Operation Étincelle

Operation Étincelle, conducted in the difficult Aurès massif, aimed to destroy the last major FLN maquis in this region symbolic of Algerian resistance. The French army mobilized substantial reconnaissance, artillery, and air transport resources to encircle and harass the insurgent groups. The fighting was harsh in the valleys and on the heights, with numerous clashes and the destruction of weapons caches.

After the relative successes of Operation Jumelles and the Challe Plan in 1959, the high command wanted to deal a decisive blow to the Aurès guerrilla, the historic heart of the insurrection. The operation was part of a strategy to suffocate the rural wilayas before the political shift of the conflict.

Blockade and tight grid-control of the massif, massive heliborne insertions, coordinated ambushes and sweeps, intensive use of aviation to support the assaults. The ALN tried to disperse, infiltrate the local population, and reconstitute its forces further south.

Étincelle allowed the destruction of numerous maquis and the capture of FLN cadres. Yet the nationalist movement retained part of its capacity for disruption: the guerrilla fragmented but was not eradicated. This operation illustrates the exhaustion of French military strategy and the gradual shift toward a political solution, which would culminate in the Évian negotiations two years later.