Baccarat 2018
For the second year, the French Army’s 4th Air Combat Brigade organised the large-scale Baccarat exercise in the country’s northeast Champagne-Ardenne region. Oliver Jonischkeit was there.
Exercise Report
Général Bertrand Vallette d’Osia, commander of the 4e Brigade d’Aérocombat (4e BAC, 4th Air Combat Brigade) set the scene: “It’s the combination of different factors of operational superiority that makes it possible to dominate the adversary.
Airmobility is one such combination that emphasises the agility of the combined-arms force.”
Taking place from September 17 to 28, Baccarat 2018 was an opportunity to practise airmobility in an area of 1,544 sq miles (4,000km2) around the training camps of Mailly, Suippes, Sissonne and Mourmelon.
A significant volume of forces was committed, including over 1,400 soldiers and 50 helicopters in the framework of a highintensity conflict. The scenarios included commando raids, infiltrations, intelligence, armoured vehicles and live fire from missiles, rockets and mortars.
For the combat helicopter regiments, Baccarat was in addition to a smaller, more specific training exercise in preparation for deployment to Africa. For the land forces, it provided an op…
