To persuade the F.L.N. of France’s good intentions, all aggressive combat operations were to cease henceforth on the French side. A sense of fresh outrage ran through the units which had born the lion’s share of the murderous fighting in Algeria, and which, in the Challe offensive, had felt they had come within an inch of crushing the life out of the A.L.N. Ominously, there were mass desertions from the harkis, those “loyal” Muslim units whose expansion had been one of the chief ingredients of the Challe Plan.

XREF: Connects to broader patterns of how indigenous proxy forces react when their patrons signal withdrawal — parallels to Vietnamization collapse, Afghan army's disbandment in 2021.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 1345