Legionnaires of the Second Foreign Parachute Regiment
This article will talk about the missions and military operations of the Foreign Legion, carried out by him in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Persian War, Somalia and Bosnia
In 1991, during the Gulf War, Foreign Legion combat units took part in the capture of Al-Salman airbase in central Iraq.
Desert Storm Map
The 6th light armored division (Division Daguet, "Division-dagger") then included the following formations: the first armored cavalry regiment (three reconnaissance battalions of 12 AMX-10RC armored personnel carriers and VAB armored personnel carriers) and one anti-tank (12 VCAC / HOT "Mephisto").
VAB, "front line armored vehicle"
VAB-HOT (VCAC Mephisto)
2nd Infantry Regiment: command company, logistics company, 4 mechanized infantry companies, anti-tank platoon, anti-aircraft platoon, (two 50-mm 53T2 anti-aircraft guns based on VAB armored personnel carriers), mortar platoon.
Armored vehicle of the 2nd Infantry Regiment
"Commando" of the Second Parachute Regiment.
Commandos from 2e REP at As-Salman, Iraq, late February 1991
As well as engineering and sapper units.
6e REG legionnaires in Kuwait City in 1991
And these are the legionnaires of the First Armored Cavalry Regiment before leaving Iraq, March 1991:
1992-1996 units of the legion were involved in "UN peacekeeping operations" in Somalia and Bosnia.
In Somalia, torn apart by the civil war, the peacekeepers' actions were successful only at first, during the humanitarian operation "Revival of Hope", which began on December 9, 1992. Then they managed to repair about 1200 km of roads, deploy hospitals, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
2e REP legionnaire observing Mogadishu, Somalia, December 1992
In the second phase of this mission, dubbed "Continuing Hope" (started in March 1993), it was decided to disarm field troops, clear roads and take control of ports and airfields. This only led to the consolidation of various groups of militants, who, moreover, began to be supported by the local population, who feared that the real purpose of the aliens was the occupation of their country. It all ended in a disastrous operation by the Delta Special Operations Group and the Rangers of the 75th US Army Regiment in Mogadishu, who tried to capture the most authoritative field commander in Somalia, Mohammed Farrah Aidid. During the fighting in Mogadishu on October 3-4, 1993, the Americans lost 2 helicopters, and their paratroopers (160 people) and two snipers of the notorious Delta group were blocked by superior militant forces. The combat operation smoothly turned into a rescue, reinforced company directed to the city, it could not break through to the encircled, it was necessary to turn to the Malaysians and Pakistanis for help, who, with great difficulty, were able to withdraw the American Rangers from the encirclement. Eighteen American soldiers were killed, including two snipers of the Delta group, whose corpses were dragged around the city by the triumphant militants for a long time. These shots made the most unpleasant impression on the Americans, they even started talking about the "Somalia syndrome" - society's rejection of even relatively small losses during small combat operations. And numerous private military companies began to receive more and more contracts: their losses worried society much less (if at all). But we have already talked about private military companies, let us return to Somalia - and we will see that after the failure of the operation, the Americans hastily withdrawn their troops from this country, other peacekeepers followed their example. By all accounts, the coalition's clumsy actions only intensified the civil war in Somalia, and even UN officials were forced to admit failure.
But the Americans managed to make money from this tragedy: in 1999, Mark Bowden's book "The Fall of the Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern Warfare" ("Black Hawk Down" is the name of a downed helicopter) was published. And already in 2001, a film was shot based on this book, which, with a budget of $ 92 million, grossed about 282 million at the box office (and managed to get about a million dollars for the sale of DVD) and received two Oscars - for the best editing work and for the best sound.
Stills from the movie "Black Hawk Down":
As for Bosnia, NATO units are still accused of conniving at the Serb genocide unleashed on the territory of this former Yugoslav republic.
1995 year. A joint exercise by the French Foreign Legion and British military units, about 10 km southwest of Sarajevo. Foreign Legion Technique - Right
Legionnaires of the 2nd Infantry Regiment next to a 120mm mortar, Bosnia, 1995
And in 1995, legionnaires of the DLEM unit from the Isle of Mayotte, as part of Operation Azalea, landed on the Comoros and arrested the coup d'état mercenaries Robert Denard (this was described in the article "Bob Denard, Jean Schramm, Roger Folk and Mike Hoare: The Fate of the Condottieri ").
