Hundreds of armed troops along with 43 vehicles, four helicopters,
two landing craft and a catamaran, stormed a beach in Gosport, Hampshire and it took more than 200 years to French to managed to land an invading naval force on Britain's shores.
The sight would have been the stuff of nightmares for Admiral
Lord Nelson as scores of Frenchmen emerged from the sea clutching their rifles. But far from being a serious assault on the scale of a Napoleonic invasion, this was a unique training exercise for the French military.
The last time French troops landed on British soil was during the
Battle of Fishguard - also known as the 'last invasion of Britain' - in 1797. Today's exercise signalled the first time French forces have trained using a UK beach, signalling the ever-closer co-operation between London and Paris in the wake of the 2010 defence treaty signed by David Cameron and ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The task force landed at Browndown camp in Gosport, Hampshire, which was part-built by French prisoners of war during the early 19th century. The amphibious landing helicopter ship, FS Tonnerre, and its anti-submarine warfare destroyer, FS Georges Leygues, conducted exercises out in the Solent from 2pm while aircraft buzzed in the grey skies overhead.
Speaking ahead of the invasion, a French navy spokeswoman
said: 'Once the vehicles and soldiers disembark, using the landing craft and helicopters, the troops will continue with instruction activities, driver training, live fire exercises and assault course on Browndown.
'This kind of manoeuvre is a unique chance for the 134 midshipmen of the French Naval Academy 2010-class embarked onboard the Tonnerre and the Georges Leygues to discover both amphibious and joint operations.'
After their stay on the south coast, the roving task force will travel to the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, where they will take part in an European anti-piracy operation before visiting Chinese waters.
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