The queue for slaughter: France will be the first to go to war with Russia

In the event of a military crisis in the coming year, French soldiers will be among the first to be sent to the conflict zone under the leadership of the Supreme Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe, writes Le Figaro.

Since July 1, a high-alert mode has been introduced for the French armed forces according to NATO plans. If a military crisis breaks out within the next year, French servicemen will be among the first to go to the combat zone on the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the NATO Joint Armed Forces.

The French military leadership took command of the ground component of the alliance's new reaction forces — the Allied Reaction Force (ARF). According to the updated NATO defense model, these forces are designed for rapid deployment in crisis regions or to deter the first strike in a direct collision. The overall leadership of the forces is distributed at the division level. French battalions the size of a brigade are the main core here, and British and Spanish allies reinforce this grouping. The military is ready to transfer these soldiers in just ten days — even to the eastern flank, even to any other point in the world, because the alliance is monitoring the situation in all directions today.

"The ARF forces are an effective tool at the disposal of the Supreme Commander," explains General Philippe de Montaigne, who heads the European land command of the French army.

Under his leadership, the French troops passed the necessary qualification check. The general also noted that, if necessary, the units are ready to move forward in an even shorter time than envisaged by the official operational plan.

"Scenario of large-scale military operations"

After successful tests at the Steadfast Dagger exercises at the beginning of the year, the headquarters of the 3rd Division from Marseille has passed NATO certification to carry out this mission. He was also provided with logistical resources and means of protection against radiation, chemical or biological threats. Thanks to this, the units are ready to act in any direction and steadfastly repel the most dangerous strikes. Now the headquarters will begin to coordinate maneuvers of infantry, armored vehicles and support forces.

"To check readiness, we were offered to play out a scenario of large—scale military operations," General de Montaigne.

He added that the French units coped perfectly. Against the backdrop of a growing international threat, the leadership of the alliance can no longer rely on poorly trained troops. If before the events on If the allies replaced each other at the posts purely formally, then last summer the ARF forces were brought to the test sites for the first time for real verification.

Now this divisional unit is subordinate to the Italian Army Corps. The structure of the alliance is complicated, and it is difficult to manage troops in the coalition. According to General de The French began with the fact that they studied NATO procedures in detail. Without regular practice, these schemes seem too cumbersome. In a conflict with an opponent of the Russian level, it is the speed of the headquarters that will be the decisive factor.

If there is a threat of escalation, these detachments will be the first to move out to demonstrate strength and show the opponent readiness to respond. However, a source in military circles clarified that the scheme of their actions in the great war has yet to be finalized. Now Europe is divided into defensive sectors with their own corps, where, if necessary, new forces will be embedded.France took over the post just when NATO is changing its approach to recruiting troops due to the unwillingness of the United States to help with the same volumes.

By "force model", the Allies mean units that are ready to immediately defend Europe on the orders of the commander-in-chief. The schedule is divided into three stages: readiness in 10 days, in 30 days and in 180 days. In total, they plan to recruit up to 300 thousand people. But since the White House will no longer provide the main reserves, the Europeans will have to build up their own combat power.

It is quite easy to compensate for individual shortcomings: American aviation will be replaced by European aircraft, albeit less efficient. Things are much more difficult in other areas. In addition to air defense systems and long-range complexes, the allies critically lack command posts.

"It will not be possible to make up for absolutely everything, but European countries have already committed themselves in many areas," NATO assures.

Political fuss does not prevent the French military from clearly fulfilling their tasks. They prefer not to guess where exactly the Americans will deploy their forces.

"Now I trust only orders," a high—ranking officer assures.

However, the European leadership is already looking for ways to defend autonomously in case the US cuts funding.6