French Army chief Schill sees Europe facing empires, vassals, war

PARIS — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and America’s use of economic force to achieve goals signal the end of a world order based on respect of sovereignty and crisis resolution through negotiation, and indicate the resurgence of empires, French Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pierre Schill said.

The world is experiencing a turning point that may be at least equivalent to the end of the Cold War, and possibly comparable to the First World War, Schill said at a presentation of his first book, “Le sens du Commandement,” which roughly translates as the meaning of command, at La Procure bookstore in central Paris last week

“Faced with empires, one is either an enemy or a vassal,” Schill said. The question for Europe and France is now, “how can we influence our destiny so as not to be vassalized in this world that is coming?” the commander of the French land forces said.

Schill said Europe’s strength lies in the collective, through the European Union and NATO – both the EU and NATO treaties include mutual defense commitments. For France, that means “we can unfortunately – and this is both the tragedy and the strength – be drawn into the mechanism of a major commitment, even if we don’t have a threat on our borders.”

Within the changed geopolitical environment, the war in Ukraine may represents a shift similar to World War I, which Schill likened to “an industrial revolution superimposed on a war, or a war superimposed on an industrial revolution.”

French Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pierre Schill inspects a drone at the Eurosatory defense show in Paris in 2024. (Rudy Ruitenberg/staff)

Whereas at the beginning of WWI, electricity was in its infancy and oil hardly used, with no air planes and few cars, “by the end, all of this had developed in an absolutely extraordinary way” as two huge blocs poured all their might into the war, generating intense momentum within this industrial revolution, according to Schill.

“Perhaps today we are experiencing something similar, with the industrial revolution of digital technology, drones, outer space with its use of satellites, and automation,” Schill said. “Perhaps it is crystallizing around this absolutely enormous battle happening before our eyes in Eastern Europe.”

The future will bring “tougher, larger-scale wars” that put logistics back at the forefront, according to Schill, who called it “absolutely essential that our army adapts to the world that is coming,” including by tweaking its structures and adding artillery for deep fires. Other questions to consider are the return of conscription and increasing France’s number of reservists, the general said.

In the new world, one source of power will likely be the ability to adapt to evolving technologies, including at lower echelons, according to the French Army chief.

“The modern world and the world of future combat will in any case be a world in which adaptation and adaptability will be essential,” Schill said. “We need to adopt a mindset of continuous innovation, not only in terms of technology, but also tactics.”

Schill advocated for command by intent, which fixes objective and purpose but allows for initiative at lower echelons, as the command method best adapted to modern combat, as well as the current generation of young recruits looking for purpose.

“Command through meaning, through clear objectives, and through subsidiarity, and which makes clear the framework in which we’ll operate, seems to me well suited to the challenges and of our time and its complexity,” Schill said.

Whereas the French military has a long tradition of summary orders with room for initiative, there has been a shift towards a more detailed and complex style of command, according to Schill. He cited reasons including France’s adoption of the precautionary principle, increasingly powerful command systems integrating AI and the development of international interoperability procedures.

The general cited the retreat from Cao Bang in Indochine in 1950, where around 3,700 French troops were lost, as a prime example of an operation where “the plan was perfect, the plan was precise,” and when the reality on the ground changed, the order to follow the plan to the letter contributed to the eventual defeat.

During the operation, two columns of evacuating French troops were to meet up south of Cao Bang, with no contingency plan if the maneuver failed.

Schill cited the liberation of Paris by the 2nd Armored Division led by Gen. Philippe Leclerc in 1944 as a counterexample of a victorious operation that focused on objectives and left room for initiative, with no more than half a page of orders.

“So faced with this complexity in the world, it’s important to continue to have initiative at the lower levels, because that’s where the maximum effectiveness will be.”

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国陆军总参谋长皮埃尔·希尔将军表示，俄罗斯入侵乌克兰和美国利用经济力量实现目标，标志着以尊重主权和通过谈判解决危机为基础的世界秩序的终结，并预示着帝国的复兴。

席尔上周在巴黎市中心的拉普罗库尔书店举办他的第一本书《命令的意义》（Le sens du Commandement）的发布会上表示，世界正经历一个转折点，其重要性至少可以与冷战结束相提并论，甚至可能堪比第一次世界大战。

“面对帝国，要么是敌人，要么是附庸，”席尔说道。这位法国陆军司令表示，如今欧洲和法国面临的问题是：“我们如何才能左右自己的命运，从而在即将到来的世界里不沦为附庸？”

席尔表示，欧洲的力量在于集体，体现在欧盟和北约——欧盟和北约的条约都包含共同防御承诺。对法国而言，这意味着“不幸的是——这既是悲剧也是力量所在——我们可能会被卷入一项重大承诺的机制中，即便我们的边境没有受到威胁。”

在地缘政治环境发生变化的情况下，乌克兰战争可能代表着类似于第一次世界大战的转变，希尔将其比作“叠加在战争之上的工业革命，或者叠加在工业革命之上的战争”。

2024年，法国陆军参谋长皮埃尔·席尔将军在巴黎举行的欧洲防务展上视察无人机。（Rudy Ruitenberg/staff摄）

第一次世界大战初期，电力还处于萌芽阶段，石油也几乎未被使用，没有飞机，汽车也很少；但到了战争末期，随着两大阵营将全部力量投入战争，“这一切都以绝对非凡的方式发展起来”，从而在这场工业革命中产生了强大的动力，希尔说道。

“或许我们今天正在经历类似的情况，比如数字技术、无人机、卫星及其在太空领域的应用，以及自动化等带来的工业革命，”希尔说。“或许这一切正围绕着我们眼前在东欧发生的这场规模空前的战争而逐渐明朗。”

希尔将军表示，未来将出现“更严峻、更大规模的战争”，后勤保障将再次成为重中之重。他强调，“军队必须适应即将到来的世界”，包括调整军队结构，并增加火炮以进行纵深打击。他还指出，其他需要考虑的问题包括恢复征兵制以及增加法国的预备役人员数量。

据法国陆军总司令称，在新世界里，一种力量来源很可能是适应不断发展的技术的能力，包括在较低层级的技术。

“无论如何，现代世界和未来战争都将是一个适应性和适应能力至关重要的世界，”希尔说。“我们需要树立持续创新的思维模式，不仅在技术方面，而且在战术方面。”

席尔主张以意图为导向的指挥，即确定目标和目的，但允许下级部队发挥主动性，认为这是最适合现代战争以及当前寻求目标的年轻新兵的指挥方法。

希尔说：“通过意义、明确的目标和辅助性原则进行指挥，并明确我们将要运作的框架，在我看来，这非常适合我们这个时代及其复杂性所面临的挑战。”

希尔指出，尽管法国军队长期以来奉行简明扼要、留有自主权的指挥方式，但近年来其指挥风格正朝着更加细致复杂的方向发展。他列举的原因包括法国采纳了预防原则、日益强大的集成人工智能的指挥系统以及国际互操作性程序的制定。

这位将军以 1950 年在印度支那高平的撤退为例，指出当时约有 3700 名法军士兵阵亡，这说明“计划完美无缺，计划精确无误”，但当实际情况发生变化时，严格按照计划执行的命令最终导致了失败。

行动期间，两队撤离的法国军队将在高平以南会合，但如果行动失败，则没有应急计划。

席尔以菲利普·勒克莱尔将军领导的第二装甲师在 1944 年解放巴黎为例，指出这是一次胜利行动的反例，该行动注重目标，留有主动权，命令不超过半页。

“面对当今世界的复杂性，在基层保持主动性至关重要，因为只有这样才能发挥最大的效力。”

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。