Currently, the units of the Foreign Legion are considered one of the few combat formations of the French army and NATO, capable of performing assigned tasks without drones, gadgets and powerful air support: as in the good old days - with hands and feet. And therefore, these relatively small and not too saturated modern military equipment units, which are not of great importance in large combat operations, are widely used where it is necessary to deliver a quick pinpoint strike, especially when it comes to terrain with difficult terrain, where it is difficult to use heavy military equipment. … Some even say that the Foreign Legion is now the largest, most powerful and efficient private military company owned by the presidents of France. And I must say that the French presidents use this unique military unit with pleasure.
The list of wars and military operations in which the units of the Foreign Legion took part is more than impressive. Here is some of them.
Wars in Algeria (from 1831 to 1882) and in Spain (1835-1839).
Crimean War of 1853-1856
Wars in Italy (1859) and Mexico (1863-1867).
Fighting in South Oran (1882-1907), Vietnam (1883-1910), Taiwan (1885), Dahomey (1892-1894), Sudan (1893-1894), Madagascar (1895- 1901).
In the twentieth century, in addition to the two world wars, there were also battles in Morocco (1907-1914 and 1920-1935), in the Middle East (1914-1918), in Syria (1925-1927) and in Vietnam (1914-1940) …
Then there was the First Indochina War (1945-1954), the suppression of the uprising in Madagascar (1947-1950), hostilities in Tunisia (1952-1954), in Morocco (1953-1956), the Algerian War (1954-1961) …
Operation Bonite in Zaire (Congo) in 1978 was very successful. Much of the above has already been described in the previous articles of the cycle. But there was also the Gulf War (1991), operations in Lebanon (1982-1983), Bosnia (1992-1996), Kosovo (1999), Mali (2014).
It is estimated that since 1960, France has carried out more than 40 military operations abroad, and many (if not all) of the legion's servicemen received the "baptism of fire" in them.
Legionnaires fought especially often under François Mitterrand. His political opponent, former Minister of National Defense Pierre Messmer, even politically incorrectly called this president "a maniac of military gestures in Africa." Mitterrand twice sent troops to Chad and Zaire (Congo), three times to Rwanda, once to Gabon, in addition, under him, French troops participated in the "UN humanitarian intervention" in Somalia (1992-1995).
And in 1995, French Foreign Minister Jacques Godfrein said that his country's government "will intervene whenever a legally elected democratic government is overthrown in a coup d'etat and there is an agreement on military cooperation."
In Paris, you can now see a monument to soldiers who died outside France, starting in 1963 (that is, in military operations of the post-colonial period):
One of these figures (in a traditional cap) is easily recognizable as a legionnaire.
In this article we will talk about the missions of legionnaires in the second half of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century.
Operation in Gabon, 1964
On the night of February 18, 1964, mutineers from the military and gendarmes of Gabon seized the presidential palace in Libreville, arresting President Leon Mbah and President of the National Assembly Louis Bigmann. Meanwhile, France received uranium, magnesium and iron from Gabon, and French firms were engaged in oil production. Fearing that rivals would come to the country under the new government, de Gaulle said that "non-intervention would entice military groups in other African countries to such violent changes of power" and ordered "to restore order" in the former colony. On the same day, 50 paratroopers captured Libreville International Airport, where planes soon landed, carrying 600 soldiers from Senegal and Congo. The capital of the country was surrendered by the rebels without resistance. The military base in the city of Lambarene, where they retreated, was attacked from the air on the morning of February 19 and was fired on from mortars for two and a half hours, after which its defenders surrendered. On February 20, the freed President Mba returned to the capital and took up his duties.
During this operation, one French paratrooper was killed and four of them were injured. The losses of the rebels amounted to 18 people killed, more than 40 wounded, 150 rebels were taken prisoner.
Operation Bonite (Leopard)
In 1978, the French Foreign Legion conducted two operations in Africa.
During the first, called "Tacaud" ("Cod"), the uprising of the Islamic National Liberation Front of Chad was suppressed and the oil fields were taken under control. In this country, the units of the legion remained until May 1980.
