Opération Tacaud was a French military operation in

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

, that took place between 20 February 1978 and May 1980. Its aim was to support the Chadian army in protecting

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...

from the FROLINAT.

History

Opération Tacaud was triggered by the capture of

Faya-Largeau Faya-Largeau (also known as Faya, or ) is the largest city in northern Chad and was the capital of the region of Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti. It is now in the Borkou Region, which was formed in 2008 from the Borkou Department of the former Bourkou-En ...

by the FROLINAT on 17 February 1978, opening the road to

, capital of Chad. France decided to send in troops to support the Chadian army, as had been previously done with Opération Bison a few years before.

Order of battle

Intervention was carried out by entirely professional units of the French Army, belonging to the 9th Marine Infantry Brigade. The 3rd RIMa was sent in its entirety, along with * a battery of the 11th RAMa, * a squadron of the RIMC * a squadron of the 1st REC * two companies of the 2nd REP * one motorised company of the 1st RE The Navy offered one Breguet Atlantic plane for intelligence gathering, as well as naval commandos who were deployed at N'Djamena International Airport. The Air Force offered eight

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is a British-French supersonic jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. As of 2025, the Jaguar remains in service with the ...

attack planes and a number of Transall aircraft for transport. Furthermore, two units of the 11th Parachute Division, the 2nd REP and the 35th RAP, were put in alert for possible deployment.

Deployment

The French Army already had men deployed in Chad, as personnel of the Marine Infantry were present for military counselling to the Chadian Army. On 20 April, these troops received reinforcements with the first company of the 1st REC, equipped with

Panhard AML The Panhard AML (''automitrailleuse légère'', or "light armoured car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed by Panhard on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airbo ...

armoured cars; one command platoon; and one mechanised platoon under captain Yvanoff. The 2nd squadron of the RIMC followed shortly thereafter.

Operations

The first clashes occurred in Salal, where the French routed a FROLINAT group. On 18 and 19 May, the Chadian 1st Infantry regiment had to rescue Chadian gendarmes surrounded by rebels in Ati. A squadron of the 1er REC tried to join the fight from Mussoro, but was unable to reach the battle. The 3rd company of the 3rd RIMa also joined in, from Mongo; as they approached Ati, the marsouins found themselves under heavy fire and had to call in air support, provided by the Jaguars. On 19, reinforcements of the REC arrived. The next day, the Jaguars softened FROLINAT positions, which were them stormed and taken. The rebels disengaged and regrouped in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

, 45 km North of Ati, from where they threatened the town. The French decided to raid the rebels in Jeddah to prevent another attack on Ati. On 31 May, two companies of the 3rd RIMa and a squadron of the 1st REC, supported by a battery of the 11th RAMa and the Jaguars, stormed the city. FROLINAT opened fire with small arm and

Strela 2 The 9K32 Strela-2 (; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile or MANPADS system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing, infrared-homing guidance and dest ...

fire, managing to shoot down one of the Jaguars with machine gun fire. Fighting lasted for 6 hours before the FROLINAT was routed. After the battle of Jeddah, it took then months for the FROLINAT to reconstitute a fighting force capable of attacking a town. On 5 March 1979, it attacked and occupied

Abéché Abéché (, ''Absha'') is a city in Chad and the capital of the Ouaddaï Region. It is one of the List of cities in Chad, largest cities in the country and has within it the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tom ...

. The 3rd RIMa, the RIMC and the 11th RAMa had to intervene again.

Results

Opération Tacaud lost 18 killed and two downed Jaguars to the French. Professional units rotated in Chad until May 1980. The experience gathered during the operation started the trend of professionalisation of the Army.les cahiers du retex
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References

External links

Opération Tacaud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tacaud, Operation Battles of the Chadian–Libyan War 1978 in Chad 1979 in Chad 1980 in Chad Military operations involving France Cold War military history of France