1956 urban guerrilla warfare carried out by the National Liberation Front (FLN) against the French Algerian authorities
A pivotal urban conflict in the Algerian War marked by FLN insurgency and French military repression including systematic torture and forced disappearances.
Key Facts
- Conflict period
- Began 1956, French military phase Jan–Sep 1957
- FLN role
- Urban guerrilla warfare and terrorist attacks against French forces
- French commander
- General Jacques Massu held full civilian-granted powers
- French methods
- Torture, forced disappearances, illegal executions
- Outcome
- FLN eliminated from Algiers by September 1957
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The FLN launched attacks against French forces and Pieds-Noirs settlers in Algiers. Settler terrorist group La Main Rouge, aided by police, retaliated with a bomb attack on Algerian civilians, triggering escalating reprisals that prompted the French Governor-General to deploy the army.
General Jacques Massu was granted full powers by civilian authorities and conducted a military campaign from January to September 1957, operating outside legal frameworks to suppress the FLN in Algiers. Both sides committed violence against civilians throughout the conflict.
The French military succeeded in dismantling the FLN network in Algiers, but the campaign's use of torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions provoked lasting controversy in France and drew international attention to human rights abuses during the Algerian War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
2 belligerents
General Jacques Massu.