But "Tacaud" remained in the shadow of another famous operation - "Bonite" (translation options: "mackerel", "tuna"), better known under the spectacular name "Leopard" - as it was called in the Congo. It went down in history as one of the most successful airborne operations at the end of the twentieth century.
On May 13, 1978, about 7 thousand "Katanga tigers", fighters of the National Liberation Front of the Congo (FNLC, instructors from the GDR and Cuba took part in the training of these fighters), supported by one and a half thousand rebels of the Congolese province of Shaba (until 1972 - Katanga), attacked it the capital is the city of Kolwezi.
The head of the FNLC at that time was General Nathaniel Mbumbo - the same one who, together with Jean Schramm, defended the city of Bukava in 1967 for three months. This was discussed in the article "Soldiers of Fortune" and "Wild Geese".
At that time, about 2,300 specialists from France and Belgium worked at the Kolwezi enterprises, many of whom came here with their families. In total, up to three thousand people were held hostage by the rebels.
On May 14, the president (more often he is still called the dictator) of Zaire (that was the name of the DRC from 1971 to 1997) Sese Seko Mobutu appealed to the governments of these countries for help. The Belgians were only ready for an operation to evacuate the white population of the captured city, and therefore the French began to plan their own operation, in which it was decided to use the soldiers of the second parachute regiment of the Foreign Legion, which was located in the barracks of the city of Calvi - the island of Corsica.
By order of President Giscard d'Estaing, the commander of this regiment, Philippe Erulen, formed a landing group of 650 people, which on May 18 flew to Kinshasa on five planes (four DC-8s and one Boeing-707). The equipment given to them was delivered to Zaire later on the C-141 and C-5 transport aircraft provided by the United States.
On the same day, a Belgian parachute regiment (para-commando regiment) arrived in Kinshasa.
On May 19, 450 French legionnaires were delivered to Kolwezi by five planes of the Zaire armed forces and dropped by parachute from a height of 450 meters, with Colonel Erulen himself jumping first.
One of the corporals crashed in the fall, 6 people were wounded by the fire of the rebels. The first company of legionnaires liberated the Jean XXIII lyceum, the second - the Zhekamin hospital, the third - went to the Impala hotel, which turned out to be empty, and then entered the battle at the technical school, the police station and the Church of Our Lady of the World. By the end of that day, the legionnaires had already controlled the entire old city of Kolwezi. On the morning of May 20, on the eastern outskirts of Kolweze, paratroopers of the 2nd wave were landed - another 200 people, the fourth company, which began to operate in the New City.
On the same day, the Belgians began their operation, it was named "Red Beans". Upon entering the city, they were fired upon by legionnaires, but the situation quickly cleared up and no one was hurt. Belgian paratroopers, in accordance with their plan, began to evacuate the found Europeans, and the French continued to "clean up" the city. By the evening of May 21, the evacuation of Europeans from Kolwezi was completed, but the French remained in this area until May 27, displacing the rebels from the surrounding settlements: Maniki, Luilu, Kamoto and Kapata.
They returned to their homeland on June 7-8, 1978. The Belgians remained in Kolwezi for about a month, performing mainly security and police functions.
The results of the operation carried out by the legion's paratroopers can be considered brilliant. 250 insurgents were destroyed, 160 were taken prisoner. They managed to capture about 1000 small arms, 4 artillery pieces, 15 mortars, 21 grenade launchers, 10 heavy machine guns and 38 light machine guns, destroy 2 enemy armored personnel carriers and several vehicles.
The losses of the legionnaires amounted to 5 people killed and 15 wounded (according to other sources, there were 25 wounded).
One paratrooper was killed in the Belgian regiment.
The losses among the Europeans taken hostage amounted to 170 people, more than two thousand were rescued and evacuated.
In September 1978, Erulen became Commander of the Legion of Honor, and a year later died while jogging from myocardial infarction at the age of 47.
In 1980, the film Legion Lands at Kolwezi was made about these events in France, the script of which was based on the book of the same name by the former officer of the Foreign Legion Pierre Sergeant.
