Vague pursuit authorization let local commanders trigger the Sakiet bombing

Evidence

No effort of Yazid or Chanderli, or of the whole F.L.N. leadership to date, could have done more to “internationalise” the war than the French bombing of Sakiet. It also set in motion the chain of events that led directly to the final disintegration of the Fourth Republic. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 780 (#expands, via linked claim)

It happened to be a market day, and—as has occurred many times since in the course of Israeli reprisal raids against Al Fatah camps across the Lebanese frontier—the bombs and rockets hit a school and hospital (which the Tunisians claimed was well marked with a red cross visible from the air), as well as the F.L.N. base. Some eighty people, including a number of women and children, were killed. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 778 (#expands, via linked claim)

In itself it was indicative of the growing anarchy in Algeria. The “Ben M’hidi” base contained some ten thousand people, including refugees and a hospital centre equipped by Yugoslavia and East Germany and well marked by a red cross. With unfortunately directed aim, bullets from the T.6s killed a wounded man actually on the operating table and a nurse tending him. Three others in the base were slain and several wounded. The raid bore a close resemblance to the Sakiet raid of 1958, which had had so profound an influence on the course of the war. This time, however, the F.L.N. gritted its teeth and with remarkable restraint said nothing — at least for the time being. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1565 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The French bombing of Sakiet triggered the Fourth Republic’s collapse; FLN cross-border raids from Tunisia provoked French bombing of Sakiet; The French bombing of Sakiet internationalized the war and toppled the Fourth Republic — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 780 (+2 more)

Related

• The French bombing of Sakiet triggered the Fourth Republic’s collapse (similarity 0.93)
• The Sakiet bombing killed eighty including civilians and invited Israeli-style comparisons (similarity 0.91)
• The Oujda raid repeated Sakiet’s pattern but the FLN stayed silent (similarity 0.89)
• FLN cross-border raids from Tunisia provoked French bombing of Sakiet (similarity 0.87)
• The French bombing of Sakiet internationalized the war and toppled the Fourth Republic (similarity 0.85)
• Anglo-American bons offices deepened French suspicion of foreign meddling. (similarity 0.80)
• Army disaffection extended into the Fourth Republic’s highest levels (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• The French bombing of Sakiet internationalized the war and toppled the Fourth Republic #expands (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 780
• The Sakiet bombing killed eighty including civilians and invited Israeli-style comparisons #expands (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 778
• The Oujda raid repeated Sakiet’s pattern but the FLN stayed silent #corroborates (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1565