---
title: 'Algerian War of Independence 1954-1962 - Cold War DOCUMENTARY'
source: 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfNIB2b90WY'
video_id: 'PfNIB2b90WY'
date: 2026-05-14
duration_sec: 2128
---

# Algerian War of Independence 1954-1962 - Cold War DOCUMENTARY

> Source: [Algerian War of Independence 1954-1962 - Cold War DOCUMENTARY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfNIB2b90WY)

## Summary

The Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962) was a brutal conflict between France and Algerian nationalists, marked by guerrilla warfare, terrorism, and widespread human rights abuses. The war led to the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, the rise of Charles de Gaulle, and ultimately Algerian independence, but at a cost of hundreds of thousands to over a million lives.

### Key Points

- **French Colonial Rule in Algeria** [02:27] — Algeria was under French control since the 1830s, with over 1 million French settlers (pieds-noirs) dominating urban centers and land ownership, while the majority Arab and Berber population faced marginalization.
- **FLN Launches War** [07:44] — On November 1, 1954, the National Liberation Front (FLN) launched coordinated attacks across Algeria, killing seven people and marking the start of the war for independence.
- **Philippeville Massacre** [13:17] — On August 20, 1955, FLN fighters attacked the town of Philippeville, killing 71 French civilians and 52 Muslim Algerians. French reprisals killed up to 1,200 Muslims, escalating the conflict.
- **Battle of Algiers** [16:48] — A year-long urban guerrilla campaign in 1956-57, where the FLN used bombings and strikes. French forces, using torture and mass arrests, broke the FLN network but faced international condemnation.
- **French Counterinsurgency Tactics** [24:14] — France used the quadrillage system, forced relocations of 2 million Algerians into camps, and destroyed 8,000 villages. The Morris Line on borders aimed to stop FLN reinforcements.
- **May 1958 Crisis and de Gaulle's Return** [26:21] — In May 1958, the French army in Algeria seized power, demanding Charles de Gaulle's return. This led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and de Gaulle becoming prime minister with broad powers.
- **OAS and Opposition to Independence** [29:54] — The Secret Army Organization (OAS), formed in 1960 by French settlers and army officers, launched terrorist attacks to prevent Algerian self-determination, but failed to stop the referendum.
- **Evian Accords and Independence** [31:31] — Negotiations led to the Evian Accords in March 1962, granting Algeria independence. A July 1962 referendum saw overwhelming support, and Algeria became independent on July 5, 1962.

### Conclusion

The Algerian War of Independence was a devastating conflict that exposed deep divisions in French society and led to the birth of a new nation. The war's legacy of violence, displacement, and political instability continued to shape Algeria and France for decades.

## Transcript

characterized by the process of decolonization with dozens of imperial possessions gaining their independence in some places this was done by a peaceful legislative process but for many the road to national independence
was marked by insurgency violence and warfare france and its colonial empire were on the leading edge of this not only in indochina but far closer to home in the territory it didn't consider a colony
but rather a full part of france the algerian war was a protracted and bloody affair that cost the lives of several hundred thousand people collapsed a republic and largely set france on a course of opposition to its
western allies today we are bringing you an episode on the algerian war of independence i'm your host david and this is the cold war
are a great compliment for cold war channel videos and if you're interested in learning more about the history of 20th century france you need to watch the day when de gaulle chose war this documentary looks at the decision
of one man to openly rebel against the policies of the legal french government a man who would go on to dominate french politics for decades defining cold war france don't forget to check out other documentaries in magellan tv's current
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hundreds of them are on the history of various eras we particularly love the travel documentaries on magellan tv as they are a perfect way to visit various countries in stunning 4k from the comfort of your own home
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trial and watch hundreds of history documentaries anytime anywhere the end of the second world war south france looking to maintain its overseas colonies included in this of course was the crown jewel of the empire algeria
which had been under french control since the 1830s given the close proximity of algeria to france it had been extensively colonized with over 1 million people or 13 of the population being french from france the
term pienoar or black feet is often used to describe those of french background who lived in algeria it's a term without a firm etymology and has gained a somewhat pejorative meaning since algerian independence
now most of the french algerians were located in the urban centers with approximately half of urban areas being made up by french colonizers in a city like iran algeria's second city that percentage was as high as 60
now on top of that into nobody's great surprise the colonizers also held the largest and best pieces of land in algeria for most of the arab and berber populations the lands they held were too small or too marginal to sustain their
