragarde3861]

Spanish army is also in Mali helping the french and training Mali´s troops

[@cestmoifr]

If they don’t talk about it. It’s probably because they didn’t do a thing 😂

[@tonyhawk94]

The VAB (the armored personal carrier at 10:45 ), is in the process of replacement by the new Griffon vehicule, as well as the AM-10 light tank by the Jaguar light tank ! They are very old now but they do the job though ! There was an important shift of doctrine these last years in the French armies. It is in the process of shifting from expeditionary force to high intensity high attrition wars, an major drill with +10 000 soldiers is set to take place next year, it is one of the biggest in western europe since the fall of the Soviet Union. And the onging situation in Ukraine may have convinced the general staff that they were on the right track these last years...

[@MrRAFALE1]

SCORPION c'est le programme, le remplaçant des AMX-10 et ERC-90 c'est le EBRC Jaguar ;)

[@tonyhawk94]

@@MrRAFALE1 Ah oui ptn erreur d'etourdissement haha je corrige !

[@Flying-spaghetto]

France has been in the right track shifting that way but still, they need more man power and ammunitions to last long ;)

[@tonyhawk94]

@@Flying-spaghetto Yes this is going to take YEARS to be combat ready..

[@zzaronn]

@@Flying-spaghetto we are facing a similar situation as before WW1, we got new weapons but not enough ammo for a month of high intensity war. And today's weapon can't be produced easily you can't put up dozens of factory and throw people in it to increase production

[@ganikus8565]

The last 30 years , France had more than 20 military operations in Africa

[@ChrisKardiake]

much more

[@dougmoore5252]

And that is why the use wheeled vehicles rather than tanks in this kind of mission. Well done!

[@brunorosa6427]

never forget despite the French bashing that the French army and the country have the most military victories in its history with 1115 victories ahead of England and the United States the French soldiers are really very fierce foreign legion, marine commando, paratroopers etc.🇲🇫🇲🇫🇲🇫🇲🇫

[@inwedavid6919]

The ERC is a very compact armor, light and very fast, the 90 mm gun is high velocity and can shoot a T55 or its chineese copy frequent in these area. It is as fast as a good 4x4 car and can run in soft sand of the area. Also it is easy to transport by air with small transport plane. The troop transport is the old VAB, a 4x4 with light armor and a 0.50 BMG in a turet, it accomodate troops and cargo. Quite resilent and fast. The 10 RC is a 6x6 with a 105 mm gun and a betetr armor, still light and very mobile.

[@dougmoore5252]

I also enjoyed the skill of the French military in such a fast emergency.

[@Nick_Thorne]

You have to salute the French military for this. Credit where its due

[@patlelion]

Some said the French were fighting on Mars

[@TheNERVO1987]

Our general in chief in France, yesterday confirmed that the now operation Barkhane (the 2nd wave of Op Serval) will rearticulate and quit Mali during the next 6 months, going to Burkina Faso and Niger. Barkhane saw 59 french military died during this op (sadly the sniper you saw in this crazy helicopter rescue, Max). France never really had the help of Malian government to follow our action with democratic action for Mali, so the situation never got better.

[@TheNERVO1987]

his itw in french but maybe you will have english auto subtitle: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ammsY3qraquqfZo

[@johansmifthelry9307]

@Bvbs in the case of Mali France was called into it by its then president, and did everything right to literally free and save the citizens of the country. France succeeded, Mali failed.

[@syntheretique385]

@Bvbs How do you explain other African nations contributing to opération Serval then? I mean, ok, France did a lot of things wrong in Africa. And I'm not under the impression that we are appreciated everywhere on the continent or elsewhere. But opération Serval is light years away from a Russian style intervention like in Georgia or Ukraine. African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA), comprising soldiers from 15 African nations, was fighting side by side with French forces during the operation. I just call bullshit on your troll one liner.

