So... nobody is going to ask why is the French Army in Africa?
Because people follow the news and know about the UN mandate that the French forces (and all the other Europeans there) are enforcing.
The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
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Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#52It’s interesting that the most socialist states pursue exactly the same objectives that the most capitalistic states pursue outside their national borders, often involving war, violence and exploitation.
The discourse internally is however one of solidarity, fraternity and equality.
Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#53How practical are these against modern weapons? Couldn't some modern explosives just destroy a fortress wall, thus rendering its inherent purpose of withstanding a siege impossible? It's an interesting sight and architecturally curious but I'm wondering what the purpose of such an effort is.
They're basically the most effective, quick defence to put up (a somewhat long but informative British army video on the effects of small arms on various walls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j31Crn-y6tM)
They'll withstand most SVBIED (Suicide Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Devices) attacks. And incase one Hesco barrier is not enough, several are usually used to create sufficient thickness.
So for a counter-insurgency war such as this in Mali, yes you couldn't get better
Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#54So... nobody is going to ask why is the French Army in Africa?
Mali and the surrounding countries were a French colonial territory for about 80 years from the late-19th through mid-20th centuries. France has maintained relationships with its former colonies in West Africa, and frequently performs counter-terrorism operations there. Some local West Africans are OK with it, others are not. A 2016 attack on a beach resort in Côte d'Ivoire was claimed by the attackers (AQIM - Al'Qae…
there's also the Francs CFA, meaning that these countries non-shadow economy is - in effect - still managed by France...
Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#55Other nations built castles in Afghanistan using the same HESCO bastion [1] techniques shown in the article, don't think they were as interesting shapes though. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesco_bastion
Yes our patrol base in Afghanistan was made partly of these and partly of the adobe mud walls of the compound we were in. This shape would've been really useful, as on more than one occasion people were able to sneak up by utilising the visibility dead-zones
Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#56How practical are these against modern weapons? Couldn't some modern explosives just destroy a fortress wall, thus rendering its inherent purpose of withstanding a siege impossible? It's an interesting sight and architecturally curious but I'm wondering what the purpose of such an effort is.
Why destroy the wall when it traps valuable equipment that you can lob explosive shells at.
lobbing explosive shells into that need's at least a mortar, which at least needs rudimentary setup, which means you are dead a short time after firing your shell.
Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#57How practical are these against modern weapons? Couldn't some modern explosives just destroy a fortress wall, thus rendering its inherent purpose of withstanding a siege impossible? It's an interesting sight and architecturally curious but I'm wondering what the purpose of such an effort is.
I guess that fort is build with the threat of the Al Quaeda/ISIS groups in mind, which are mostly equipped with firearms and a few RPGs and such but nothing too advanced. It's not intended to take on a full siege by a regular army.
Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#58So... nobody is going to ask why is the French Army in Africa?
Because people follow the news and know about the UN mandate that the French forces (and all the other Europeans there) are enforcing.
They aren’t part of the UN force MINUSMA based in Mali though, afaik.
https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/minusma
Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#59How practical are these against modern weapons? Couldn't some modern explosives just destroy a fortress wall, thus rendering its inherent purpose of withstanding a siege impossible? It's an interesting sight and architecturally curious but I'm wondering what the purpose of such an effort is.
Typically they're shaped differently, but US forces in Iraq / Afghanistan use the same type of structures built from dirt-filled barriers. They're highly effective if the enemy does not have artillery and / or air power.
Re: The French Army Is Building Renaissance-Style Fortresses in Africa
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mali and the surrounding countries were a French colonial territory for about 80 years from the late-19th through mid-20th centuries. France has maintained relationships with its former colonies in West Africa, and frequently performs counter-terrorism operations there. Some local West Africans are OK with it, others are not. A 2016 attack on a beach resort in Côte d'Ivoire was claimed by the attackers (AQIM - Al'Qae…
there's also the Francs CFA, meaning that these countries non-shadow economy is - in effect - still managed by France...
What do you mean by "managed" exactly?