families this led them to seek work as seasonal laborers for french landlords or even to their immigration to france only a small percentage of the population was considered europeanized with a french education while the
majority of the local population was not integrated into french society now one further note on algeria's status which made it rather unique unlike most other overseas possessions algeria was not legally a colony but rather by the
constitution of 1848 was considered an integral part of france algerians could even apply to become full french citizens in exchange for renunciation of it was an option that few took but was constitutionally available what we
should keep in mind from this legal status though is that in the eyes of the french algeria was not a colony it was not a foreign land it was a part of a sovereign france of course the non-europeanized algerians
didn't necessarily agree with this viewpoint and agitation for a free and independent algeria or at least a more autonomous algeria began to emerge as early as the first world war many algerians were recruited into the
war effort and there was a growing sentiment that algeria sacrifice should this feeling only grew during the second world war when three french forces including from algeria by this time however there was a much
service to france would be the recognition of algerian's sovereignty france however was not prepared for that step and instead only offered full french citizenship for algerians once the war was concluded
this was not enough for the pro-independence leaders in algeria and as early as may 8 1945 the day of the german capitulation organized demonstrations against french rule and in favor of independence were carried
out in cities across algeria these demonstrations were violently dispersed and even resulted in the deaths of some protesters in response to this members of the majority muslim algerian community began
attacks against french algerians it eventually took the intervention of the french army against muslim algerians to suppress the attacks suppressions claimed the lives of at least 6 000 people but also failed to
achieve any resolution to the underlying desire for independence the stage was set for the upcoming confrontation between algerian nationalists and the french determined to maintain the status quo in a region
vicious was and had sound oh yeah and the presence of oil in algeria likely played a part too so by 1954 on the eve of act of resistance by pro-independence forces the french found themselves in an
she had been defeated in indochina forced to withdraw from its former closer to home in the maghreb itself both tunisia and morocco were succeeding in their struggles for independence not far from algeria in egypt britain was
being forced to withdraw its presence there as pro-arab forces gained in prominence and legitimacy the soviet union was showing itself to be a major supporter of many of the arab nationalist groups leaving france in a
vulnerable position while you might assume that the united helping the french in the face of soviet support you would actually be wrong despite being nato allies the us didn't want to alienate what washington had
independent nation france may have been an ally but the u.s didn't want to risk further soviet influence in emerging regions we also need to consider the impact of the losing struggle in indochina
thousands of algerians served in the french armed forces fighting for france to try and retain their asian colonies not only did the tactics and strategies employed by the viet minh inspire algerian soldiers but many felt that
algerian soldiers but many felt that their service demanded a larger reward so the vanguard organization of the algerian independence movement and the first to take firm action against the french was the front deliberacion
nacional the national liberation front or fln on november 1 1954 it launched a series of attacks against military and police targets across algeria in which five french algerians as well as two muslim
algerians were killed the fln from its headquarters in cairo called on algerians to join in the fight for algerian independence based on the principles of democracy and social justice within the framework of the
islamic principles french prime minister pierre mendes condemned the attacks affirming that the algerian departments were an integral part of france stating quote one does not compromise when it comes to
defending the internal peace of the nation the unity and integrity of the republic the algerian departments are part of the french republic they have been french for a long time and they are irrevocably french
between them and metropolitan france there can be no conceivable secession the interior minister juan francois mitterall dispatched an additional 600 soldiers to algeria to reinforce the existing french forces there
so at this point we should talk a little bit about the algerian forces who were struggle as mentioned the fln was at the forefront headquartered in the egyptian capital many of its supporters were
based in both tunisia and morocco still part of france at this time but with their own well-advanced independence movements committed to the removal of france from algeria held a variety of different
positions on what an independent algeria should actually look like some wanted the establishment of an islamic republic while others felt that some form of socialist governance would be the best way forward also heavily
invested in the independence movement was the algerian communist party which itself had separated from the french communist party in 1936 membership was primarily made up of french algerians with only some support
