The Battle of Bab el Oued (french: link=no, Bataille de Bab el Oued) was a violent confrontation which occurred during the latter stages of the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

(1954–1962) between the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

and the Organisation armée secrète (OAS) which opposed Algerian independence. It took place in Bab El Oued, a traditionally white working-class quarters of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, from 23 March to 6 April 1962.

Context

The OAS uprising (19 March)

The OAS was an organization of hard-line European "

Pieds Noirs The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Alger ...

" living in (the then-French territory) Algeria who were opposed to the cease-fire announced by French president

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

on 19 March 1962 between French forces and the Front de libération nationale (FLN) forces fighting for Algerian Independence. The OAS decided to dig in at their stronghold of Bab El Oued (a traditionally European working-class area) to fight the Evian Agreements by force.

Siege of Bab el Oued (from 23 March to 6 April)

The Battle of Bab el Oued was principally a battle between the French Gendarmerie Mobile and the OAS

Commando Delta The Commando Delta organizations were assassination teams under the control of the Organisation armée secrète (OAS) in Algeria during the early 1960s. The teams "interdicted" European neighborhoods by assassinating Muslims who entered. The Comm ...

. The French government forces used M8 Greyhound armoured cars to control the exits to the town whilst suspicious buildings were surveilled from the air by T-6 and T-28 aircraft departing from

Boufarik Boufarik is a town in Blida Province, Algeria, approximately 30 km from Algiers. In 2008, its population was 57,162.popul ...

Air Base. Four T-6s strafed the roofs to clear them from snipers after Army helicopters dropped canisters with tear gas. As part of the attack, naval artillery support from the s and was planned, though it soon became evident that this was not practical and the bombardment was called off. Most of the troops setting siege to the quarter had been ferried to Algeria by ''Surcouf'' and ''Maillé-Brézé,'' along with other three destroyers, on 2 March. In support of Bab-el Oued, 200 OAS ''

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

'' marched from Algiers to Ouarsenis, a mountainous region between

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

and Algiers. They tried to capture two French military outposts and gain support from local Muslim tribes loyal to France, but instead these forces were harassed and eventually defeated by Legion units led by Colonel Albert Brothier after several days of fighting.

Arrest of General Jouhaud (25 March)

On 25 March 1962, General

Edmond Jouhaud Edmond Jouhaud (; 2 April 1905 – 4 September 1995) was one of four French generals who briefly staged a putsch in Algeria in April 1961. Early life Edmond Jouhaud was born on 2 April 1905 in French Algeria. He was a descendant of early Algeria ...

(adjutant to the commander of the OAS Raoul Salan and commander of the ''OAS-Oranie,'' the Oran branch of the OAS) was arrested at the ''Hôtel Panoramic d'Oran'' with his adjutant, Commander Julien Camelin.

1962 Isly massacre

The

1962 Isly massacre The 1962 Isly massacre was an incident during the Algerian War when French Army soldiers opened fire on a crowd of ''Pied-Noir'' demonstrators marching in support of French Algeria, France's control over Algeria on 26 March 1962. In response to ...

was an incident which occurred on 26 March 1962 in which a largely peaceful demonstration of anti-independence '' Pied-Noirs'' attempted to force their way through

roadblocks around the Great Post-Office of Algiers. The demonstrators encountered a roadblock manned by 45 soldiers from the 4th Tirailleur Regiment who fired on the crowd with

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

s. Between 50 and 80 ''Pied-Noirs'' demonstrators were killed in the massacre.

Casualties

According to the historian Benjamin Stora, 35 people were killed during the Battle of Bab el Oued and around 150 were wounded. Six French soldiers were killed by the OAS in a previous ambush.''26 mars 1962, la fusillade de la rue d’Isly à Alger''
'' Ligue des droits de l'homme'' (LDH, Human Rights League), article based on sources from Benjamin Stora,''Histoire de la guerre d'Algérie'', ''La gangrène et l'oubli'' and Sylvie Thénault, ''Histoire de la guerre d'indépendance algérienne''

References

External links

Chillet, ''La Bataille de Bab-el-Oued,'' article from the journal ''Accent Grave'' n.14 April 1963

''Fusillade à Bab-el-Oued dirigée sur le 2e bataillon du 73e RIMa au poste de zouaves,'' ECPAD
{{Algerian resistance against French invasion 1962 in Algeria Airstrikes conducted by France Algerian War April 1962 events in Africa Articles containing video clips Battles involving France Battles of the Algerian War Conflicts in 1962 March 1962 events in Africa Organisation armée secrète Urban warfare