In January of 2013, rebel factions in Mali backed by al-Qaeda had overrun the entire northern half of the country—an area larger than the entire country of France. Working on expanding their area of control, the rebels began marching on the Malian capital itself and seemed poised to overrun the entire country - which would have transformed Mali into a Jihadist-run state directly on Europe's doorstep. Unwilling to let that happen, France decided to militarily intervene with more than 5,000 troops, and this is what happened next.