The Algiers leaders planned a para airborne coup against Paris in May 1958.

Evidence

Yet at the same time he appreciated that it cried out for a firm hand and, masochistically, for a restoration of discipline. In the last analysis, he reckoned, “the army would obey”. Thus “On this vast apparatus, effective in preventing the situation from worsening, but incapable of solving the insoluble, a wealth of ingenuity, conscientiousness and patience was expended.” Ruthlessly, but with caution, de Gaulle embarked on a major purge of the “activists” in the army of Algiers. The loyal Gaullist General Ely was brought back as Chief of the General Staff and given the task of scattering the ringleaders of May by posting them, in twos and threes, to units in France or Germany. By the following March only two of those officers were still left in Algeria, while some 1,500 others had either been transferred, or simply retired. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 948 (#expands, via linked claim)

Salan explained that, in his view—as well as that of “the entire population of Algeria”—only de Gaulle legitimately at the head of a government could save both Algeria and France. Pflimlin hung up. Salan had stepped firmly across the Rubicon; the army in Algeria was publicly committed; the bridges with metropolitan France were down. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 884 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The 13 May coup was widely foreknown yet nobody stopped it; De Gaulle purged Algeria’s army of May 1958 activists; A coup plot against civil government in Algeria emerged in late 1956 — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 539 (+8 more)

Related

• De Gaulle purged Algeria’s army of May 1958 activists (similarity 0.92)
• De Gaulle purged the May 1958 army activists through scattered postings. (similarity 0.90)
• The 13 May coup was widely foreknown yet nobody stopped it (similarity 0.87)
• De Gaulle’s first cabinet deliberately sidelined the May activists. (similarity 0.86)
• A coup plot against civil government in Algeria emerged in late 1956 (similarity 0.85)
• Salan’s public de Gaulle declaration committed the Algerian army against Paris (similarity 0.84)
• De Gaulle took power in June 1958 offering no Algerian solution. (similarity 0.82)
• Paris-based parachutist plotting bent de Gaulle toward seizing power. (similarity 0.82)
• De Gaulle purged senior officers who failed to obey during the crisis (similarity 0.81)
• President Coty’s threat to resign broke the impasse for de Gaulle’s return. (similarity 0.80)
• Mollet’s political-warfare policies propelled the French army into politics. (similarity 0.80)
• De Gaulle’s ambiguity to the army was deliberate deception for its own good. (similarity 0.79)
• The 13 May coup was widely forewarned yet nothing was done to prevent it. (similarity 0.79)
• The French army in Algeria transformed from clumsy to effective by 1956 (similarity 0.78)
• Senior French officers plotted an army takeover in Algeria in early 1957 (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• De Gaulle purged Algeria’s army of May 1958 activists #expands (0.75)
• Paris-based parachutist plotting bent de Gaulle toward seizing power. #expands (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 899
• De Gaulle purged the May 1958 army activists through scattered postings. #expands (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 948
• Salan’s public de Gaulle declaration committed the Algerian army against Paris #expands (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 884
• De Gaulle’s first cabinet deliberately sidelined the May activists. #expands (0.65) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 915
• A coup plot against civil government in Algeria emerged in late 1956 #qualifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 539
• Senior French officers plotted an army takeover in Algeria in early 1957 #qualifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 540
• De Gaulle’s move to form a government defused the planned putsch from Algiers. #contradicts (0.55)
• The Algiers coup nearly collapsed on 14 May before de Gaulle committed himself. #expands (0.50)
• The 13 May coup was widely forewarned yet nothing was done to prevent it. #expands (0.50)