The A.L.N. reached peak military strength in 1958 despite heavy losses

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 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

“One could no longer move,” stated one of Mohand Ou El-Hadj’s lieutenants: … One no longer ate. I was so weak that I could no longer even manage to carry my sub-machine-gun. The establishment of military posts, the multiplying of self-defence communities and intelligence agents was making life impossible, and even survival itself…. It was only by executing traitors one after the other that we did manage to survive. But one was never able to regain the initiative. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1015 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: French military pressure by 1958 drove A.L.N. morale collapse and mass defection; The A.L.N. paid double the casualties it inflicted in May 1958 — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 962; The A.L.N. peaked in 1958 even as French killed or captured 25,534 effectives. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 978 (+11 more)

Related

• The A.L.N. peaked in 1958 even as French killed or captured 25,534 effectives. (similarity 0.93)
• French military pressure by 1958 drove A.L.N. morale collapse and mass defection (similarity 0.92)
• By 1960 French operations had destroyed most regular A.L.N. katibas inside Algeria (similarity 0.91)
• French operations had reduced the interior A.L.N. to 8,000 scattered men (similarity 0.89)
• Challe’s net starved the A.L.N. into losing the operational initiative (similarity 0.89)
• Pre-Challe French tactics wasted vast firepower while letting the A.L.N. slip away intact (similarity 0.89)
• The A.L.N. paid double the casualties it inflicted in May 1958 (similarity 0.88)
• The A.L.N. appeared statistically defeated by early 1960 (similarity 0.87)
• The Challe Plan’s pressure drove the A.L.N. near starvation and defensive paranoia. (similarity 0.85)
• French offensives shattered the F.L.N.’s interior command-and-control network by 1959 (similarity 0.84)
• Regroupement bred resistance even as it hampered the A.L.N. militarily. (similarity 0.83)
• French forces reached 160,000 and intelligence on the F.L.N. improved late in 1955 (similarity 0.83)
• French double-agent infiltration starved the A.L.N. by making villagers withhold supplies. (similarity 0.83)
• Seventy-five uncoordinated sectors made French offensives ineffective (similarity 0.82)
• The French army in Algeria transformed from clumsy to effective by 1956 (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• The A.L.N. peaked in 1958 even as French killed or captured 25,534 effectives. #corroborates (0.95) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 978
• French military pressure by 1958 drove A.L.N. morale collapse and mass defection #contradicts (0.70)
• The A.L.N. paid double the casualties it inflicted in May 1958 #qualifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 962
• The A.L.N. appeared statistically defeated by early 1960 #qualifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1019
• The Challe Plan’s pressure drove the A.L.N. near starvation and defensive paranoia. #complicates (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1015
• Political crisis in Algiers interrupted Challe’s offensive just as the A.L.N. neared collapse #complicates (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1159
• By 1960 French operations had destroyed most regular A.L.N. katibas inside Algeria #qualifies (0.55)
• French operations had reduced the interior A.L.N. to 8,000 scattered men #qualifies (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1160
• Challe’s net starved the A.L.N. into losing the operational initiative #corroborates (0.55)
• Houari Boumedienne’s harsh court-martial marked the A.L.N.’s emergence as strongman. #expands (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 989
• French double-agent infiltration starved the A.L.N. by making villagers withhold supplies. #complicates (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1014
• Counterinsurgent double agents severed villagers’ food support from the A.L.N. #complicates (0.50)
• Pre-Challe French tactics wasted vast firepower while letting the A.L.N. slip away intact #expands (0.50)
• Regroupement bred resistance even as it hampered the A.L.N. militarily. #complicates (0.50)