Algerian War of Independence

V

1956: The Soummam Congress

By 1956 the French military effort had become more concentrated, following the French army’s withdrawal from Indochina, and the independence of Algeria’s neighbours Morocco and Tunisia from France. The FLN, meanwhile, sought international support for its struggle, using Moroccan and Tunisian territory from which to attack French positions.

The rapid expansion of the military wing of the FLN made its coordination difficult. Disputes also arose between the commanders in exile and new leaders, like Ramdane Abane, emerging from FLN ranks inside Algeria. On August 20, 1956, a secret congress of 20 FLN leaders was convened in Soummam in Kabylia. This meeting restructured the military forces as the National Liberation Army (ALN), and created the National Council of the Algerian Revolution (CNRA) to represent broader FLN membership. More controversially, it also accorded precedence to the “internal” FLN leadership over the “externals”. In October 1956, however, five leaders-in-exile, including Ahmed Ben Bella (later first president of Algeria), were captured and imprisoned for the remainder of the war when the French hijacked their aeroplane over northern Algeria.

VI

1956-1957: The Battle of Algiers

In September 1956 the ALN stepped up guerrilla warfare within Algiers itself. Over the following months, Algerian women planted bombs in French cafés and public places, which significantly increased French civilian casualties. The French authorities arrested and tortured large numbers of guerrilla suspects, many of whom died under interrogation.

Ultimately, French forces tracked down most of the guerrillas, ending the “Battle of Algiers” in the summer of 1957. The losses suffered by the FLN severely weakened the movement, but raised its international profile. The main “internal” FLN leaders nevertheless fled to Tunis to avoid arrest.

French construction of the “Morice Line” sealed Algeria’s borders with Tunisia by September 1957 with an electric fence backed up by artillery, isolating FLN guerrillas from their leaders. Before this, a CNRA meeting in Cairo not only returned overall command to the “external” FLN leaders, but also reorganized the FLN’s central committee to exclude individualistic leaders like Abane, later killed in Morocco under mysterious circumstances.

VII

1958: De Gaulle Takes Control

The battles of 1958 shifted to the Morice Line, while elsewhere French reinforcements of 400,000 men gained the military upper hand. Politically, however, the cost of war and its excesses were losing popularity in France, where the Fourth Republic was in permanent crisis.

In May 1958, French colons began their own insurrection against weak French governments, creating a Committee of Public Safety in Algiers, under a paratroop commander. In Paris, General Charles de Gaulle was called to form a new government to save the situation.

In June 1958 in Algiers, de Gaulle reassured the colons with the ambiguous phrase, “Je vous ai compris” (“I have understood you”). His September 1958 proposals for greater Algerian integration into France nevertheless failed to address the colons’ fears. In September 1958, the FLN created its own Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA), with Ferhat Abbas as president. By 1959, de Gaulle realized the impossibility of a military solution. Instead, he provoked colon anger by proposing a referendum for the self-determination of Algerians.

VIII

1960-1962: From Political Crisis to Evian Accords

With the tacit support of some paratroop regiments, the colons attempted an uprising in Algiers in January 1960. It failed when de Gaulle called the French army to order. Splits also appeared again between FLN leaders. Some, like Abbas, were ready for the negotiations offered by de Gaulle in June 1960. Unsuccessful talks took place in Paris, followed by renewed attacks in Algiers, forcing de Gaulle to state more clearly in November 1960 his eventual intention to emancipate Algeria.

This proved too much for several French generals. With hardline colons, they formed the Secret Army Organization (OAS) to mount a second rebellion in February 1961. This time, the rebels took hold of Algiers and even threatened Paris. Once again, de Gaulle’s oratorial skills quelled the dissidence, paving the way for a final political solution.

Despite continuing divisions, the FLN participated in secret negotiations with the French in Evian, Switzerland, from late 1961, culminating in a ceasefire agreement in March 1962. The Evian Accords also provided for a referendum, held on July 1, 1962, in which the majority of Algerians voted for independence. Over the next few months, French colons emigrated in large numbers, leaving Algeria under its first independent president, Ahmed Ben Bella. On the Algerian side, the war had cost nearly one million lives from a population of less than nine million.