The Algerian War 1954-62 was one of the most prolonged and violent
examples of decolonization. At times horribly savage, it was an
undeclared war in the sense that no formal declaration of hostilities
was ever made. Bringing to an end one hundred and thirty two years of
French rule, the Algerian struggle caused the fall of six French prime
ministers, the collapse of the Fourth Republic and expulsion of one
million French settlers. This volume, bringing together leading experts
in the field, focuses on one of the key actors in the drama - the French
army. They show that the Algerian War was just as much about conflicts
of ideas, beliefs and loyalties as it was about simple military
operations. In this way, the collection goes beyond polemic and
recrimination to explore the many and varied nuances of what was one of
the historically most important of the grand style colonial wars.