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Security and International
Relations in Central Africa
A Practitioner’s Perspective
a r m e l di rou
Security and International Relations in Central Africa
Armel Dirou
Security
and International
Relations in Central
Africa
A Practitioner’s Perspective
Armel Dirou
London, UK
ISBN 978-3-030-89596-9 ISBN 978-3-030-89597-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89597-6
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2022
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
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retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc.
in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such
names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for
general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and informa-
tion in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither
the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with
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This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this book are those of the author and do not
reflect the official policy or position of the French Ministry for the Armed
Forces.
For safety reasons French military rules require that, in an account,
only Generals and Battle Group commanding officers be mentioned by
surname. All others are mentioned by their rank and first name.
To the legionnaires and mountain troopers whom I had the honour of
commanding and who deserve the highest praise for their amazing cultural
sensitivity, proactivity, reactivity, self-control, tenacity and resolve. All were
superb fighting soldiers and also peacemakers. They belonged to the 2nd
Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment, the 1st Foreign Legion Engineer
Regiment, the 7th Mountain Infantry Battalion, the 93rd Mountain
Artillery Regiment and to my own regiment, the 4th Mountain Cavalry
Regiment.
Foreword
I first met Colonel Armel Dirou when I was the UK Field Army
Commander and he was serving as the Military Assistant to General
Arnaud Sainte-Claire Deville, then Commandant des Forces Terrestres.
General Arnaud and I were good friends and we took a Command-led
approach to improving the cooperation and integration between French
and UK Forces. We made good progress and Armel Dirou did much of
the groundwork to bring our ideas to fruition. I admired Armel then
for his wisdom, pragmatism, zest for life and firm belief in the Entente
Cordiale. And I admire him now, both for his continuing work in London
to bring France and the UK closer together militarily and for the creative
employment of intellectual and emotional energy he has demonstrated
in writing this book. I am therefore honoured to provide an introduc-
tion to Security and International Relations in Central Africa covering
the valiant exploits of the Battlegroup de Boissieu in the Central African
Republic in 2014.
This is a book for those who care deeply about the profession of
arms and want to understand the complexities of conflict in the fledging
democracies of the world. Our interventions have not delivered quick
victories given the intractable nature of the problems faced. Nor will they,
but this should not stop us from trying to be far smarter in developing
new approaches to achieve satisfactory outcomes at acceptable cost. If
we are to improve, then we need to learn. It would be too easy to brush
over the myriad challenges facing a commander and his battlegroup in the
ix
x FOREWORD
Central African Republic (CAR). Armel does not. He writes (“warts and
all”) with honesty, insight and pride in those he commanded and their
achievements. As a result, we learn more, to the advantage of women and
men who face similar deployments, and the education of those who order
and direct such operations.
Anyone who has fought in Afghanistan, Iraq or Mali will recognise
the challenges facing the Legionnaires and Mountain Troopers of Battle-
group de Boissieu as they worked to bring stability and security to vast
areas of ungoverned and under-governed space in the Central African
Republic (CAR). These are the so-called Forever Wars, operating (and
often fighting) in support of weak, sovereign governments to establish
peace, the rule of law and democracy. To work at the end of extended
(and sometimes overextended) supply-lines with difficult communications
and incomplete intelligence is never straightforward; nor is maintaining
continuity of purpose with the troops that served before or come after
you, or securing the support and trust of the people: “speaking not
only to their minds, but also their hearts”. These challenges are then
compounded by time, space and distance, when the components of the
force are dispersed to provide presence across a large geographic area.
Under these conditions, it takes a significant effort to concentrate force.
And all while the warlords, armed groups, criminal gangs and corrupt offi-
cials who profit from chaos and disorder and fear stability work to counter
progress by employing all the tools, both conventional and asymmetric,
available to them. And yet, the Battlegroup de Boissieuwas ultimately
successful, creating the security conditions before and after the Battle of
Batangafo to allow the deployment of the United Nations (UN).
Progress was hard won. It took the combined efforts of extremely well
trained, experienced commanders who were prepared to make difficult
decisions on limited information, and resolute, tough, highly profes-
sional, well-equipped soldiers—in this case Legionnaires and Mountain
Troopers, supported by bold Airforce and Army pilots whose support
is not just desirable, but often essential. You see here the value of the
French combat culture. Not just iron hearts, but the power of funda-
mental good, the worth of responsibility and the strength of example.
Success demanded absolute commitment to the Mission and persever-
ance to overcome difficulties. And we learn (again) that while everything
in war is theoretically simple, even the simplest thing was difficult in the
CAR.
FOREWORD xi
We are also reminded that the ability to continue learning marks leaders
apart, with the best having a unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Towards
the end of the book, Armel dissects “prudence and determination”, a
term that came to define his time in CAR. His analysis is well-judged
with the ideas offering more than enough material for a second book,
but for now I commend “Security and International Relations in Central
Africa” to you.
General Sir James Everard, KCB CBE

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe
(2017–2020)
Preface
In the French Army, Battlegroups are organised and grouped around a

lead unit whose name is chosen by the commanding officer. For our
Battlegroup, I decided on the name of a general who was our regiment’s
commanding officer from 1956 until 1958 and who enjoyed a distin-
guished record in the Second World War. During the battles in the Aisne
region in June 1940, he was surrounded and, by night, escaped with
his horse-mounted platoon. Once they had rejoined their parent unit, he
returned as he had promised to the encircled position to lead the infantry
company too to safety. He was later taken as a prisoner. Held captive
in Pomerania, he escaped in March 1941 to the USSR where he was
imprisoned for five months before joining the Free French Forces in Great
Britain. He then found himself at the heart of the events that would allow
France to be present at the table of the victors. He fought with the French
2nd Armoured Division in the liberation of France. After the recapture of
Alsace, Captain Alain de Boissieu finished his war in Berchtesgaden.
After the war, General de Gaulle said, during a walk in Marly in 1946,
to the then Major de Boissieu: “One day you must write down your
memories and publish them, because it is with the testimonies of our
junior officers that we teach young people what other young people did
xiii
xiv PREFACE
for France”.1 General de Boissieu published a book entitled To Fight

Alongside De Gaulle thirty-five years later in 1981. My experience is
neither as extensive nor indeed as impressive as his and so I have much
less to say.
I had the honour of meeting General de Boissieu twice and we enjoyed
some long and enriching discussions. To give his name to our Battlegroup
for the Regiment’s first major operation since the Algerian War was an
appropriate way to honour him and celebrate his memory. This book is
the story of Battlegroup de Boissieu during its operation in the Central
African Republic in 2014.
London, UK Armel Dirou
1 Général de Boissieu (c.r.), Pour combattre avec de Gaulle, Plon, Paris, 1981, back page.
Translation in English is mine, and unless otherwise stated, all the following translations
from French are on my own.
Acknowledgements
Beyond the acknowledgements that I have for all the soldiers who served
in our Battlegroup, Security and International Relations in Central
Africa would have been harder to achieve without the help of many
people. I am therefore indebted to those whose support and contribu-
tion were invaluable in writing this book, and I would like to express to
them my deepest gratitude. I have to mention the incredible dedication of
Jon Cresswell who spent many hours polishing my English to transform
my account into something publishable. In addition to his daily work as a
colonel in the British Army, Jon happily undertook this additional burden
because he recognised that our story should be told.
I must also thank Professor David Ellery who nominated me to be
a member of University College at Durham University. The starting
point for this book is a series of lectures that I started to give at the
Durham Global Security Institute. I would also like to extend my thanks
to Professor Rob Johnson, with whom long discussions have allowed me
to develop my thinking on command and decision-making processes in
combat.
My thanks would not be complete if I did not include all those
who patiently reread my drafts and enlightened me with their questions,
remarks and demands for clarification. I am thinking in particular of Sir
Tom Phillips KCMG, former diplomat and former commandant of the
Royal College of Defence Studies; the Right Honourable Tom Tugendhat
MBE VR, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee; Jean-Pierre
xv
xvi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Lee, a partner with global law firm Mayer Brown LLP; Dr. Michael
Shurkin, Senior Political Scientist at RAND; Dr. Guillaume Lasconjarias;
the Reverend John Ellis QHC, Chaplain in Chief of the Royal Air Force;
Professor Beatrice Heuser, Chair of International Relations at Glasgow
University, and Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE, former Chief of the Secret
Intelligence Service, whose support was much valued and appreciated.
Acknowledgement is due to the Durham University online publications
as well in which some passages first appeared.
Finally, I would like to conclude with a personal note. I owe a
great debt to several officers from whom I received so much. Some
were my instructors at the Military Academy of Saint Cyr, others were
commanding officers or chiefs of operations of my regiment. Their
highest level of demand has always guided me in the accomplishment
of my missions and tasks. And finally, I would like to single out my Force
Commander during the time discussed in the following pages, General
Eric Bellot des Minières, who honoured me by giving me his full trust
and a huge room for initiative in the field.
As the book goes to press, I am saddened to learn of the death in action
of Sergeant Maxime Blasco in Mali. A magnificent soldier, he experienced
combat for the first time during the combat of M’Bali and then during
the battle of Batangafo; he was recognised for his heroic actions there,
even though he was at that time a Private soldier. This book is, therefore,
a small part of his own great story. I cherish his memory and pay my
heartfelt tribute to his wife and their son.
Contents
1 The Central African Republic 1

2 Mission Preparation 7
3 A Holistic Approach 19
4 Failure at M’Bali 29
5 A Raid Through the Jungle 37
6 A Town to Seize 47
7 Failed Negotiations 61
8 Ten Thousand Lives to Be Saved 73
9 Return to Calm 87
Epilogue 95
Afterthoughts 99
Conclusion 125
Annexes 129
Sources 133
Index 137
xvii
About the Author
Armel Dirou Cavalry officer and moun-

tain trooper, Colonel Armel Dirou is grad-
uated from the Royal College of Defence
Studies (London), the NATO Defense College
(Rome), the Joint Staff College (Paris) and
of the Military High Mountain School in
Chamonix.
Qualified with a Ph.D. from Paris Sorbonne
University, he is Visiting Research Fellow at
King’s College London, Member of the Senior
Common Room at University College of
Durham and Fellow Reader at Paris Sorbonne
University.
Operationally experienced officer, he took
part in different operations in the Balkans in
Bosnia and in Kosovo. He carried out three
combat tours in Afghanistan, and, as a Battle
Group commanding officer, he led an infantry
battle group in the Central African Republic.
He is currently Deputy Director of Defence
Strategy at the French MoD.
xix
Abbreviations
AK 47 Soviet Manufactured Assault Rifle, Called Kalashnikov

AOR Area of Responsibilty
CAR Central African Republic
CAS Close Air Support
CGS Chief of the General Staff
CP Command Post
DPKO Director of Peace Keeping Operations
ERC 90 French Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle Equipped with a 90mm
Gun
FAC Forward Air Controler
FACA Central African Armed Forces
FOMAC Central African Multinational Force
GOC General Officer Commanding
HQ Headquarters
ISTAR Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance
JTAC Joint Terminal Attack Controler
LEGAD Legal Adviser
MINUSCA United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission
in the Central African Republic
MISCA International Support Mission for Central African Republic
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NCO Non-Commissioned Officer
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
PKM Soviet Manufactured General Purpose Machine Gun
PKO Peace Keeping Operations
POLAD Polical Adviser
xxi
xxii ABBREVIATIONS
QRF Quick Reaction Force

RPG Russian Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launcher
RPK Soviet Manufactured Light Machine Gun
UN United Nations
UNSC United Nations Security Council
VAB French Armoured Personnel Carrier
VBCI French Infantry Fighting Vehicle
WO1 Warrant Officer Class 1
WO2 Warrant Officer Class 2
CHAPTER 1
The Central African Republic
Situated between Cameroon to the west, Chad to the north, Sudan to the
east, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville to the
south, the Central African Republic is landlocked in the heart of Central
Africa. The country is divided into two main areas, “the North and the
Sudano-Sahelian region on the one hand, and the central and southern
regions on the other”.1 Due to its geographical location, “the Ubangi-
Chari area appears very different from the rest of the continent because of
this geographical isolation. It is clearly socially and culturally behind other
African countries where famous kingdoms and empires flourish: Téké in
Congo, Bamoun in Cameroon, Menelik in Ethiopia, Toro in Uganda,
Matabele in Zimbabwe, Zulu in South Africa, Songhai, Mandingo and
Mali in West Africa! Perhaps to the credit of the Ubangi-Chari, one might
note that almost all of these countries have an opening to the sea, which
has certainly [supported] trade and facilitated progress”.2
The whole of Central Africa, including today’s Central African
Republic, has long been considered by Europeans as a land untouched
1 In Marie-Calixte Dirou, Quel est l’impact régional de l’intervention militaire française

