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Originally Posted by GVChamp
Does anyone have the capacity to challenge France's soft power dominance? How exactly do they maintain control over the area? I know, of course, that they do have some heavy assets in the area, as they were able to swiftly destroy the entire air force of Cote D'Ivoire. Would they be capable, though, of trying to put down a large rebel army in Guinea?
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The French maintain a semblance of control because there is no one else there. Their limited force projection ability is enough to overcome the opposition before it gets too strong.
Fighting in Africa is characterized thin force ratios. Small forces covering enormous distances. The distances involved can be both an asset and a liability. It can make your fixed assets less vulnerable but also make it difficult to respond to attacks in a different area. This why initiative is so important.
Outside capital cities the infrastructure ranges from limited to primitive to nonexistent. Transportation assets are usually limited. The side with more transportation usually has better intelligence and is able concentrate their limited combat assets in such a way to guarantee local superiority.
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Also, there was a mercenary group operating in West Africa, IIRC. SL, right? What were their objectives and how did they achieve them? (I think there was even a member of this group on this board who took control of a ship. Posted under funny stories)
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EOs aviation assets provided tactical flexibility and enabled them to get real time intelligence that their opponents lacked. Those assets, a gunship and several transports, provided critical interdiction and enabled small amounts of troops to be placed at critical locations when and where the were needed most. The result was an enemy that lost the initiative and then never regained it.
The contribution of those few helicopters backed by fixed wing aircraft cannot be over estimated. Flying overhead constantly they provided real time intel as to the enemies location and intentions. Together with the rest of the forces on the ground driving mainly unarmored trucks this was enough to permit a small professional force to defeat an opponent many times their size.
The maritime assault you're referring to occurred on the other (east) coast of South Africa, just off the coast from Durban.
