Opération Baliste was a French aeronaval operation off Lebanon aimed at securing citizens of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in the context of the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...

Components

Opération Baliste employed 1,700 men under Counter Admiral

Xavier Magne Amiral Xavier Magne is a French Navy officer, commander of European Maritime Force between 2011 and 2013. Biography Magne made a career aboard the ''Charles De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 197 ...

. The operation was threefold : * An aerial transport group, composed with one

Transall C-160 The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. "Transall" is a German abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium ''Transporter Allianz'', comprising the companies of Messerschmitt- ...

and 3

Eurocopter Cougar The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar (now Airbus Helicopters H215M) is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by Eurocopter. The AS532 is a development and upgrade of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma in its militarized form. Its ...

* A battlegroup of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, including motorised infantry, engineering, ALAT and light armour. * An amphibious naval group composed with the amphibious operation ships and , and the frigates and . The group had hospital capabilities, combat helicopters, transport helicopters, and landing craft.

History

On 18 August 2006, 14,500 people had been evacuated (including 11,300 French citizens). On 20 August, the amphibious assault ship and the frigate sailed from

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

to join the theatre and convoy elements from the 2nd and 13th Regiments of Engineering, as well as over 100 engineering vehicles for the

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...

On 3 October, an Israeli fighter penetrated the defence perimeter of the stealth frigate , triggering a diplomatic incident. Israel apologised after official protests from the French government.

References

External links

French Defence Ministry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baliste, Operation Military operations of the 2006 Lebanon War Battles involving the French Foreign Legion France–Israel relations France–Lebanon relations Non-combat military operations involving France 21st-century military history of France