Sangaris en Centrafrique?, master essay, dir. Mr. Pascal Le Pautremat, 2018, p. 9.
2 Ibid., p. 9.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2022
A. Dirou, Security and International Relations in Central Africa,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89597-6_1
2 A. DIROU
by any human presence. In their accounts, the first explorers mentioned

a vast depopulated area “so that on the planispheres of the past, the
Ubangi-Chari was often represented by a white spot”.3 A very ancient
frontier area, marking the transition between Black Africa and the Arab
World,4 the country was isolated from the rest of the world till the
eighteenth century, when it was subjected to the Arab slave trade and inte-
grated into the Atlantic slave trade circuit. The Central African Republic
was the slave reserve of the merchant lords. In 1884, the colonial
conquest was met with fierce resistance from the latter, supported by
the Muslim merchants of the North. Allocated to France in 1903, the
territory of Ubangi-Chari was established as a colony by decree on 11
February 1906 and integrated into French Equatorial Africa in 1910. The
division of what was Ubangi-Chari resulted from the colonial divisions
of the Berlin Conference of 1885 and was established according to the
hydrography of the country.
The Central African Republic was populated around the migratory
flows of the sixteenth century by “successive waves of Christian immigra-
tion, from east to west and east to south; they were caused by the decline
of the Black Christian kingdoms of Gaoga (Ain-Fara) and Aloa (Ouri)5 on
the border of Chad and Darfur”.6 In 1884, the territory of Ubangi-Chari
experienced its first colonisation. Hardly confronted with the resistance of
the Sultanates, including that of Dar-el-Kouti, “founded in the first half
of the eighteenth century7 ”, the colonists used force to establish their
power. Testimonies agree on the fact that violence was particularly strong
in this territory during the French colonial regime. In addition to the
3 Thomas Fllichy de la Neuville (dir.), Véronique Mézin-Bourguignaud & Gregor

Mathias, Centrafrique, pourquoi la Guerre? Lavauzelle, Panazol, 2014, pp. 19–20.
4 Ibid., p. 17.
5 Pierre Kalck, Histoire centrafricaine des origines à 1966, l’Harmattan, 1992, pp. 33–
51. «These kingdoms were founded on the ruins of Meroe in 350 CE. They were invaded
and destroyed in 1503 and 1504 by the Muslim slave potentates of the kingdom of the
Islamicised Fungs of Sennar in the Middle Nile Valley» (to be read on that topic Leclat
(Jean) and Crawford (O.G.S), The Fung Kingdom of Sennar, Annals d’Ethipie, 1955, vol.
N°1, pp. 157–159.
6 Thomas Fllichy de la Neuville (dir.), Véronique Mézin-Bourguignaud & Gregor
Mathias, Centrafrique, pourquoi la Guerre? Lavauzelle, Panazol, 2014, p. 21.
7 Ibid., p. 15.
1 THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 3
exacerbated violence, the populations suffered deeply from the harshness

of the concession companies. Indeed, under the decrees adopted in 1899,
seventeen private companies had practically free disposal of the men and
products of 50% of the territory of the colony of Ubangi-Chari, of which
the state retained ownership. In 1903, European public opinion was made
aware of “the horror of the methods used by colonial agents to harvest
rubber on both sides of the Congo”.8 British journalist Edmund Morel9
led a campaign denouncing the violence of the various colonial regimes.
France sent a commission of enquiry whose report is damning. Injust and
arbitrary, the colonial regime faced several rebellions and demonstrations.
Due to a lack of coordination and organisation, most of the movements
are repressed with a little more violence each time to deter recidivists.
Nevertheless, the situation became really better for the populace thanks
to a peaceful new way of colonisation during the first half part of the
twentieth century. As a result, at the time of the Second World War, the
territory of Ubangi-Chari formed two battalions of riflemen made up of
volunteers who committed themselves to the service of Free France. Two
of them10 were awarded the distinction of Companions of the Liberation
by General de Gaulle in 1941 and 1942 over the solely 1083 members
this Order encompasses.
The country gained independence on 13 August 1960 and signed on
15 August 1960 with France “a relatively binding defence agreement.
Originally, this agreement was quadripartite, including the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) until 1972 and Chad until 1976. In 1966, a
military and technical cooperation agreement with CAR complemented
this first agreement, focusing on the rise of the Central African Armed
Forces (FACA). Since that date, CAR has invoked the assistance clause
8 Yanis Thomas, Centrafrique: un destin volé, Agone, Marseille, 2016, p. 27.

9 Marie-Calixte Dirou, Quel est l’impact régional de l’intervention militaire française
Sangaris en Centrafrique?, master essay, dir. Mr. Pascal Le Pautremat, 2018, p. 19.
10 Dominique Kosseyo, born in 1919 near Bria in Ubangi-Chari, died on 9 March
1994, is a Central African military man. An exemplary Rifle man during the Second
World War in the service of Free France, he was a Companion of the Libération, Knight
of the Légion d’honneur, holder of the Military Medal and the War Cross. He was the
first African to be awarded the Croix de la Libération, which was personally presented
to him by General de Gaulle on 14 July 1941. Georges Koudoukou, a native of Fort
Crampel, now Kaga Bandoro, was decorated posthumously on 9 September 1942.
4 A. DIROU
in the event of external aggression contained in the defence agreement

several times to request military aid from France”.11
Particularly shaken by the various crises it had to face, the former
Ubangi-Chari has become accustomed to seeing men-at-arms acting with
impunity on a regular basis. The lack of political stability since inde-
pendence in 1960 has plunged the country into a chaos from which
it has been unable to escape. Each new crisis, whether political, socio-
economic or military, does not leave neighbouring countries or France
indifferent. The interference of many states in CAR’s internal affairs has
made it possible to halt the chaos from time to time. This was the case
in 1996, when three attempted mutinies within the FACA led the presi-
dent, Ange-Félix Patassé, to request the intervention of France. The year
1996 is a pivotal year in the political-military life of the Central African
Republic because it was the beginning of a series of crises lasting until
2013, leading to the Seleka attack on Bangui in 2013, whose conse-
quences still heavily impact the daily life of Central Africans today. Libya
intervened in May 2001, when former president André Kolingba failed in
his attempted coup d’état against Ange-Félix Patassé. It is thanks to the
political intervention and the military and financial support of Colonel
Gaddafi that President Patassé is maintained in power. However, three
years later, in March 2003, François Bozizé, supported by some Chadian
armed groups, seized power in the Central African Republic.
Following the 2011 election in the Central African Republic, François
Bozizé only held a contested majority. To satisfy an increasingly viru-
lent opposition and armed factions, he formed a government of national
unity but never implemented the previously signed rebel peace and rein-
tegration agreements of Libreville. Several groups joined forces within
the Seleka (“Alliance” in Sango) to seek the implementation of these
agreements. They took up arms again on 10 December 2012 with the
capture of the town of Ndélé and made rapid progress against the regular
army Central African Armed Forces whose capabilities proved to be very
11 Florent de Saint-Victor, 45 ans d’opérations militaires en RCA, CDEF/DREX- Lettre

du Retex-opérations n°8, publiée le 9 décembre 2013 et consultée le 28 mai 2018, p. 1.
1 THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 5
limited. They seized several areas which produced income-generating raw

materials. The President tried to rearm his camp and remain in power
by manipulating people and bypassing or simply ignoring the Libreville
agreement. This political game, in which he excelled but which his oppo-
nents had come to know and which now tired even his strongest external
supporters, predictably failed.
Part of the Seleka then took up arms again to oust President Bozizé
from power. On 24 March 2013, one of the rebel leaders, Michel
Djotodia, proclaimed himself President, granted himself the Ministry of
Defence and intended to govern by decree until 2016, he said. He is not
recognised by his African counterparts, who are calling for a transition.
The Seleka attack on Bangui was well coordinated and conducted simulta-
neously on two axes. The rebels were determined and had nothing to lose.
They were armed with a large number of 14.5 mm heavy machine guns
mounted on pickup trucks and so crushed the FACA and overran the
FOMAC.12 They also overwhelmed the South Africans who lost thirteen
men in their attempt to breakout.
The seizure of Bangui took place over a few hours and was followed by
many days of looting, robbery, rape, murder and other kinds of abuses.
This “raid” by the people from the North, most of whom spoke neither
French nor Sango and whose unbridled behaviour broke all the rules of
war, traumatised the population.
This violent abuse continued until early September 2013 with peaks of
extreme violence. France decided to intervene militarily in the CAR due
to the risk of crimes against humanity and genocide.
12 FOMAC: The Central African Multinational Force was a non-permanent African

multinational armed force under the aegis of the Economic Community of Central African
States.
6 A. DIROU
Map of Africa
CHAPTER 2
Mission Preparation
The clouds were grey and low, visibility was poor and down to about
four hundred metres. The rain had been falling for some hours now and
had penetrated through our Goretex and combat kit as the wind blew
across the Champagne countryside. The mud stuck to everything and
slowed down all movement. I went from point to point to meet the exer-
cising troops as they perfected their drills. Snipers observed what they
could in the face of the weather from their concealed positions, wearing
now soaking ghillie suits. I stopped and crawled in beside them to look
through the sights to see the target area; there was not much to see.
Continuing my inspection I joined the anti-tank platoon equipped with
a missile that I knew well. The soldiers were in a waterlogged ditch. I
jumped in and asked the detachment commander how he had briefed
his team before looking through the optics myself to see if I could pick
out the targets. The weather was pretty awful and made the surveillance
and observation difficult… Next I went to the mortars. Here the section
commander gave me an update on his equipment and explained his role
in providing short-range fire support with the 81 mm mortar. He talked
me through his drills which I asked him to repeat as I had very little expe-
rience of deploying mortars and I could tell from his expression that my
apparent lack of understanding came as a surprise. Keen to both convince
and reassure me, he added that he was qualified and experienced on his
equipment. I reassured him of my confidence in him and his team, and

