France’s top general on lessons from the battlefield

IN 2021, a ORION 23year before Russia invaded Ukraine, General Thierry Burkhard that the French army had to “harden” itself and prepare for “high-intensity war”, possibly in Europe. One hypothetical adversary was Russia. Today, the ex-head of the army is France’s top soldier, in charge of all armed forces. His analysis turned out to be prescient. It also formed the basis of a training exercise for French and allied soldiers on a scale not seen for decades, which finished last month.For 17 days in April and May General Burkhard led a full-scale division-level exercise in eastern France, on land that the great powers fought over more than a century ago. The final phase of involved a fictitious incursion by a neighbouring state into “Arnland”, played out in a 400km-wide zone of fields and woods. Some 12,000 soldiers, 400 combat vehicles and 50 fighter jets took part in live-fire exercises, hybrid warfare, simulated drills, drone attacks and inter-allied co-ordination to push back the invading force.