French Algerian War (1954-1962) Matthew Kowalski and Qualek Dotts

After WW2... Immediately after WW2, Algeria continued its attempts at independence, very violently By 1949, 1,000 Algerians and 88 French had been killed in Oran

FLN V.S. MNA The National Liberation Front (FLN), led by Ahmed Ben Bella (pictured left), was the main rebel faction behind the revolution The FLN was the political branch based in Cairo while the military branch the ALN fought on the ground in Algeria The National Algerian Movement (MNA) was the only rebel group who opposed the FLN throughout the course of the “war”

Financing the War In order to finance their war efforts the FLN sent about 200,000 Algerians into France. Of these 200,000 150,000 were workers The FLN taxed these Algerians on a sliding scale 500 francs for students, 3000 for workers and 50,000 or more for shopkeepers Most of these Algerian workers were hired by those sympathetic to their cause the majority of whom were frenchmen who were involved in the war efforts After these soldiers participated in algeria during the war they were alienated by french society marked as traitors who didn't follow legitimate orders

Styles of warfare Many different styles of warfare were employed by both the FLN and the MNA Guriella warfare Torture- both the French military and the Rebel groups known for torture Cafe wars- named after battles literally fought in the cafes

De Gaulle returned to office in 1958 Elected Prime Minister in 1959 stuck in the middle of everything wants to end the war yet all out war is being declared on the Algerians

the end... cease fire declared in 1962 Where was the US? like most other countries,the US stayed out of the conflict… being that the Soviet Union would get involved it was probably a good idea

Questions Was it a good idea for the US to stay out? Why do you think France wanted to hold on to one of their last colonies? Do you believe that Algeria is better off independent? What are some other pivotal battles for decolonization? How does the FLN organization for independence differ from other liberation organizations?