Shortly before midnight, French special forces engage on the bridge of Wabaria (Mali). A pick-up truck loaded with explosives then rammed into the French positions under fire from soldiers and exploded in a flash that tore the night away.

This fight begins after the day on January 25, 2013, when our soldiers took up positions in Gao. Snipers positioned themselves on a mound overlooking the village of Wabaria and the river, allowing the Special Forces to take control of the terrain and, ultimately, the southern entrance to the bridge.

At the same time, C-130 and Atlantic 2 aircraft were discreetly watching in the sky while Rafales were passing by and back to support the troops who appeared very fragile after a "low altitude" raid (advantages and disadvantages of entering first). A war of attrition began and had to be faced with reduced support and dwindling ammunition. The soldiers were tired and the enemies resisted because the bridge was their only way out.

Faces covered, eyes masked by sunglasses, dressed in ochre colour on abrasive terrain, the Special Forces (SF) fascinate because they are at the heart of the action, the one that is triggered in the urgency of an intelligence on the expiry date of a few hours. Their adversaries, for whom violent death is one of the military options, force them to expose themselves in proximity fights that end with a grenade or handgun, a proximity that has become foreign to many modern conflicts. "To life, to death! "as the motto of the Ponchardier Commando states.

Alone, SFs are insufficient; but they prevent the development of metastases by deploying rapidly and with little logistical hold. Their guiding principle is a thousand years old: small groups of men can bring an indisputable added value to the conventional force system when circumstances dictate.

Indeed, special forces :

. . .use their flexibility to respond to the flexibility of France's enemies. . ;

. represent an alternative to frontal combat for a highly leveraged operation;

. complement a classic maneuver to wear out and disorganize the adversary within his lines, in depth, within less secure devices. It is a reactive tool capable of challenging the opponent's zone of impunity by acting in his camp through short windows of vulnerability. With SF, no sanctuary for the opponent!

. become, finally, an intermediate solution when the political and diplomatic environment does not allow to implement a direct strategy in a target country. The theory of the "unconventional warfare" or the Russian hybrid war in Eastern Ukraine provide the most striking examples.Their military operations are rarely revealed in the open: they are secret, but not clandestine because they are "marketable".

Nevertheless, the absence of publicity in no way diminishes a commitment that is total: in Mali as well as in the Levant; in the fight against terrorism or in a punch action against a Katiba chief during direct offensive action missions; deployed in Gao for a deep attack before the arrival of French forces in the Levant; in the fight against terrorism or in a punch action against a Katiba chief during direct offensive action missions; deployed in Gao for a deep attack before the arrival of French forces in the Levant.aises conventionnelles de l'opération SERVAL; in the action to free a hostage; during an intelligence mission, as well as during so-called environmental missions, including the training and accompaniment of partners up to combat.

More than ever a power factor, Special Forces (SF) determine a country's military rank. However, in this area, France is part of a restricted club and must remain so...

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