[@dominationsrebellion6433]

@Bvbs without France in 2012 Mali would be a Khalifa today. don’t forget that the Malian Army had in 2012 less than 10,000 soldiers on a territory twice as large as Afghanistan and that 20 years later the Malian Army possessed +75,000 men (almost all trained by the French and westerners). this operation costed to France 1.5 billions per year during 20 years .

[@shadow2000]

@@dominationsrebellion6433 10 years ^^

[@jmlepunk]

For American viewers, Mali is basically twice as big as Texas (479,000 vs 268,000 square miles)

[@axelbulthey6899]

I'm proud of my country for this although it's not usually the case

[@TheMeanmarine13]

You should be. What they accomplished in those maneuvers are very impressive. With that many moving parts and all the logistics, that's saying something for their leadership and command. Respect

[@woontalajr789]

@@TheMeanmarine13 In France, we are not always proud of our country, mostly for some historical or political reasons. Some can only see the bad things, and have too big political disagreements. But we can be proud of many things, the problem is that our medias are only talking of our problems without telling about the solutions when they are found

[@Itachi951000]

Wait what?! Our country is far from perfect and has commited its fair share of questionable acts but that's a bit much, don't you think? lmao. There is plenty to be proud of.

[@woontalajr789]

@@Itachi951000 Yes there is plenty to be proud of, and yes we committed some questionable acts. but we aren't different of anyone. The world is not just black or just white. Everything is in grey

[@TheMeanmarine13]

@@woontalajr789 You sound very mature and modest. Every country has its problems. But your country is one of the oldest in the world and has much to be proud of. You're people and your military are very strong. In my country (USA) your language is a romance language that's very sought after. Mainstream media tells lies that fit their narrative and never tells the real story about a country and its culture.

[@strang1124]

I saw US C-17s off loading French troops & material there on Kuwaiti news in 2012 when I was working in Kuwait. Of course, when I would mention this conflict to friends & family. I got a hollow look. Glad to see a report on this 🙂

[@arthurjacquot94340]

The last stop you made with the jet blast in the dark is a Mirage 2000 😉 Great video by the way !!

[@xenomyr]

There is a mad max vibe to this operation lol

[@paulconnors2078]

The French Foreign Legion has an armored cav regiment. It's known as the 1er REC 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment.

[@ganikus8565]

Tchad troops are trained by France for a long time and work together to keep peace !

[@Bvic3]

Yep. Tchad loves war and is participating everytime there is a conflict somewhere in Africa.

[@kal_bewe1837]

@@Bvic3 Tchard are chad

[@hamidcherif3398]

they are a true desert army and experienced battle. In that operation, they went in on their own after a french and mali request although they were not given enough credit. Now they have special anti-terrorist units trained by Americans as well.

[@kolerick]

and Tchad troops are probably the best in Africa along with South African troops... if Malian military was as potent as Tchad military, they never would have needed to call France for help back in 2012

[@knoll9812]

Having watched all the video.amazing how quick french mobilised from france and started fighting in Africa.

[@TheBulletPointOfASoldier]

That’s the smartest comment! Don’t you think it’s impossible for any army to mobilize and deploy that kind of materials and men for miles in a such short period of time?

[@KenjiBiH]

France the country known for using white flag as a meme even though they are the country with most wins in wars

[@nonostan91]

7:16 French flying tank.

[@nobodylikesbirdie]

I finally learned what happened to this helicopter pilot that was announced KIA on the news the day after the operation debut. thank you

[@Nettempereur]

An interesting summary of Opération Serval. What you saw at 22:32 and you were surprised of is a Mirage 2000 combat aircraft taking off at night, with a front light (for the taking off only, of course). Two mistakes though, at 17:20-17:25, they say that there are two companies of the 1st REP. The 1st REP does not exist anymore, it was disbanded in 1961. The people who jump on Timbuktu were from the 2nd REP and elements of the 17th RGP (engineer parachute regiment) if I am correct. And when they talk of a Commando Platoon of the 2nd REP, it is not "SOF" (Special Operation Forces) as per French standards. They probably talk about the GCP of the 2nd REP, which we consider as reconnaissance troops who open the way for the brigade's main forces. French Special Forces are composed of other units, some were presented in this video. Keep up the good work CAC, thanks for the video !

