Again and again such punitive expeditions despatched into the Aurès came back empty-handed, and in the face of frustration General Spillmann's instinct was to withdraw his undermanned forces and concentrate them on certain armed camps, like Arris, thus leaving the hills, temporarily anyway, to the rebels. Cherrière on the other hand was all in favour of the "fine-tooth comb", the ruthless ratissage with resort to exemplary bombardments of suspect areas. But this was expressly forbidden by the Minister of the Interior.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 324