Army University Press is proud to provide the lessons learned from French General Bernard Barrera as he led French land forces into Mali in 2013. First published to a French reading audience in 2015, Operation Serval: A Memoir of War is now translated into English for military leaders to learn from our French ally’s experience. His account details the preparation of the operation and its progress in real time, speaking frankly and acknowledging the pain of loss in combat. Strong convictions are expressed in the exclusive service of the mission which must be accomplished without concessions, but not at all costs. General Barrera holds himself accountable for the lives of his subordinates and to their families who anxiously scrutinize the media in France, but he also demonstrates a sincere concern about the liberated populations caught in the crossfire of battle. Contemporary lessons in irregular warfare for today’s military leaders exist throughout.
English version
By Maj. Daniel K. Dillenback, U.S. Army
Spanish version
By Mayor Daniel K. Dillenback, Ejército de EUA
Portuguese version
By Maj Daniel K. Dillenback, Exército dos EUA
RAND Article
By Michael Shurkin
The Farewell to Arms of Army General Bernard Barrera, after four decades serving of the Arms of France. A superb course, including the launch of the Scorpion programme, Serval operation in Mali in 2013 and the liberation of Timbuktu, and the Army's modernization project.
YT: Over hills and over waves
Mali, 11 January 2013. At the request of Malian authorities and the UN, France launched what would become the largest operation outside the coalition since the end of the war in Algeria. Named after the small African wild cat of the Sahel region, Operation Serval deployed more than 4,500 men and women. Their mission: to put a stop to terrorist-led attacks, restore Mali’s territorial integrity and protect some 5,000 French nationals. Operation Serval was a tremendous air-land campaign, a huge logistical challenge and an incredible joint forces manoeuvre. Join us as we look back at the campaign with land forces and the Serval Brigade, armed with the 3rd Mechanised Brigade, the “Monsabert Brigade”. Its motto: “A single goal: Victory”.
YT: Ministère des Armées
In January 2013, Northern Mali was occupied by a coalition of terrorist groups threatening Bamako and Southern Mali. French President François Hollande launched Operation Serval, deploying some 5,000 troops on short notice. General Bernard Barrera, head of the land component forces, kept an occupational diary, presented here in the English language for the first time.
YT: Army University Press