Atlas of Battles

battle, notable, Cold War

Battle of Algiers

Battle of Algiers was a battle fought on 30 September 1956 at Algiers, in what is now Algeria; it lasted 12 months. It was part of the Algerian War, which ran from 1954 to 1962. The recorded result: French victory. Recorded strength: 5,000 militants against 8,000 soldiers; 1,500 policemen.

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De gauche à droite, derrière : Djamila Bouhired, Yacef Saadi, Hassiba Bent-Bouali. Devant : Samia Lakhdari, Omar, le neveu de Yacef Saadi, Ali la Pointe, une arme à la main, et Zohra Drif.
De gauche à droite, derrière : Djamila Bouhired, Yacef Saadi, Hassiba Bent-Bouali. Devant : Samia Lakhdari, Omar, le neveu de Yacef Saadi, Ali la Pointe, une arme à la main, et Zohra Drif.. Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought30 September 1956lasted 12 months
WhereAlgiers, Algeria36.776N, 3.060E
OutcomeFrench victory
BelligerentsFLNagainstFrench Fourth Republic; La Main Rouge
Casualties and losses3,000 killed or missingand300 killed; 900 wounded
Part ofAlgerian War1954 to 1962

Where it sits in the Algerian War

Battle of Philippeville, 1955Battle of Philippeville, 1955First Battle of El Djorf, 1955Battle of Helia, 1956Operation Blue Bird, 1956Battle of Algiers, 1956Battle of Fellaoucene, 1957Battle of Bouzegza, 1957bombardment of Sakiet Sidi Youssef, 1958Battle of Bab El Bekkouche, 1958Siege of Relizane, 1958Challe Plan, 1959Battle of Raf-Raf, 1959Battle of Souakria, 1960Battle of Djbel Bouk'hil, 1961Battle of Bab El Oued, 196219551962Battle of Algiers, 1956
16 placed engagements of the Algerian War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date30 September 1956
to 9 October 1957
PlaceAlgiers, Algeria
36.776N, 3.060E
KindBattle, Cold War
Strength5,000 militants8,000 soldiers; 1,500 policemen
Casualties and losses3,000 killed or missing300 killed; 900 wounded
Commanders
  • Abane Ramdane
  • Krim Belkacem
  • Larbi Ben M'hidi
  • Benyoucef Benkhedda
  • Saad Dahlab
  • Yacef Saâdi
  • Jacques Massu
  • Marcel Bigeard
  • Yves Godard
  • Roger Trinquier
  • Pierre Jeanpierre
  • Paul Aussaresses
Battle of AlgiersBattle of AlgiersBombardment of AlgiersInvasion of Algiers in 1830Siege of AlgiersAction of 8 May 1918Siege of AlgiersBombardment of AlgiersBlidaChlefBéjaïaMédéaBouïraM'silaBordj Bou Arréridj100 km36.776N, 3.060E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 9 times between 1510 and 1962.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1956

Battle of Algiers is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 155 in present-day Algeria.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1761043, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Algiers (1956–1957), revision 1374865618, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.