[@lesflynn4455]

Yes. I once read a book written by an by an English Legionnaire who explained why the Regiment is now gone. 1 REP attempted a military coup against General De Gaul. It didn't go so well, and as a result the entire regiment was disbanded.

[@Nettempereur]

@@lesflynn4455 Yes, the 1st REP and other military units (including some Air Force commandos) seized power in Algiers, in order to prevent General de Gaulle to carry on his policy to grant independence to Algeria. Yet, most of French military was made up of conscripts and that war was quite unpopular in metropolitan France. Most of the Armed Forces did not accept to participate in the coup which was easily taken down. The units which participated in the putsch were disbanded.

[@lucienderubempre6477]

L'armée Française est parfois obligée de faire face à un manque de pièces de rechanges ou de certains soutiens logistiques. Et malgré ça, les militaires font toujours face avec une inventivité et une efficacité remarquables pour tenir leurs objectifs. Respect à eux. Il est plus que temps - ça fait des années que certains le réclament - d'augmenter les budgets, afin de permettre à nos soldats de remplir leurs missions dans des conditions plus dignes.

[@ombrepourpre7562]

Yeah, Mais d'où viendrait l'argent ? Certainement pas des caisses Allemandes (qui ont quasiment désarmé leur pays, avec Merkel disant basiquement "les Français ont une armée, nous n'en as pas besoin. Utilisons l'argent autre part. ") et se reposant sur l'armée française pour défendre l'UE. Seuls les anglais ont encore une armée solide. Et encore, c'est surtout de la naval, et quelques régiments de Terre ultra-professionnel. Sauf qu'ils ont quitté l'UE. Les grecs sont ruinés. Les Italiens ont du nombre mais peu de troupe ayant vu le feu. Pareil pour les Espagnols. Ces deux derniers ayant pas mal d'op en Afrique et autres sous le coude. Mais sans faire tourner les régiments comme la France le fait (merci Sarkozy pour ça 👍 Quoiqu'on pense autrement de lui) Faudrait une armée UE, payée en contribution par l'UE. Avec les pays dépensant le moins pour leur armée nationale contribuant le plus, par compensation. Mais bonne chance pour faire passer ça 😢

[@tgh1972]

i believe that flying vehicle at 7:16 is an AMX 10

[@antoinedoyen7452]

AMX 10 RC ..Yes

[@pierregatto3389]

Very deeply detailed, very interesting

[@Marc_Majoullier]

About Serval opération. A serval is a wolverine. That's cool.

[@kolerick]

and now Ron DeSantis made a stupid comment about the French if Russia invaded it instead Ukraine... a pencil pusher (a lawyer in this case) who dare to comment about the values of actual fighting soldiers...

[@markpasse9691]

They are the best army in the World.

[@Arckangium]

quand tu vois la reconnaissance aujourd'hui...

[@luisdotespinal]

I really like your commentary dude. Nice to see how you compare and contrast the events with your own observations and experience.

[@sirius8103]

Yeah there is a lot of heavy gunfights videos of the french in Mali in KZbin. Pretty impressive footages.

[@lesflynn4455]

The French military must have an excellent logistics tail, in order to carry out such operations. The French AF and Army must have been busting ass to keep up supplies of diesel, water, food, ammo and vehicle maintenance during this operation. Chapeux! to France for pulling this off. It would have been a tough operation.

