Operation DEGOUTTE

OPERATION ORDER #21 OPERATION DEGOUTTE

* 6th Light Armoured Brigade (French: 6e Brigade Légère Blindée, 6e BLB)HQ at NIAMEY, NIGER under Général de brigade Durieux. Will relocate to GAO, NORTHERN MALI once the city is secured.
* 3rd Combined Joint Task Force HQ at NIAMEY, NIGER under Colonel Gurdian. Will relocate to GAO, NORTHERN MALI once the city is secured.

MAIN EFFORT:

* 6th Light Armoured Brigade (French: 6e Brigade Légère Blindée, 6e BLB)
	+ 1st Spahi Regiment (French: 1er Régiment de Spahis)
	+ 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (French: 1er Régiment Étranger de Cavalerie, 1er REC)
	+ 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (French: 2e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie, 2e REI)
	+ 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion (French: 13e Demi-Brigade de Légion Étrangère, 13e DBLE)
	+ 21st Marine Infantry Regiment (French: 21e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine, 21e RIMa)
	+ 3rd Marine Artillery Regiment (French: 3e Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine, 3e RAMa)
	+ 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (French: 1er Régiment étranger de génie, 1er REG)

SUPPORTING ELEMENTS:

* 3rd Combined Joint Task Force
* 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (French: 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes, 2e REP)
* Commando Jaubert of the Commandos Marine

ORIENTATION

Mali and its environs

Mali is a landlocked nation in West Africa, located southwest of Algeria, extending south-west from the southern Sahara Desert through the Sahel to the Sudanian savanna zone. Mali's size is 1,240,192 square kilometers.

Desert or semi-desert covers about 65 percent of Mali's total area (1,240,192 square kilometers). The Niger River creates a large and fertile inland delta as it arcs northeast through Mali from Guinea before turning south and eventually emptying into the Gulf of Guinea.

The territory encompasses three natural zones: the southern cultivated Sudanese zone, central semi-desert Sahelian zone, and northern desert Saharan zone. The terrain is primarily savanna in the south and flat to rolling plains or high plateau (200–500 meters in elevation) in the north. There are rugged hills in the northeast, with elevations of up to 1,000 meters.

The Niger (with 1,693 kilometers in Mali) and Senegal are Mali's two largest rivers. The Niger is generally described as Mali's lifeblood, a source of food, drinking water, irrigation, and transportation.

SITUATION

France, expanding from Senegal, seized control of the area that would become modern day Mali in the 1890s and incorporated it into French West Africa as French Sudan. In 1960, French Sudan gained independence from France and became the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, the remaining area was renamed the Republic of Mali. Mali saw 31 years of dictatorship until 1991, when a military coup led by Amadou Toumani TOURE ousted the government, established a new constitution, and instituted a multi-party democracy. President Alpha Oumar KONARE won Mali's first two democratic presidential elections in 1992 and 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou Toumani TOURE, who won a second term in 2007.

In 2012, rising ethnic tensions and an influx of fighters - some linked to Al-Qa’ida - from Libya led to a rebellion and military coup. Following the coup, rebels expelled the military from the country’s three northern regions, allowing terrorist organizations to develop strongholds in the area. With French military intervention, the Malian Government managed to retake most of the north. However, the government’s grasp in the region remains weak with local militias, terrorists, and insurgent groups continuously trying to expand control. In 2015, the Malian Government and northern rebels signed an internationally mediated peace accord. Despite a June 2017 target for implementation of the agreement, the signatories have made little progress. Extremist groups were left out of the peace process, and terrorist attacks remain common.

Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA won the Malian presidential elections in 2013 and 2018. Aside from security and logistic shortfalls, international observers deemed these elections credible. Terrorism, banditry, ethnic-based violence, and extra-judicial military killings plagued the country during KEITA’s second term. In August 2020, the military arrested KEITA, his prime minister, and other senior members of the government and established a military junta called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). In September 2020, the junta established a transition government and appointed Bah N’DAW, a retired army officer and former defense minister, as interim president and Colonel Assimi GOITA, the coup leader and chairman of the CNSP, as interim vice president. The transition government’s charter allowed it to rule for up to 18 months before calling a general election.

