WesWorld

Soon After...

In other news the HMAS Enterprise and HMAS Sydney will be paying Singapore a visit...

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Originally posted by Desertfox
Soon After...

In other news the HMAS Enterprise and HMAS Sydney will be paying Singapore a visit...

The Marine Nationale would be delighted if our esteemed Australian neighbors and longtime SAER allies would consider extending their cruise and calling at Cam Ranh Bay. (We'll provide the beer, you bring the barbie.)

Then who the heck is providing the snails!?

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Originally posted by TexanCowboy
Then who the heck is providing the snails!?

The ocean.

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Originally posted by Brockpaine

Quoted

Originally posted by TexanCowboy
Then who the heck is providing the snails!?

The ocean.

Touché mon ami!

*plots war against the ocean*

Quoted

Originally posted by TexanCowboy
*plots war against the ocean*

Didn't work out well, mate.

Solves the Lithuanian's problem with ports.

February 4, Morning - Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire
Log of Captaine Thierry Giraudeau

At least so far, these Transall carriers seem to be working amazingly well. The ride is comfortable, and we've already tested their amphibious capability on the road to Yamoussoukro. We came to a river with the bridge out, and Captaine de Boissieu, not waiting for instructions, drove the lead TB42 straight into the water, to the shouts of the locals. When it floated, they were amazed, and then cheered as the vehicle powered straight across the river. The other vehicles ended up serving as impromptu ferries for a few of the locals who needed to cross. I decided to inspect all the vehicles after our river crossing, and I couldn't find any issues from the water.

We halted for the night a bit south of Yamoussoukro and set up camp. Monsieur Jugnout stepped out of the camp to relieve himself last night and got bitten on his rear by a bug. He didn't sleep well, and finally consented to let Lieutenant Besson, our medical man, have a look and proscribe something to help. I don't think Besson took it very seriously, because he proscribed two painkillers and a bottle of red wine.

Note for the bold: flame-roasted monkey is not that bad.

February 4, Evening - Ferkessédougou, Côte d'Ivoire
Log of Captaine Thierry Giraudeau

On our second day out, the vehicles continued working like a charm, despite what I'd call a very hard day of driving. We've covered a bit under three hundred fifty kilometers to the city of Ferkessédougou, one of the largest towns in northern Côte d'Ivoire. We are staying at an active fort of the Légion étrangère, and I must admit having a real bed will be quite a relief after the drive. The vehicles continued to perform well, with only minor mechanical issues cropping up. The sprung seats and the modern suspension have been a godsend on these bumpy roads, although Jugnout wasn't as impressed as I was. I think his standards are too high! Let him ride in an army truck or staff car for a few weeks and then compare it. It is true, though, that a fully-tracked vehicle would be smoother, but who's going to pay for that? Speaking of Jugnout, he seems to have recovered fully from his bug bite.

We did have an incident about 1130 hours were Captaine de Boissieu's Number One carrier, while attempting to pass a group of locals in carts, struck and killed a local's cow. We had to spend nearly half an hour finding the owner to reimburse him for the dead cow, which we loaded aboard to supplement our rations. The cook at this Légion étrangère barracks is currently busy hacking the thing up and preparing it for us to take tomorrow.

February 6
After an extended sailing delay, four Zephir-class sloops have left the port of Djibouti en route to their new ports of operations. The Égyptienne and Piémontaise shall voyage to their new homeport of Abidjan, stopping for port visits and public open days in Cape Town and Libreville (SAE). Their sisterships Bellone and Aréthuse will cruise to their new homeport of Dakar, stopping for port calls in Syrie, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, Iberia, and Gibraltar.

[SIZE=1]Forgot to write this down on my note-sheet and didn't post it in January when I'd planned![/SIZE]

February 6 - Le Figaro
Of interest to our readers may be this item from the Armee de Terre, which announced several days ago that a group of sixteen men have departed Abidjan, in Côte d'Ivoire, in an ambitious attempt to drive from Abidjan to Algiers, across the whole of western Africa. The expedition is being undertaken at the request of defense manufacturer Transall, which is competing for a contract to supply infantry carriers to the Army. Transall wishes to prove the reliability of their newly-developed infantry carriers to the army, and arranged for the expedition, reminiscent of the "Black Cruise" of 1924-1925 by Citroen half-tracks.

The expedition reportedly arrived by ship in Abidjan four days ago, but wasted no time getting underway, leaving at once. At the latest report, the convoy should reach the city of Ouagoudougou in the next day or two. The perils of savage Africa still stretch out before them, with wildlife, uncertain or nonexistent roads, and the sand sea of the western Sahara between them and their final goal on the shores of the Mediterranean.

February 10
The French Army has concluded acceptance trials for two tanks in consideration for adoption. The Army has elected to adopt both tanks for service. The smaller vehicle, the eighteen-tonne Renault Char-6A Bruyere, will be used as a light reconnaissance and colonial tank, while the larger 33-tonne SOMUA Char-8A Montbrun will be used as the main French tank. Orders for the new tanks are currently being negotiated with Renault and SOMUA, and other companies will likely build the tanks under license. AMX and Hotchkiss have already negotiated terms to build versions of the Char-6A Bruyere, while ARL, APX, and ACL are reportedly to receive some orders for the Montbrun.

In additional news, AMX and FCM are reportedly preparing a design for a "battle-cruiser" tank for the consideration of the Army.

February 11
On the heels of the Renault Char-6A's adoption by the French Army, Renault and the French Army has announced that it will send two of the Bruyere mild steel prototypes to the Kingdom of Thailand, along with six brand-new VBE-6 tank training vehicles. The Royal Thai Army has shown an interest in potentially acquiring the Bruyere, and the prototype tanks will be sent to demonstrate the vehicle's qualities to the Thai Army's commanders. The tank training vehicles will be loaned to the Thai Army indefinitely, and should a sales agreement be reached, the training tanks will be gifted to the Thai Army. In the event the Thais pick another vehicle, the training tanks will be returned to serve in Indochina.

February 7, Evening - Niamey, Niger
Log of Captaine Thierry Giraudeau

We drove into Niamey just before dark after what I can only describe as an incredibly hard day of driving - as best I can work out, we've traveled over five hundred kilometers today with only two stops. All of the men are tired and hot. The governor of Niamey greeted us warmly and is allowing us to replenish our supplies of food, water and fuel.

February 8, Evening - Mayzouga, Niger
Log of Captaine Thierry Giraudeau

Reached Mayzouga quite late this evening after driving a bit under three hundred kilometers. We had our first serious breakdown today, as Carrier Three's diesel engine suffered a dramatic bout of overheating. Our Legion mechanics changed out a number of parts to get the TB42 working again. While we were stopped, they also looked at a number of other issues the men have complained about, ranging from a rougher ride to tire wear.

The tire wear issue resurfaced later in the afternoon when my own vehicle, Number One, blew a tire. I instructed the driver to halt to change it out, but Captaine Boissieu's carrier, driving at the end of the line, did not hear the radio signal to stop. Rather than collide with the carrier in front, he steered sharply off to the right and went into a patch of trees, mowing them down with brutal efficiency before getting stuck on the severed stumps. As we changed the tire on Number One, one of the other carriers winched Boissieu's Number Two out of the shrubbery. The mechanics assured us that the only damage done was cosmetic, but Alain told me that Number Two's been running a bit rougher since.

February 10, Evening - Arlit, Niger
Log of Captaine Thierry Giraudeau

We made excellent progress, over five hundred kilometers, as we drove across the Sahel today, reaching the town of Arlit. We ran into a group of European mining engineers and surveyors who have been working in the area. As they were concerned about potentially violent Tuareg tribesmen in the area, we let them and their bodyguards join our camp.

February 11, Evening - Fort Laperrine (Tamanrasset), Algeria
Log of Captaine Thierry Giraudeau

These TB42 carriers have finally won my adoration after today's drive - six hundred kilomteres from Arlit to Fort Laperrine across the southern reaches of the Sahara. We left the last of the paved roads behind early in the morning and drove completely cross-country across this spectacular desert. These vehicles have proven tougher than I'd have imagined, and the only changes we made after entering the Sahera was to lower the tire pressure somewhat to increase traction on the loose sand. The weakest part of this vehicle is actually us, the driver: the bumps which the suspension takes without complaint give us bone-rattling jolts. Though the heat works the diesel engines hard, it turns the interior of the vehicles into ovens, and we've had to drive constantly with every possible aperture open to keep the interior from rising too high - above 35C. As hot as that is, I know these winter temperatures are positively balmy for these regions, as the temperature can rise to 50C in the summers. Those clever Legionnaire b***ds brought these small hand-pumped water atomizers which they use to spray themselves down with cool water. At least they share; I think we might have marooned them at the first Tuareg village we came across if they hadn't.

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Originally posted by Brockpaine

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Originally posted by TexanCowboy
*plots war against the ocean*

Didn't work out well, mate.

Sorry, even the RF Baltic Fleet can't help Latvia win that one!

The Dutch have been plotting war against the ocean successfully for 400 years, and we can't for 3 weeks?

Can, um....Latvia have an interim base in the Urals?