Harki recruitment depended on France’s pledge never to abandon Algeria

Evidence

This expansion of the harkis, Challe stresses with maximum emphasis to the present day, was only to be achieved if the harkis could be assured that France would never abandon Algeria and leave them to face a night-of-long-knives at the hands of a triumphant F.L.N. Challe insists that de Gaulle’s personal guarantee was implicit. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1062 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

To begin at the beginning, in November 1954 France was caught at a major disadvantage because, in contrast to Britain over India, no French politician, not even Mendès-France or Mitterrand, let alone the Communists, could contemplate any kind of French withdrawal from Algeria. Mollet the Socialist echoed Mendès-France the Radical: “France without Algeria would be no longer France.” Throughout those critical first years, when a compromise peace might have been conceivable, France was hobbled by the ball-and-chain of Algeria forming an integral part of French territory. From then on she was hobbled by what the army wanted, or would not permit. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1649 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Harki recruitment depended on de Gaulle’s implicit guarantee of French permanence — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1062; France could not contemplate Algerian withdrawal because Algeria was legally part of France — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1649

Related

• Harki recruitment depended on de Gaulle’s implicit guarantee of French permanence (similarity 0.93)
• France could not contemplate Algerian withdrawal because Algeria was legally part of France (similarity 0.89)
• The Evian Agreements abandoned the harkis to massacre (similarity 0.84)
• France abandoned its Muslim auxiliaries, the harkis, to slaughter (similarity 0.83)
• French critics charged that Evian betrayed loyal Muslim harkis and gave away petroleum. (similarity 0.82)
• Francisation destroyed Algeria’s native political cadres, leaving no negotiating partners. (similarity 0.82)
• Annexing Algeria as French departments trapped later French republics inescapably. (similarity 0.81)
• The Evian peace abandoned up to 150,000 Algerian collaborators to massacre (similarity 0.81)
• Granting Tunisian and Moroccan independence without Algeria was a strategic error. (similarity 0.81)
• French authorities repatriated anti-French Algerians while abandoning loyal harkis to slaughter (similarity 0.80)
• The Evian Agreements bound only France and could be repudiated by Algeria. (similarity 0.80)
• An Algeria cut off from France could not survive more than a fortnight (similarity 0.79)
• French assimilation destroyed Algerian leadership cadres that could have been negotiating partners (similarity 0.79)
• Challe’s revolt was driven by moral obligation to the harkis, not ideology. (similarity 0.79)
• The French army’s 1940 humiliation fueled its determination not to lose Algeria. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Harki recruitment depended on de Gaulle’s implicit guarantee of French permanence #corroborates (0.95) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1062
• France could not contemplate Algerian withdrawal because Algeria was legally part of France #expands (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1649