In May 2021, Colonel Assimi GOITA led a military takeover, arresting the interim president after a Cabinet shake-up removed Goita’s key allies. Goita was sworn in as transition president in June 2021 and Choguel Kokalla MAIGA was sworn in as prime minister. On June 2 2021, Mali was immediately suspended from the African Union, with the board encouraging the Malian military to “urgently and unconditionally return to the barracks, and to refrain from further interference in the political processes in Mali”. Further, it stated that if the military did not hand back power to civilian transitional leaders, “the Council will not hesitate to impose targeted sanctions and other punitive measures”.

In January 2022,  the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions against the transition government and member states closed their borders after the transition government presented a five-year extension to the electoral calendar. ECOWAS and the transition government continue to work to negotiate an acceptable electoral calendar.

In June 2022, French media reported on Wagner mercenaries under the employ of the GOITA administration.

By December 2022 French forces had fully withdrawn from Mali to bases in Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Algeria. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) elevated its personnel count to compensate for the loss of French military power, but sanctions from ECOWAS and suspension from the AU, the humanitarian crisis in the country was beginning to cause escalated violence as factions fought over access to humanitarian aid resources.

In June of 2025, MINUSMA, which relied largely on peacekeeping personnel from neighboring countries like Niger and Chad, suffered extreme setbacks as Chad withdrew its support for the mission. Since the beginning of MINUSMA in 2013, over 2,100 UN peacekeepers had been killed in Mali- many of which occurred after the end of Operation Barkhane (the French counter-insurgent mission).

In August 2025, Chad joined into a military alliance with Libya, Sudan, and Somalia in a conflict against South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia. The explosion of violence across eastern Africa dramatically worsened the humanitarian crisis across much of the continent. The war also reignited tensions between the African Union, ECOWAS,  and the Malian government. Failure to control the north of the country and the resulting expansion of jihadist and smuggler control in the region contributed to the flow of arms and armaments into conflict zones, and the spread of refugees and human trafficking victims west and north.

In June 2026 the absence of Malian government control over the majority of the north of Mali resulted in the expansion of Jamaat Nosrat al-Islam wal-Mouslimin (JNIM), one of the largest jihadist groups in the region. By the end of the year, JNIM had declared large portions of the northern deserts as part of their newly founded independent state of AZAWAD. Azawad was also a short-lived independent state in northern Mali in 2012, pushed largely by the Tuareg Berber ethnic group. It is unclear if JNIM has any Tuareg support or whether the reuse of the name was simply in the hopes of uniting other factions to their cause.

In March 2027, the initial 5 year electoral extension given by the Malian transitional government reached its deadline. While many in ECOWAS and the AU hoped that a timeline for democratic elections would finally be announced, the transitional government responded by installing GOITA as the permanent president of the country. A new batch of sanctions were filed against the country by both the AU and ECOWAS.

In May 2027, the French president authorized OPERATION DEGOUTTE, a counter-insurgency campaign targeting the north of Mali. In accordance with the much-criticized foreign policy of “Françafrique”, French ministers have repeatedly affirmed that the instability in northern Mali “threatens the security of the entire Sahel, and the safety of many of France’s close allies”. Degoutte is intended to provide a peaceful future for a region long untouched by any Malian government forces. Critics have claimed that the French military aims to do the impossible: bring law and order to a lawless land without a state structure to support it. Defense ministers and military leadership have set forth a plan to involve and empower local tribal and/or ethnic leaders who are amenable to long-term peace into an alliance with Makan Baraky SOUMBOUNOU, a Malian politician who led the opposition against GOITA’s presidency. Together, these tribes, institutions, and key leaders will form a new state entity: Northern Mali. When questioned what the anticipated response from Bamako might be, one French general remarked, “Bamako has long since decided that cities like Gao and Kidal are beyond their reach- they will rattle their sabres and do little else. The north has never truly belonged to them and they will be unwilling to oppose us when our actions ultimately benefit them”.

Ahead of the deployment of conventional forces of the 6e BLB, extensive SOF operations will take place to prepare the battlespace.