coming from muslim algerians the pca remained an independent organization separate from the fln but it supported the fln and even merged its military wing with the military wing of the fln the national liberation army by
1956. the last major active group inside algeria was the democratic union of the algerian manifesto led by ferhat abbas a longtime advocate of non-violence abbas pursued the idea that algeria
should remain a part of france but as an autonomous state inside the french this position never gained a huge amount of support and by 1956 the decision was
of support and by 1956 the decision was made that the udma would join the fln now there is one independence group that we also need to talk about but they were not located in algeria or even africa the left-leaning algerian national
movement the mna was largely based in france itself led by the longtime advocate of algerian independence masali hajj the m a was actually founded after the revolution had begun and there are suggestions that it was only founded as
a rival to the fln because hajj had not been consulted in the formation of the fln now although the m a had low levels of support in algeria the support it had in france itself proved important in the
furtherance of the cause especially from a financial standpoint it must be noted that the fln and the m a engaged in the so-called cafe wars where bombings and assassinations between the two groups claimed the lives of thousands
eventually the fln gained the upper hand and the m a was subsumed into the fln so the initial french reaction to the november first attacks was rather lacking they were not overly concerned about the fln's efforts as they were
militarily quite weak and were operating primarily in the rural areas of the country as such only a small transfer of troops a new governor general was appointed in 1955 jacques soustel he had been a
leading member of the free french forces during the war and had even been the head of the special service branch based in algiers at the time sistel returned to algeria and began a program of promoting and improving the economic
situation of all algerians as a means to reconcile with the muslim algerian he called for investment of funds in the economy began infrastructure projects to create jobs and started education projects with the idea being that the
discrimination faced by muslim algerians could be alleviated through greater he also made attempts to improve the agricultural situation in algeria sustained believed that all of these things would greatly improve the daily
living conditions of muslim algerians and would convince them to support union with france rather than give their support to the fln the fln for its part continued attacks for the rest of 1954 and into 1955
targeting only government-related and military targets largely in the rural areas these consisted of numerous small-scale engagements using guerrilla tactics by mid-1955 however the fln was looking
to make a larger statement and although it wasn't strong enough to attack any large cities it was felt that an attack against a mid-sized urban area could be carried out successfully the town of philippville modern day
skikda was selected for the attack on august 20th 1955 approximately 3 000 fln soldiers attacked the town with its garrison of 400 french troops
town in the weeks leading up to the attack the french were aware of their presence and the attack was very costly for the fln with up to two-thirds of the casualty however one of the key aspects of the
attack was that in part focused on targeting french civilians as well as muslim algerians who were suspected of working with the french authorities working with the french authorities 71 pianoart and 52 muslim algerians were
at the same time that the fighting in philip villa was occurring an attack was laid against the nearby mining community of el halya the same targeting of french civilians occurred and dozens were killed there as well
subsided and the fln had withdrawn the french algerians began a program of reprisals resulting in the deaths of hundreds of muslim algerians with some estimates ranging to over 1200 people
french authorities both the army and the police stood aside and let the civilians carry out their reprisals even afterwards no official investigation by the authorities was ever carried out
fleeing in fear many muslim algerians fled from the town with many ending up members of the fln philippville marked a turning point in the algerian war the distrust between the two sides already significant
escalated beyond any point of finding a reconciliation what had been an intercommunal distrust turned into hatred and open warfare governor general cistel began allowing french algerians to arm themselves while
shifted their position on matters to align with the fln the response from paris was to call up algeria however these troops were not trained to
fight what was developing into a guerrilla war fought by the fln's armed faction the aln on the 18th of may 1956 21 soldiers of the 9th colonial infantry regiment were ambushed by the ali khoja commando unit
of the aln while on patrol near the town of jarrah in the palestro region now called lakhdaria southeast of algiers the ambush resulted in the outright deaths of 17 of the french soldiers with the remaining four soldiers captured
three of whom were killed while being held prisoner the ambush at palestro incensed the french military and muslim algerians the entire community not just members of the alnr fln began to be portrayed as savages and as legitimate
