La bleuite purges crippled Wilaya 4 even as commanders fooled French intelligence

Evidence

The changeable fortunes of Wilaya 4 have already been recounted, from the time when, during the Battle of Algiers, it had presented a model command to the period when its infection by la bleuite (caught from Amirouche’s Wilaya 3) had almost brought it to its knees in a welter of debilitating purges. The one bright spot for the Wilaya 4 command then had been the adroit fooling of French intelligence by that redoubtable fighting commander, Major Azedine, who, when captured, had persuaded them of his intention to negotiate a surrender on behalf of the Wilaya leaders, and had then decamped, leaving his inquisitors humiliated — and extremely suspicious. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1175

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Wilaya 4 pioneered forms of revolutionary warfare that worried the French command; The G.P.R.A. liquidated the Wilaya 4 leaders who negotiated with de Gaulle.; French intelligence ran a months-long fake-radio coup against Wilaya 5. (+5 more)

Related

• Wilaya 4 pioneered forms of revolutionary warfare that worried the French command (similarity 0.90)
• Wilaya 4 purged its own students and intellectuals on pretexts of wrong revolutionary stance. (similarity 0.89)
• French intelligence ran a months-long fake-radio coup against Wilaya 5. (similarity 0.87)
• French intelligence triggered self-destructive purges within the F.L.N. Wilayas. (similarity 0.84)
• The G.P.R.A. liquidated the Wilaya 4 leaders who negotiated with de Gaulle. (similarity 0.84)
• Wilaya commanders used purges to challenge G.P.R.A. political authority (similarity 0.83)
• Interior Wilaya commanders wielded power greater than the exiled G.P.R.A. government. (similarity 0.83)
• Wilaya 4 fielded Algeria’s most capable command structure in 1957 (similarity 0.80)
• A captured rebel leader outwitted French interrogation by feigning defection. (similarity 0.79)
• Algerians were forced to shift loyalty across four French authorities within three years (similarity 0.79)
• A single commander’s purge executed as many as three thousand Algerians (similarity 0.79)
• French disinformation exploiting Algerian internal mistrust triggered murderous self-purges (similarity 0.79)