DLEM soldiers
Operation Almandin and the Civil War in the Central African Republic
In April 1996, a strike of civil servants and teachers began in the Central African Republic; on April 18, soldiers of the territorial defense regiment, whose salaries had not been paid for three months, also revolted. Armory depots, police stations and a prison were seized, from which the rebels released all prisoners. They failed to take the presidential palace, but the head of state, Ange-Felix Patassé, fled to a French military base.
The French had to intervene - to take control of vital facilities. This is how Operation Almandin began.
This time there was no fight: having received a salary, the rebel soldiers returned to their barracks. But on April 18, the situation escalated sharply: after the president's attempt to take control of armored vehicles, the military, who feared revenge on his part, raised a new mutiny: the capital came under their control, and the soldiers robbed the city for a week. French troops were transferred from Gabon and Chad, which began to evacuate the European population (7 thousand people were taken out) and entered into a battle with the rebels (Operation Almandin II), during which 12 rebels were killed and 2 French were wounded. After an unsuccessful attempt at negotiations, the rebels were surrounded in the Kassai barracks, during the assault 43 of them were killed, 300 were wounded.
On November 15, new unrest began among the soldiers of the garrison.
On December 3, two French soldiers were killed while patrolling the streets. And on December 5, Interior Minister Christophe Grelombe and his son were kidnapped and killed, their decapitated bodies were found in front of the presidential palace.
On the night of December 8, the French stormed the rebel headquarters, where more than ten rebel commanders were killed, 30 were taken prisoner. At the same time, the actions of the French military were harshly criticized at home, where Jacques Chirac was already called the "gendarme of Africa" - and he hastened to transfer control over the capital of the CAR to the military mission of African states, guaranteeing its financial support. By February 28, 1999, all French troops were withdrawn from this country.
The French military had to fight again in the CAR in November 2006, when 300 soldiers, supported by two Mirage F-1CR fighters, assisted the authorities of this country in repelling an attack by UFDR militants on the city of Birao. And on the night of March 5, 2007, French paratroopers, trying to save the European population of this city and their operational support unit (18 people), unblocked this city, having lost 6 people killed and 18 wounded. A number of liberal media outlets immediately denounced France, accusing its soldiers of connivance at torturing and killing prisoners and civilians, as well as violence and robbery. As a result, during the next battles that unfolded in the CAR in late 2012 - early 2013, a French detachment of 250 people received an order from Paris not to intervene in the confrontation, the President of the CAR Francois Boziza had to flee the country, and Muslim militants began to "clean up" Christian population.
3rd Company of the 2nd Parachute Regiment, CAR, December 28, 2012
This time, the French did not manage to leave the CAR, they even had to increase the size of their group to 1,600 people (and 3,300 soldiers were provided by African states). All this took place as part of the operation Sangaris (the name of the butterfly), which continues to this day.
French soldiers, Operation Sangaris, 2013
French checkpoint, Operation Sangaris, December 22, 2013
French troops continued to suffer casualties. So, on December 9, 2013, in one of the clashes with the militants, 2 French soldiers were killed.
1er REC legionnaires with Panhard ERC 90 in the Central African Republic, 2015
2e REI legionnaires in the Central African Republic, 2015
Cote d'Ivoire, Libya and Afghanistan
From 2002 to 2004, paratroopers of the Second Regiment participated in the French army's operation "Licorne" ("Unicorn"), which was carried out in Côte d'Ivoire, where, after an attempted military coup, war broke out between the northern and southern provinces.
