The A.L.N. peaked in 1958 even as French killed or captured 25,534 effectives.

Evidence

Yet, seen in retrospect, the A.L.N. of the interior would seem to have reached its apogee of military power in 1958. At the beginning of the year French estimates had put the total strength of A.L.N. regulars, or moudjahiddine, at about 30,000, of whom approximately half were operating in the interior at any one time. On top of this were reckoned to be another 30,000 irregulars, or moussebiline, most of whom were in the interior. Of these effectives, the French claimed that 25,534 had been killed or captured during the first seven months of the year. Although (as with the notorious United States army “head counts” in Vietnam) it may be questioned just how many of these casualties were actually genuine, hard-core moudjahiddine, they nevertheless represented a serious drain of effectives. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 978

Categorization

• XREF: Direct echo of Vietnam ‘head count’ critique—a cross-imperial parallel worth linking. — connects to: The A.L.N. reached peak military strength in 1958 despite heavy losses; French military pressure by 1958 drove A.L.N. morale collapse and mass defection; The A.L.N. appeared statistically defeated by early 1960 — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1019

Related

• The A.L.N. reached peak military strength in 1958 despite heavy losses (similarity 0.93)
• The A.L.N. paid double the casualties it inflicted in May 1958 (similarity 0.86)
• French operations had reduced the interior A.L.N. to 8,000 scattered men (similarity 0.85)
• By 1960 French operations had destroyed most regular A.L.N. katibas inside Algeria (similarity 0.85)
• The A.L.N. appeared statistically defeated by early 1960 (similarity 0.84)
• French military pressure by 1958 drove A.L.N. morale collapse and mass defection (similarity 0.83)
• French forces reached 160,000 and intelligence on the F.L.N. improved late in 1955 (similarity 0.82)
• French repression’s martyrs and the F.L.N.’s mere survival drove its 1955 recruitment (similarity 0.79)
• FLN gained most from French brutal strike-breaking methods. (similarity 0.79)
• Pre-Challe French tactics wasted vast firepower while letting the A.L.N. slip away intact (similarity 0.79)
• F.L.N. regulars grew from a handful to 15,000–20,000 by early 1956 (similarity 0.78)
• A.L.N. guerrillas still mounted attacks despite terrible conditions (similarity 0.78)
• Algeria’s official war-dead figure of one million exceeds all credible estimates (similarity 0.78)
• French escalation was matched by rising FLN strength and expertise (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The A.L.N. appeared statistically defeated by early 1960 #qualifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1019