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89597-6_2
8 A. DIROU
indeed the effectiveness of their supporting fire was vital if the battle-
group as a whole was to perform at its best. It was particularly important
to establish a bond with these infantrymen because they belonged to the
7th Mountain Infantry Battalion and their company had been attached
to my Regiment for our forthcoming overseas tour in Africa. I needed to
invest in the time to integrate them into the Battlegroup and understand
the capabilities they brought with them.
In March 2014 my Battlegroup was preparing to deploy to N’Djamena
in Chad on Operation Sparrowhawk. The Battlegroup would comprise
an infantry company, an armoured reconnaissance squadron, an engi-
neer troop, a Joint Terminal Attack Controller team known as JTACs,
and a Logistic Support squadron. After this period of internal training,
the unit would be exercised and evaluated by the Army’s main tactical
combat centre at Mailly-le-Camp. There, for the first few days, we fitted
simulation kit and blue force tracker systems to our vehicles, weapon
systems and personal equipment so that every element of the Battlegroup
was represented and could be tracked and assessed by Exercise Control.
The operational evaluation would begin on Sunday afternoon and the
Battlegroup would have four days and nights in which to reach the high
standard I wanted them to achieve. Through their ingenuity, skills and
determination together with well applied and rigorous drills, the infantry
company was graded 4/5 and the armoured squadron 5/5. Given that
no armoured squadron had achieved this over the last two years and none
were to do so for the following two years, this was a significant result
which demonstrated the superb standard set by the Squadron Leader,
Captain Vincent, who was determined to make his squadron the reference
for others to match. He had been seriously wounded in Afghanistan a few
years earlier and had not since returned to lead a combat unit. Under his
command, the squadron was the very best that it could be. His leader-
ship was a mixture of high standard, compassion and personal example.
His mountain cavalry troopers held him in high regard and would follow
him anywhere, making the squadron a model of professional soldiers
empowered by mutual trust. While not the most talkative officer under
my command, he was a marvellous tactician and his self-discipline was
outstanding. I made no secret of my incredible good fortune to have such
professional officers, notably the squadron commanders, warrant officers
and NCOs under my command. Those who deployed overseas with other
battlegroups also performed superbly and delivered remarkable results.
2 MISSION PREPARATION 9
Captain François-Xavier was the infantry company commander. The

test exercise had been the first opportunity to work with the Battlegroup
and he did well. His company proved highly proficient and achieved all
their objectives. His style was different from that of Vincent but both
were great officers and I was delighted to have them under my command
for this forthcoming deployment to Africa. The Logistics Squadron was
led by an officer who had been promoted from the ranks. Experienced,
meticulous and diligent, Captain Pascal would not accept second best
and constantly sought improvement. His role was to support the combat
elements as far forward and as quickly as possible to ensure they had
everything they needed for their fight. He was a workaholic and his
squadron ran like clockwork. It was also inspiring to see how these oper-
ationally experienced commanders had prepared their young soldiers for
what for many would be their first operational deployment. The majority
of the senior ranks had significant experience from Afghanistan and Ivory
Coast so while their troops were young, the leadership was robust and
well prepared. Lieutenant Colonel Pierre, my Chief Operations Officer,
was a highly intelligent officer and a former cadet of France’s top tech-
nical academy, the Ecole Polytechnique. Balanced and quick-witted, he and
I saw eye to eye and he fully understood my intent. Deeply committed to
and fully engaged in the preparation of our forthcoming operation, Lieu-
tenant Colonel Pierre focused in particular on the coordination between
the Battlegroup headquarters and the tactical subunits. Our regimental
command post had not been deployed operationally for a number of
years because the nature of the terrain in the Surobi and Kapisa valleys
in Afghanistan had favoured the deployment of infantry units. There it
had been essential to establish standard drills as well as respond to the
unexpected. To mitigate against the lack of experience in the Command
Post, he exercised all the staff cells to guarantee the effective passage of
information.
Information sharing in the headquarters is crucial to allow effective
situation management and anticipation of future actions to avoid uncom-
fortable surprises. I wanted a command group based on accuracy and
mutual understanding to allow situation updates to be delivered with
brevity and precision. To this end, I banned the use of anglicisms which
now feature in most officers’ vocabulary but often without the full under-
standing of their actual meaning. Indeed many soldiers might not speak
any English and therefore be strangers to the US and NATO military
jargon that is routinely recycled among the more senior ranks. It was my
10 A. DIROU
view that my soldiers needed to understand everything such as the orders

that the Command Post was preparing so that we could be certain they
would be understood by the troops on the ground. A common under-
standing of both the spirit and the letter of my orders was one of my
operational priorities. This was demonstrated when I asked one of my
signallers if he had understood the word that he had just written in the
signal log and with some embarrassment he replied no. The word was
rihoursol which means absolutely nothing in French. He had tried to
record something which had been said by the Command Post Officer
that he had not understood and so rehearsal became rihoursol. It was
vital that we spoke the same language and so either we spoke in English
or in French but never a mixture of the two so as to avoid confusion,
misunderstanding or a lack of accuracy.
This is a question of intellectual precision which is no luxury but
an operational imperative. Oral expression must be as precise as our
shooting in the field as vagueness opens the door to misunderstanding,
leading to errors, poor decision-making and failure. This is why I insisted
on the simple motto “Think simple to make things simple”; this was
for two principal reasons. Firstly, I hated the long operational orders
where, by the time you get to the last page, you forgot what was on
the first! From my time as a Troop Commander onwards, I could not
stand lengthy and verbose direction and guidance. Secondly, short orders
offer the framework in which subordinates carry out their missions. This
empowers them and encourages initiative. They need the spirit and the
letter of their higher commander’s orders upon which they can then build
their plan. Equally, in extremis or following a breakdown in communi-
cations, commanders at all levels must be able to respond appropriately
and for this, they must be accustomed to taking the initiative. Successful
command relationships are based on mutual trust where each level of
command fulfils its role; this creates real efficiency. Of note, at the Joint
Staff College, we were amazed by the brevity of General Leclerc’s orders
for seizing Paris in 1944 and I was struck by our inability to do this today.
Perhaps my goal was overly ambitious in this area, but I really wanted to
produce short orders and thereby save time in their production, trans-
mission and receipt. Therefore, succinctness, brevity, precision and clarity
were the golden rules that I gave to my headquarters team. Once this
process of training and testing was complete, each unit returned to its
base location to complete its pre-deployment preparation.
Whereas I had prepared my Battlegroup for desert warfare because we

would operate in Chad, Niger and Mali, the Battlegroup I was relieving
also had elements deployed in the Central African Republic or “CAR”,
having been deployed there because of the need to reinforce the Task
Force Sangaris following a significant uplift in the level of violence.
The Battlegroup commander left one squadron group in N’Djamena
and deployed to CAR with a mixed force of two infantry platoons; an
armoured troop, his command post and the Logistic squadron. Deployed
to Bouar in the west of the country, he was reinforced with a parachute
infantry company and an engineer troop. He also deployed an additional
armoured troop to Bangui as the Task Force Quick Reaction Force. As
the situation remained volatile, it was unlikely that he would be able
to return to Chad to carry out the handover, and indeed, instead of
deploying to Chad in June 2014, I was directed to deploy to CAR
with elements of my Battlegroup at the end of May with the remainder
proceeding to N’Djamena in mid-June as planned.
There was a question over the composition of the force I was to take
to Bouar. The HQ in Bangui was considering changing its force laydown
and whether the QRF would remain in Bangui or rejoin my command.
However, when I received the order to go to Bouar, I still did not know
my force structure. I was aware that I would be reinforced in theatre
by a parachute company and an engineer troop, but that was all I knew
until Bangui made its decision. I needed to know whether my force in
CAR would comprise a mixed company of two infantry platoons and an
armoured troop or a balanced group of infantry and armoured platoons.
This was important as the structure would determine the selection of the
commander. For the first option, an infantry commander was the natural
choice but for the second it made sense to choose a cavalry officer. This
was not based on regimental loyalty and I was careful to ensure a balanced
approach to the decision. The operation in CAR was more attractive
than the one in Chad and both captains naturally wished to be selected
to go to CAR. It was clear that the decision should sit with me as I
was the commanding officer of the Battlegroup and I reported my deci-
sion to the Brigade Deputy Commander. Colonel Yann was running the
Brigade while the General Officer Commanding the brigade was deployed
in Mali. He agreed with my position and I informed him of the likeli-
hood that Task Force Sangaris would place the QRF troop back under
my command. Until this was confirmed we had to assume the extant
laydown and to this end, I directed operations staff to prepare for the
12 A. DIROU
infantry heavy option which would naturally come under the command of
Captain François-Xavier. However, until I had confirmation from Bangui
I preferred not to say anything to my subordinate commanders to avoid
disappointment.
Ten days before departure, Colonel Yann confirmed that I would
deploy with my CP, logistic squadron and a mixed squadron group of
two armoured troops and two infantry platoons. Based on my assess-
ment and our previous discussion, I told him that I would deploy with
Captain Vincent and that Captain Frnaçois-Xavier would command the
other company group in Chad. He understood my logic and agreed.
Naturally, Captain François-Xavier was disappointed and he requested an
interview with me to express his disagreement with my decision. I under-
stood his point of view and was perfectly happy to discuss the issue.
Captain François-Xavier left Varces, near Grenoble, and drove through
the mountains to see me. I explained my decision and he presented his
view. I accepted that he was naturally disappointed, but his duty was now
to deploy as ordered and he returned to Varces. Now that the situation
was cleared up we could finalise the administrative details.
The deployment was on track and everyone knew what was required.
Nonetheless, ten days were long enough to bring some unexpected
surprises. On the eve of the deployment, I received a call from Colonel
Yann. He was very embarrassed and said that I had to change over the two
subunit commanders following direction from the Brigade Commander
in Mali. He added that this was non-negotiable. In response I questioned
whether it was appropriate to make such a change one day before the
start of the operation because it was not just the change of one name
but a subunit command team, and their respective freight was already in
transit. Colonel Yann terminated the conversation abruptly: whatever his
opinion he felt he had to support the decision of the Brigade Commander.
Nevertheless, I considered that this decision should have sat with me and
my assessment of my tactical mission, as the Battlegroup commander. It
was hard to resist the temptation of disobeying, but after calming down I
called Vincent to my office and told him that I was now required to send
him to Chad and would deploy to CAR with Captain François-Xavier. I
gave him some of the background for this last-minute change and, for the
first time in my career, I indicated that I did not agree with the order I
had received. In spite of his immense disappointment, he acknowledged
the order and went to brief his team and re-organise his troops as best as
he could at this late stage. The next day, he oversaw the departure of the
members of the two troops of his squadron that had been preparing to
deploy to CAR with great dignity and discipline. I had no doubt that he
would go on to complete an excellent tour of duty in Chad. For me,
the key was the success of the operation and it was not the time for
recrimination so I engaged with Captain François-Xavier as if nothing
had happened.
The landing at Bangui was an eye-opener; as we approached there
were large numbers of people on the airstrip, with armed troops posi-
tioned along the runway to allow the aircraft to reach its unloading
point. Daylight was fading and it was dark by the time we actually left
the aircraft. The atmosphere was heavy, humid with a pungent smell of
wood burning fires filling the air. We boarded trucks to reach the French
camp where we were issued our helmets, body armour and the insignia
of Task Force Sangaris. Once the administrative formalities were over we
settled in for our first night in Central Africa. Over the next two days,
we collected our freight, ammunition and prepared our weapons. I took
advantage of this time in the capital to visit the various staff branch heads
in the headquarters including the chief of staff who was a good friend
from St Cyr. He was able to give me a full update on the Task Force’s
current and future operations. He also informed me of the key elements
for the theatre together with the political and tactical situation in the
country and I was able to merge this with my pre-deployment reading-in
about the region. The situation for each of the three Battlegroups was
very different. The unit based in Bangui controlled the capital and also
held a few locations outside of the city. Its main focus was the protec-
tion of centres of government and the headquarters. The unit located in
Bambari was in a particularly uncomfortable situation where its ability
to operate was extremely complicated. The commander’s freedom of
action was completely restricted. The north western unit, based in Bouar,
benefitted from an environment more conducive to taking the initiative
and manoeuvring. This tactical freedom offered much greater latitude
to conduct operations. Following various briefings from the Intelligence,
Logistics and Civil Affairs desks, I went to see Future Plans, known as G5
to find out how the next steps were expected to unfold. It was important
for me to understand how the Task Force envisaged the transition from
Stabilisation to Normalisation. I was also keen to ascertain the likelihood
of my unit being able to return to Chad to re-group at the end of the
mission. The staff were sceptical at best, even pessimistic. Finally, I went
to meet the Task Force commander, Brigadier General Soriano. We had
14 A. DIROU
known each other previously in the Plans Branch of the General Staff in
Paris. He welcomed me warmly and provided a very positive view of the
achievements made by my predecessor, whom I would meet up with a
few hours later.
It was time to leave Bangui and proceed to Bouar and our convoy
departed early the following morning. The distance was around 460 km.
The road was in a poor state with potholes everywhere and those travel-
ling in the rear of the trucks were thrown all over the place. Four hours
later we arrived at Bossembélé where I deployed two platoons. The village
was a vital access point to the northern part of our future area of responsi-
bility and control of this crossroads guaranteed our freedom of manoeuvre
between the capital and to the north and west. After a short stop, we
continued our journey through the villages of Yaloké and Bossentélé.
The long hours of sitting on the steel benches wearing our body armour
numbed our bodies; however, the worst part of the journey was to come
after the village of Baoro. Here the metalled road ended and huge ruts
punished the vehicles and their passengers. Fortunately, the weather was
good so at least the track was dry and navigable. The rain would have
made it a very different story. This last section of the route took us four
hours and finally we arrived at our destination, the town of Bouar.
We received a warm welcome from the in-place Battlegroup which was
code-named Dragoon, and I met the commanding officer who was a
very good friend. We had known each other during our days together
in a military school prior to going to St Cyr. Colonel Damien Wallaert
had done an outstanding job leading his battalion and his men had seen
action in which they had acquitted themselves well. On 5 May 2014,
three weeks prior to our arrival, two infantry platoons had been carrying
out a reconnaissance mission in the north of the country when it came
up against a mobile column of some forty fighters as they approached
the village of Boguila. The French troops attempted to intercept them
and they opened fire and deployed in an attempt to overrun the French
company in the village. The fighting was hard with, on one side, a force
armed with Kalashnikovs, RPG 7 rocket launchers and 14.5 mm heavy
machine guns and, on the French side, heavy infantry weapons, Eryx
anti-tanks missiles and 81 mm mortars. In the end, the French called
for Close Air Support and a Mirage 2000 out of N’Djamena dropped a
GBU-12 bomb. The fighting stopped at nightfall and did not resume the
following day. No detailed battle damage assessment was possible, but it
was clear that the adversary had sustained losses. We knew before arriving
that, although the situation might appear to be calm, sudden outbreaks of

