The Algerian War of Independence: Guerilla War and Decolonization

Question 1

Define guerrilla war

Answer 1

a war between irregular forces and established armies

Question 2

How doe guerrilla forces work?

Answer 2

harass the enemy until the cost of pursuing the war is no longer worth the benefits

Question 3

What do guerrilla tactics rely on?

Answer 3

rely on mobility and stealth, psychological torture (although dangerous as this puts all civilians in harms way)

Question 4

What started resistance in Algeria?

Answer 4

o More settlers were coming to the French colony of Algeria, so France was trying to assimilate Algeria into France
 Some natives resisted and attacked guerrilla-style on French troops and European settlers

Question 5

Define pieds-noirs

Answer 5

(“black feet”) were French settlers and descendants of French settlers in Algeria (Albert Camus

Question 6

What were the three sides of the Algerian war?

Answer 6

the French government, the pieds-noirs, and Algerian nationalists

Question 7

What were the Algerian nationalists fueled by?

Answer 7

• Fueled by poor economic conditions for Algerian Arabs, income differentials and inaccessibility of landownership

Question 8

Who was Ahmed Ben Bella?

Answer 8

o One of the founders of the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN)
o First president of Algeria

Question 9

Who was Houari Boumedienne?

Answer 9

o Commander of the FLN’s military wing, the ALN, stationed in Tunisia
o President of Algeria after Ben Bella

Question 10

What was Dien Bien Phu?

Answer 10

was a battle between the Viet Minh and the French army between March and May of 1954. This Viet Minh victory drove the French from Indochina and led to the partition of the country into North and South Vietnam

Question 11

When did Algerian nationalists see opportunity?

Answer 11

Algerian nationalists saw opportunity after the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu

Question 12

What are legionnaires?

Answer 12

soldiers in the French Foreign Legion, an elite formation within the French army

Question 13

What was the FLN strategy?

Answer 13

o The FLN committed small acts such as bombings of infrastructure

Question 14

What was France’s strategy?

Answer 14

o France sent in paratroopers and Legionnaires who conducted a campaign of assassination and retaliation against suspected FLN supporters to discourage civilian support

Question 15

Define collective responsibility

Answer 15

o Collective Responsibility is the practice of holding all members of a population responsible for the actions of a few of its members
 Led to many civilian casualties and torture of many civilians which turned French public opinion against the war

Question 16

What was the Morice Line?

Answer 16

was a fortified barrier between Algeria and Tunisia designed to keep FLN fighters and supplies in Tunisia from getting to Algeria

Question 17

What is attrition?

Answer 17

is the doctrine that seeks to weaken the enemy by depleting and destroying their resources, human and material, to the point that they surrender or otherwise abandon to fight

Question 18

Define decolonization

Answer 18

is the global movement in the second half of the 20th century toward independence for territories that had been ruled as colonies of European states

Question 19

Who was Jacques Massu?

Answer 19

Commander of the elite 10th Parachute Division stationed in Algeria who had a reputation for ferocity and determination after he authorized and encourage the use of torture and other coercive tactics

Question 20

When did Algeria declare independence?

Answer 20

Algeria declared independence in 1962 with the FLN forming the new government

Question 21

Who was Charles de Gaulle?

Answer 21

 Soldier, politician, and statesmen in France
 Founder and president of the Fifth Republic
 Seen as a man of honesty and integrity
 Saw a stable France that included Algeria was impossible, so he began talks with the FLN and negotiated the cease-fire agreement and the final agreement setting out Algerian independence

Question 22

Who was Maurice Challe?

Answer 22

 Commander of all French forces in Algeria in 1959

 Sided with the pieds-noirs in the face of Algerian independence and he participated in the revolt of the generals

Question 23

What is the Evian Accords?

Answer 23

an agreement, signed on March 18, 1962 between the French government and the FLN. The agreement established a permanent ceasefire in the Algerian War and the removal of French forces. It guaranteed the religious and property rights of French citizens who remained in an independent Algeria.

Question 24

What are Harkis?

Answer 24

 Harkis were Algerian Muslims who fought for the French during the Algerian War

Question 25

Who mass migrated after Algerian independence?

Answer 25

o Mass migration of pieds-noirs ad loyal Algerians (harkis)