Algerian War: Practices of War and the Impact on the Outcome Notes

Key Questions

1. Which side had the strongest armed forces at the outbreak of the war?
2. What was the impact of foreign intervention on the outcome of the war?
3. What was the significance of tactics and strategy in determining the outcome of the war?
4. What was the role of the mobilisation of human and economic resources on the outcome of the war?

The Combatants of the War

FLN Organization and Structure

1. The Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) was supported by its armed wing, the Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN), which divided Algeria into six military zones known as Wilayas.
   1. Each Wilaya commander oversaw not only military operations but also recruitment, political indoctrination, taxation, and intimidation campaigns, which included assassinations of opponents.
   2. While ethnic and tribal rivalries sometimes weakened the unity and effectiveness of these districts, the Wilaya system provided a decentralized yet flexible structure suitable for guerrilla warfare across Algeria’s rugged terrain.
2. The FLN’s Central Command often operated from safe havens in Tunisia and Morocco, allowing leaders to coordinate activities while avoiding direct French retaliation.
3. During the initial attacks of November 1954, fighters were organized into small, four-man cells designed to operate independently and maintain secrecy.
   1. As the war continued, these small cells evolved into larger formations: sections, companies, and battalions, with the 110-man company emerging as the most common unit.
4. The number of full-time guerrilla fighters fluctuated dramatically: in 1957, there were around 15,000 full-time fighters and another 15,000–20,000 part-timer.
   1. By 1959 losses and border blockades reduced this to about 8,000 active fighters.
5. Despite these losses, the FLN maintained sizeable forces in Tunisia and Morocco, which steadily grew and reached approximately 35,000 fighters by 1962.

French Army in Algeria

1. At the beginning of the war, France deployed around 74,000 soldiers, but this number quickly increased to about 400,000, a level maintained throughout the conflict.
   1. The French force was mixed in quality: elite formations such as the Foreign Legion and paratrooper units formed the backbone of combat effectiveness, while the majority consisted of conscripts, reservists, and locally recruited auxiliaries known as harkis.
2. The French army faced constant challenges in sustaining troop numbers due to widespread unpopularity of conscription for an overseas war that many French citizens did not support.
   1. Only around 15% of the French force was made up of professionals, leaving training and leadership stretched thin. Many units lacked the discipline and cohesion of the elite formations.
   2. To maintain manpower, conscription terms were extended to 27 months, but this policy lowered morale and contributed to growing resentment among soldiers.
   3. Sharp divisions emerged between elite units, often marked by arrogance and professionalism, and the bulk of the army, which grew increasingly disillusioned with the conflict.
   4. This morale gap undermined unity and led to tensions within the French military throughout the war.

FLN Weapons and Equipment

1. At the outbreak of the war in 1954, the FLN’s arsenal was extremely limited, with only about 350 small arms available.
   1. Early weapons included makeshift bombs and grenades produced in clandestine workshops, surplus rifles from the Second World War, stolen hunting weapons, and occasional light machine guns.
2. In the first years, the FLN lacked both reliable funding and consistent sponsorship from foreign governments, which restricted its military capabilities.
   1. Although Egypt’s President Nasser expressed strong political sympathy, direct aid was limited until later in the conflict, when arms shipments began to flow despite French attempts at interception.
3. Even with external support, the FLN primarily relied on Second World War–era small arms such as rifles and light machine guns.
   1. Heavy weaponry like artillery, mortars, and bazookas remained rare, usually appearing only when captured from French units.
4. The absence of mass transport forced most FLN units to move on foot or by pack animals, which restricted mobility and limited the size of their operations.
5. In urban settings, such as the famous Battle of Algiers (1956–57), the FLN’s needs were different: they developed hidden bomb factories to produce explosives for targeted terrorist attacks against French and settler populations.

French Weapons and Equipment

1. The French army in Algeria was part of a modern, industrialized military and enjoyed far greater access to equipment than the FLN.
   1. Standardized small arms gave French troops consistent firepower, while Algeria’s open terrain allowed for more effective use of mechanized vehicles than had been possible in the jungles of Indo-China.
   2. Tanks, half-tracks, weapons carriers, and transport trucks gave the French significant mobility and logistical advantages over guerrilla forces.
2. A crucial innovation was the large-scale use of helicopters, which provided rapid troop deployment and battlefield mobility.
   1. By the end of the war, France had around 120 transport helicopters stationed in Algeria, enabling them to quickly move troops across the country or respond to guerrilla ambushes.
   2. Smaller helicopter gunships and close air support from aircraft such as the T-6 Texan and P-47 Thunderbolt strengthened French ground operations.
3. This mechanization and air mobility gave the French military an edge in conventional engagements, though it could not fully overcome the guerrilla tactics of the FLN.

Strategy and Tactics

FLN Strategy and Tactics

1. The FLN’s main priority in the early years of the war was survival, since its fighters were poorly equipped and lacked large-scale backing.
2. In line with guerrilla doctrine, the FLN focused on controlling people rather than territory, aiming to undermine French authority and demonstrate the state’s inability to govern effectively.
   1. To achieve this, FLN fighters carried out ambushes of convoys and patrols, assaults on small French outposts, and bombings of both civilian and military targets.
3. Terror campaigns were directed at suspected Muslim collaborators as well as French administrators and pied noir civilians, creating an atmosphere of fear and insecurity.
4. Beyond military action, the FLN established parallel administrations in rural villages. These shadow governments challenged French-appointed local leaders and worked to replace French influence with FLN authority.
5. The FLN also deliberately provoked harsh French reprisals by carrying out terrorist attacks on European civilians.
   1. They believed that indiscriminate French retaliation would alienate the Muslim population and increase support for the nationalist cause.
6. The FLN never advanced to the “offensive” stage of Mao’s revolutionary model; instead, they remained in the guerrilla phase, avoiding large confrontations with French forces to minimize casualties.
   1. The ALN’s operational doctrine therefore emphasized hit-and-run tactics, secrecy, and the avoidance of direct battles with heavily armed French troops.

Strategic Operations

1955

1. On 1 November 1954, the FLN launched coordinated attacks on 70 police stations, army posts, and government buildings, hoping to trigger a mass uprising.
   1. While these attacks caused some disruption, they failed to ignite the widespread rebellion the FLN had hoped for.
2. The FLN lacked a major sponsor state in the early years, leaving them short of weapons and supplies, which limited them to small-scale bombings of infrastructure during 1954 and 1955.
3. The French government, by contrast, declared that Algeria was part of France and reinforced its commitment by sending in paratroopers and legionnaires.
   1. These elite troops carried out assassinations and retaliatory operations that seriously weakened FLN leadership in the early stages.
4. A brutal cycle emerged: FLN attacks provoked harsh French reprisals, which in turn fueled further resistance.
5. The FLN pressured Algerian civilians into cooperation while also terrorizing the pieds noirs, while the French army relied on torture, intimidation, and collective punishment to obtain information and suppress rebellion.