violence would occur. Each element of the Battlegroup was taken in hand
by its opposite number and reconnaissance on the ground provided envi-
ronmental familiarisation. Damien had established excellent relations with
the local authorities and the local population. This gave him a remarkable
network and, as a result, his intelligence cell was very well informed. The
briefings we received were factual, precise and well-structured which was
the hallmark of Damien and this made the handover very easy. It is also
important to highlight the achievements of the other two previous battle-
groups. Battlegroup Panther had come from Gabon and was commanded
by Colonel Arnaud Mettey from the 43rd Marine Infantry Battalion in
Libreville (Gabon). He had faced a number of difficult situations in which
he did his best to reduce the threat level and the threshold of violence.
His team has worked hard and as a result, the local situation had improved
considerably.
Current conflicts do not conform to the framework of major combat
operations such as we saw back in 1990/1991 when an international
coalition restored Kuwaiti territorial integrity. Peacebuilding interventions
are more limited and take place in a complex civilian-military environ-
ment. Confrontation is everywhere and has to be addressed in the round.
Three elements are generally in play; the first relates to coercion, the
second is stabilisation with the aim being to restore (civilian) political
primacy and the third is the normalisation of a peaceful daily existence.
In the case of coercion, this equates to security operations undertaken
by the military and the police and so this is relatively straightforward
in terms of approach albeit difficult to actually deliver on the ground;
The stabilisation phase is a buffer between confrontation and peace with
the aim being to reduce the threshold of violence despite the occasional
spikes that might occur. This is the critical bridge for conflict resolution
because of the delicate balance in which the peace process often hangs.
Any positive opportunities must be exploited to the full. Sharing accurate
and up-to-date situation awareness is vital in order to identify opportu-
nities for post-conflict/post-crisis reconstruction and to continue down
the path of reconciliation. Therefore, success is sought not by breaking
up or destroying the adversary but by identifying and seizing opportu-
nities to promote the peace process. The aim of military intervention is
therefore to facilitate the reestablishment of peace and create the condi-
tions for the political and diplomatic foundations for an enduring peace.
The operating conditions for peace-keeping operations can almost be
16 A. DIROU
compared to a feudal environment with warlords, armed groups, rebels,

criminal gangs and other violent non-state actors who must be controlled.
Feudalism is not confined to the Middle Ages; it emerges when a state or
political regime collapses or where no state structures exist. These circum-
stances lead to a world of compartmentalised control and local centres
of authority where the strongest holds the levers of power. Today we
no longer call this feudalism but term it as an environment of informal
networks of patronage or clientelism. Sometimes it is the rallying call for
self-determination that can trigger feudalism as this opposes the central
power and promotes a different social order based on local, often self-
serving, economic interests. The intermingling of these complex factors
leads to disorder and conflict.
Nation- and state-building that took Western countries many decades
to achieve, indeed in some cases centuries, is now sought in weeks and
months and certainly in no more than a few years. Overcoming modern-
day feudalism, which is deeply engrained in failed states with all its grey
zones, presents a significant challenge. This is the context of the mission
given to the deployed forces who must restore the rule of law. This is the
reason why soldiers come to be seen as the managers of chaos. They are
prepared for intervention in the worst situations where the rule of law
has disappeared, where violence, crime and inhumanity have become the
norm. Their capabilities, which includes the use of force, makes them
suitable for the challenge. As General Krulak sets out in his “Three
Block War” concept, in stabilisation operations soldiers must simulta-
neously fight, deliver humanitarian assistance and create the conditions
for a return to normality, all within a small area. This is no small chal-
lenge and yet the smallest mistake by a junior soldier can assume strategic
propositions hence the term “strategic corporal”. From chaos to calm is
it possible to find a path leading to continued and enduring success in
terms of stabilisation which will allow it to transition into normalisation?
This was the challenge for Battlegroup de Boissieu and because my initial
knowledge of my area of responsibility was limited, I converted the map
into a rough diagram showing the distance between the main locations.
With this image in my head, I had the basic framework of the terrain onto
which I could then layer my further understanding.
Chad
150km MARKOUNDA
13H00 BATANGAFO
PAOUA 190 km
12H00
100 km
10H00
BOCARANGA
190 km
Cameroon 11H00
BOSSANGOA
550 km
100 km BOUCA
BOZOUM 08H00
BELOKO BOUAR 148 km

05H00
BAORO BOSSENTELE
BABOUA
YALOKE
460 km
104 km BOSSEMBELE
11H00
04H00
CARNOT
88 km
AMADA GAZA 03H30
BANGUI
BERBERATI
450 km
Author’s creation based on a handmade sketch

CHAPTER 3
A Holistic Approach
After a week of handing over, I took over the area of responsibility at

noon on 6 June 2014 and Battlegroup de Boissieu set about its mission.
We needed a few additional days to be operational after having completed
the recovery of the freight initially sent to N’Djamena. The timeframe for
our mission was four months and took place over the period when the
Task Force changed its commanding general. Brigadier General Francisco
Soriano who had led the Force from 5 December 2013, now handed
over to Brigadier General Eric Bellot des Minières on 17 June 2014. A
change of command is a transition period during which activities always
tend to slow down. That was the case for my Battlegroup a few days
earlier and now so it was for the Force. However, I did not want to lose
any time and wished to launch a series of operations in my area as soon
as possible without waiting for fresh direction, which would probably not
be radically different from that given to my predecessor. I also knew the
new Force Commander, General Bellot des Minières, with whom I had
worked a few years before in Paris and I knew his style and operational
experience as the former commanding officer of the 2nd Foreign Legion
Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan. I felt safe assuming that I could take
the initiative.
I divided the tasks with my chief of operations so that I could focus
on defining the campaign plan. Lieutenant Colonel Pierre was leading
the planning for the first operational activities and the reconnaissance

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89597-6_3
20 A. DIROU
phase was now nearly complete. I quickly met with many people, officials,
NGOs, mayors, catholic priests, the imam of Bouar and representatives of
the Muslim community, and visited many places in order to get a clear
idea of the region. I remembered a very insightful book which I had
read many years ago and I wanted to mirror its spirit in my mission to
deliver a safe and secure environment. Letters from Tonkin and Mada-
gascar was written by Marshal Lyautey and published in 1920 and offered
the direction that I wanted to follow. I had a particular link to Lyautey,
not only because he commanded the 1st squadron of my Regiment from
1887–1893 but also because my great-grandparents knew him when they
were in Morocco at the beginning of the protectorate in 1913. I grew
up with the memory of Lyautey and a love of the country where my
parents were also born. Even before joining my Regiment, I already had
an affinity with Lyautey. When I was young, I knew his story in detail
and his achievements overseas offered excellent food for thought. The
Marshal was therefore a source of inspiration.
Apart from defining the spirit in which I wished to operate, I had
to plan all the activities I wished to conduct. To this end, I used a US
approach I had observed in Afghanistan with the Provincial Reconstruc-
tion Teams. These teams organised their work around an acronym which
listed all the domains they had to address to cover all aspects of national
reconstruction. The acronym SWEAT MS CREG provided the handrail
to achieve the outcomes I wanted to achieve. Therefore, I reflected on
these eleven different domains: Sewage / Water / Electricity / Academic
/ Trash / Medical / Security / Communication / Religion / Economy
/ Government. The point was to define the “Ends” of the mission, the
“Ways” I wished to employ and the “Means” to deliver my effects. With
regard to the “Ends”, I considered two different stages, both short and
long term, because the realistic art of the possible had to guide our actions
first and foremost and make sense for soldiers if they were to embrace
the concept and make progress. Consequently, I defined the centre of
gravity: it was clearly the populace because it constituted the main param-
eter of the equation. We had to convince people, through our example
and effectiveness, that they could rely on us. Only this would allow us
to build something stronger in the longer term. My end state that was a
long-term objective and went well beyond the period of our operational
tour in Central Africa.
3 A HOLISTIC APPROACH 21
It appeared to me that I needed to situate my action within the broader

scope of the strategic picture. For that, I used the motto of the country,
“Unity, Dignity, and Work” because this part of my campaign plan would
be shared with the local authorities and partners. It was important to
speak not only to their minds but also to their hearts. I tried to anchor
my thoughts in the local mindset, considering their culture was the key
factor because I considered it was the only door to success. This is why
our end state was: “Unity – Dignity – Work in a newfound intercom-
munity peace”. This gave our local interlocutors their aim. Nevertheless,
this objective was some distance from a short-term view, and I chose two
intermediate aims which were like goalposts in a rugby field, through
which I wanted to convert the try. Bouar was the major town in the
western part of the country; therefore, I formulated these goals as my
tactical targets:
– Make Bouar the pilot city of Central African appeasement;

– Create the conditions to enhance the prosperity of Bouar, which can
then extend to the country from west to east.
The purpose of this plan was to bring security to the region and conse-
quently stability that would allow the return of the Muslim population.
Prosperity would improve living conditions and encourage development
even though it is a long way to the top if you want to make peace.The
campaign plan took a holistic view and proposed a global approach to
tackle all the points we had to deal with. Instead of establishing a compli-
cated plan with too many lines of operation, noting that eleven areas to
be addressed seemed too much and risked losing my audience, I reduced
the plan to five lines of operation. Each line of operation began with a
letter of the city’s name, BOUAR:
1. Bien faire et faire savoir (communication)

2. Organisation Locale (santé, propreté, assainissement…)
3. U nité et lien social (respect des communautés, re-scolarisation…)
4. Autorité publique (affirmation de l’autorité publique)
5. Relance de l’économie
22 A. DIROU
In English, this translates as:
1. Do the right thing and tell people about it (communication)

2. Local organisation (health, cleanliness, sanitation…)
3. Unity and social bond (respect for communities, return to school…)
4. Public authority (restoration of police and justice)
5. Relaunch the economy
On each line of operation, I defined the main areas that needed to be

addressed in a multitude of tasks or actions. Therefore, I shaped the plan
as followed.
Line 1:
11. Establish a prefectural communication plan

12. Produce communication lines to take
13. Inform people about the public initiatives underway
14. Advertise our activities
15. Publicise at the national level
Line 2:
21. Improve working conditions for NGOs

22. Improve sanitation and water flow
23. Encourage the cleanliness of the streets, roads, and their mainte-
nance
24. Create public refuse dumps
25. Maintain collective areas
26. Create facilities for community sport
27. Establish a road infrastructure improvement project
Line 3:
31. Pursue and develop the schooling of very young children

32. Identify secondary school teachers
33. Return teenagers to education
34. Provide a framework for undertaking sports
35. Respect for communities and religions

36. Freedom of movement
37. Recreate the community social bond
Line 4:
41. Initial assessment and preparation of the prefectural project

42. Support for municipal projects
43. Support legal action and justice (a prison inter-ministerial agree-
ment)
44. Close cooperation with the security forces
45. Cooperation with FACA (to be defined)
46. Transition to MINUSCA
47. Withdrawal of SANGARIS
Line 5:
51. Keep the Cantonnier-Bangui road open

