Harki units worked best when soldiers served near their own homes

Evidence

After noting instances where villagers in the Orléansville area had killed F.L.N. scouts with hatchets, Servier—despite considerable official opposition—had gained permission initially to create “light companies” from some thousand men, the able-bodied and trustworthy defectors from the F.L.N., or anciens combattants. Servier insisted that his harki units should be based near their homes, on the sensible grounds that a Muslim soldier away from his family was at the mercy of a threatening letter, and would desert—quite naturally—to save his wife and children. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 792

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader theme of loyalty under threat in colonial counterinsurgency. — connects to: Between 1914 and 1939 soldiers’ relation to home and return changed fundamentally — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 210

Broader Connections

• Between 1914 and 1939 soldiers’ relation to home and return changed fundamentally #expands (0.30) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 210