The OAS escalated to total war against French authority to force general paralysis

Evidence

To step up the offensive, Salan had ordered the “general mobilisation” of the whole French population of Algeria. Special “courts” were set up to “sanction” those refusing to co-operate; a “sanction” generally meant being turned over to Degueldre’s Deltas. By the end of February the death toll had risen to 553 for the one month. A grim pall of fear had settled over all Algiers, European and Muslim alike. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1563 (#expands, via linked claim)

Three events now marked the climax of pure civil war, of Frenchmen killing Frenchmen. On the 23rd two army trucks loaded with young conscripts were surrounded by hostile pieds noirs in Bab-el-Oued. A new addition to Degueldre’s Deltas, called an “A-Commando” after its leader Jacques Achard, arrived on the scene and attempted to disarm the soldiers. Apparently a Muslim private nervously cocked his sub-machine-gun; Achard’s squad ruthlessly opened fire, killing outright seven of the conscripts and wounding another eleven. … Salan’s instructions had been obeyed, but the massacre of the young conscripts totally transformed the attitude of the army — hitherto almost passively neutral — towards the O.A.S. A determination to avenge fallen comrades took over. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1601 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The strike risked escalating into general insurrection and forced total French response.; The GPRA regarded 1962 as the war’s most dangerous phase due to the OAS.; Killing French conscripts turned the army decisively against the O.A.S. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1601 (+3 more)

Related

• The OAS death toll in one month reached 553 through forced civilian mobilization (similarity 0.91)
• Killing French conscripts turned the army decisively against the O.A.S. (similarity 0.89)
• The OAS executed six educators including writer Mouloud Feraoun (similarity 0.85)
• French forces fought a pitched urban battle against the O.A.S. (similarity 0.84)
• Defeated OAS destroyed Algeria’s French-built infrastructure and institutions (similarity 0.84)
• OAS believed attacking French Communists would trap de Gaulle politically, but miscalculated. (similarity 0.83)
• O.A.S. killings escalated from six monthly deaths in August to 553 by February 1962 (similarity 0.83)
• The O.A.S. continued assassinating de Gaulle long after Algeria fell. (similarity 0.81)
• The Ouarsenis offensive broke up the O.P.A. and left French forces controlling the territory. (similarity 0.80)
• French troops stormed Bab-el-Oued with tanks and planes to crush the O.A.S. (similarity 0.80)
• The GPRA regarded 1962 as the war’s most dangerous phase due to the OAS. (similarity 0.79)
• Army officers saw the Algerian war as both career security and a noble cause. (similarity 0.79)
• The O.A.S. extorted pieds noirs with surveillance and threats (similarity 0.78)
• The O.A.S. killed more Algerian civilians than the F.L.N. ever did (similarity 0.78)
• Algeria’s post-independence civil war killed over twice as many as the war against France (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The OAS death toll in one month reached 553 through forced civilian mobilization #expands (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1563
• Killing French conscripts turned the army decisively against the O.A.S. #complicates (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1601