In the fighting in Mali, the heirs of the Cossacks who fled from the Bolsheviks take part, says Michele Farina in the pages of Corriere della Sera. “They are the only armored Cavalry men of the Foreign Legion, the distant heirs of the white Cossacks who were defeated by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution and settled in the sands of the Sahara in the early twenties of the last century.”It was in Sousse, present Tunis, that the cavalry regiment was born. Blood, and on the spilled blood” – writes the publication.
“Now they are looking at the Sahara differently than their predecessors, who, since 1925, have covered themselves with fame in the name of France, pursuing insurgents from one end of the desert to another, from Morocco to Syria.” But now they are looking not from the saddle of a thoroughbred Arabian horse, But from the cockpit of an armored car, and in the face of other rebels, another type of war.They are the first French soldiers to enter the war in Mali and will stay here for at least another 4 weeks until the rainy season stops the war season, The author of the article writes.
“The not-too-tiresome business trip to N’Djamena was due to end at the end of January, the regiment was supposed to return to the base in Orange, but instead they were flown to Mali by planes, and there were other divisions of the legionnaires from Côte d’Ivoire along with a hundred armored vehicles And Sagaie tanks with 90-millimeter cannons. Several ground operations began a couple of days ago, 20,000 soldiers of the army of Mali are only weak support, and contingents promised by other African countries are still a mirage, so a siege is important strategically orodka Diabali captured insurgents was organized by special forces of President Hollande and bronekavaleristami Foreign Legion seven squadrons totaling about 900 men under the command of Colonel Jean-Christophe Bechon”, – writes the correspondent.
“The Foreign Legion cavalry fought all over the world, from Algeria to Indochina, took part in the battles of World War II, in the Gulf War and the Balkans – and almost never lost,” the article reads. “Although they were born out of a historic defeat. Many of the Cossacks who fled the Red Army settled in Tunisia, where they joined the French, who took part in protracted (Algeria, 15 years) and short-term missions (against Saddam Hussein), and now they will stay in Mali for some time.”
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