52. Increase the perception of security
53. Make Bouar’s bank more reliable
54. Help boost municipal tax revenues
55. Energy (electricity, fuel) NGO project assistance
56. Water supply improvement
57. Encourage local agriculture (FAO support)
58. Promote the local economy through free movement
24
Global Approach for the city of Bouar and its region

globale pour la ville de BOUAR et sa région Center of
NormalisaƟon for an intercommunity peace within « Unity – Dignity – Work » gravity
1– Doing well 11 12 13 14 15 16
A. DIROU
and
communicaƟng
2 - ocal
L 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
organisaƟon
31 32 33 34 35 36 37
3 – nity and
U populaƟon
social bond
4 – ublic
P 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
authority
5 – ecovery
R 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58
of economy
1–D 2–L 3–U 4–P 5–R

11 Establish a prefectural 21 Improve the working 31 Pursue and develop the 41 IniƟal assesment and 51 Maintaining open
communicaƟon plan condiƟons of NGOs schooling of the youngest preparaƟon of the the road Cantonnier-Bangui
12 ConsƟtute elements of 22 Improve sanitaƟon and 32 IdenƟfy secondary school prefectural project 52 Increase the feeling of
language water flow teachers 42 Support for municipal security
13 Inform ciƟzens about the 23 To encourage the 33 Re-school teens acƟons 53 Reliability of Bouar’s Bank
public acƟons iniƟated cleanliness of the streets 43 IncenƟves for legal acƟon 54 Help boost municipal tax
14 ValorisaƟon of all the acƟons 24 and its maintenance 34 Structuring the pracƟce of (prison interministerial revenues
undertaken Create public dumps sport convenƟon) 55 Energy (power, fuel) helps
15 To make known at the 25 Maintenance of collecƟve 35 Respect for communiƟes 44 Close cooperaƟon with ISPs NGOs on project
naƟonal level areas and religions
26 Create public sport spaces 45 CooperaƟon with FACA (to 56 To improve adducƟon of
36 Freedom of movement be defined) water
27 Establish a road infrastruc- 46 TransiƟon with the rise of 57 Encouraging local agriculture
ture improvement project 37 Recreate the social bond MINUSCA (WFO assistance)
47 SANGARIS withdrawal 58 Promote local trade linked
to freedom of movement
On 16 June, I submitted this project to the prefect who reacted

positively. He was enthusiastic. The principle was to provide him with
a general framework so that the detailed definition of the activities to
be conducted could be designed by his prefectural services. I gave him
the shape and he asked his civil servants—who were in fact very few in
number—to design each domain and set out the tasks they would need to
undertake. Frédéric Ouagonda was a great servant of the state who was
driven inspired by a deep sense of acting in the interest of the community.
Everything he did was for the benefit of others, regardless of background,
and it was a real pleasure to work alongside him. Although he had very
few resources, he mobilised all the means at his disposal to improve the
local situation. An impressive man, determined and very intelligent, he
was very clear about his goal. All he needed was the support that I could
offer him. We got along very well and were confident that we could
succeed together.
Once I had the prefect on my side, I sent a report to Sangaris HQ
in Bangui in which I explained how my Battlegroup would set about its
mission. Although I was responsible for all orders given to my team, I
delegated the preparation of the tactical missions to my chief of oper-
ations while I dealt with political and social issues. The challenge we
faced required us to work across a very wide range of tasks and, because
everything was linked, it was vital to cover all the bases. Fortunately, the
prosecutor in Bouar was also an excellent man; completely dedicated to
his work, courageous and determined to prosecute criminals. On our side,
we were also well supported by the legal and the political advisors of
Sangaris Force whose contributions were crucial. These provided us with
contacts within the government and enabled our action, because one of
the main difficulties was to secure the attention of a government which
was facing huge challenges with regard to its central region. To avoid
any Bangui-centric perspective, my objective was to centralise requests
addressed to the capital so that the prefect and the prosecutor would
receive either the means or the official support they needed to launch
their ambitious and legitimate actions to restore a peaceful environment.
Indeed, I recommended that the prefect and the prosecutor sent official
requests for support through their own administrative structure, while
I asked LEGAD and POLAD for their mediation to engage Ministries
interested in our local projects. Through this approach, the projects were
communicated at the national level by two methods; first by transmitting
26 A. DIROU
the request, and second by promoting the project and focusing minis-
terial attention on provincial issues. The best illustration of this success
was the inter-Ministerial agreement we managed to coordinate between
the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Defence and Territorial Communities
for regional application. Benefitting from the presence of a military police
non-commissioned officer, I drew on his police and law enforcement skills
to organise training for the region’s security forces, even though his chief
in Bangui did not approve as this role was not a formal part of his mission.
Between the spirit and the letter, I opted for spirit because “the only good
strategy is total ”.1
Progressively, the police were beginning to regain some confidence
and, feeling supported, returned to work. However, policing can only
be effective if the proper functioning of the judicial system supports
it. As with the prefect, I found common grounds with the prosecutor,
Tiburce Bilongo. Caring, demanding and insightful, he used his unfailing
energy to get the justice system up and running again, but one of his
first matters of business was that he needed space to detain people who
had been arrested. After some explaining and convincing all the project
stakeholders, we managed to get an official document signed, validated by
the four supervising ministers, making available to the courts the prison
cells of the Central African army barracks located in Bouar. This success
made it possible to demonstrate to the population that state authority was
returning. Police and justice were seen once again to be functioning. Each
small step contributed to the restoration of the perception of security and
impunity was no longer assumed. The effects on the ground were soon
apparent as villagers now felt able to take positive action against run-of-
the-mill criminals whom they could then deliver to the security forces, as
was the case in the village of Galo Bouya on 1 July 2014 when fourteen
Anti-Balakas were arrested. The confidence of the police and civil servants
increased as they felt supported and encouraged in their difficult duty.
In other areas, the prefect’s action was also significant and his constant
commitment made it possible to make progress across many issues. We
met regularly to exchange ideas and address the seemingly endless list
of problems we had to solve. Every Thursday, we met up at the end
of the afternoon for an update on our ongoing projects, to prepare the
1 Michael Shurkin, Grand Strategy is total: French Gen. André Beaufre on war in
the nuclear age, https://warontherocks.com/2020/10/grand-strategy-is-total-french-gen-
andre-beaufre-on-war-in-the-nuclear-age/.
next phase and look at long-term requirements. Sharing the same vision,
our cooperation was excellent because the implementation of a holistic
plan, covering all sectors of the administration, was an exciting challenge.
Sharing our analysis on how to carry out the initiatives and notably in
the coordination of all the actors, Mr Ouagonda brought together NGO
representatives at regular intervals. The first meeting surprised the human-
itarian workers when the prefect requested not only an account of their
on-going activities but also of their long-term projects. Their surprise
was quite marked when they saw me at this first meeting and the reluc-
tance of some of them to see a soldier at this meeting was unsurprising.
After briefing them on the global approach he wanted to adopt and
listening to the NGOs explain their activities in his region, the prefect
set out his objectives. Furthermore, he remarked that he did not need
as many humanitarian organisations caring for women and children but
needed greater diversity to implement his plan, especially in agricultural
and energy development, water supply and road network improvement.
Some humanitarians workers were upset to be questioned in this way,
but the prefect was right. The NGO representatives seemed surprised to
be viewed through a long-term lens as usually their activities target the
urgent and immediate. The prefect explained his goal and how he wanted
to achieve it. For this, he needed to coordinate all the actors. The plan
provided the foundation for regional reconstruction and his energy was
the cement of this ambitious project.
This was made possible thanks to the concurrent tactical activi-
ties undertaken by the Battlegroup. Patrolling, observing specific areas,
intervening and rescuing civilian people, the legionnaires and mountain
soldiers of my Battlegroup became quickly recognised for their effec-
tiveness and the consideration they gave to the local population. The
Battlegroup’s laydown covered a huge area and the mobility of the light
units allowed a wide presence across the region. Even when a presence was
not possible, companies were able to move rapidly to intervene, including
by helicopter if necessary. The main mission was to maintain freedom of
movement on the main supply route linking Bangui to the Cameroo-
nian border. The road between the border town of Beloko and Bangui
was crucial, if not vital, for the stability of the Central African capital. All
means and goods to supply Bangui came through this route, for which
we were responsible for maintaining free movement. Each blockade or
interruption of the movement of goods destabilised the urban population.
28 A. DIROU
Despite improving security, there was something I disliked. My

command post was located in Bouar with the logistic company and the
Role One medical facility. Companies were split into two subunits. The
Foreign Legion parachute company was in the western part of my AOR
because I wanted to be close to the commanding officer with whom I
had never worked before. Two platoons led by the company’s second
in command were in Beloko on the Cameroonian border, and the other
two were with the company commander in Bouar, in another location
close to my camp. The mountain infantry company was deployed on
the same model on the eastern side: two platoons with the company’s
second in command in Bossembélé and the company commander with
the two remaining platoons in Bossangoa. Several aspects of this situation
did not suit me. I found the Battlegroup’s organisation over-stretched
and I considered that this hampered my ability to manoeuvre. In fact,
more dangerously, I felt that my freedom of action was genuinely limited
and, as a cavalry officer, this was a point which left me feeling deeply
uncomfortable. Logistics, equipment maintenance and sustainment were
far from simple because of the distances between locations. Moreover, in
the event that kinetic operations were to be required, it was not certain
that I would be able to generate a favourable force ratio given that I
could not avoid leaving troops to guard my static laydown. Equally, my
company commanders would not be able to bring their full capabilities
to bear if and when this became necessary. Finally, the dispersed laydown
did not match our communications capabilities. Nonetheless, I started the
mission like this as I had little choice and the first results appeared quite
positive.
CHAPTER 4
Failure at M’Bali
There was one obvious advantage with the unit’s deployment, which was
that we had numerous contacts with the civilian local authorities and with
MISCA units, which belonged to the African Union. Our main partner
was a highly competent Cameroon battalion, and together we cooperated
both in terms of information sharing and coordination on the ground.
After each subunit had taken into account its immediate area of respon-
sibility, we decided to conduct our first operation in depth to carry out a
reconnaissance mission towards the village of Bodjomo on 18 June 2014.
The presence of an armed group had been identified and, according to
the local population, this group was responsible for dozens of deaths
over the past few weeks. It was particularly mobile, attacking, killing and
looting the populace. I sent two platoons under Captain François-Xavier
to carry out this first reconnaissance because this village lay to the north
of his camp at Bossangoa. To command this first modest operation, I sent
Lieutenant Colonel Pierre with a small command team to cover the air-
ground integration while the Battlegroup’s main command post remained
in Bouar. Thus, the detachment consisted of an armoured troop, an
infantry platoon, a Gazelle helicopter patrol, and a JTAC team. Given the
size of the deployed force, I considered this operation was not my level
of responsibility. Therefore, my operations chief left Bouar to proceed to
Bossangoa. Our first mission in depth could now begin. On 18 June as
the detachment reached the village the gang was surprised by our arrival

