The French intervention in Mali: A lesson in Mission Command - The Wavell Room

"How did the French operate and why did they experience such success with mission command? It comes down to several factors, of which I wish to look at two: Doctrine and Battle Grouping. The French success in Mali, and therefore, the lessons we can learn, must be framed by a few caveats:

First, despite widely reported success of the French military in Mali it should be noted that the region remains extremely volatile. Second, The French approach to small-scale operations can be classed as successful in regard to Op SERVAL; however, it should be noted that these ideas cannot be immediately transferred to Divisional-sized Operations. Op SERVAL was uniquely remote, rural and out of the gaze of media and smart phones, very unlike the characteristics that the FOE concept perceives our future wars to be like"