The Battle of Algiers and The Algerian Insurgency

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French Algeria is now called Algeria and won its independence from its colonial power, France. The two political communities in French Algeria were the French citizens and the Algerian people. The Algerian people were under French rule for over one hundred years from 1830 to 1962 when they were given their independence and recognized by France. “The events of November 1, 1954, marked the birth of the National Liberation Front (FLN)” (Cherian). The Muslim population is the part of the population that felt isolated and they wanted more political autonomy. The Muslim population formed a secessionist insurgency because they wanted to break away from the ruling party to create their own country or nation away from French occupation and control.

The Front de liberation national (FLN) or National Liberation Front was the major player in the film Battle of Algiers. “On November 1, a series of 60 explosions rocked Algiers, killing 10 persons” (Cherian). The FLN started using guerilla warfare by attacking government representatives such as the police. They also used terrorism when they attacked civilian targets with bombs after their strike was stopped by the French military and government. The French used many counterinsurgency tactics to stop the insurgency including torture to acquire information on the structure and organization of the insurgency. The French military ended the Algerian insurgency against the French government from the FLN but it did not stop the movement and instilled those ideals in others that would eventually lead to the popular uprising and the eventual liberation of their beloved nation.

The FLN tactics were simple when they started their movement hit and run tactics worked for them against their unsuspecting ta...

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... action and without the proper structured phasing shifts that Mao pioneered. This shows that insurgencies are not clearly set in stone which type or strategy they use but are just tools that they use to meet their ends.

Works Cited

Cherian, John . "Remembering a revolution." The Hindu . Version Volume 21 - Issue 24. Frontline, 3 Dec. 2004. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. .

Evans, Martin . "French Resistance and the Algerian War | History Today." History Today | The World's Best History Writing. Version History Today Volume: 41 Issue: 7 . History Today, n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. .

Neill, Bard E.. "Insurgent Strategies." Insurgency & terrorism: from revolution to apocalypse. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2005. 53-54. Print.

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