OAS (Organisation Armée Secrète)

OAS (Organisation Armée Secrète)
Name	Organisation Armée Secrète
Native name	Organisation Armée Secrète
Active	1961–1962
Ideology	French Algeria, anti-Algerian War separatism, anti-Charles de Gaulle
Leaders	Raoul Salan, Jean-Jacques Susini, Pierre Lagaillarde, General Edmond Jouhaud
Area	Algeria, Metropolitan France, European Algeria
Size	estimates vary; several thousand members

OAS (Organisation Armée Secrète) The Organisation Armée Secrète was a clandestine paramilitary group active during the Algerian War that conducted armed actions in Algeria and France to oppose independence and to influence French politics. Formed in 1961, it brought together dissident elements from the French Army, French Foreign Legion, FLN opponents, and settler leaders from pieds-noirs. The OAS engaged in assassination attempts, bombings, and propaganda campaigns amid political crises such as the Algiers Putsch of 1961 and the Evian Accords negotiations.

Background and Formation

Roots of the OAS trace to tensions following the Battle of Algiers, the fall of Oran, and policy shifts by President Charles de Gaulle toward self-determination and negotiations with the National Liberation Front (FLN). Key antecedents included officers disgruntled after actions in Indochina, veterans of the First Indochina War, and participants in the Algiers revolt of 1958. The organization emerged after the Generals' Putsch and amid debates over the Evian Accords, attracting figures connected to Organisation de l'Armée Secrète (predecessors), RPR opponents, and settler politicians like Pierre Lagaillarde and activists linked to Jeune Nation.

Organization and Leadership

Leadership fused military and civilian networks: prominent commanders included Raoul Salan, former commander in Indochina and Algeria, Edmond Jouhaud, Jean-Jacques Susini, and political intermediaries such as Pierre Lagaillarde and Jacques Soustelle. The OAS structure featured regional commands in Algiers, Oran, and Constantine, with cells within Metropolitan France including contacts in Paris and Marseille. Intelligence links traced to veterans of the French Army and units like the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment and the 2e REP, while political backers overlapped with militants from Algérie française movements and Organisation armée secrète sympathizers among colonial officials. Rivalries with factions tied to Gaullism and clandestine networks influenced decision-making during crises like the Algiers putsch.

Activities and Operations

The OAS carried out a campaign of urban and rural violence: bombings in Algeria and France, assassinations of civilians and officials, and sabotage of infrastructure linked to Evian Accords implementation. Notable incidents included attempts against Charles de Gaulle and attacks in Algiers marketplaces, coordinated operations near Oran and Tlemcen, and targeted killings of FLN representatives and perceived collaborators. The OAS also engaged in propaganda, publishing manifestos and coordinating with exile networks in Spain, Portugal, and Belgium. Security responses involved the French National Police, the French Gendarmerie, and military operations by units like the French Army's airborne regiments; intelligence efforts drew on agencies associated with Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire.

Political Goals and Ideology

The OAS proclaimed a mission to preserve French Algeria and to prevent what its leaders described as betrayal by Charles de Gaulle and French negotiators of the Evian Accords. Its ideology combined ultranationalist Algérie française positions, colonial settler interests of the pieds-noirs, anti-FLN sentiment, and elements of militant counterrevolutionary thought seen in movements like right-wing French networks. Leaders invoked memories of campaigns in Indochina and valor associated with regiments such as the French Foreign Legion to legitimize armed resistance. The OAS sought to influence metropolitan politics by destabilizing Fourth French Republic legacies and challenging institutions associated with Gaullism.

Repression, Trials, and Dissolution

After the Algiers Putsch of 1961 and increasing violence during negotiations, French authorities intensified crackdowns using police, military tribunals, and legal measures overseen by figures such as Michel Debré and ministers within Charles de Gaulle's administration. Arrests targeted leaders including Raoul Salan and Edmond Jouhaud, leading to trials in France and sentences that included death penalties later commuted amid political calculations. Extradition and clandestine flight saw some members seek refuge in Spain under Francisco Franco or flee to Portugal and Argentina. The formal dissolution followed the Evian Accords and the transfer of sovereignty to Algeria, combined with diminishing support from the French Army and metropolitan settlers.

Legacy and Historical Assessment

Historians assess the OAS as a significant force affecting the end of the Algerian War, influencing debates on decolonization, memory, and violence in postwar France and Algeria. Scholarly works connect OAS activities to studies of counterinsurgency, colonial collapse, and transitional justice, with analyses referencing episodes like the Battle of Algiers and the Evian Accords negotiations. The OAS era left contested legacies among pieds-noirs, veterans of the French Army, and Algerian nationalists, shaping political discourse in institutions such as the National Assembly and cultural memory reflected in literature and film about French Algeria. Contemporary assessments emphasize the group's role in radicalizing sections of the French right and prompting reforms in French security services and international relations with countries like Spain and Portugal that harbored fugitives.

Category:French Algeria Category:Algerian War Category:Paramilitary organizations