Operation Véronique was an unsuccessful

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...

undertaken by 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 ...

during 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 ...

in the hope of eradicating the FLN.

Background

The

after the

Toussaint Rouge (, "Red All Saints' Day"), also known as ("Bloody All-Saints' Day") is the name given to a series of 70 attacks committed by militant members of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) that took place on 1 November 1954—the Catholic fes ...

terror attacks, was centred on the Aurès (and to a lesser extent the

Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...

, and

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

) mountains, because of a lack of FLN influence in other parts of the country. That knowledge made the French launch multiple operations into the mountains in the hope of halting the FLN's fledgling rebellion.

Battle

The operation, which was one of the first ones in the Algerian War, encompassed the region of the Ahmar Khaddou mountain in the

Aurès , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Natural region , image_skyline = Ras el Aïoun.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = Landscape of the Aurès in Ras el Aïoun , image_flag ...

. The Operation was developed by the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the army,

André Zeller André Zeller (1 January 1898 – 18 September 1979) was a French Army general. He was one of the four generals (the others being Raoul Salan, Edmond Jouhaud, and Maurice Challe) who organized the Algiers putsch of 1961. Decorations *Grand Offic ...

, and the chief of staff of the Algerian army, Paul Cherriére. The goal of the operation was to isolate the

ALN Aluminium nitride ( Al N) is a solid nitride of aluminium. It has a high thermal conductivity of up to 321 W/(m·K) and is an electrical insulator. Its wurtzite phase (w-AlN) has a band gap of ~6 eV at room temperature and has a potent ...

combatants from the population, who, deprived of supplies by closures, controls and rationing, would no longer provide logistical support to these combatants. The effect of the operation were insignificant, as the military and civil authorities of the region were almost completely ignorant of the social structures of the inhabitants of the Aures, especially the relations established between them and the men of the insurrection, who long before November 1, 1954, were already living in the mountains. In the first few days of the operation, caves, and other places where

Fellagha The ''Fellagha'', an Arabic word literally meaning "bandits" (الفلاقة, singular الفلاق), refers to groups of armed militants affiliated with anti-colonial movements in French North Africa. It most often is used to refer to armed Alge ...

s hid and were bombed by the Air Force but to no avail. During the operation,

napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated al ...

bombs were also utilized by the Air Force. The Algerian response, which was organized by Mostefa Ben Boulaid was mostly irregular

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

attacks, which were rather successful even though the FLN forces in the region were severely underequipped. Towards the end of the operation, the French also started using artillery pieces to bombard suspected rebel positions. After the capture of Ben Boulaid, the leader of Wilaya I became Bachir Chihani, who commanded the local forces for the last few days of the operation. On the military level and according to the French press, only nine combatants were killed on the Algerian side. This result clearly showed the ineffectiveness of the means implemented in the face of the ALN. This was just one, of many of Paul Cherrière's large-scale sweeps, such as

Violette Violette is a female given name and a surname which may refer to: Given name * Violette Cordery (1900–1983), British racing driver * Violette Huck (born 1988), French tennis player * Violette Lecoq (1912–2003), French nurse, illustrator and ...

and Eckmühl, all of which were ineffective against the guerilla tactics of the ALN.

Aftermath

The French failure to destroy the roots of the Algerian rebellion caused FLN to rapidly grow in influence over the country. Within months, rural areas of the Aurés Mountains had fallen under FLN control.

References

{{Algerian resistance against French invasion Algerian War Véronique 1955 in Algeria Véronique