Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,994
The army is putting a coup against de Gaulle ...!
The French have occupied Algeria since 1830 ...
... Algeria has been an integral part of the French state as a department since 1870. However, no Algerian gets French citizenship!
Since the Second World War, however, the national consciousness of the Algerians has risen considerably, with ever louder voices calling for the country to be completely separated from France and for independence.
The FLN liberation movement begins with the armed struggle against the French ...
... who for their part react with military means and tremendous brutality to what, from their point of view, is a "rebelion" ...:
Various attempts by the French government to resolve the conflict politically fail because of the incompatibility of the positions:
At best, France is ready to talk about limited self-government, the Algerians insist on independence.
At the latest after the defeat of the French in Dien Bien Phu in northern Vietnam, which led to the complete withdrawal of the colonial rulers from Indochina (1954), the Algerians realized that a liberation movement could win a war against a highly armed military power!
In January 1957, the French send their best man (as they think), Paratrooper General Jacques Massu ...
... who already distinguished himself in World War II and in Indochina!
Massu introduces himself by fighting and winning the "Battle of Algiers" in 1957: With unbelievable effort and the most brutal means (including mass torture) he defeated with his paras ...
... the FLN in the densely built-up and inaccessible Kasbah (old town) of Algiers and pulls all FLN leaders out of traffic who either perish or go to prison.
In all of Algeria, Massu succeeds in at least achieving a military stalemate by having the borders closely monitored (so the FLN no longer receives supplies) and covering the country with fortress-like bases ...:
But none of this resolves the conflict and it costs France a lot of blood - and money!
In just two years, from 1955 to 1957, the Algerian war doubled the French national deficit: from 650 billion francs to 1.1 trillion francs!
The consequences: massive devaluation and an economic crisis!
It is already clear to the further-looking French that the matter will end, like in Indochina! In addition, many citizens are disgusted by the methods of their army in this conflict, which reminds too many of the time when the German occupiers ruled France with similar (the same!) Methods.
In July 1957, the French government overthrew the cabinet of Prime Minister Guy Mollet ...
... on the Algerian conflict, in the following months up to May 1958, three more governments come under three different prime ministers, who also come to an end after a short time - and overthrow!
This is the end of the Third Republic!
The army in Algeria, which does not want to give up the country and continues to rely on a military "victory" - supported by the approximately 450,000 French settlers, the so-called "pieds noirs" ("black feet") - has played a major role in the overthrow of the various governments !
**continued next post**
The French have occupied Algeria since 1830 ...
... Algeria has been an integral part of the French state as a department since 1870. However, no Algerian gets French citizenship!
Since the Second World War, however, the national consciousness of the Algerians has risen considerably, with ever louder voices calling for the country to be completely separated from France and for independence.
The FLN liberation movement begins with the armed struggle against the French ...
... who for their part react with military means and tremendous brutality to what, from their point of view, is a "rebelion" ...:
Various attempts by the French government to resolve the conflict politically fail because of the incompatibility of the positions:
At best, France is ready to talk about limited self-government, the Algerians insist on independence.
At the latest after the defeat of the French in Dien Bien Phu in northern Vietnam, which led to the complete withdrawal of the colonial rulers from Indochina (1954), the Algerians realized that a liberation movement could win a war against a highly armed military power!
In January 1957, the French send their best man (as they think), Paratrooper General Jacques Massu ...
... who already distinguished himself in World War II and in Indochina!
Massu introduces himself by fighting and winning the "Battle of Algiers" in 1957: With unbelievable effort and the most brutal means (including mass torture) he defeated with his paras ...
... the FLN in the densely built-up and inaccessible Kasbah (old town) of Algiers and pulls all FLN leaders out of traffic who either perish or go to prison.
In all of Algeria, Massu succeeds in at least achieving a military stalemate by having the borders closely monitored (so the FLN no longer receives supplies) and covering the country with fortress-like bases ...:
But none of this resolves the conflict and it costs France a lot of blood - and money!
In just two years, from 1955 to 1957, the Algerian war doubled the French national deficit: from 650 billion francs to 1.1 trillion francs!
The consequences: massive devaluation and an economic crisis!
It is already clear to the further-looking French that the matter will end, like in Indochina! In addition, many citizens are disgusted by the methods of their army in this conflict, which reminds too many of the time when the German occupiers ruled France with similar (the same!) Methods.
In July 1957, the French government overthrew the cabinet of Prime Minister Guy Mollet ...
... on the Algerian conflict, in the following months up to May 1958, three more governments come under three different prime ministers, who also come to an end after a short time - and overthrow!
This is the end of the Third Republic!
The army in Algeria, which does not want to give up the country and continues to rely on a military "victory" - supported by the approximately 450,000 French settlers, the so-called "pieds noirs" ("black feet") - has played a major role in the overthrow of the various governments !
**continued next post**
