The Special Organisation (french: Organisation spéciale or organization secret) was a secret

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

organisation in colonial

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, founded by

Mohamed Belouizdad Mohamed Belouizdad ( ar, محمد بلوزداد; 3 November 1924, in Algiers – 14 January 1952, in Paris), was an Algerian militant and chief "responsible" (manager) of Special Organisation (OS), the military branch of the Algerian People's ...

of the

Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties The Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD), name proposed by Maiza, was created October 1946 to replace the outlawed Parti du Peuple Algerien (PPA). Messali Hadj remained as its president. The MTLD was created on the same platform ...

(MTLD) in 1947 to prepare for armed struggle against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, which ruled Algeria as a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

since 1830. The turn towards

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...

was in large part the result of the reactions to the fraudulent elections to the Algerian Assembly in 1948 and later, decided and justified by the Governor-General of Algeria

Marcel-Edmond Naegelen Marcel-Edmond Naegelen (17 January 1892, Belfort – 15 April 1978, Paris) was a French politician. He represented the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) in the 1945 French legislative election, Constituent Assembly elected in 194 ...

, and reactions to the

Sétif massacre Sétif ( ar, سطيف, ber, Sṭif) is the capital of the Sétif Province in Algeria. It is one of the most important cities of eastern Algeria and the country as a whole, since it is considered the trade capital of the country. It is an inner ci ...

in 1945, and other examples of violent repression, which all convinced Algerian activists from 1948 onwards that peaceful political work would be pointless. The OS had around 1,500-2,000 members at its peak, and spawned the groups that would later form the FLN; this group, in turn, became the leading force in the

Algerian War of Independence 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), and later Algeria's single ruling party until 1989. The OS was dismantled by French police in 1950,''Boudiaf, l'homme des ruptures'', Guerfi & Chaïb, éditions Chihab, Batna, 1992, p. 26 and many members imprisoned. Only the units in Aurès and

Kabylie 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 the ...

remained active at the time. The Revolutionary Committee for Unity and Action (in French: CRUA - Comité Révolutionnaire d'Unité et d'Action) was formed when the OS was dismantled, and included former members of the OS and radical members of the MTLD. The CRUA was founded by 33 persons. CRUA would later evolve into the FLN, and produce the Declaration of 1 November 1954 written by the journalist Mohamed Aïchaoui.

Notable members

Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella ( ar, أحمد بن بلّة '; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 an ...

Ahmed Mahsas Ahmed Mahsas (November 17, 1923 – February 24, 2013) was an Algerian militant in the nationalist movement against French Algeria. Early life Ahmed Mahsas was born on 17 November 1923 in Boudouaou, Kabylia (now Boumerdès). He grew up in the ...

* Hocine Aït Ahmed *

Mohamed Aïchaoui Mohamed Aïchaoui (29 January 1921 - 1959) was an Algerian journalist and militant in the nationalist movement against French Algeria. Aïchaoui wrote the ''Declaration of 1 November 1954'', the National Liberation Front's first appeal to the A ...

Mohamed Boudiaf Mohamed Boudiaf (23 June 1919 – 29 June 1992, ar, محمد بوضياف; ALA-LC: ''Muḥammad Bū-Ḍiyāf''), also called Si Tayeb el Watani, was an Algerian political leader and one of the founders of the revolutionary National Liberat ...

* Mourad Didouche * Yahia Boushaki

References

Paramilitary organisations based in Algeria Rebel groups in Algeria Organizations disestablished in 1951 1947 establishments in Algeria Military units and formations established in 1947 {{Algeria-stub

Notable members

Further reading

References