If you don't know why Serzhan's book is called the same as the famous song by Edith Piaf (or forgot about it), read the article "Time for parachutists" and "Je ne regrette rien".
Operation "Manta"
In 1983-1984 French soldiers again took part in hostilities in the Republic of Chad, where a new round of civil war began in October 1982. The Libyan-backed head of the transitional government, Ouedday, confronted Defense Minister Hissken Habré. On August 9, 1983, François Mitterrand decided to provide assistance to Habré, military formations from the Central African Republic were transferred to Chad, the number of French troops was soon brought to 3500 people.
Those who did not want to enter into a direct confrontation between Gaddafi and Mitterrand stopped their troops at the 15th parallel and finally agreed on the simultaneous withdrawal of their troops from Chad. By November 1984, the French had left the country. True, later it turned out that 3 thousand Libyans remained in it, which, on the one hand, helped to increase the authority of the leader of the Jamahiriya, and on the other, provoked Mitterrand's accusations of collusion with Gaddafi.
The legionnaires were twice part of the international peacekeeping forces in Lebanon: in 1982-1983. and in 2006.
And in 1990 they were sent to Rwanda.
Operations Noroît and Turquoise
On October 1, 1990, units of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (consisting mainly of male refugees of the Tutsi tribe, expelled from the country in the 1980s by the Hutu tribe) launched an offensive, supported by the Ugandan army. They were opposed by the regular troops of Rwanda and the soldiers of the Special Presidential Division of the Zairian dictator Mobutu, French combat helicopters provided air support. Subsequently, units of the 2nd Parachute Regiment of the Foreign Legion, the 3rd Parachute Regiment of the Marine Corps, the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment and two companies of the 8th Marine Regiment were transferred from the Central African Republic to Rwanda. On October 7, with their help, the rebels were pushed back into the forests of Akagera National Park, but they failed to achieve a complete victory. A shaky, often interrupted truce was established. Finally, on 4 August 1993, an agreement was signed by which several Tutsis were included in the Rwandan government, and the French withdrew their troops.
On April 6, 1994, while landing at the airport in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, an aircraft carrying Rwandan President Habyariman and Burundi's interim President Ntaryamir was shot down. After that, a large-scale massacre of representatives of the Tutsi tribe began: about 750 thousand people died. The Tutsis tried to answer, but the forces were not equal, and from the Hutu tribe they managed to kill only 50 thousand people. In general, it was really scary, the massacres continued from April 6 to July 18, 1994, many Tutsi refugees poured into neighboring Uganda.
In these conditions, the troops of the Rwandan Tutsi Patriotic Front resumed hostilities. In fierce battles, they practically defeated the regular Hutu army and entered Kigali on July 4: now to the south-west of the country, and from there to Zaire and Tanzania, about two million of their opponents fled.
On June 22, the UN-mandated French launched Operation Turquoise, in which soldiers from the 13th semi-brigade, the 2nd Infantry and 6th Engineer Regiments of the Foreign Legion, as well as the artillery units of the 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment and 11 1st Marine Artillery Regiment, some other units. They took control of the southwestern regions of Rwanda (one fifth of the country), where Hutu refugees flocked, and remained there until 25 August.
The events in Rwanda have seriously undermined the international prestige of France and especially its position in Africa. The world media openly accused the French leadership (and personally Mitterrand) of supporting one of the warring parties, supplying the Hutu with weapons, saving their troops from complete defeat, as a result of which they continued their sorties until 1998. The French were also accused of continuing the massacres of Tutsis in their area of responsibility during Operation Turquoise, while not one of the organizers of this genocide, and even none of the ordinary participants in the pogroms, was detained. Later, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and President Nicolas Sarkozy partially acknowledged these accusations, denying the malicious intent of their predecessors and describing their activities as a "political mistake."