[@firesheep9667]

2:50 For information Mozambique is a country that has a AK47 on its flag... the only one with a firearm

[@quepouique7772]

Thanks man. happy to see you apreciate it

[@emjizone]

10:59 No, this is weird french stuff from the 70s, *not specific to the foreign legion.* The foreign legion is french army with french equipment, not "alien and weirder" equipment. Now this is outdated. The advantage of such thing, however, is that it *moves much faster than tracked vehicle,* is much *easier to maintain,* and *fit in a medium transport plane,* but still *can deliver serious punch* and *outrange vehicles with similar speed and smaller weapons.*

[@haltuaketti420]

In iceland we are setting up Rapid Responce force because of current situation in europe.

[@hadrienpostic6604]

Just for the question on the aircraft picture in the night. I think that's a Mirage 2000, with one reactor (motor), the Rafale, have two reactors. Two very good aircrafts from France... Yes I'm french 😉. Thx for your video. H.

[@Youssef92ri]

Im a former french soldier and im a big fan off ur content also i can explain u somes think u don't understand or u just don't khow ... ask me bro i can explain u a lot !!

[@ke3p3r62]

Freaking intresting video! Thx for the upload mate

[@TOMCATnbr]

22:38 it's a mirage 2000. Probably a -D for ground strike.

[@maximusaugustus4976]

2000D and C were used and also Rafale.

[@Tortuex_]

infantry vehicles are getting replace with newer models, namely the Jaguar, the Serval and the Griffon. They're really amazing vehicles, maybe you should react to them !

[@leeming1317]

Stalwart, and Agressive!

[@PaulKTomo]

Second (damn upon editing /refresh third) comment! But only seen first few minutes, so I'll have to come back and edit but how good is Jon Snow? Haha. So yeah great video as usually man! It's hard for a British person to say well done to the French haha, but nah seriously really good. Very impressed by them!

[@WhereIsElmut]

I know it’s a little late after release but about French Light Armor Vehicles (AMX and ERC) it’s wheels and canon vehicles that where made in the 80/90 decades. Now they are being replaced with Griffon and Serval (still on wheels not tracks) to favor mobility and maintenance to correspond with French capacities and tactics. Not as heavy as a MBT like the Leclerc tank but still useful when you need fire support vehicles that can “hit and run” along the mechanized infantry.

[@macmaoni7693]

Atleast french army saved thounsands civilians childrens womens, they did some dirt (always have some fucked up elements) but when i seen some picks an videos of what the radicals and millices(i think it was boko) do too little cities and villages... glad french army saved some young girls and boys! And yep french army dindt come on some "colon" type operations its the governement of mali who called for help...but now its a new gov and they want the fr army out.

[@Wildkakahuette]

and we respect their choice by leaving :)

[@ombrepourpre7562]

And they have of course said they will not make reimbursement for the money trow to Mali to train their army. Rebuild schools, hospitals and more for them... Because it's "a proper compensation for old colonial time". Of course.

[@grindpapi]

February 2013, I was in Mali GTIA2. Since the start of the conflict in Mali, French Army army has been sent like 2weeks after(The foreign legion first and SF) then we, regular forces. Crazy situation. And to answer your question the Groupment Tactics Interames is when you take a lot of différents regiments with différents specialities to work as one unit (infantry regiments + transmission regiments + heavy + convoy regiment, etc etc whatever the brigade)

[@emjizone]

22:35 That weird momment when you start to wonder if France worked with Wakanda. 😂😂😂 It's a HIBCFO (Hardly Identified by Civilians Flying Object).

[@OXIDOME]

What people don't understand very well is that contry like Russia US or China are way WAAY bigger and stronger than any EU contry and France alone is nothing compared to them in term of budget or number but with what they have they do a very good job

[@user-wh8mb7tm2g]

Look how well Ukraine is doing against Russia, pretty sure Russia can be taken out of the conversation now😂

[@mimelejeune6237]

I'm probably very late to the party, but what you see at 22:43 of your video is a Mirage 2000D Fighter Bomber on full afterburner.

