Operation Septentrion was a 36-hour

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...

of the

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...

(ISAF), a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

-led security mission, that took place December 16–18, 2009, in the Uzbin Valley of eastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. A part of the War in Afghanistan, it involved a force of 1,100 troops, including 750 to 800 French troops, 200 United States Special Forces and

Afghan National Army Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia * Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

(ANA) soldiers.

Background

Sixteen months before the operation, the

Uzbin Valley ambush French International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops were ambushed by Afghan Taliban insurgents, with heavy casualties, in the Uzbin Valley outside the village of Spēṟ Kunday of the Surobi District of Kabul province in eastern Afgha ...

, on August 18, 2008, by the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

in the area of Surobi, Afghanistan, had killed ten French soldiers and wounded twenty-one.

Goals

The operation's purpose was "reaffirming the sovereignty of Afghan security forces in the north of the Uzbeen Valley", according to a French military spokesperson, as well as to plant the

Afghan flag The national flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان بیرغ; prs, پرچم افغانستان), also used as the flag of the Taliban, consists of a white field with a black ''Shahada''. It was adopted on 15 A ...

in what was called a key strategic village. (While 75 percent of the Uzbin Valley had been under ISAF control, the rest of the valley had been under the control of the Taliban.)

Fighting

During more than 90 minutes of combat, several US soldiers were wounded, including three serious injuries. The Taliban fighters attacked with

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...

s, mortars and heavy machine gun fire; for the coalition forces, the French troops used shells, backed up by French Tigre and US Apache helicopters and fighter jets. At least one Taliban fighter was killed and three were injured, according to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Hervé Wallerand, who led the operation.

Strategy

The French employed what was called the "Mikado strategy" (''la stratégie du Mikado''), after the game

Mikado Mikado may refer to: * Emperor of Japan or Arts and entertainment * ''The Mikado'', an 1885 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan * ''The Mikado'' (1939 film), an adaptation of the opera, directed by Victor Schertzinger * ''The Mikado'' (1967 f ...

(known in North America as "pick-up sticks"), because of the need to plan every move carefully with constant awareness that one wrong step could risk everything being lost. In particular, the Mikado strategy emphasizes consulting with local inhabitants in a

shura Shura ( ar, شُورَىٰ, translit=shūrā, lit=consultation) can for example take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praisewort ...

(or consultation) to minimize the risk of local civilians conspiring against the ANA and ISAF forces. For this reason the operation was preceded by "weeks of negotiations with local villagers", according to the

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

Aftermath

In July 2011, the Croix de la Valeur Militaire ("cross of military valour"), a French

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medal ...

, was presented to five Americans –

Cpt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Thomas Harper, Master Sgt. David Nuemer, Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Ahern, Staff Sgt. Casey Roberts and

Sgt. Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

Ryan Meister – for their service during the operation.

References

External links

*
Operation Septentrion video
(requires Lightbox video).

French Ministry of Defense , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = Ministry , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , logo = Ministère des Armées.svg , logo_width = 150 , logo_caption = Official logot ...

. {{War in Afghanistan, state=collapsed 2009 in Afghanistan Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving France Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States NATO operations in Afghanistan Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour