Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0237/02375.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 27KB | 445 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02375}
$Pretitle{361}
$Title{Mauritania
Chapter 5B.   The Development of the Armed Forces}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Robert E. Handloff}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{military
french
forces
mauritania
mauritanian
france
armed
training
army
defense}
$Date{1987}
$Log{Figure 12.*0237501.scf
}
Country:     Mauritania
Book:        Mauritania, A Country Study
Author:      Robert E. Handloff
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1987

Chapter 5B.   The Development of the Armed Forces

The Preindependence Period

     The Mauritanian armed forces were developed by the French colonial army
and used in military ventures throughout the French Empire. In recognition of
the major contributions of African troops to the French war effort during two
world wars, the French government eliminated many of the distinctions between
French and African troops. Pensions and allowances were granted to veterans in
1949, and conscripted military labor was abolished in 1950. By 1955
discrimination was officially eliminated by opening all military ranks to
Africans. After 1956 officer training for Africans was provided at military
preparatory schools located in Africa, and after 1958, at France's military
academy, St. Cyr. An Africanized military was especially important in
Mauritania, where the military governed the colony into the 1920s and in
certain cercles (see Glossary) up to independence.

     On the one hand, Mauritanian veterans, imbued with an esprit de corps, a
more cosmopolitan view of the world, and growing self-interest, returned home
as agents of modernization and political development. On the other hand, the
French practice of integrating all Africans into the French army inhibited the
development of a strictly territorial or national army. Mauritanians, along
with other Africans, served in France, Indochina, Senegal, or Madagascar and
operated under French statutes, conditions of service, and recruitment
policies. Nevertheless, the Africanization program begun in the early 1950s
gave Mauritania a small core of experienced officers on which to build its
military forces.

The Independence Period and The French Military Legacy

     In the 1950s and 1960s France signed defense treaties with many of the
new African states. Its bilateral treaty with Mauritania provided for
permanent base facilities for up to 3,000 French troops in Mauritania to
support French interests in Algeria and to deter Morocco's irrendentist
claims. The three-part agreement provided for the transfer of men, units,
equipment, and installations from France to form the basis of Mauritania's
army; it provided military training programs and supplies; and it promised
assistance by French personnel in the external and internal defense of the
country. Mauritania controlled both external defense and internal security and
France assisted if requested.

     According to the agreement, Mauritanian nationals serving with the French
army could either return to their country to form the nucleus of the new army,
or remain in the French army with permission of the Mauritanian government. In
both cases they retained pension rights. In addition, the colonial gendarmerie
was transferred en toto to the new government. The army and the gendarmerie
were equipped at no charge by France, and France offered sophisticated and
expensive logistical support to the Mauritanian army. In return, Mauritania
agreed to purchase all of its military equipment from France. Although the
French retained the air base at Atar and units of the army remained at Port
Etienne (now Nouadhibou) and Fort Trinquet (now Bir Moghrein), Mauritania
gained control of all other military installations in the country. French
commissioned and noncommissioned officers filled out the command cadres and
organized intensive training programs for Mauritanian recruits. In addition,
France agreed to train a number of Mauritanian officers at French military
academies at French expense (see Manpower and Training, this ch.). In return,
Mauritania agreed not to send trainees to any other country. To manage the
training and organization of the new army and to coordinate the technical
assistance program, the French military established an aid office in
Nouakchott.

     At the same time, Mauritania and France also signed two other
defense-related accords. The first was the Complementary Agreement on Raw
Materials and Strategic Elements whereby Mauritania granted priority of sale
of liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, uranium, thorium, lithium, beryllium, and
helium to France. The second was The Status of Forces Agreement which covered
judicial treatment of the several thousand French troops stationed in
Mauritania. France continued its military assistance and defense cooperation
throughout the 1960s; meanwhile, it reduced its military presence to a handful
of officers and noncommissioned officers in training programs. By 1966 the
last French troops withdrew from Mauritania and transferred their bases to the
Mauritanian armed forces. At the same time, more Mauritanians attended advance
officer training courses in France. The replacement of French troops stationed
in Africa with intervention forces stationed in France was an integral part of
the reorganization of French defense policy started in 1959 under General
Charles de Gaulle and followed by the successive governments of the Fifth
Republic. Under this new defense policy, the French deemed military bases of
any considerable size (as well as transit facilities, technical support, and
refueling stations) too politically risky in independent Africa.

The Armed Forces

Organization and Strength

[See Figure 12.: Organization of National Security Forces, 1987.]

     In 1987 the armed forces were organized under the president, who also
served as minister of defense and oversaw all aspects of the military.
Lieutenant Colonel Diallo Mohamed was second in command. Military headquarters
staff was divided into offices handling personnel, intelligence, training and
operations, and logistics. Headquarters staff also directed the signals,
equipment, and quartermaster corps. The army was organized into six geographic
regions (a seventh region had been reapportioned among the remaining six
regions), and two at-large sectors located mainly in the northern part of the
country.

     In the 1960s and early 1970s, the chief task of the Mauritanian military
had been internal control. When French forces departed in 1966, Mauritanian
armed forces numbered approximately 1,000 men (900 in the army and 100 in the
fledgling air force). By 1971 they had grown 50 percent to over 1,500 men
(army 1,444; air force, 100; and navy, 30). Ould Daddah deliberately kept the
armed forces small, however, to decrease the possibility of a military coup,
and relied on French military assistance to meet external threats. The
government raised troop strength and improved training with the advent of the
Western Sahara war. The armed forces expanded from 3,000 men at the beginning
of 1976 to 12,000 by the beginning of 1977, and further expanded to between
15,000 and 17,000 at the beginning of 1978. In November 1976 a combined
services college opened at Atar. In addition to increasing troop strength and
creating a military school, Haidalla introduced a military service program
called the National Civic Service to assist the regular military forces.
Restricted to Mauritanian People's Party (Partie de Peuple Mauritanienne--PPM)
members at least eighteen years old, the program provided military training
and political education for two half-days each week.

     The newly trained servicemen were to help with civil defense,
intelligence, and press relations. This scheme failed, however, because
Mauritanians were disillusioned with the war and viewed war- related efforts
with scepticism and apathy. Following the cease-fire with Polisario forces,
Mauritanian armed forces strength was halved, decreasing from 17,000 in July
1978 to 9,450 in early 1979. The forces were fur