[@kentallard8852]

the thing at 22:38 is the LGI Mle F1 it is a 51mm mortar the French army issues to their rifle squads, mortars this small are called "knee mortars" and were semi-common up to WWII after which most dispensed with them for rifle grenades and then grenade launchers but France still uses them

[@spadexalon5385]

It is normal in France to make people from different regiments work together, although maybe harder than in the US because each of these regiments hold sometimes centuries-long traditions and identity

[@patlelion]

Thx for your video, yeah France is not USA or Russia, but they can organise complexe opérations very far away, very quick, self sufficient and very effective, the result was great many terrorists neutralised with a minimum of casualties ! France have definitely one of most professional army in the world at the moment! Hope they ll carry on fighting the ennemies of our democracies with our allies (especially the US/EU/UK...) heard they already send French Alpine hunters near Ukraine

[@azurman3]

Actually Russia has some trouble with waging a war in a neighbour country

[@justeunfan3364]

@@azurman3 I won't say that : they send little troops, few old vehicules and in less than 2 weeks they've made progress, still they are slower than expected . The next 2 weeks will be decisive : either they organize, bring more stuff and win, or they will take even more time and loose more and more credibility. 15 days is way to short do know how a war is going, especially with all the propaganda and internet spreading misinformatioon in both sides. I wouldn't mess with the russian army untill we are sure they are really struggling while using everything they can.

[@azurman3]

@@justeunfan3364 Underestimating an enemy also stands for a weakness in a military. Plus the Russians seem either to have overestimated their ability to make the Kyiv government collapse in a short span of time, or to have forgotten about rasputitsa. They have been through major strategic errors so far, and as you must know they have been suffering from huge losses especially as regards armoured vehicles and fighter jets (even very modern ones). Theses losses are duly documented, of course.

[@Delta66-jz1vl]

Beside their nominal organisation in regiments of various types, french units are indeed trained to operate in adhoc combined arms formations picking sub units from diferent regiments to suit the mission. Especially for OPEX, (opération extérieures) that is foreign ops. Up unitl the 90 and the fall of the soviet union, the doctrine was for armored corps operation in central Europe, but since then the focus is more on COIN vs lighlty armed insurgent, hence the bumber of smaller armored cars that can be airlifted. The current rules is to be able to deploy up to 15 000 equipped personnels oversea in a short amount of time.

[@simokokko7550]

Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava! And greetings from Finland!

[@maximusaugustus4976]

Nice video. Some informations are missing but it's because they are under secret. @22:42 it's a Mirage 2000 taking-off

[@kaclni2004]

another awsome video,thanks!

[@TheMajorActual]

Until last night (2/23/22), Mali was one of the world's primary front lines; this is where the US SOF/ODA was ambushed and destroyed back in 2017....Moving on: 1. The French organization is similar the older USMC MAGTF model, just not permanently organized. 2. The wheeled assault gun grabbing air at the beginning is an AMX-10RC; 6x6, 105mm cannon; that is different from the ERC-90. 3. The VBL is a better-Jeep replacement; great little vehicle. 4. Op/Serval was impressive AF.

[@marjannovoselc7311]

The US SOF ODA was ambushed in Niger (The Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush - 4 October 2017), not in Mali. Although it is part of the same wider battlefield (Sahel region), it is not the same country. Niger is Mali's neighbour to the east.

[@TheMajorActual]

@@marjannovoselc7311 I stand corrected. I've slept since then, and things are rather out of whack just now. Thanks for calling me out on that.

[@marjannovoselc7311]

​@@TheMajorActual Well, it's essentially the same coflict, just stretched out through multiple countries.

