| Battle of Algiers | |||||||
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| Part of the Algerian War | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| FLN | France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Larbi Ben M'hidi † Saadi Yacef (POW) Ali Ammar † |
Jacques Massu Yves Godard |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1,400 operatives[2] | 4,600 soldiers 1,500 policemen[3] |
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The Battle of Algiers was a campaign of guerrilla warfare carried out by the National Liberation Front (FLN) against the French Algerian authorities from late 1956 to late 1957. The conflict began as a series of hit-and-run attacks by the FLN against the French Police in Algiers. Violence escalated when the French government deployed the French Army in Algiers to suppress the FLN. Civilian authorities left all prerogatives to General Massu who, operating outside legal frameworks between January and March 1957, successfully eliminated the FLN from Algiers. The use of torture resulted in a backlash against the French presence in Algeria, triggered a controversy in France, and stimulated international support for the FLN.
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In March 1955, Rabah Bitat, head of the FLN in Algiers, was arrested by the French. Abane Ramdane, recently freed from prison, was sent from Kabylie to take the political direction of the city in hand. In a short time, Ramdane managed to revive the FLN in Algiers[4]. On August 20, 1955, violence broke out around Philippeville, drastically escalating the conflict.
In 1956, the so-called "Algerian question" was to be debated at the United Nations. During the Summam Meeting, Abane Ramdane and Larbi Ben M'Hidi decided to escalate the conflict by focusing the operations of the FLN in the capital[5].
During the summer of 1956, secret negotiations between the French and Algerian separatists took place in Belgrade and Rome. The hard-liners of French Algeria began to organise themselves into a paramilitary group under André Achiary, a former officer of the SDECE and under-prefect of Constantinois at the time of Sétif massacre[6]. Helped by members of Robert Martel's Union française nord-africaine, Achiary planted a bomb at Thèbes Road in the casbah during the night of 10 August 1956; the explosion claimed 73 lives. This terrorist action marked a turning point in the conflict.[6][6]
Until the Thèbes road massacre, we only mounted attacks in Algiers as retaliations to massive arrests or executions. But this time, we had no choice: enraged, Casbah inhabitants marched down towards the European town to avenge their dead. I had the utmost difficulties to stop them, with a speech from a balcony, to avoid a bloodbath. I promised that FLN would avenge them.
Peace talks broke down and Guy Mollet's government put an end to the policy of negotiations. Larbi Ben M'Hidi decided to extended terrorist actions to the European city as to touch more urban populations, Arab bourgeoisie in particular, and use Algiers to advertise his cause in metropolitan France and in the International community[6]. After FLN members were executed by guillotine, Larbi Ben M'Hidi ordered to "shoot down any European, from 18 to 54. No women, no children, no elder." [7]
The "Battle of Algiers" started on 30 September 1956, when a trio of female FLN militants, Djamila, Zohra and Samia Lakhdari, carried out a series of bomb attacks on civilian locations (a milk bar, a cafeteria and a travel agency).
On 22 October 1956, a Moroccan DC-3 plane ferrying the foreign affairs personnel of the FLN from Rabat to Tunis for a conference with President Bourguiba and the Sultan of Morocco was re-routed to Algiers. Hocine Aït Ahmed, Ahmed Ben Bella, Mohammed Boudiaf, Mohamed Khider and Mostefa Lacheraf were arrested.
In December, general Raoul Salan was promoted to commander in chief of the army of Algeria. Salan was an adept of the theory of counter-insurgency; he chose veterans of the First Indochina War as his lieutenants, most notably general André Dulac, colonel Goussault (psychological operations), general Robert Allard, and lieutenant-colonel Roger Trinquier.
On 4 January 1957, at Matignon, President of the Council Guy Mollet gave General Massu absolute power on civilian and military matters in Algiers. Robert Lacoste, Christian Pineau (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Paul Ramadier (Minister of Finance), Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury (Minister of National Defence), and Max Lejeune and Louis Laforêt (secretaries of State).
Beyond his own troops, the 10th Parachute Division, General Massu had control of Police (1,100 men), the DST (domestic intelligence agency), the SDECE (external intelligence agency), the 11th Parachute Choc Regiment (3,200 men), the 9th Zouave Regiment (based in the Casbah), the 5th Chasseurs d'Afrique Regiment (350 mounted troops), the 25th Dragoon Regiment (400 men), two Intervention and Reconnaissance detachments (650 men), 55 gendarmes, the Compagnies républicaines de sécurité (920 men), and the Unités territoriales (1,500 men), mostly composed of pied-noirs and led by colonel Jean-Robert Thomazo.
On 7 January 1957, acting upon orders of minister Lacoste, prefect Serge Baret signed a delegation of powers to General Massu, stipulating that
over the territory of the Algier department, responsibility for riot control is transferred, from the publication date of this decree, to the military authority that shall exercise police powers normally devoted to civilian authorities.[8]
Massu was charged to:
institute zones where stay is regulated or forbidden; to place any person whose activity would prove dangerous to public security and order under house arrest, under surveillance or not; to regulate public meetings, shows, bars; to order declaration of weapons, ammunition and explosives, and order their surrendering or seek and confiscate them; the order and authorise perquisitions of homes by day or night; to decide of penalties imposed as reparations of damage to public and private property to anyone found to have helped the rebellion in any way.[8]