On 29JULY2027, 3D CJTF and COMMANDO JAUBERT will conduct a series of raids against suspected smuggling hotbeds across the Sahel that are suspected to be connecting to smuggling and arms dealing operations in Mali. 3D CJTF will raid smuggling operations in TAKORADI, GHANA with the permission of the Ghanian government. COMMANDO JAUBERT will  conduct clandestine raids against smuggling operations near GHAT, LIBYA. Both of these elements will be recalled towards the intended AO of OPERATION DEGOUTTE.

At 0330 on 30JULY2027, 3D CJTF will infiltrate the country via airborne insertion and establish operational capabilities along RN18, WEST of KIDAL. Their task is to isolate this strip of RN18 IOT disrupt and neutralize enemy insurgent and smuggler activity coming in and out of KIDAL. Once this area is effectively isolated and elements of 6e BLB (expect to be 1-2 companies of the 2e REI) can be routed from GAO, 3D CJTF will move towards KIDAL to begin preparing the battlespace around the city for French seizure and occupation. It is estimated that it will take 2 weeks for French forces to pacify GAO, establish necessary logistical structures, and move reserve elements NE to assist 3D CJTF.

On 30JULY2027, COMMANDO JAUBERT will cross the MALI/NIGER border in advance of the lead elements of 6e BLB and disrupt enemy forces IVO ANSONGO and then GAO to facilitate the rapid progress of conventional forces towards the occupation of GAO, which will serve as the initial center of gravity in the AO. They will have a 48hr window to disrupt enemy forces before 6e BLB crosses the MALI/NIGER border.

At 0530 on 01AUGUST2027, the lead elements of 6e BLB (1er SPAHIS, 2e REI, 3e RAMa) will cross the MALI/NIGER border and push along RN17 towards GAO. Their task is to pacify and occupy the city and begin planning the necessary logistical framework to turn GAO into a regional strongpoint. Once the city is secured, 1-2 companies of 2e REI (as available) will detach and move towards KIDAL to reinforce 3D CJTF. Another company will attach to a squadron from 1er SPAHIS and attempt to seize the crossroads of RN18 and RN33 at BOUREM.

PHASE II

OPERATION DEGOUTTE PHASE II

Following the completion of all critical PHASE I objectives (the occupation of GAO and movement of detached companies towards KIDAL), the remainder of the 6e BLB will be committed to action. 1er Régiment Étranger de Génie (1er REG) will move to GOA to relieve the remaining elements of 1er SPAHIS and 2e REI, enabling them to regroup at BOUREM for clearing operations along RN33, with the ultimate goal of occupying TIMBUKTU. 13e DBLE will relieve the detached companies of 2e REI and assume control over KIDAL and the surrounding areas to being COIN operations there.

1er REC and 21e RIMa will enter the AO along RN17 and push through GAO to RN16. Once they have reached the town of DOUENTZA, 2e REP will conduct an AIRBORNE ASSAULT of SEVARE. 1er REC and 21e RIMa will continue to push IOT link up with 2e REP to secure a FLOT at SEVARE. It is anticipated that resistance along RN16 will be sporadic and largely comprised of insurgent forces. Because it is imperative that SEVARE be secured and fortified, conventional forces will not stop to establish logistical strongpoints along the route nor to pursue disengaging enemy insurgent forces- ONLY Malian conventional forces will be engaged and pursued until they have surrendered or been neutralized. SOF will backfill along RN16 and conduct COIN operations to stabilize and fortify it as a supply route.

3D CJTF and COMMANDO JAUBERT will deploy IVO GOSSI to conduct COIN operations IOT stabilize and fortify RN16 as a main supply route (MSR). Intel suggests that GOSSI and its environs are a focal point for insurgent influence in the region, as it sits upon major trade and transport routes in an isolated portion of the country’s settled north.

PHASE III

OPERATION DEGOUTTE PHASE III

Following the capture of TIMBUKTU and the linkage of forces IVO SEVARE, 6e BLB will focus efforts on maintaining a defensive line to repel any attempt by Malian Armed Forces to disrupt Northern Mali.

