Colonial troops faced a forced choice between joining insurgents or dying

Evidence

From the very beginning, the colonialists would attack us, would ask us point-blank to choose, to be for or against the fellagha, to be for France or “anti-France.” In the beginning we still were bewitched. Refusing to take a position on the problem, we took refuge in protests against the brutalities of the repression. — Frantz Fanon, A Dying Colonialism, 545 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

The discovery by the French authorities of the participation of Europeans in the liberation struggle marks a turning point in the Algerian Revolution. From that day, the French patrols challenged every person. Europeans and Algerians were equally suspect. All historic limits crumbled and disappeared. Any person carrying a package could be required to open it and show its contents. Anyone was entitled to question anyone as to the nature of a parcel carried in Algiers, Philippeville, or Batna. — Frantz Fanon, A Dying Colonialism, 207 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Colonial powers use colored troops to suppress other colonized people’s revolts; Colonial soldiers framed their sacrifice as defending sacred rights and threatened betrayal.; French forces drowned nearly 4,000 colonial troops in one month (+6 more)

Related

• Colonial authorities forced Europeans into a stark for-or-against choice at the outset (similarity 0.86)
• Colonial soldiers framed their sacrifice as defending sacred rights and threatened betrayal. (similarity 0.81)
• The FLN deliberately refused to showcase European participants to avoid colonial-style tokenism (similarity 0.81)
• Affirming Europeans’ free choice to leave defuses their colonial anxiety and enables honest dialogue (similarity 0.81)
• Colonial fears about subject groups persisted without any actual rebellion (similarity 0.81)
• Colonial powers use colored troops to suppress other colonized people’s revolts (similarity 0.80)
• Forced choice between French reprisals and insurgent death drove colonial troops to defect (similarity 0.78)
• The revolution escalated from colonial grievance to racial battle to antislavery war (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Colonial authorities forced Europeans into a stark for-or-against choice at the outset #contradicts (0.60) — Frantz Fanon, A Dying Colonialism, 545
• European participation in the rebellion collapsed the colonial legal distinction #expands (0.50) — Frantz Fanon, A Dying Colonialism, 207
• Colonial planters mistrusted their own armed subordinates during native threats #complicates (0.45)
• Colonial subjects act out violently to end unbearable psychological tension #complicates (0.40) — Frantz Fanon, Constance Farrington, Black skin, white masks, 553