Battle of Bab El Oued
The Battle of Bab el Oued was an armed confrontation which occurred during the latter stages of the Algerian War between the French Army and the Organisation armée secrète which opposed Algerian independence. It took place in Bab El Oued, then a working-class European quarter of Algiers, from 23 March to 6 April 1962.
Context
OAS uprising (19 March)
The OAS was an organization of hard-line European "Pied-Noirs" living in Algeria who were opposed to the cease-fire announced by French president Charles de Gaulle on 19 March 1962 between French forces and the Front de libération nationale forces fighting for Algerian Independence. The OAS decided to dig in at their stronghold of Bab El Oued to fight the Evian Agreements by force.Siege of Bab el Oued (from 23 March to 6 April)
The Battle of Bab el Oued was principally a battle between the French Gendarmerie Mobile and the OAS Commando Delta. The French government forces used M8 Greyhound armoured cars to control the exits to the town whilst suspicious buildings were surveilled from the air by T-6 and T-28 aircraft departing from Boufarik Air Base. Four T-6s strafed the roofs to clear them from snipers after Army helicopters dropped canisters with tear gas.As part of the attack, naval artillery support from the s and was planned, though it soon became evident that this was not practical and the bombardment was called off. Most of the troops setting siege to the quarter had been ferried to Algeria by Surcouf and Maillé-Brézé, along with other three destroyers, on 2 March.
In support of Bab-el Oued, 200 OAS maquis marched from Algiers to Ouarsenis, a mountainous region between Oran and Algiers. They tried to capture two French military outposts and gain support from local Muslim tribes loyal to France, but instead these forces were harassed and eventually defeated by French Foreign Legion units led by Colonel Albert Brothier after several days of fighting.