One of France’s longest-held overseas territories, Algeria has been thrown into revolt as Algerian nationalists strive for independence. The crucial decolonization effort by the National Liberation Front (FLN) is presently being fought through guerilla warfare between non-French Algerians and the French military. The FLN is the main revolutionary body of Algeria’s nationalist war for independence against France. This party was formed on November 1, 1954 as the merging of several other groups all similarly striving for independence from France. The National Liberation Army (NLA), known as the armed wing of the FLN will serve as the coordinator of the oncoming guerilla operation against the French military and colonists. This guerilla operation will operate as a terror campaign against pieds-noirs civilians, relying on the very belief that sufficiently intense violence will cause French colonists to flee in terror. Nationalist guerillas will specialize in ambushes and night raids, avoiding French firepower in order to compensate for the FLN’s lack of materials and militant force in comparison to the massive French firepower. If the insurrection is not taken seriously enough, then European civilians will be targeted in order to elicit an adverse reaction from the French, which would polarize the Muslim and French communities, converting the insurrection into a nationwide revolution. In order to strengthen the FLN’s efforts against the French, it is possible to seek allies from neighboring Maghreb countries with similar goals for liberation from France such as Morocco and Tunisia.
As the revolution progresses, other nationalist groups and leaders have attempted to undermine the efforts of the FLN and continue to do so. A particular rival of the FLN, Messali Hadj, is a nationalist politician dedicated to seeking the independence of Algeria, but seeks revenge for the initiation of the War of Independence without his consult. Hadj has formed the Algerian National Movement (ANM) as an organization designed to counter the efforts of the FLN, and some suspect it is partly financed by France in order to further counteract the FLN. Such rival nationalist organizations pose a significant potential threat to the future of the FLN, considering that the FLN does not have substantial enough support by Algerian civilians. In order to secure the FLN’s political future, rival organization efforts must be vanquished, and the support of the people insured. However,