targets for french military attacks so clearly we can see the cycle of escalation that was occurring however through the summer of 1956 secret been taking place between representatives of the french government
and the fln clearly there were thoughts on both sides that a war would not be a productive endeavor despite this however while the negotiations were happening both sides continued to organize arm and
prepare themselves this escalation nullified the efforts of the negotiations leading into what has become known as the battle of algiers a protracted guerrilla warfare campaign carried out by the fln
now the battle of algiers was not a set-piece battle but rather a year-long campaign consisting of urban guerrilla warfare warfare in june of 1956 two fln prisoners at the
barbarous prison were executed by guillotine by the way because this is france sparking an immediate reaction from the fln whose commander in algiers from the fln whose commander in algiers yasif sadi ordered his troops to quote
shoot down any europeans from 18 to 54. no women no children no elders end quote the deaths of 49 french civilians was the result in retaliation the french
algerian organization union frances norapregem detonated a bomb inside the casbah an fln stronghold in algiers killing 73 muslims the situation quickly
spiraled out of control as the fighting escalated in algiers on august 20th the leadership of the fln met at the suman conference where a platform and a leadership structure was agreed to this is widely accepted as the
foundation of the future algerian state a national council of the algerian revolution was established consisting of 34 members and led by a five-man executive these men havane ramdane ben mahiri krim belkasim ben yusef ben kara
and saad dalab were the leaders of the revolution inside algeria outside of algeria the struggle was to be led by men such as ben bella mohammed buddha men such as ben bella mohammed buddha muhammad and hosni ahmed operating
mainly from egypt tunisia and morocco however on october 22nd a plane these men were traveling on was diverted to algiers and the men were arrested the arrest of these men considered relative moderates served to radicalize the fln
and deepen the conflict now back to the suman conference a general strategy was agreed to it was agreed that there would be no ceasefire with france until france was prepared to recognize algerian independence
it was recognized that the goal of collective leadership without internal conflict would be necessary in order to achieve their aims and finally it was agreed that the best way to maintain pressure on the french
and force their departure was to conduct a war of attrition the fln leadership knew that they could not defeat the french in direct open combat so a more covert methodology would need to be undertaken
this was a lesson and strategy that had been learned from the french experience been learned from the french experience in indochina the french could be beaten second point about maintaining a unified leadership this was on paper but in
reality there was an ongoing and sometimes violent power struggle going on so much so that in 1957 the flm likely even had abane ramdane killed to prevent his own personal power base from
overshadowing the rest of the fln back in algiers the escalation continued the fln set up its headquarters in the khasba the citadel area at the center of the city which was dominated by algerian muslims
bomb attacks began to be carried out often by female recruits as they were forces on september 30th three bombs were detonated killing three and injuring 50 while a fourth bomb failed to explode
their own response general raul salan was appointed commander-in-chief of forces in algeria he as well as the group of commanders he selected to support him was a veteran of the war in indochina and was proficient
in counter-insurgency tactics the fln response to this as you can likely guess was to escalate even further deciding on a prolonged bombing there are claims that in the first three months of 1957 over 800 bombs per month
were detonated by the fln in addition a general strike was organized which even spread to florence itself it lasted eight days before the authorities including the military
forced people back to work in algiers the military began taking steps to restore general order troop deployments were increased including the transfer of the 10th parachute division under general masu
and made up largely of veteran troops from the war in indochina and the sinai in addition several thousand more troops were transferred to algiers including police intelligence agents as well as regular army and territorial army
a quadrillage system was implemented in the city this consisted of the city being divided up into squares with each being assigned to a regimental command within each of these squares checkpoints
conducted these tactics resulted in the arrest of many fln sympathizers weakening the fln's position in the city it's estimated that approximately 80 000 algerians were subjected to
interrogation during the battle of algiers including perhaps as much as 30 to 40 percent of the population living in the casbah torture was often used during these interrogations including beatings
electroshock waterboarding and sexual assault in addition collective punishment often featured as well as summary execution perhaps as many as 3 000 muslim algerians died or just simply
disappeared during the battle by late march of 1957 the fln structure in algiers had largely been broken and a relative peace had been restored the 10th parachute was withdrawn from the city needed elsewhere giving the fln
