Desired scans : Black Powder supplements Rank and File supplements Harpoon 3 & 4 supplements Force on Force supplements Hind Commander At Close Quarters War and Conquest
Cooper Lee
28th September in military history:
48 BC – Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. 365 – Roman usurper Procopius bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself Roman emperor. 1066 – William the Conqueror invades England beginning the Norman conquest of England. 1106 – The Battle of Tinchebray – Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose. 1238 – Muslim Valencia surrenders to the besieging King James I of Aragon the Conqueror. 1322 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf. 1538 – Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Navy scores a decisive victory over a Holy League fleet in the Battle of Preveza. 1781 – American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, during the American Revolutionary War. 1868 – Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France. 1901 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas kill more than forty American soldiers while losing 28 of their own, in a surprise attack in the town of Balangiga on Samar Island. 1912 – Corporal Frank Scott of the US Army becomes the first enlisted man to die in an airplane crash. 1918 – World War I: The Fifth Battle of Ypres begins. 1939 – Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland after their invasion during World War II. 1939 – Warsaw surrenders to Nazi Germany. 1941 – The Drama Uprising against the Bulgarian occupation in northern Greece begins. 1961 – A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria. 1995 – Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of Comoros in a coup. 2012 – Somali and African Union forces launch a coordinated assault on the Somali port city of Kismayo to take back the city from al-Shabaab militants.
Chase Russell
It is 21 years since famed mercenary Bob Denard lead his fourth and final coup in the Comoros, codenamed Operation Kaskari. His provisional government was removed bloodlessly by French Special Forces in Operation Azalee a week later.
Denard and 33 hand-picked mercenaries docked their ship, Vulcain, at Moroni harbour and descended on the city, forcibly removing the figures of the official government before the ill-equipped army was aware. The invaders had been stowing away on Vulcain for more than a month, and were greeted at their arrival by vans supplied by the relatives of former president Ahmed Abdallah.
The French authorities had some advance notice of the coup, as they had before. But unlike Denard's previous coups, the French government opposed and denounced Denard. Knowing this, Denard's first priority was to prevent the likely counter-coup from his homeland. In addition to political pacification measures, such as forming a civilian government, Denard also tried to recreate the 500-strong presidential guard that he had led after his second coup (1978–1989). Denard's popularity during the early 1980s enabled him to mobilise 300 supporters within five days and place them around ports and airports, where they would be most effective to ambush French invaders with submachine guns.
Knowing what they would encounter on the islands, the French did not pursue their extreme numerical advantage, instead handing control to the Special Operations Command. Eventually, 400 marines and 200 other special operations experts began cruising the Indian Ocean in patrol boats and a frigate.
Carson Martin
Making landfall at 23:00 on the 3rd of October, the GIGN immediately sought to overawe the mercenary-dissident alliance. The specialist operators had little trouble in taking both airports, the French embassy and Vulcain, capturing many Denard supporters. Denard was outmanned, outgunned and outmechanised by the invaders. Although small defending forces had managed to repel attackers in the past (e.g. Rorke's Drift), this would usually involve some specific advantage in intelligence, training or guerilla tactics. Knowing he had no such advantage, Denard sent the message to the men defending the barracks that they should lay down their arms if engaged by the French. The specialists encircled the barracks in the early hours of the 5th of October, and Denard was arrested at 03:00 and flown to a Parisian jail. President Djohar, who was held captive in the barracks, was flown to Réunion for medical treatment.
This would be the last of four Denard coups in the Comoros, although another coup would occur on the day Denard went to trial. Since independence in 1975, the Comoros has been subject to over 20 attempts to overthrow the government. This one was only a partial failure in all of the objectives—Djohar was refused re-entry into the Comoros until the 1996 elections, which he lost.
Four Comorians died during Operation Azalee, and nine people were wounded.
Although it did not result in any shooting, this would be perfect for a large-scale moderns skirmish campaign. Also the entire Comoros could be reproduced, with both sides having to plan their respective operations, and played out over several days of game-time. The political aspects - the French reaction, Denard's leadership - could also be factored in to add a whole new dimension. It's hardly a "fair" fight - the French have overwhelming numbers - but it would still be a hard one.
