Algeria’s 1959 campaign rehearsed the Ludendorff pattern of battlefield success and strategic failure

Evidence

If the pieds noirs had shown they could sway Paris following Mollet’s disastrous visit in February 1956, here now was a new factor; the army as ultimate arbiter. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 685 (#expands, via linked claim)

As Raymond Aron had noted perceptively, that deep ingrained sense of past humiliations had to be exorcised, and “If the army could achieve an incontestable success, it might be less hostile to the creation of an Algerian state.” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1002 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Algeria’s independence had become irreversible by 1959; Winning militarily while losing politically doomed the French army in Algeria; France’s 1940 defeat drove the army’s determination to win in Algeria — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 526 (+3 more)

Related

• Military victory elevated the army to ultimate political arbiter in Algeria (similarity 0.89)
• De Gaulle sought army success to reconcile it to Algerian independence (similarity 0.88)
• The French army in Algeria transformed from clumsy to effective by 1956 (similarity 0.86)
• Winning militarily while losing politically doomed the French army in Algeria (similarity 0.86)
• The French army’s 1940 humiliation fueled its determination not to lose Algeria. (similarity 0.85)
• The French army’s will to win sprang from 1940 humiliation, not colonial ideals (similarity 0.84)
• France’s 1940 defeat drove the army’s determination to win in Algeria (similarity 0.84)
• Algeria’s independence had become irreversible by 1959 (similarity 0.83)
• The French army won militarily while losing the political and world battle (similarity 0.83)
• Agounennda exposed French limits despite a tactical victory (similarity 0.82)
• The Battle of Algiers marked the end of any possibility of negotiated settlement (similarity 0.82)
• The FLN won self-determination just when it faced military defeat (similarity 0.82)
• The army viewed any negotiated ceasefire as toppling its war effort in Algeria (similarity 0.82)
• France ending Algeria was a victory over itself, not a defeat (similarity 0.81)
• Suez guaranteed eventual Algerian independence while stiffening French resolve to win. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Winning militarily while losing politically doomed the French army in Algeria #corroborates (0.90)
• Military victory elevated the army to ultimate political arbiter in Algeria #expands (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 685
• De Gaulle sought army success to reconcile it to Algerian independence #exemplifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1002
• France’s 1940 defeat drove the army’s determination to win in Algeria #expands (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 526
• De Gaulle’s Algeria offensive aimed partly to distract the army from politics #expands (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 952