The day a civil war was prevented

How transistor radio prevented a civil war

The opening sequence of The Wooden Gun, a movie I directed years ago, features a speech President de Gaulle broadcast on April 23^rd 1961. History was made on that day when the transistor radio, an invention only recently available to the general public, prevented a civil war. The story is worth recounting.

In 1961, the Algerian war of independence from France was in its 7^th year. 400,000 troops, most of them draftees, were stationed in Algeria to contain the insurrection. Thanks to a superior military and hundreds of miles of electrified fences – 7,000 volts – along the Moroccan and Tunisian borders, the French were able to keep insurgent reinforcements – Fellaghas – from entering Algeria. Even though there had been no decisive moment in the war, the French army maintained the upper hand.

Since 1959 however, President de Gaulle had come to the conclusion that the era of colonialism was over. International criticism was also a factor in his decision to negotiate and plan for the Algerian people to determine their own future. When de Gaulle’s intentions became known, they were seen as an act of betrayal by the French settlers – Pieds Noirs – and a cadre of senior military officers still bitter from the recent loss of Indochina.

The Army High Command regarded the likely withdrawal of the troops as an unbearable humiliation and in April 1961, 4 generals – Salan, Challe, Zeller and Jouhaud – decided to overthrow de Gaulle’s government. They formed a putsch, urging the troops to rally behind them. Many career officers and units like the Foreign Legion and the Paratrooper Commandos moved toward allegiance but rallying the draftees would be key to the success of the coup. Among the ranks uncertainty and rumor abounded; de Gaulle had been ousted, he had fled the country, the paratroopers were about to land in Paris.

On April 23^rd, 1961, the President addressed the nation via radio, affirming that he was still in power, deriding “a quartet of retired generals” and asking the French people for their help – “Français, Françaises, aidez-moi!” This speech is part of history.

Never before had soldiers isolated in the desert or the mountains been able to hear their Commander in Chief speak to them over the heads of their local commanders. As the draftees listened to de Gaulle on their transistor radios, they made their decision to remain loyal. The putsch was over. The 4 felon generals were later prosecuted and sent to prison. Thanks to the new portable radios a civil war had been averted.