Military pacification ended and politics dominated as the war wound down

Evidence

De Gaulle’s next change in Algeria, scheduled for early in the new year, was to replace the Commander-in-Chief, General Crépin, by General Gambiez, commander of the Oran sector. Apart from the unqestionable Gaullist fidelity shared by both, there could hardly have been a greater contrast between two men. Gambiez, at fifty-seven, was diminutive with a gentle and slightly lisping voice; bald, bespectacled and studious-looking, his face bore a constantly amiable expression that reminded one more of a country curate than a fighting general. In fact, this rather timorous and unmilitary-looking exterior belied a warrior of utmost distinction who had been one of the first to set foot on French soil in 1944, Gambiez had also lost both a son and a nephew in the hell of Indo-China. But his appearance did symbolise a major change in the conduct of the war; with the departure of Crépin, military “pacification” was to reach its end. Says de Gaulle, “The war was all but over. Military success was achieved. Operations had been reduced to next to nothing. Instead, politics dominated the scene, and in this respect the two communities were further apart than they had ever been….” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1291

Categorization

• XREF: The shift from military victory to political estrangement points to the central contention of the entire book — that military success could not deliver the peace, connecting to the ‘savage war of peace’ paradox. — connects to: The FLN won self-determination just when it faced military defeat; Military defeat of the rebellion coincided with its growing political entrenchment among civilians; Military defeat of guerrilla bands shifted rather than ended the revolution’s political impact (+3 more)

Related

• Military defeat of guerrilla bands shifted rather than ended the revolution’s political impact (similarity 0.88)
• Political struggle continues after military defeat on political terrain (similarity 0.86)
• The French army won militarily while losing the political and world battle (similarity 0.85)
• Military victory elevated the army to ultimate political arbiter in Algeria (similarity 0.85)
• France’s Algerian military dominance coexisted with its political weakness at home (similarity 0.84)
• The F.L.N. won the decisive political round just as the army defeated it militarily (similarity 0.84)
• Military success on the battlefield coexisted with a sense that political betrayal was imminent. (similarity 0.84)
• Winning militarily while losing politically doomed the French army in Algeria (similarity 0.83)
• The French army in Algeria transformed from clumsy to effective by 1956 (similarity 0.83)
• By 1956 the French army’s overriding aim became political, pushing Algérie française. (similarity 0.83)
• The FLN won self-determination just when it faced military defeat (similarity 0.82)
• De Gaulle sought army success to reconcile it to Algerian independence (similarity 0.82)
• French counterinsurgency repeatedly traded military advantage for political costs (similarity 0.82)
• De Gaulle’s conciliatory gestures angered the army while winning no concessions from the F.L.N. (similarity 0.81)
• Military defeat of the rebellion coincided with its growing political entrenchment among civilians (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• The French army won militarily while losing the political and world battle #corroborates (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1653