As a result, the new French President Jacques Chirac ordered the Foreign and Defense Ministries to develop a new strategy, the meaning of which was to avoid being drawn into civil unrest and interethnic strife on the territory of other countries, and it was now recommended to conduct peacekeeping operations only in conjunction with the African Union and the UN.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Tutsi tribe also lived in Zaire, on which the local dictator Mobutu in 1996, the dictator decided to incite the Hutu refugees, sending government troops to help them. But the Tutsis did not wait for a repeat of the Rwandan events, and, having united in the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo (led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila), began hostilities. Of course, Africa has never smelled of any democracy (and no Marxism) (and does not smell now), but under such ritual "mantras" it is more convenient to knock out and "master" foreign grants.
Mobutu remembered the good old days, Mike Hoare, Roger Folk and Bob Denard (which were described in the article "Soldiers of Fortune" and "Wild Geese"), and ordered the "White Legion" (Legion Blanche) in Europe. It was headed by Christian Tavernier, an old and experienced mercenary who fought in the Congo back in the 60s. Three hundred people were under his command, including Croats and Serbs, who had recently fought among themselves on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. But these soldiers were too few, and neighboring Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda supported the Alliance. As a result, in May 1997, Mobutu was forced to flee the country.
You are deeply mistaken if you think that this story had a happy ending: the so-called Great African War began, in which 20 tribes from nine African states clashed among themselves. It resulted in the death of about 5 million people. Kabila, who declared himself a follower of Mao Zedong, thanked the Tutsis for their help and asked them to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), having quarreled with the Rwandans. He now saw Tanzania and Zimbabwe as his allies.
On August 2, 1998, the 10th and 12th Infantry Brigades (the best in the army) rebelled against him, and the Tutsi military formations did not want to disarm: instead, they created the Congolese Rally for Democracy and began hostilities. At the beginning of the next year, this association split into two parts, one of which was controlled by Rwanda (the center was in the city of Goma), the other by Uganda (Kisangani). And in the north, the Congo Liberation Movement appeared, the leadership of which also collaborated with the Ugandans.
Kabila turned to Angola for help, which on August 23 threw its tank troops into battle, as well as the Su-25 purchased in Ukraine. The rebels left for the territory controlled by the UNITA group. And then Zimbabwe and Chad pulled up (apparently, these states had few concerns of their own, all problems had been resolved long ago). It was at this time that the notorious Victor Bout began to work here, who, using his transport aircraft, began to help Rwanda, transferring weapons and military contingents to the Congo.
At the end of 1999, the alignment was as follows: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, Chad and Zimbabwe against Rwanda and Uganda, which, however, soon grappled among themselves, not dividing the Kisagani diamond mines.
In the fall of 2000, the Kabila army and the Zimbabwean troops conquered Katanga and many cities, after which the war moved from an "acute phase" to a "chronic" one.
In December 2000, UN observers were deployed along the front line in the Congo.
But on July 16, 2001, Kabila was killed, presumably by Deputy Defense Minister Kayamba, Kabila's son Jafar ascended the throne, and in 2003 a war broke out in the Congo between the Hema tribes (supported by the Ugandans) and the Lendu. Then France came into play, which promised to bomb the positions of both. As a result, the Congo government and the rebels signed a peace treaty, but the Ituri tribe has now declared war on the UN mission, and in June 2004, the Tutsi revolted, whose leader, Colonel Laurent Nkunda, founded the National Congress for the Defense of the Tutsi Peoples.
They fought until January 2009, when the combined forces of the Congo government and the UN in a fierce battle (using tanks, helicopters and multiple launch rocket systems) defeated the troops of Nkunda, who fled to Rwanda and was arrested there.
During these events, about 4 million people died, 32 million became refugees.
In April 2012, an uprising of the March 23 Movement (M-23) group, which consisted of representatives of the Tutsi tribe (named after the date of the 2009 peace negotiations), began in eastern Congo. Rwanda and Uganda again took their side. In the summer, UN troops joined in the suppression of this uprising, which did not prevent the rebels from capturing Goma on November 20. The war continued for another year, several tens of thousands of people died.
The war in the Congo continues to this day, no one pays special attention to peacekeepers of different nationalities.
