The National Liberation Army or ALN (; ) was the armed wing of the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

National Liberation Front of Algeria during the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. After

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

won its

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from France in 1962, the ALN was converted into the regular Algerian People's National Armed Forces.

History

Algerian Revolution

The (National Liberation Front) was established by the (Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action) and organised in March 1954. Around two years later this group absorbed most but not all the Algerian nationalist organisations. It then re-organised itself and established a provisional government. This government included five members in executive and legislative bodies; all the members were district heads. During the ongoing war of independence in Algeria; Colonel Houari Boumedienne (the future President of Algeria) led the military wing of the FLN, the National Liberation Army, against the French. The group grew to nearly 40,000 men in 1957, while France deployed 400,000 soldiers, starting in 1956, in response. The ALN established camps across the borders of Tunisia and Morocco to provide logistical support and arms to their fighters in Algeria. The struggle between the ALN and the French continued until 18 March 1962, when both parties signed a ceasefire in

Évian-les-Bains Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian (, , or ), is a Communes of France, commune in Eastern France, by the border with Switzerland. It is located in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. A high-m ...

. A

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

, held in Algeria on 1 July as part of the Évian Agreement, led to an overwhelming victory for the separatists, who declared independence two days later.

Post-war

On the morning of 5 July 1962 seven companies of ALN soldiers entering the city of Oran were fired on by some , white Europeans who were born in colonial Algeria. An outraged Arab mob swept into the ''Pied-Noir'' neighbourhoods, which had already been largely vacated, and attacked the estimated 40,000 remaining pieds-noirs there. The violence lasted several hours until it was ended by the deployment of

French Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, with ad ...

Gallery

File:National Liberation Army Soldiers (11).jpg, NLA soldiers with a mortar File:National Liberation Army Soldiers (10).jpg, NLA soldiers File:National Liberation Army Soldiers Eating (2).jpg, NLA soldiers eating File:National Liberation Army Soldiers Cleaning Weapons.jpg, NLA soldiers cleaning their weapons File:National Liberation Army Soldiers (9).jpg, NLA soldiers marching File:National Liberation Army Soldiers (8).jpg, NLA soldiers in line File:National Liberation Army Soldiers (7).jpg, NLA soldiers File:National Liberation Army Soldiers - Flag.jpg, NLA soldiers with the Algerian flag National Liberation Army Soldiers Training.tif, NLA training File:National Liberation Army Soldiers (3).tif, NLA soldiers resting File:National Liberation Army Soldiers (2).tif, NLA soldiers with the Yugoslav journalist Zdravko Pečar File:Houari Boumediène - War of Independence.jpg, Houari Boumediène in uniform during the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

References

Bibliography

* * Military units and factions of the Algerian War Arab nationalist militant groups Paramilitary organisations based in Algeria Military history of Algeria National liberation armies National Liberation Front (Algeria) Rebel groups in Algeria Separatism in Algeria Separatism in France Left-wing militant groups 1954 establishments in Algeria 1962 disestablishments in Algeria {{Africa-mil-stub