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A moment later she came in carrying a small Pomeranian. She
was paler than I had ever seen her, and there was unmistakable
fright in her eyes. When she greeted us it was without her habitual
gaiety.
“This thing is getting rather ghastly, isn’t it?” she remarked when
she had taken a seat.
“It is indeed dreadful,” returned Markham soberly. “You have our
very deepest sympathy. . . .”
“Oh, thanks awf’ly.” She accepted the cigarette Vance offered her.
“But I’m beginning to wonder how long I’ll be here to receive
condolences.” She spoke with forced lightness, but a strained quality
in her voice told of her suppressed emotion.
Markham regarded her sympathetically.
“I do not think it would be a bad idea if you went away for a while
—to some friend’s house, let us say—preferably out of the city.”
“Oh, no.” She tossed her head with defiance. “I sha’n’t run away.
If there’s any one really bent on killing me, he’ll manage it somehow,
wherever I am. Anyway, I’d have to come back sooner or later. I
couldn’t board with out-of-town friends indefinitely—could I?” She
looked at Markham with a kind of anxious despair. “You haven’t any
idea, I suppose, who it is that’s obsessed with the idea of
exterminating us Greenes?”
Markham was reluctant to admit to her the utter hopelessness of
the official outlook; and she turned appealingly to Vance.
“You needn’t treat me like a child,” she said spiritedly. “You, at
least, Mr. Vance, can tell me if there is any one under suspicion.”
“No, dash it all, Miss Greene!—there isn’t,” he answered
promptly. “It’s an amazin’ confession to have to make; but it’s true.
That’s why, I think, Mr. Markham suggested that you go away for a
while.”
“It’s very thoughtful of him and all that,” she returned. “But I think
I’ll stay and see it through.”
“You’re a very brave girl,” said Markham, with troubled
admiration. “And I assure you everything humanly possible will be
done to safeguard you.”
“Well, so much for that.” She tossed her cigarette into a receiver,
and began abstractedly to pet the dog in her lap. “And now, I
suppose, you want to know if I heard the shot. Well, I didn’t. So you
may continue the inquisition from that point.”
“You were in your room, though, at the time of your brother’s
death?”
“I was in my room all morning,” she said. “My first appearance
beyond the threshold was when Sproot brought the sad tidings of
Rex’s passing. But Doctor Von shooed me back again; and there I’ve
remained until now. Model behavior, don’t you think, for a member of
this new and wicked generation?”
“What time did Doctor Von Blon come to your room?” asked
Vance.
Sibella gave him a faint whimsical smile.
“I’m so glad it was you who asked that question. I’m sure Mr.
Markham would have used a disapproving tone—though it’s quite au
fait to receive one’s doctor in one’s boudoir.—Let me see. I’m sure
you asked Doctor Von the same question, so I must be careful. . . . A
little before eleven, I should say.”
“The doc’s exact words,” chimed in Heath suspiciously.
Sibella turned a look of amused surprise upon him.
“Isn’t that wonderful! But then, I’ve always been told that honesty
is the best policy.”
“And did Doctor Von Blon remain in your room until called by
Sproot?” pursued Vance.
“Oh, yes. He was smoking his pipe. Mother detests pipes, and he
often sneaks into my room to enjoy a quiet smoke.”
“And what were you doing during the doctor’s visit?”
“I was bathing this ferocious animal.” She held up the
Pomeranian for Vance’s inspection. “Doesn’t he look nice?”
“In the bathroom?”
“Naturally. I’d hardly bathe him in the poudrière.”
“And was the bathroom door closed?”
“As to that I couldn’t say. But it’s quite likely. Doctor Von is like a
member of the family, and I’m terribly rude to him sometimes.”
Vance got up.
“Thank you very much, Miss Greene. We’re sorry we had to
trouble you. Do you mind remaining in your room for a while?”
“Mind? On the contrary. It’s about the only place I feel safe.” She
walked to the archway. “If you do find out anything you’ll let me know
—won’t you? There’s no use pretending any longer. I’m dreadfully
scared.” Then, as if ashamed of her admission, she went quickly
down the hall.
Just then Sproot admitted the two finger-print experts—Dubois
and Bellamy—and the official photographer. Heath joined them in the
hall and took them up-stairs, returning immediately.
“And now what, sir?”
Markham seemed lost in gloomy speculation, and it was Vance
who answered the Sergeant’s query.
“I rather think,” he said, “that another verbal bout with the pious
Hemming and the taciturn Frau Mannheim might dispose of a loose
end or two.”
Hemming was sent for. She came in laboring under intense
excitement. Her eyes fairly glittered with the triumph of the
prophetess whose auguries have come to pass. But she had no
information whatever to impart. She had spent most of the forenoon
in the laundry, and had been unaware of the tragedy until Sproot had
mentioned it to her shortly before our arrival. She was voluble,
however, on the subject of divine punishment, and it was with
difficulty that Vance stemmed her oracular stream of words.
Nor could the cook throw any light on Rex’s murder. She had
been in the kitchen, she said, the entire morning except for the hour
she had gone marketing. She had not heard the shot and, like
Hemming, knew of the tragedy only through Sproot. A marked
change, however, had come over the woman. When she had
entered the drawing-room fright and resentment animated her
usually stolid features, and as she sat before us her fingers worked
nervously in her lap.
Vance watched her critically during the interview. At the end he
asked suddenly:
“Miss Ada has been with you in the kitchen this past half-hour?”
At the mention of Ada’s name her fear was perceptibly
intensified. She drew a deep breath.
“Yes, little Ada has been with me. And thank the good God she
was away this morning when Mr. Rex was killed, or it might have
been her and not Mr. Rex. They tried once to shoot her, and maybe
they’ll try again. She oughtn’t to be allowed to stay in this house.”
“I think it only fair to tell you, Frau Mannheim,” said Vance, “that
some one will be watching closely over Miss Ada from now on.”
The woman looked at him gratefully.
“Why should any one want to harm little Ada?” she asked, in an
anguished tone. “I also shall watch over her.”
When she had left us Vance said:
“Something tells me, Markham, that Ada could have no better
protector in this house than that motherly German.—And yet,” he
added, “there’ll be no end of this grim carnage until we have the
murderer safely gyved.” His face darkened: his mouth was as cruel
as Pietro de’ Medici’s. “This hellish business isn’t ended. The final
picture is only just emerging. And it’s damnable—worse than any of
the horrors of Rops or Doré.”
Markham nodded with dismal depression.
“Yes, there appears to be an inevitability about these tragedies
that’s beyond mere human power to combat.” He got up wearily and
addressed himself to Heath. “There’s nothing more I can do here at
present, Sergeant. Carry on, and phone me at the office before five.”
We were about to take our departure when Captain Jerym
arrived. He was a quiet, heavy-set man, with a gray, scraggly
moustache and small, deep-set eyes. One might easily have
mistaken him for a shrewd, efficient merchant. After a brief hand-
shaking ceremony Heath piloted him up-stairs.
Vance had already donned his ulster, but now he removed it.
“I think I’ll tarry a bit and hear what the Captain has to say
regarding those footprints. Y’ know, Markham, I’ve been evolving a
rather fantastic theory about ’em; and I want to test it.”
Markham looked at him a moment with questioning curiosity.
Then he glanced at his watch.
“I’ll wait with you,” he said.
Ten minutes later Doctor Doremus came down, and paused long
enough on his way out to tell us that Rex had been shot with a .32
revolver held at a distance of about a foot from the forehead, the
bullet having entered directly from the front and embedded itself, in
all probability, in the midbrain.
A quarter of an hour after Doremus had gone Heath re-entered
the drawing-room. He expressed uneasy surprise at seeing us still
there.
“Mr. Vance wanted to hear Jerym’s report,” Markham explained.
“The Captain’ll be through any minute now.” The Sergeant sank
into a chair. “He’s checking Snitkin’s measurements. He couldn’t
make much of the tracks on the carpet, though.”
“And finger-prints?” asked Markham.
“Nothing yet.”
“And there won’t be,” added Vance. “There wouldn’t be footprints
if they weren’t deliberately intended for us.”
Heath shot him a sharp look, but before he could speak Captain
Jerym and Snitkin came down-stairs.
“What’s the verdict, Cap?” asked the Sergeant.
“Those footprints on the balcony steps,” said Jerym, “were made
with galoshes of the same size and markings as the pattern turned
over to me by Snitkin a fortnight or so ago. As for the prints in the
room, I’m not so sure. They appear to be the same, however; and
the dirt on them is sooty, like the dirt on the snow outside the French
doors. I’ve several photographs of them; and I’ll know definitely when
I get my enlargements under the microscope.”
Vance rose and sauntered to the archway.
“May I have your permission to go up-stairs a moment,
Sergeant?”
Heath looked mystified. His instinct was to ask a reason for this
unexpected request, but all he said was: “Sure. Go ahead.”
Something in Vance’s manner—an air of satisfaction combined
with a suppressed eagerness—told me that he had verified his
theory.
He was gone less than five minutes. When he returned he carried
a pair of galoshes similar to those that had been found in Chester’s
closet. He handed them to Captain Jerym.
“You’ll probably find that these made the tracks.”
Both Jerym and Snitkin examined them carefully, comparing the
measurements and fitting the rough patterns to the soles. Finally, the
Captain took one of them to the window, and affixing a jeweller’s
glass to his eye, studied the riser of the heel.
“I think you’re right,” he agreed. “There’s a worn place here which
corresponds to an indentation on the cast I made.”
Heath had sprung to his feet and stood eyeing Vance.
“Where did you find ’em?” he demanded.
“Tucked away in the rear of the little linen-closet at the head of
the stairs.”
The Sergeant’s excitement got the better of him. He swung about
to Markham, fairly spluttering with consternation.
“Those two guys from the Bureau that went over this house
looking for the gun told me there wasn’t a pair of galoshes in the
place; and I specially told ’em to keep their eyes pealed for galoshes.
And now Mr. Vance finds ’em in the linen-closet off the main hall up-
stairs!”
“But, Sergeant,” said Vance mildly, “the galoshes weren’t there
when your sleuths were looking for the revolver. On both former
occasions the johnny who wore ’em had plenty of time to put ’em
away safely. But to-day, d’ ye see, he had no chance to sequester
them; so he left ’em in the linen-closet for the time being.”
“Oh, that’s it, is it?” Heath growled vaguely. “Well, what’s the rest
of the story, Mr. Vance?”
“That’s all there is to date. If I knew the rest I’d know who fired
the shots. But I might remind you that neither of your sergents-de-
ville saw any suspicious person leave here.”
“Good God, Vance!” Markham was on his feet. “That means that
the murderer is in the house this minute.”
“At any rate,” returned Vance lazily, “I think we are justified in
assuming that the murderer was here when we arrived.”
“But nobody’s left the place but Von Blon,” blurted Heath.
Vance nodded. “Oh, it’s wholly possible the murderer is still in the
house, Sergeant.”
CHAPTER XVI.
The Lost Poisons
(Tuesday, November 30; 2 p. m.)
Markham and Vance and I had a late lunch at the Stuyvesant