Fighting vehicle of the Legion in Ivory Coast, 2002
French units also took part in the events in Libya in 2011. Three groups of French soldiers acted: in the city of Misrata besieged by government troops, in Benghazi and in the Nafusa highlands. The Marines of one group "worked" in their uniforms, the unknown "commandos" of the other two - in unmarked uniforms, and most likely at least one of them consisted of Foreign Legion soldiers. The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Alex Ponyatovsky, at one time said that in Libya at that time there were from 200 to 300 fighters of the French special operations forces. War journalist Jean-Dominique Mershet wrote about seventy. Many now suspect the participation of French army units in the destruction of several convoys of the Libyan government army off Benghazi in 2011.
Until 2012, units of the Foreign Legion were in Afghanistan.
2e REP legionnaires at their outpost in Afghanistan, around 2011
There were also losses here.
Legionnaires of the 2nd Regiment of Engineers (2e REG) bid farewell to two soldiers, Afghanistan, December 29, 2011
Operations Serval and Barkhane
On April 29, 2012 in the African state of Mali (the former colony of France, known as Upper Senegal and French Sudan), the next presidential election was scheduled.
Mali on Africa map
These elections were not destined to take place, because on March 22, a military coup took place in the country, led by Captain Amadou Sanogo, who studied military affairs in the United States. The National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and the Revival of the State, created by the rebels, came to power: the bays in distant Timbuktu, contrary to the text of the famous song of the Secret group, no, let there be democracy at least.
On April 8, President Amadou Tumani Touré, ousted from power, finally wrote an official statement of "voluntary resignation", and on April 12, Dioncunda Traore, who had graduated from the University of Nice, swore allegiance to Mali and democracy on April 12. Of course, none of the Malians chose this gentleman who sympathized with the French, but the United States and France demanded "the restoration of civil rule."
For some reason, the Malians did not appreciate such concern of the world community: on May 21, a crowd of thousands seized the presidential palace, Traore was beaten quite badly, and he had to be evacuated "for treatment" to France, where he remained for more than two months - until the end of July. …
But for the complete happiness of Mali, all this was not enough: on April 6, the Tuareg tribes rebelled, who decided that, since such a democracy began in the country, they could also organize their own independent state - Azavad. And next to it, refugees from Libya were also very handy - from tribes related to the Tuareg, supporters of the ousted Muammar Gaddafi. One such fugitive, Mohamed ag-Najim, a colonel in the Libyan Jamahiriya army, became the commander of the rebel forces. And then the Islamists joined: Ansar al-Din, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa and other groups. On May 5, the city of Timbuktu was captured (another spelling - Timbuktu). At first, the Tuaregs viewed the Islamists as allies, but when they put forward the idea of a Sharia state, they changed their minds. In general, the formerly unified state of Mali fell apart into three parts.
In December 2012, UN officials decided to send a peacekeeping corps of 3,300 African troops to Mali, which was supposed to go there in September 2013 and stay there for one year. However, on January 11, units of the first infantry and second parachute regiments of the French Foreign Legion appeared on the territory of this country, which, as part of Operation Serval, began hostilities on the side of the unclear who elected (but, in general, it is clear who appointed) President Traore.
Soldiers of the Legion's 2nd Parachute Regiment await orders to board a plane bound for Mali
François Hollande was in such a hurry that he violated the laws of France by ordering the start of a military operation outside the country, without waiting for the approval of his parliament (which nevertheless approved his actions "retroactively" - January 14).
On January 20, 2013, British Prime Minister David Cameron also expressed concern, who announced the determination of his country (also far from African) to start combating the "threat of terrorism" in Mali and North Africa. He didn’t bind himself with any time frame, so bluntly he said: “We will react within years and even decades”.
The leaders of the USA, Canada, Belgium, Germany and Denmark also expressed their concern over the situation in Mali.
Evil tongues argue that the reason for such a united interest of the Western powers in Mali was the minerals, of which there were too many in the territory of this country. Explored gold deposits, for example, are estimated by geologists, are the third in Africa. And also in Mali there is silver, diamonds, iron ore, bauxite, lead, manganese, tin, zinc, copper, lithium and uranium.
Some people believe that the military coup by Amadou Sanogo was just a staging that allowed to bring to power the "right person", whom the dull Malians themselves might not have chosen.
But back to the description of the hostilities in Mali.
On the night of January 26, the legionnaires captured the bridge over the Niger River, killing 15 militants, and then the airport.
