Abane’s killing elevated the colonels over the politicals in the FLN

Evidence

With the deaths first of Ben M’hidi, then of Abane, real power in the F.L.N. devolved, for the time being, upon Krim, Ben Tobbal and Boussouf. The passing of Abane also brought with it ascendancy for the colonels over the “politicals”—a curious irony of history that this should have occurred at almost the same moment when, on the other side of the lines, the para colonels were about to impose their powerful weight on the affairs of France. The colonels now set to to reorganise the structure of the A.L.N., attacking its problems of morale and discipline, and reassessing its roles. … As 1957 gave way to the new year, running weapons across the Tunisian frontier became the main effort of the A.L.N.; at one moment they totalled an average of a thousand a month. In September 1957, however, the French completed an imposing cordon sanitaire the length of the Tunisian border, the Morice Line, named—like its rather less successful predecessor, the Maginot Line—after the current Minister of Defence. Most of the heavy fighting now took place on the frontier rather than in the interior as A.L.N. katibas attempted to force their way through the barrages of electrified wire, minefields and radar alarm systems, frequently at appalling cost. … Here was the basic contrast: France was strong, militarily, in Algeria, but weak, politically, at home; the F.L.N. was weak, militarily, at home, but strong politically, abroad. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 719

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors the parallel structure of para colonels’ rise in France — ‘a curious irony of history’ the author draws explicitly. Also connects to the reader’s interest in colonial-military power mirroring metropolitan-military power. — connects to: The FLN was riven by nested internal conflicts beyond the fight against France; The F.L.N. colonel elite voted to hand Abane’s fate to Boussouf; Imprisoned FLN leaders sanctioned Abane’s execution except Ait Ahmed — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 725 (+1 more)
• DEFINE: The Morice Line is introduced and defined here as an electrified barrier along the Tunisian border, including its Maginot Line reference.

Related

• The F.L.N. colonel elite voted to hand Abane’s fate to Boussouf (similarity 0.94)
• Imprisoned FLN leaders sanctioned Abane’s execution except Ait Ahmed (similarity 0.82)
• F.L.N. leadership regrouped in Tunis after losing Algiers to the French. (similarity 0.81)
• F.L.N. leaders imprisoned in France signed documents supporting Abane’s execution. (similarity 0.81)
• The revolution’s leaders often met deaths mirroring the violence they sanctioned (similarity 0.81)
• Army hard-liners under Boumedienne challenged the F.L.N. political leadership (similarity 0.80)
• Post-independence leadership rivalries turned lethal within the F.L.N. (similarity 0.80)
• The first paragraph blends description and foreshadowing of Boussouf and Boumedienne’s rise. (similarity 0.80)
• Boumedienne’s 1961 resignation letter attacked the F.L.N. leadership as corrupt and anarchic. (similarity 0.79)
• The Algiers defeat exposed a fatal interior-exterior rift in F.L.N. leadership (similarity 0.79)
• The Algerian negotiating camp was deeply split between Boumedienne’s hard-liners and Krim’s politicos. (similarity 0.79)
• French decolonization of Morocco and Tunisia handed the F.L.N. open frontiers (similarity 0.79)
• FLN gained most from French brutal strike-breaking methods. (similarity 0.79)
• The F.L.N.’s anti-cult declaration deliberately signaled Abane’s impending removal. (similarity 0.79)
• Interior-exterior rivalry among leaders threatened the F.L.N. as much as French pressure. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Imprisoned FLN leaders sanctioned Abane’s execution except Ait Ahmed #corroborates (0.75) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 725
• The revolution’s leaders often met deaths mirroring the violence they sanctioned #exemplifies (0.45) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1674