Club. During the meal the subject of the murder was avoided as if by
tacit agreement; but when we sat smoking over our coffee Markham
settled back in his chair and surveyed Vance sternly.
“Now,” he said, “I want to hear how you came to find those
galoshes in the linen-closet. And, damn it! I don’t want any garrulous
evasions or quotations out of Bartlett.”
“I’m quite willing to unburden my soul,” smiled Vance. “It was all
so dashed simple. I never put any stock in the burglar theory, and so
was able to approach the problem with a virgin mind, as it were.”
He lit a fresh cigarette and poured himself another cup of coffee.
“Perpend, Markham. On the night that Julia and Ada were shot a
double set of footprints was found. It had stopped snowing at about
eleven o’clock, and the tracks had been made between that hour
and midnight, when the Sergeant arrived on the scene. On the night
of Chester’s murder there was another set of footprints similar to the
others; and they too had been made shortly after the weather had
cleared. Here, then, were tracks in the snow, approaching and
retreating from the front door, preceding each crime; and both sets
had been made after the snow had stopped falling when they would
be distinctly visible and determinable. This was not a particularly
striking coincidence, but it was sufficiently arresting to create a slight
strain on my cortex cerebri. And the strain increased perceptibly this
morning when Snitkin reported his discovery of fresh footprints on
the balcony steps; for once again the same meteorological
conditions had accompanied our culprit’s passion for leaving spoors.
I was therefore driven to the irresistible inference, as you learned
Solons put it, that the murderer, so careful and calculating about
everything else, had deliberately made all these footprints for our
special edification. In each instance, d’ ye see, he had chosen the
only hour of the day when his tracks would not be obliterated by
falling snow or confused with other tracks. . . . Are you there?”
“Go ahead,” said Markham. “I’m listening.”
“To proceed, then. Another coincidence attached to these three
sets of footprints. It was impossible, because of the dry, flaky nature
of the snow, to determine whether the first set had originated in the
house and returned there, or had first approached the house from
the street and then retreated. Again, on the night of Chester’s
demise, when the snow was damp and susceptible to clear
impressions, the same doubt arose. The tracks to and from the
house were on opposite sides of the front walk: not a single footstep
overlapped! Accidental? Perhaps. But not wholly reasonable. A
person walking to and from a door along a comparatively narrow
pathway would almost certainly have doubled on some of his tracks.
And even if he had failed to superimpose any of his footprints, the
parallel spoors would have been close together. But these two lines
of prints were far apart: each clung to the extreme edge of the walk,
as if the person who made them was positively afraid of overlapping.
Now, consider the footprints made this morning. There was a single
line of them entering the house, but none coming out. We concluded
that the murderer had made his escape via the front door and down
the neatly swept walk; but this, after all, was only an assumption.”
Vance sipped his coffee and inhaled a moment on his cigarette.
“The point I’m trying to bring out is this: there is no proof
whatever that all these footprints were not made by some one in the
house who first went out and then returned for the express purpose
of leading the police to believe that an outsider was guilty. And, on
the other hand, there is evidence that the footprints actually did
originate in the house; because if an outsider had made them he
would have been at no pains to confuse the issue of their origin,
since, in any event, they could not have been traced back farther
than the street. Therefore, as a tentative starting-point, I assumed
that the tracks had, in reality, been made by some one in the house.
—I can’t say, of course, whether or not my layman’s logic adds lustre
to the gladsome light of jurisprudence——”
“Your reasoning is consistent as far as it goes,” cut in Markham
tartly. “But it is hardly complete enough to have led you directly to the
linen-closet this morning.”
“True. But there were various contribut’ry factors. For instance,
the galoshes which Snitkin found in Chester’s clothes-closet were
the exact size of the prints. At first I toyed with the idea that they
were the actual instruments of our unknown’s vestigial deception.
But when, after they had been taken to Headquarters, another set of
similar tracks appeared—to wit, the ones found this morning—I
amended my theory slightly, and concluded that Chester had owned
two pairs of galoshes—one that had perhaps been discarded but not
thrown away. That was why I wanted to wait for Captain Jerym’s
report: I was anxious to learn if the new tracks were exactly like the
old ones.”
“But even so,” interrupted Markham, “your theory that the
footprints emanated from the house strikes me as being erected on
pretty weak scaffolding. Were there any other indicants?”
“I was coming to them,” replied Vance reproachfully. “But you will
rush me so. Pretend that I’m a lawyer, and my summation will sound
positively breathless.”
“I’m more likely to pretend that I’m a presiding judge, and give
you sus. per coll.”
“Ah, well.” Vance sighed and continued. “Let us consider the
hypothetical intruder’s means of escape after the shooting of Julia
and Ada. Sproot came into the upper hall immediately after the shot
had been fired in Ada’s room; yet he heard nothing—neither
footsteps in the hall nor the front door closing. And, Markham old
thing, a person in galoshes going down marble steps in the dark is
no midsummer zephyr for silence. In the circumstances Sproot
would have been certain to hear him making his escape. Therefore,
the explanation that suggested itself to me was that he did not make
his escape.”
“And the footprints outside?”
“Were made beforehand by some one walking to the front gate
and back.—And that brings me to the night of Chester’s murder. You
remember Rex’s tale of hearing a dragging noise in the hall and a
door closing about fifteen minutes before the shot was fired, and
Ada’s corroboration of the door-shutting part of the story? The noise,
please note, was heard after it had stopped snowing—in fact, after
the moon had come out. Could the noise not easily have been a
person walking in galoshes, or even taking them off, after having
returned from making those separated tracks to and from the gate?
And might not that closing door have been the door of the linen-
closet where the galoshes were being temporarily cached?”
Markham nodded. “Yes, the sounds Rex and Ada heard might be
explained that way.”
“And this morning’s business was even plainer. There were
footprints on the balcony steps, made between nine o’clock and
noon. But neither of the guards saw any one enter the grounds.
Moreover, Sproot waited a few moments in the dining-room after the
shot had been fired in Rex’s room; and if any one had come down
the stairs and gone out the front door Sproot would certainly have
heard him. It’s true that the murderer might have descended the front
stairs as Sproot went up the servants’ stairs. But is that likely? Would
he have waited in the upper hall after killing Rex, knowing that some
one was likely to step out and discover him? I think not. And anyway,
the guards saw no one leave the estate. Ergo, I concluded that no
one came down the front stairs after Rex’s death. I assumed again
that the footprints had been made at some earlier hour. This time,
however, the murderer did not go to the gate and return, for a guard
was there who would have seen him; and, furthermore, the front
steps and the walk had been swept. So our track-maker, after having
donned the galoshes, stepped out of the front door, walked round the
corner of the house, mounted the balcony steps, and re-entered the
upper hall by way of Ada’s room.”
“I see.” Markham leaned over and knocked the ashes from his
cigar. “Therefore, you inferred that the galoshes were still in the
house.”
“Exactly. But I’ll admit I didn’t think of the linen-closet at once.
First I tried Chester’s room. Then I took a look round Julia’s
chamber; and I was about to go up to the servants’ quarters when I
recalled Rex’s story of the closing door. I ran my eye over all the
second-story doors, and straightway tried the linen-closet—which
was, after all, the most likely place for a transient occultation. And lo!
there were the galoshes tucked under an old drugget. The murderer
had probably hidden them there both times before, pending an
opportunity of secreting them more thoroughly.”
“But where could they have been concealed so that our
searchers didn’t run across them?”
“As to that, now, I couldn’t say. They may have been taken out of
the house altogether.”
There was a silence for several minutes. Then Markham spoke.
“The finding of the galoshes pretty well proves your theory,
Vance. But do you realize what confronts us now? If your reasoning
is correct, the guilty person is some one with whom we’ve been
talking this morning. It’s an appalling thought. I’ve gone over in my
mind every member of that household; and I simply can’t regard any
one of them as a potential mass-murderer.”
“Sheer moral prejudice, old dear.” Vance’s voice assumed a note
of raillery. “I’m a bit cynical myself, and the only person at the
Greene mansion I’d eliminate as a possibility would be Frau
Mannheim. She’s not sufficiently imaginative to have planned this
accumulative massacre. But as regards the others, I could picture
any one of ’em as being at the bottom of this diabolical slaughter. It’s
a mistaken idea, don’t y’ know, to imagine that a murderer looks like
a murderer. No murderer ever does. The only people who really look
like murderers are quite harmless. Do you recall the mild and
handsome features of the Reverend Richeson of Cambridge? Yet he
gave his inamorata cyanide of potassium. The fact that Major
Armstrong was a meek and gentlemanly looking chap did not deter
him from feeding arsenic to his wife. Professor Webster of Harvard
was not a criminal type; but the dismembered spirit of Doctor
Parkman doubtless regards him as a brutal slayer. Doctor Lamson,
with his philanthropic eyes and his benevolent beard, was highly
regarded as a humanitarian; but he administered aconitine rather
cold-bloodedly to his crippled brother-in-law. Then there was Doctor
Neil Cream, who might easily have been mistaken for the deacon of
a fashionable church; and the soft-spoken and amiable Doctor
Waite. . . . And the women! Edith Thompson admitted putting
powdered glass in her husband’s gruel, though she looked like a
pious Sunday-school teacher. Madeleine Smith certainly had a most
respectable countenance. And Constance Kent was rather a beauty
—a nice girl with an engaging air; yet she cut her little brother’s
throat in a thoroughly brutal manner. Gabrielle Bompard and Marie
Boyer were anything but typical of the donna delinquente; but the
one strangled her lover with the cord of her dressing-gown, and the
other killed her mother with a cheese-knife. And what of Madame
Fenayrou——?”
“Enough!” protested Markham. “Your lecture on criminal
physiognomy can go over a while. Just now I’m trying to adjust my
mind to the staggering inferences to be drawn from your finding of
those galoshes.” A sense of horror seemed to weigh him down.
“Good God, Vance! There must be some way out of this nightmare
you’ve propounded. What member of that household could possibly
have walked in on Rex Greene and shot him down in broad
daylight?”
“ ’Pon my soul, I don’t know.” Vance himself was deeply affected
by the sinister aspects of the case. “But some one in that house did it
—some one the others don’t suspect.”
“That look on Julia’s face, and Chester’s amazed expression—
that’s what you mean, isn’t it? They didn’t suspect either. And they
were horrified at the revelation—when it was too late. Yes, all those
things fit in with your theory.”
“But there’s one thing that doesn’t fit, old man.” Vance gazed at
the table perplexedly. “Rex died peacefully, apparently unaware of
his murderer. Why wasn’t there also a look of horror on his face? His
eyes couldn’t have been shut when the revolver was levelled at him,
for he was standing, facing the intruder. It’s inexplicable—mad!”
He beat a nervous tattoo on the table, his brows contracted.
“And there’s another thing, Markham, that’s incomprehensible
about Rex’s death. His door into the hall was open; but nobody up-
stairs heard the shot—nobody up-stairs. And yet Sproot—who was
down-stairs, in the butler’s pantry behind the dining-room—heard it
distinctly.”
“It probably just happened that way,” Markham argued, almost
automatically. “Sound acts fantastically sometimes.”
Vance shook his head.
“Nothing has ‘just happened’ in this case. There’s a terrible logic
about everything—a carefully planned reason behind each detail.
Nothing has been left to chance. Still, this very systematization of the
crime will eventually prove the murderer’s downfall. When we can
find a key to any one of the anterooms, we’ll know our way into the
main chamber of horrors.”
At that moment Markham was summoned to the telephone.
When he returned his expression was puzzled and uneasy.
“It was Swacker. Von Blon is at my office now—he has something
to tell me.”
“Ah! Very interestin’,” commented Vance.
We drove to the District Attorney’s office, and Von Blon was
shown in at once.
“I may be stirring up a mare’s nest,” he began apologetically, after
he had seated himself on the edge of a chair. “But I felt I ought to
inform you of a curious thing that happened to me this morning. At
first I thought I would tell the police, but it occurred to me they might
misunderstand; and I decided to place the matter before you to act
upon as you saw fit.”
Plainly he was uncertain as to how the subject should be
broached, and Markham waited patiently with an air of polite
indulgence.
“I phoned the Greene house as soon as I made the—ah—
discovery,” Von Blon went on hesitantly. “But I was informed you had
left for the office; so, as soon as I had lunched, I came directly here.”
“Very good of you, doctor,” murmured Markham.
Again Von Blon hesitated, and his manner became exaggeratedly
ingratiating.
“The fact is, Mr. Markham, I am in the habit of carrying a rather
full supply of emergency drugs in my medicine-case. . . .”
“Emergency drugs?”
“Strychnine, morphine, caffeine, and a variety of hypnotics and
stimulants. I find it often convenient——”
“And it was in connection with these drugs you wished to see
me?”
“Indirectly—yes.” Von Blon paused momentarily to arrange his
words. “To-day it happened that I had in my case a fresh tube of
soluble quarter-grain morphine tablets, and a Parke-Davis carton of
four tubes of strychnine—thirtieths. . . .”
“And what about this supply of drugs, doctor?”
“The fact is, the morphine and the strychnine have disappeared.”
Markham bent forward, his eyes curiously animated.
“They were in my case this morning when I left my office,” Von
Blon explained; “and I made only two brief calls before I went to the
Greenes’. I missed the tubes when I returned to my office.”
Markham studied the doctor a moment.
“And you think it improbable that the drugs were taken from your
case during either of your other calls?”
“That’s just it. At neither place was the case out of my sight for a
moment.”
“And at the Greenes’?” Markham’s agitation was growing rapidly.
“I went directly to Mrs. Greene’s room, taking the case with me. I
remained there for perhaps half an hour. When I came out——”
“You did not leave the room during that half-hour?”
“No. . . .”
“Pardon me, doctor,” came Vance’s indolent voice; “but the nurse
mentioned that you called to her to bring Mrs. Greene’s bouillon.
From where did you call?”
Von Blon nodded. “Ah, yes. I did speak to Miss Craven. I stepped
to the door and called up the servants’ stairs.”
“Quite so. And then?”
“I waited with Mrs. Greene until the nurse came. Then I went
across the hall to Sibella’s room.”
“And your case?” interjected Markham.
“I set it down in the hall, against the rear railing of the main
stairway.”
“And you remained in Miss Sibella’s room until Sproot called
you?”
“That is right.”
“Then the case was unguarded in the rear of the upper hall from
about eleven until you left the house?”
“Yes. After I had taken leave of you gentlemen in the drawing-
room I went up-stairs and got it.”
“And also made your adieus to Miss Sibella,” added Vance.
Von Blon raised his eyebrows with an air of gentle surprise.
“Naturally.”
“What amount of these drugs disappeared?” asked Markham.
“The four tubes of strychnine contained in all approximately three
grains—three and one-third, to be exact. And there are twenty-five
tablets of morphine in a Parke-Davis tube, making six and one-
quarter grains.”
“Are those fatal doses, doctor?”
“That’s a difficult question to answer, sir.” Von Blon adopted a
professorial manner. “One may have a tolerance for morphine and
be capable of assimilating astonishingly large doses. But, ceteris
paribus, six grains would certainly prove fatal. Regarding strychnine,
toxicology gives us a very wide range as to lethal dosage, depending
on the condition and age of the patient. The average fatal dose for
an adult is, I should say, two grains, though death has resulted from
administrations of one grain, or even less. And, on the other hand,
recovery has taken place after as much as ten grains have been
swallowed. Generally speaking, however, three and one-third grains
would be sufficient to produce fatal results.”
When Von Blon had gone Markham gazed at Vance anxiously.
“What do you make of it?” he asked.
“I don’t like it—I don’t at all like it.” Vance shook his head
despairingly. “It’s dashed queer—the whole thing. And the doctor is
worried, too. There’s a panic raging beneath his elegant façade. He’s
in a blue funk—and it’s not because of the loss of his pills. He fears
something, Markham. There was a strained, hunted look in his
eyes.”
“Doesn’t it strike you as strange that he should be carrying such
quantities of drugs about with him?”
“Not necessarily. Some doctors do it. The Continental M.D.s
especially are addicted to the practice. And don’t forget Von Blon is
German-trained. . . .” Vance glanced up suddenly. “By the by, what
about those two wills?”
There was a look of astonished interrogation in Markham’s
incisive stare, but he said merely:
“I’ll have them later this afternoon. Buckway has been laid up with
a cold, but he promised to send me copies to-day.”
Vance got to his feet.
“I’m no Chaldean,” he drawled; “but I have an idea those two wills
may help us to understand the disappearance of the doctor’s
pellets.” He drew on his coat and took up his hat and stick. “And now
I’m going to banish this beastly affair from my thoughts.—Come,
Van. There’s some good chamber-music at Æolian Hall this
afternoon, and if we hurry we’ll be in time for the Mozart ‘C-major.’ ”
CHAPTER XVII.
Two Wills
(Tuesday, November 30; 8 p. m.)
Eight o’clock that night found Inspector Moran, Sergeant Heath,

