Battle of Philippeville

Part of Algerian War

Date	20 August 1955
Location	Philippeville
Result	French military victory but breakdown in inter-communal relations

Belligerents

FLN

France

The Battle of Philippeville was part of the Algerian War between France and Algerian rebels, primarily the National Liberation Front (FLN) The battle took place on August 20, 1955 and centered on the Algerian town of Philippeville, though the FLN also made attacks on surrounding areas.

Algeria was officially part of France from 1848 onwards. During the 19th century, there had occurred a massive immigration of French, Maltese, Italian, Spanish and other European settlers to Algeria who were known either as the pied-noirs or the colons, and who enjoyed all the rights of being French citizens. The Muslim population of Algeria, whether Arab or Berber, were treated as second-class citizens and despite the fact that Algeria was considered an integral part of France were not allowed to vote. Even after the Muslim population was given the right to vote in 1944, many Muslims complained of widespread discrimination, and increasingly many Algerian Muslims stated to reach the conclusion that the French would never allow them real equality, and the solution was independence for Algeria. French policies during the 19th century encouraged the dispossession of Muslim farmers who were pushed off their land to allow their land to be handed over to European settlers. This led to much resentment on the part of the Algerian Muslims who complained the prosperous farms owned by the pied-noirs had once belonged to them. Within the pied-noir community, there was always in the words of the British historian Martin Evans a "siege mentality" where the colons saw themselves as surrounded by a hostile Muslim population that was perpetually ready to massacre them at the first chance. By mid-20th century, the pied-noir families had been living in Algeria for over a century, and for them Algeria was the only home they had ever known; the place they had been born in, grew up and where they planned to spend the rest of their lives. For the colons, the possibility of Algerian independence was regarded with horror as they feared what their fate would be under Muslim rule. Relations between the pied-noirs and the Muslims were unfriendly at best, and despite the harmony on the surface, both communities believed the worse about the other.

The Algerian War had begun on November 1, 1954 when the first major attack of the FLN was launched, consisting of "scores of scores of spectacular attacks". The conflict began to escalate, as evidenced by the remarks of the Socialist Minister of the Interior, François Mitterrand: "I will not agree to negotiate with the enemies of the homeland. The only negotiation is war!" The French adopted an increasingly aggressive policy in Algeria, and in early March 1955, the French government of Prime Minister Pierre Mendes-France was replaced by that of Edgar Faure.

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Wikipedia