French signals intelligence impersonated dead FLN commanders to lure reinforcements into ambushes
Evidence
In operations involving signals intelligence, the B.E.L. seems to have reached a peak of excellence at about this time. According to Jacquin, almost simultaneously with “Tilsit” a successful coup had also been mounted against the command of Wilaya 5 (Oranie). Intercepts revealed that Boumedienne’s successor, Colonel Lotfi, was on his way back from Morocco to his headquarters in western Algeria. His precise route determined, he and his escort were ambushed and wiped out. Before A.L.N. headquarters in Morocco could learn of the Wilaya commander’s fate, the B.E.L. had a “false Colonel Lotfi” reporting on the air over the captured transmitter. For several months the “playback” continued, with “Colonel Lotfi” calling repeatedly for reinforcements, arms and money, all of which fell into French ambushes, until finally the ruse was tumbled to. The operation only increased the general sense of insecurity suffered by the Wilayas of the “interior”, and distrust between them and the high command of the “exterior”. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1219
Categorization
- XREF: Plausibly connects to earlier discussion of the electronic war and the French army’s counter-insurgency intelligence techniques in this book. — connects to: French intelligence secretly controlled European factories to sabotage FLN arms shipments — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 811; Haitian insurgents used bait-and-ambush ruses that repeatedly fooled French troops
- SEED: The ‘false Colonel Lotfi’ playback ruse is a striking example of psychological signals warfare that could anchor an article on modern electronic deception in counterinsurgency.
Related
- French intelligence secretly controlled European factories to sabotage FLN arms shipments (similarity 0.80)