of saudi yasev a chance to reorganize and rebuild by may fln attacks had resumed against the french and the 10th parachute was operations throughout august and september finally resulted in the
capture and arrest of yasuf effectively ending the ability of the flm to operate in algiers and ending the battle while a clear and substantial military victory for the french it was politically a black eye while widely
terrorist tactics against civilians the broad french use of torture repression and illegal acts had created a great deal of international sympathy for algeria on the global stage
algiers prompted similar methods to be employed across the rest of algeria by employed across the rest of algeria by 1956 470 000 french troops had been famous infamous
a large number of the units being deployed already had experience in guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency tactics largely gained during the war in you guessed it indochina covert and psychological operations were
also employed including subverting fln agents uncovering and disrupting fln plans before they can be carried out and even sowing distrust inside the fln this was largely overseen by the notorious fifth bureau
so the quadrilage system that was used in algiers was rolled out across the sector collective responsibility and summary execution like in algiers was used to try and maintain control
villages caught helping or hiding fln or aln rebels were subject to aerial bombardment and as many as 8 000 villages and settlements were destroyed by french forces at the same time the so-called morris
line was established on the algerian border with tunisia and morocco this was to prevent the influx of up to 1 000 fighters per month crossing the border and joining the fight against the french the line itself consisted of kilometers
and kilometers of barbed wire electrified fencing and minefields support for the fln the french government forcibly relocated upwards of 2 million algerians from their villages gathering them into what effectively
amounted to large concentration camps this was done on the pretext of protecting those villagers from the violence and harassment of the fln thousands however fled the relocations and the camps hiding in urban areas or
fleeing the country altogether as a result of all of this by 1958 control over the situation across algeria while simultaneously weakening but like so many countries during the cold war despite winning the military
situation france was losing the political side of the equation back in mainland france how to handle algeria was exacerbating political instability manifesting itself in frequent cabinet changes as more general
discontent with the conduct of the war grew the result of the frequent reports of brutality and torture sympathy for algerian independence grew with it especially among the communists and other french leftists
the armed forces became very concerned that their hard-fought military victories in algeria would be undermined by the political ineptitude of the french leadership this was a general sentiment shared by
many french algerians on may 13 1958 the army with the support of the french algerian population seized power in algiers demanding charles de power this was a move that politically had
been coordinated by the former governor general jacques sustal and was backed up commander-in-chief of the armed forces in algeria who assumed the leadership of a committee of public safety never a
good sign in french history by the way to demonstrate their commitment to the cause the army seized control of corsica and began to prepare to move on paris itself if the president or parliament showed reluctance for their plan
de gaulle for his part publicly stated that he was prepared to return to office but firmly denied that he sought to become a dictator finally the french parliament voted in favor of making de gaulle prime minister
french would become a presidential republic led by a president who held a significant amount of power as the fourth republic collapsed de gaulle was given the authority to rule by decree for six months as the fifth
republic was being established one of de gaulle's first tasks was to begin working on resolving the situation in algeria stating his support for french algeria while still promising to improve life for muslim algerians
as part of the new constitution that was being put together for the new fiat republic de gaulle offered to make algeria a region associated to france but not an integral part of france one where muslim algerians held the same
equal right to vote as french algerians already held the fln seeing that de gaulle's offer would decrease muslim algerian support for the fln took the next step in an attempt to gain legitimacy for the
struggle for independence the fln formed a provisional government for the algerian republic formed in tunis in 1958 and led by the moderate farhad abbas as the president headquartered in tunis the provisional
government was quickly recognized by regional countries like tunisia morocco egypt and other arab nations as well as other countries like china and pakistan the provisional government also posted diplomats to major global capitals to
act as advocates for the cause of an independent algeria the french military in the meantime continued to dominate algeria even going back on the offensive in 1959 although this was causing severe
problems for the aln it was also creating a massive drain on french resources as well as damaging france's position on the international stage not to mention it was reinvigorating support for the fln
