The Algerian War 1954-1962

Traces the French domination of Algeria, its subsequent colonization, and the rise of Algerian nationalism in the 1920s. By the 1950s, nationalist movements were becoming increasingly radicalized, and the stage was set for the beginning of the Algerian War.

The spread of the National Liberation Front's (FLN's) terrorism campaign to French civilians in the main urban centers transformed the conflict from a low-level insurgency to a full-scale war.

With the war in Algeria going badly, the stage was set for the triumphant return of Charles de Gaulle to power in 1958. He quickly moved towards French disengagement, and the final showdown between the French government and the French colonialists in Algeria was now at hand.

French colonialists in Algiers staged an insurrection in the Algerian capital on January 24th, 1960. Known as "La Semaine des Barricades" (the week of the barricades), the future of the Fifth Republic hung in the balance as the French Army in Algeria considered joining the revolt.

The next year, de Gaulle's government began secret peace negotiations with the National Liberation Front (FLN). On July 3rd, 1962 de Gaulle declared Algeria an independent country. The Algerian War had ended, the flight of a million French Algerians to France, however, had just begun.