ثورة التحرير الجزائرية و مبدأ "خذ سلاحك من عدوك" 1954-1959 : نماذج و نتائج

Abstract EN

The leaders of the Algerian revolution sought from the beginning to deal with the issue of arms, because it is one of the most important mechanisms of revolutionary action, and a central element of the success of the revolution, by its impact on the enemy's morale and military capabilities.

The immediate strategy that has been developed in that era was to rely on the enemy to provide weapons according to the principle of "Take your weapon from your enemy".

Since November 1st, 1954, the operations targeted several military centres and economic bases to install panic and confusion in the ranks of the colonizer, and get as many weapons as possible.

This strategy has gone further in time because of the disruption of the arrival of weapons from abroad, and the construction of barbed wire on the eastern and western borders of the country.

The revolution adopted also the strategy of propaganda to incite occupation soldiers, including those of the foreign legion, to flee for deportation, and to incite the local elements recruited from the enemy to flee too, as an important source of weapons, and to weaken the enemy’s army.

The intelligence and detection group of the National Liberation Army has also been active, in order to discover the plans of the occupation, and get military information.

Among the operations that influenced the morale of the colonizer’s officers negatively the Blue Bird Operation (Force k), through which the French colonizer sought to destroy the revolution and popular cohesion in the region of Kabylie in 1956.

This allowed the Liberation Army to obtain hundreds of modern weapons, ammunition and large sums of money that were used against the enemy to gain independence.