the position that france was being put into was so severe in fact that de gaulle was strongly considering making algeria a part of france where every person had the same rights or even just granting independence
by the autumn of 1959 he had made a statement considering the possibility of self-determination for algeria of course this was poorly received by the pioneer who understood that they would lose their privileged position in
their home as well as likely suffer from retribution and likely violence retribution and likely violence on january 24 1960 in what has become known as the week of the barricades french algerians rebelled hoping the
army would come to their side in support the army was slow to move against the rebellion initially refusing to disperse them until de gaulle intervened giving an impassioned speech calling for the support of the people in the face of
rebellion the army responded to this and the barricades were dispersed with the arrested with the french government now referendum on self-determination for algeria in january of 1961 the piano
opposed to this step began to work to actively undermine the process this was largely spearheaded by right-wing elements of the army and by french algerians in december of 1960 the secret army organization oas was formed
whose leadership was made up of former leaders of the week of the barricades as well as general raul salan our old friend from the battle of algiers the oas organized assassinations and terrorist attacks in both france and
algeria hoping to dissuade paris from moving forward with the referendum despite the attacks the referendum went ahead on january 8 1961 resulting in a 75 approval rating for algerian self-determination
triggering negotiations to be held between algerian representatives and paris but this isn't the end of the story in april of 1961 the last desperate actions of the army and the french algerians
took place in what has been dubbed the general's pooch algeria was seized by general salon and several other generals commanding the paratrooper divisions in algeria as well as the foreign legion
troops there while the rest of the armed forces refused to join remaining loyal it took de gaulle one day to take to the airwaves again making his plea directly to the french people for support millions of people across the country
took to the streets condemning the push and supporting de gaulle by the 26th of april the coup had failed its leadership having been arrested or having fled the next month in may of 1961 talks
began in evian between the french government and the fln the french position at the start of the talks was that independence would only be granted to the coastal areas of algeria as france wanted to maintain
algeria as france wanted to maintain control over the oil fields in the south the fln as you may well imagine wasn't in agreement achieved between the french government and the fln but fighting still continued
between the algerians and ois and french algerian groups negotiations continued until a final agreement the evian accords was arrived at in february of 1962 while the french government agreed to
grant full independence to all of algeria the fln agreed to grant french algerians legal protections for a three-year period after which they would need to become either algerian citizens or be classified as resident aliens
the fln also agreed to allow french military bases on algerian territory including the nuclear test site of regane and the naval base at maricel france would also have privileged access to algerian oil
the ois hoping to spark attacks against french algerians and draw the army to side against the fln led a massive bombing campaign the fln though having achieved its goal and refusing to let the prize get away
ordered zero retaliation a second referendum was held on july 1 a second referendum was held on july 1 1962 on the evian accords and with around 6 million votes cast only 16 534 votes were recorded against
independence it's important to note from that however that very few piedlar or harkies the muslim algerians fighting for the french side bothered to cast their votes two days later on july 3 1962 charles de
gaulle proclaimed an independent algeria which was then accepted by the provisional government on july 5th exactly 132 years after france first in the years that followed independence it's estimated that as many as 1.4
million people fled algeria for france including most pianore most of the harkies and their families and the entire algerian jewish community the war had been a drawn-out and bloody affair which claimed the lives of
perhaps as many as one and a half million people it was characterized by terror attacks extrajudicial killing pogroms torture and mass incarcerations and expulsions of people it laid bare not just the
divisions between different cultural groups but the fault lines in french society as well right versus left progressives versus conservatives it caused attempted revolts and coups the war even collapsed an entire french
republic a new nation was born in northern africa but it was born in blood and destruction and quickly saw a large part of its population leave dictatorship loomed and the seeds of war
independence would grow to bear the fruit of a new war and to make sure you don't miss all of our future episodes please make sure you subscribe to our channel and have formed a provisional government to fight for
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think about the cold war i will leave you with the words of jfk in the final analysis our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet we all breed the same air we all cherish our children's future and
we all cherish our children's future and we are all mortal