قراءة في التقرير العسكري الفرنسي لمعركة مزي

Abstract EN

This article is a critical reading of the French military report of the Battle of M'zi.

Thanks to the trip I made to the archives of the Palais de Vincennes in Paris in 2015, I could have access to that precious document.

The official report of the French Army is made up of thirteen pages written on one side of the paper only.

The French called the battle Operation Col-Green-Jebel M'zi: 5-6-7-8-8 May 1960, signed by Colonel De Seze Commander of the Ain Sefra Sector, and by Met Commander of the Main Corps Staff.

The report contains a set of sub-headings that are as following: The purpose of the operation- The operation- Night of May 5 to 6- Day of May 6- Day of May 7- Day of May 8- Bilan.

The result of the achieved document is the sincerity of the report implying the mujahidin’s casualties as the dead and prisoners.

Yet, it used to be unethical and immoral to count the number of dead French troops or the unauthorized use of weapons by the French army as: napalm and toxic gases.

Those sources are based on testimonies of the French military report written on the battle in addition to the testimonies of the rebels.

The report shows the intensity of the mujahidin’s resistance within their strongholds on the one hand, and shows the fear of the French forces from the presence of the mujahidin who wanted to enter the national territory coming from the western border using the passage of the rebels, from the other hand.

The mission of the mujahidin was to collect information via client agents, and this is what had been closely interpreted.

The report also states the presence of the French Air Force, which discovered the tracks of the Rebels before they went to the mountain where the battle took place.