Markham, Vance, and me seated about a small conference-table in
one of the Stuyvesant Club’s private rooms. The evening papers had
created a furore in the city with their melodramatic accounts of Rex
Greene’s murder; and these early stories were, as we all knew, but
the mild forerunners of what the morning journals would publish. The
situation itself, without the inevitable impending strictures of the
press, was sufficient to harry and depress those in charge of the
official investigation; and, as I looked round the little circle of worried
faces that night, I realized the tremendous importance that attached
to the outcome of our conference.
Markham was the first to speak.
“I have brought copies of the wills; but before we discuss them I’d
like to know if there have been any new developments.”
“Developments!” Heath snorted contemptuously. “We’ve been
going round in a circle all afternoon, and the faster we went the
quicker we got to where we started. Mr. Markham, not one damn
thing turned up to give us a line of inquiry. If it wasn’t for the fact that
no gun was found in the room, I’d turn in a report of suicide and then
resign from the force.”
“Fie on you, Sergeant!” Vance made a half-hearted attempt at
levity. “It’s a bit too early to give way to such gloomy pessimism.—I
take it that Captain Dubois found no finger-prints.”
“Oh, he found finger-prints, all right—Ada’s, and Rex’s, and
Sproot’s, and a couple of the doctor’s. But that don’t get us
anywheres.”
“Where were the prints?”
“Everywhere—on the door-knobs, the centre-table, the window-
panes; some were even found on the woodwork above the mantel.”
“That last fact may prove interestin’ some day, though it doesn’t
seem to mean much just now.—Anything more about the footprints?”
“Nope. I got Jerym’s report late this afternoon; but it don’t say
anything new. The galoshes you found made the tracks.”
“That reminds me, Sergeant. What did you do with the
galoshes?”
Heath gave him a sly, exultant grin.
“Just exactly what you’d have done with ’em, Mr. Vance. Only—I
thought of it first.”
Vance smiled back.
“Salve! Yes, the idea entirely slipped my mind this morning. In
fact, it only just occurred to me.”
“May I know what was done with the galoshes?” interjected
Markham impatiently.
“Why, the Sergeant returned them surreptitiously to the linen-
closet, and placed them under the drugget whence they came.”
“Right!” Heath nodded with satisfaction. “And I’ve got our new
nurse keeping an eye on ’em. The minute they disappear she’s to
phone the Bureau.”
“You had no trouble installing your woman?” asked Markham.
“A cinch. Everything went like clockwork. At a quarter to six the
doc shows up; then at six comes the woman from the Central Office.
After the doc has put her wise to her new duties, she gets into her
uniform and goes in to Mrs. Greene. The old lady tells the doc she
didn’t like this Miss Craven anyway, and hopes the new nurse will
show her more consideration. Things couldn’t have gone smoother. I
hung around until I got a chance to tip our woman off about the
galoshes; then I came away.”
“Which of our women did you give the case to, Sergeant?” Moran
asked.
“O’Brien—the one who handled the Sitwell affair. Nothing in that
house will get by O’Brien; and she’s as strong as a man.”
“There’s another thing you’d better speak to her about as soon as
possible.” And Markham related in detail the facts of Von Blon’s visit
to the office after lunch. “If those drugs were stolen in the Greene
mansion, your woman may be able to find some trace of them.”
Markham’s account of the missing poisons had produced a
profound effect on both Heath and the Inspector.
“Good heavens!” exclaimed the latter. “Is this affair going to
develop into a poisoning case? It would be the finishing touch.” His
apprehension went much deeper than his tone implied.
Heath sat staring at the polished table-top with futile
consternation.
“Morphine and strychnine! There’s no use looking for the stuff.
There’s a hundred places in the house where it could be hid; and we
might search a month and not find it. Anyway, I’ll go out there to-
night and tell O’Brien to watch for it. If she’s on the lookout she
maybe can spot any attempt to use it.”
“What astounds me,” remarked the Inspector, “is the security felt
by the thief. Within an hour of the time Rex Greene is shot the
poison disappears from the upper hall. Good Gad! That’s cold-
bloodedness for you! And nerve, too!”
“There’s plenty of cold-bloodedness and nerve in this case,”
answered Vance. “A relentless determination is back of these
murders—and calculation no end. I wouldn’t be surprised if the
doctor’s satchel had been searched a score of times before.
Perhaps there’s been a patient accumulation of the drugs. This
morning’s theft may have been the final raid. I see in this whole affair
a carefully worked-out plot that’s been in preparation perhaps for
years. We’re dealing with the persistency of an idée fixe, and with
the demoniacal logic of insanity. And—what is even more hideous—
we’re confronted with the perverted imagination of a fantastically
romantic mind. We’re pitted against a fiery, egocentric, hallucinated
optimism. And this type of optimism has tremendous stamina and
power. The history of nations has been convulsed by it. Mohammed,
Bruno, and Jeanne d’Arc—as well as Torquemada, Agrippina, and
Robespierre—all had it. It operates in different degrees, and to
different ends; but the spirit of individual revolution is at the bottom of
it.”
“Hell, Mr. Vance!” Heath was uneasy. “You’re trying to make this
case something that ain’t—well, natural.”
“Can you make it anything else, Sergeant? Already there have
been three murders and an attempted murder. And now comes the
theft of the poisons from Von Blon.”
Inspector Moran drew himself up and rested his elbows on the
table.
“Well, what’s to be done? That, I believe, is the business of to-
night’s conclave.” He forced himself to speak with matter-of-factness.
“We can’t break up the establishment; and we can’t assign a
separate bodyguard for each remaining member of the household.”
“No; and we can’t give ’em the works at the police station, either,”
grumbled Heath.
“It wouldn’t help you if you could, Sergeant,” said Vance. “There’s
no third degree known that could unseal the lips of the person who is
executing this particular opus. There’s too much fanaticism and
martyrdom in it.”
“Suppose we hear those wills, Mr. Markham,” suggested Moran.
“We may then be able to figure out a motive.—You’ll admit, won’t
you, Mr. Vance, that there’s a pretty strong motive back of these
killings?”
“There can be no doubt as to that. But I don’t believe it’s money.
Money may enter into it—and probably does—but only as a
contribut’ry factor. I’d say the motive was more fundamental—that it
had its matrix in some powerful but suppressed human passion.
However, the financial conditions may lead us to those depths.”
Markham had taken from his pocket several legal-sized sheets of
closely typed paper, and smoothed them on the table before him.
“There’s no necessity to read these verbatim,” he said. “I’ve gone
over them thoroughly and can tell you briefly what they contain.” He
took up the top sheet and held it nearer to the light. “Tobias Greene’s
last will, drawn up less than a year before his death, makes the
entire family, as you know, the residuary devisees, with the
stipulation that they live on the estate and maintain it intact for
twenty-five years. At the end of that time the property may be sold or
otherwise disposed of. I might mention that the domiciliary stipulation
was particularly strict: the legatees must live in the Greene mansion
in esse—no technicality will suffice. They are permitted to travel and

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Security and International Relations in

Central Africa A Practitioner s

Strategic Human Resource Management and Employment

Decolonizing Central Asian International Relations

Vicarious Identity in International Relations: Self,

Business and Government Relations in Africa 1st Edition

Peace in International Relations 2nd Edition Oliver P

Power Politics in Africa Nigeria and South Africa in

China s Belt and Road Initiative Strategic and Economic

Reservoir Model Design A Practitioner s Guide 2nd

ISBN 978-3-030-89596-9 ISBN 978-3-030-89597-6 (eBook)

General Sir James Everard, KCB CBE

In the French Army, Battlegroups are organised and grouped around a

for France”.1 General de Boissieu published a book entitled To Fight

London, UK Armel Dirou

1 The Central African Republic 1

Armel Dirou Cavalry officer and moun-

AK 47 Soviet Manufactured Assault Rifle, Called Kalashnikov

QRF Quick Reaction Force

The Central African Republic

1 In Marie-Calixte Dirou, Quel est l’impact régional de l’intervention militaire française

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

by any human presence. In their accounts, the first explorers mentioned

3 Thomas Fllichy de la Neuville (dir.), Véronique Mézin-Bourguignaud & Gregor

exacerbated violence, the populations suffered deeply from the harshness

8 Yanis Thomas, Centrafrique: un destin volé, Agone, Marseille, 2016, p. 27.

in the event of external aggression contained in the defence agreement

11 Florent de Saint-Victor, 45 ans d’opérations militaires en RCA, CDEF/DREX- Lettre

limited. They seized several areas which produced income-generating raw

12 FOMAC: The Central African Multinational Force was a non-permanent African

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 7

Captain François-Xavier was the infantry company commander. The

view that my soldiers needed to understand everything such as the orders

Whereas I had prepared my Battlegroup for desert warfare because we

that, although the situation might appear to be calm, sudden outbreaks of

compared to a feudal environment with warlords, armed groups, rebels,

BELOKO BOUAR 148 km

Author’s creation based on a handmade sketch

After a week of handing over, I took over the area of responsibility at

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 19

It appeared to me that I needed to situate my action within the broader

– Make Bouar the pilot city of Central African appeasement;

1. Bien faire et faire savoir (communication)

In English, this translates as:

1. Do the right thing and tell people about it (communication)

On each line of operation, I defined the main areas that needed to be

11. Establish a prefectural communication plan

21. Improve working conditions for NGOs

31. Pursue and develop the schooling of very young children

35. Respect for communities and religions

41. Initial assessment and preparation of the prefectural project

51. Keep the Cantonnier-Bangui road open

Global Approach for the city of Bouar and its region

1–D 2–L 3–U 4–P 5–R

On 16 June, I submitted this project to the prefect who reacted

Despite improving security, there was something I disliked. My

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 29

Markham and Vance and I had a late lunch at the Stuyvesant