[@yannisfaussie3889]

22:32 I think it's a Rafale, a combat airplane made by Dassault Aviation. Hard to say because of darkness, but there's a rectangular sensor on top of the Rafale drift wing, that Mirage 2000 don't have (previous France main airfighter). They use both of these planes actually, and slowly replace Mirage 2000 by Rafale

[@lecheyenne62]

19:27 its exactly that : that GTIAS are task forces, but AUTONOMOUS Task forces who have the initiative for an action..... And because of that AUTONOMY , there is "different " units composing one Group GTIA The tricky part is the chain of command for an operation in that system..... that is not only "up to bottom" but "ALSO" BOTTOM TO UP....... If i can use a metaphore, that gtia groups ares like air drones who obey to the regular chain of commands but have the capabilities to initiate any action on the moment (even if that action is not required by the top )

[@zuken4696]

Lerclerc tanks can easily go up to 70 km per hour without any problem, even on bad terrain

[@thornil2231]

Terrible mistake at 17:21 1er REP? It is not really a big deal if you don't know much of French History, but the 1er REP was disbanded for good reasons. Read about it.

[@sebdaar]

They forgot to precise that 4 Rafale took off from a France north east base on the 13th january, for a 9h35 mission with several air refueling to bomb terrorist position

[@jean-jean6257]

Il l'a dit dans la video ! Il y avait 4 tanks, 6 hélicoptère, et 3 U.F.O.. On travail beaucoup avec les petits gris...

[@stuartlarge6296]

8:15 multiple brigaaaaaaaades 🤣🤣🤣

[@LeDiamondDog]

brigAAAAAdes

[@contrerasfrederic6058]

22:22 Was just an Mirage IV taking off :)

[@patfarget-nm3mt]

Funny 😉👍

[@_nino.co_7198]

22:43 it’s a fighter jet named Mirage 2000

[@pyridonfaltis9761]

AK is also featured in the flags of Burkina Faso, East Timor, Mozambique and Zimababwe features it in its coat of arms.

[@dougmoore5252]

You know, it obvious that these French units and men train like this also. Probably the different units with various strengths train together also to pull this off so fast.

[@joachimbui4841]

22:33 Actually it is a jet fighter taking off. You can see the exhaust gas pointing on the bottom left of the image and the nose pointing in the opposite direction and going up

[@MastahFR]

Plane is M-2000XX (mirage 2000)

[@Marfius_Au_Marfongus]

22:44 I am pretty certain that it is a mirage 2000

[@lillustrealex8350]

The Light weird tank is à erc90 sagaie

[@shoganai6036]

the aircraft you werent able to indentified is a mirage2000, a plane

[@knoll9812]

The french units are very modular. They are designed that you pull together thise units and they can work together.doent take a long time to pull together a fighting force.

[@-----REDACTED-----]

The offensive was arguably a masterpiece, even more so when one considers the constraints and trade offs french forces operated under. But the following counterinsurgency operations were, as pretty much usual, a shambles… I don’t even know of a single instance where counterinsurgency was conducted successfully and lastingly. Maybe the Balkans? It’s quite possibly one of the greatest challenges a military force has to deal with.

[@haaxeu6501]

Not much you can do when fighting a force hiding among civilians, in caves and villages, avoiding all direct contact, and using IEDs as their sole way of fighting. Do that for a decade and wait for your ennemy to leave. At least Mali is not Afghanistan, the country didn't fall in the hands of the Jihadists the second France left, and the reason France left is because the junta government told them to.

[@Darthdog4957]

It didn’t leave because the government told it to as its still effectively a French colony it left because it had no reason to keep troops there any longer

[@jeanlucrigault2980]

hello , your UFO is a Dassault Mirage 2000D .

[@kaylesmacc2986]

The French have the best special strength in the world the French sas the commando Marine cpa 10 13rdp the cream of the cream

[@jmlepunk]

On dit special force en anglais :)

[@camillelejosne8010]

French Style, Hail from Normandy.

[@DeliriumVs]

22:31 not an UFO, only an old fighter taking off (Mirage 2000 i guess)

[@vincentvoillot6365]

The UFO is probably a Mirage Air Fighter.

[@zomkino]

hey man if you want the details theres a full documentary translated on youtube, can find if you're interested , believe its by the channel "nettempereur" and its operation Serval

[@crispymedias8255]

What you say being an ufo is prolly a mirage 2000, old mono reactor