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 (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 Force ...

and the

Organisation armée secrète The ''Organisation Armée Secrète'' (OAS, "Secret Armed Organisation") was a far-right French dissident paramilitary organisation during the Algerian War. The OAS carried out terrorist attacks, including bombings and assassinations, in an atte ...

(OAS) which opposed Algerian independence. It took place in

Bab El Oued Bab El Oued is a neighbourhood in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, along the coast north of the city centre. As of 2008, the population of the commune of Bab El Oued was 64,732. History During the existence of French Algeria, Bab El Oued was esta ...

, a traditionally white working-class quarters of Algiers, from 23 March to 6 April 1962.

Context

The OAS uprising (19 March)

The OAS was an organization of hard-line European " Pieds Noirs" living in (the then-French territory) Algeria who were opposed to the cease-fire announced by French president Charles de Gaulle on 19 March 1962 between

French forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

and the Front de libération nationale (FLN) forces fighting for

Algerian Independence An independence referendum was held in French Algeria on 1 July 1962. It followed French approval of the Évian Accords in an April referendum. Voters were asked whether Algeria should become an independent state, co-operating with France; 99 ...

. The OAS decided to dig in at their stronghold of

(a traditionally European working-class area) to fight the

Evian Agreements Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year. Today, Evia ...

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 The Mobile Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie mobile) (GM) is a subdivision of the French National Gendarmerie whose main mission is to maintain public order (from crowd control to riot control) and general security. Contrary to the Departmental Ge ...

and the OAS Commando Delta. The French government forces used

M8 Greyhound The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exporte ...

armoured cars to control the exits to the town whilst suspicious buildings were surveilled from the air by T-6 and

T-28 The T-28 was a Soviet multi-turreted medium tank. The prototype was completed in 1931, and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry support tank intended to break through fortified defences. The T-28 was designed to complement the hea ...

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'' marched from Algiers to Ouarsenis, a mountainous region between Oran 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 Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

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 Algeri ...

(adjutant to the commander of the OAS

Raoul Salan Raoul Albin Louis Salan (; 10 June 1899 – 3 July 1984) was a French Army general. He served as the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. He was one of four retired generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch op ...

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 was an incident which occurred on 26 March 1962 in which a largely peaceful demonstration of anti-independence ''

Pied-Noir 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 ...

s'' 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) ar ...

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

Casualties

According to the historian

Benjamin Stora Benjamin Stora (born 2 December 1950) is a French historian, expert on North Africa, who is widely considered one of the world's leading authorities on Algerian history. He was born in a Jewish family that left the country following its War of ...

, 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 The Human Rights League (french: Ligue des droits de l’homme ''t du citoyen' or LDH) of France is a Human Rights NGO association to observe, defend and promulgation of Rights Man within the French Republic in all spheres of public life. The ...

'' (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