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Historical figure: Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle was a statesmen and army officer who led the French army during the II World War. He rewrote the French constitution, founded the Fifth Republic and published his own work which now is an essential staple piece in French literature. De Gaulle established in May 1947 the RPF - Rassemblement du Peuple Français – which managed to unite the French people by the desire to change the French constitution but never formed an actual government. -
Historical figure: Maurice Challe
A French air-force general and commander who fought in Algeria between 1955 and 1960.
Challe was most known for his counter-insurgency operations during the Algerian war and succeeded to take down the FLN with his innovative methods in which he optimized speed and precision to disorientate them, also known as the Challe Plan. -
Historical figure: Jaques Massu
French general Jaques Massu has played in important role in multiple wars and fought in World War II, the battle of Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the first Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez Crisis. During the wars in Algeria and the coup d’état as a response of the independence negotiations in 1958, Massu became the chairman of the Public Safety Committee and he and his division were sent off to Algeria to control the planned attacks by the FLN -
Historical figure: Ahmed Ben Bella
Ahmed Ben Bella was an Algerian politician, socialist soldier and revolutionary who served as the first president of Algeria from 1963 to 1965. Ben Bella played an important role during the war as he led FLN. Although he was not present in Algeria, attempts against his life persisted. In October 1956 he was arrested in Algiers by French military authorities who had hijacked the plane of which he was flying. He was kept prisoner unto the Evian accords in 1962 and released on July 5th. -
Historical figure: Labri Ben M’hidi
One of the 6 founding members of the FNL that launched an armed revolt throughout Algeria and issued a proclamation calling for a sovereign Algerian state. In February 1957 he was captured by French paratroopers and his death was announced in March 1957 by Pierre Gorlin. -
Historical figure: Houari Boumediene
Houari Boumendiene served as chairman of the revolutionary council of Algeria form June 1965 until December 1976 and there after as the second president of Algeria until his death. He joined the FLN during the Algerian Was of Independence in 1955. He reached the rank of colonel, then the highest rank in the FLN forces and from 1960 he was chief of staff of the ALN, the FLN’s military wing. -
Protest in Sétif
After a illegal celebration regarding the victory over Germany do protestors kill more than 100 European colonists. The French army takes revenge and kills at least 8000 Algerians by opening fire on crowded areas in Sétif and Guelma. -
International Organization: UN
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security.
When Ahmed Ben Bella was elected premier in a one-sided election on September 20th, which was recognized by the United States on September 29th. Algeria was admitted as the 109th member of the United Nations in October 8th1962. -
International Organization: NATO
NATO, standing for North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is established with the underlying meaning to stop the expansion of Communism in the EU. -
Founding of the FLN
FNLwas the principal nationalist movement during the Algerian War and the only legal and ruling political party of the Algerian state until other parties were legalised in 1989. -
Start of the Algerian War
The Algerian War, also called Algerian War of Independence, fought for independence from France. The movement for independence began during World War I (1914–18) and gained momentum after French promises of greater self-rule in Algeria went unfulfilled after World War II (1939–45). In 1954 the National Liberation Front (FLN) began a guerrilla war against France and sought diplomatic recognition at the UN to establish a sovereign Algerian state. -
Battle of Philippeville
The Battle of Philippeville was a series of ethnic raids and took place in the region of Constatine in Algeria by FNL members and manipulated civilians. Groups of guerrillas killed groups of French-Algerians in 3 different locations. -
Battle of Algiers
Bombings by FNL-women after the agressive response by pieds-noirs on a prior massacre on French men. -
Algier bombings
Three female FLN members started attacking both French soldiers and European citizens in Algiers, the several bombs placed in two cafes killed 3 and injured 50. After the assassination of the mayor of Boufarik, Amédé Froger, and the bombing of the cemetery where Froger would be buried, enraged European civilians responded by a revenge attack which killed 4 Muslims and injured 50. -
Charles de Gaulle’s presidency
De Gaulle returned to public life after a civil war in Paris was planned in May by Algerian guerrilla fighters. On June 1st, current president Rene Coty said he wanted to resign unless de Gaulle would take over his position which he did under strict circumstances. On December 28th 1958, de Gaulle was elected president, but to keep both the Algerians and French satisfied he had to keep the different parties in the French parliament and at the same time try to keep Algeria as a colony. -
Protests in Paris
On October 17 1961, tens of thousands of French Algerians marched from the suburbs of Paris to the inner city. It was a massive protest against their treatment by the French authorities. On the outskirt of the city, the demonstrators were met by a police force. That night a disaster occurred: an estimated 200 Algerians were killed. Under orders from the head of the Parisian Police, Maurice Papon, the French National Police attacked a demonstration by 30,000 pro FLN Algerians. -
Signing the Treaty of Evian
After defeating the OAS, de Gaulle got the chance to start the process of liberating Algeria and end the ongoing 7-year war. The 18th of March marked the day of definite independence for Algeria with 93 Treaty pages signed and the next day both fronts were ordered to hold their positions. -
The French majority votes for independence of Algeria
After the approval of the Treaty of Evian, the French public got the chance to choose for themselves whether it was time to set Algeria free. The outcome of 90,8% -roughly 17,9 million people- of the votes for independence during the referendum on April 8th 1962, made clear that most French citizens did not see the added value of keeping Algeria as their colony. -
Definite independence of Algeria
Algeria had the last say about their independence. The last referendum regarding the perseverance of the colony was held of on July 1st 1962 and after 99,72% of the Algerians voted for, it was clear that Algeria was no longer France’s property. France declared Algeria to be independent on 3 July; the decision was published in the official journal the following day, and Algerian leaders declared 5 July to be Independence Day.