Foreign Legion soldiers in the vicinity of Gao, Mali, 2013
1er REC vehicles (AMX 10 RCs + VBLs) during Operation Serval in Mali, 2013
On January 28, having covered 900 km in 5 days, a company of the second parachute regiment of the Foreign Legion and parts of the 17th parachute engineering regiment captured Timbuktu.
2e REP legionnaires in Timbuktu, Mali, late January 2013
Kidal was taken on January 31, and Tesalit on February 8.
The French acted according to the following scheme: paratroopers seized airfields and bridgeheads, on which engineering units immediately landed, ensuring the restoration of infrastructure and runways necessary for the uninterrupted supply of strike groups, then armored vehicles approached.
French fighter jets at Bamako airport, Mali, January 17, 2013
From February 18 to March 25, two French tactical groups of 1, 2 thousand people (mainly paratroopers) and 800 soldiers from Chad "cleaned" the Adrar-Iforas mountain range. Here on February 22, Chadian units were ambushed: 26 people were killed, 52 were wounded. During this time, the French lost 3 people killed and 120 wounded. The defeated militants moved on to guerrilla warfare, which continues to this day.
Since July 2014, Operation Serval has smoothly transitioned to another, called Barkhane, and expanded to four more states: Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.
Operation "Barkhan":
1er REC legionnaires in Chad in 2012:
In November 2019, the French carried out Operation Bourgou-4 on the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger against Islamist units.
Units of the Foreign Legion are still in Mali - without the presence of a UN mandate, which apparently does not interest them at all.
During this time, 41 French soldiers, including legionnaires, were killed on the territory of this country. 13 of them died on November 25, 2019, when a Cougar military transport helicopter collided with a Tigre fire support helicopter at night. Among them was a native of Belarus, 43-year-old senior sergeant A. Zhuk, a father of four children, whom E. Macron called a Frenchman at the farewell ceremony on December 2 of that year “not because of the blood he inherited from his ancestors, but because of the blood he shed. ", Saying:" He made his choice: to protect our country and our values."
As for himself, Macron was probably once again glad that there is a unit in France that no one is sorry to send even to Afghanistan, even to Iraq, or even to Mali.
And on May 1, 2020, there was a message about the death of Ukrainian Dmitry Martynyuk, corporal of the First Armored Cavalry Regiment, who had served in the French Foreign Legion since 2015. President Macron expressed his condolences and on this occasion, his representatives said: “The President of the Republic received with great regret the news of the death of Corporal Dmitry Martynyuk in the Percy de Clamart military hospital on May 1 due to injuries sustained from the explosion of an improvised explosive device. It happened on April 23 during the operation against terrorist groups in Mali."
Syrian secrets
In March 2012, a number of publications published about the detention of 118 French servicemen in Syria, including 18 officers in Homs (the original source is the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram) and 112 in Ez-Zabadani. The fate of these Frenchmen, as well as the unit they represented, remained unknown: it is likely that the French authorities somehow bought them out or exchanged them for concessions of a political nature. Many quite logically assumed that we were talking about the paratroopers of the second parachute regiment of the Foreign Legion, since if they were available, it would be foolish for the French to send their compatriots to this extremely risky operation. Probably, we can talk about a major military failure of the legionnaires sent to Syria, we will not learn the details of this story soon.
Another mysterious story with French soldiers (legionnaires?) In Syria occurred in May 2018: in the province of Hasek, 70 soldiers (a column of 20 jeeps) were detained by government forces, who allegedly drove there by mistake. The Kurds came to rescue the French, who said that foreign troops were on their way to them and took them to the city of Al-Qamishli, controlled by the Syrian Kurdish Self-Defense Forces (YPG). The fate of these soldiers is unknown, but Erdogan, who considers the YPG a terrorist organization, was very unhappy.
Since 2016, the legionnaires have been in Iraq with the official mission of "assisting the government forces" of that country. But on January 5, 2020, the Iraqi parliament demanded the withdrawal of all foreign troops.
Summing up, we can say that the legionnaires do not seem to be bored these days either.