2e REP will move across the River Niger after they are relieved by 21e RIMa and 1er REC. 3D CJTF will be reassigned across the NIGER to assist 2e REP in screening any enemy forces from the WEST.

2e REI will hold in reserve NORTH of SEVARE and serve as the main source of Quick Reaction Forces along the front. This will be made possible by splitting the Regiment into autonomous Company sized units. They will be reinforced by COMMANDO JAUBERT.

1er SPAHIS will maintain a position in the NORTH near YOUWAROU to block enemy forces who attempt to flank.

3e RAMa will break into individual batteries in order to cover more units along the front.

EXECUTION

Area Recon from 29JULY2027

At 0130, 3D CJTF will load equipment and vehicles aboard C-130J transports and depart from CAMP LEVIATHAN in NIGER. Their destination will be TAB ZULU, a discrete location nearby Malian RN18 , where an improvised dirt landing strip has been established and marked by 3D CJTF CCTs. Once landed and offloaded, Rough Riders will break off into patrols in order to investigate the locations of suspected smuggler camps noted in the CCT area recon from 29JULY2027.

TAB ZULU will be further fortified and eventually turned into PATROL BASE REIKLAND, which will serve as the COMPANY HQ for operations in the initial AO.

ADMIN AND LOGISTICS

3D CJTF ROUGH RIDERS

* M1165 GMVs will be available at PB MELTON as the main method of transportation in the initial phases of the operation. This will expand to other COPs that are established.
* Fixed Wing Support available from GOLIATH from CAMP LEVIATHAN in NIGER.
* Rotary Wing Support available from PB MELTON. This may expand if a heliport can be established.
* 81mm Mortars will be available at PB MELTON.
* Surgical tools and advanced medical facilities located at PB MELTON, provided by SOST’s. Additional support available at AID STATIONS established through the AO.
* MEDEVAC PLAN - CASEVAC or MEDEVAC patients to the nearest AID STATION or PB.

Rules of Engagement:

The ROE for OPERATION DEGOUTTE is HOSTILE ACTS. This put simply is known as, “Do not fire unless fired upon”. Furthermore, the necessary escalation of force must be conducted to avoid collateral damage to private or civilian property.

WHITE COLLAR, and if absent, ANIMAL HOUSE can authorize HOSTILE INTENT within strictly specified zones for strictly specified periods of time. It is imperative that 3D CJTF personnel make every effort to preserve the lives, livelihoods, and quality of life of the local populace.

MEDROE:

The 3D CJTF Medical Rules of Eligibility is divided into four categories for OPERATION DEGOUTTE:

 ROUGH RIDERS
 FRIENDLY FORCES
 CIVILIAN
 ENEMY COMBATANT

No Fire Areas:

No Fire Areas (NFA) may be established to prevent the unnecessary or excessive destruction of important cultural and religious centers. No fire support, explosives, or excessive use of firepower will be permitted in NFAs.

Restricted Fire Areas:

Restricted Fire Areas (RFA) may be established to prevent the unnecessary or excessive destruction of civilian non-combatant property. RFAs will generally be established in every concentrated village. RFAs can be lifted at WHITE COLLAR’s, or if unavailable, ANIMAL HOUSE’s discretion.

COMMAND AND SIGNAL

Company Command: WHITE COLLAR

Commanding Officer: GAIUS

Executive Officer: EDEN

Company Sergeant: MAPLE

Platoon Commander: STETSON

Platoon Sergeant: BALKAN

Intelligence Chief: N/A

Communications Chief: ROBIN

Combat Engineer Chief: Vulkan

1st Platoon: ANIMAL HOUSE

Squad 1: BADGER

Squad 2: RHEA

Squad 3: CARACAL

IO Team: GENIE

Light Armor Section: WILD DOG

Weapons Section: SHAKMA

Artillery Section: MAMBELE

Engineer Section: VULCAN

Communications Section: FIREFINCH

MEDEVAC: FERRYMAN

Wing Command: GOLIATH

Fixed Wing CAS: WARHORSE

Rotary Wing CAS: DAGGER

Transport: LIFTER

UAV: RAPTOR

Combat Controller Team: STALKER