In just a few days, it managed to send in nearly 3,000 men, heavily armed and efficiently motorized. Gao, Kidal, and Timbuktu were recaptured;
法军表现出色。不出几天，法国就派出了近三千充分机动化的重装军队。加奥、基达尔和廷巴克图相继收复；巴马科成功获救。法国的轰炸摧毁了原教旨主义者的大部分车辆和武器，他们仓皇逃入撒哈拉沙漠。