On 7 March, 1956, 80 Algerian Tirailleurs reported to the 3rd Company of the 3rd Battalion in Degoul, a dozen kilometers west of Souk-Ahras. Tht night about twenty, led by Staff Sergeant Bensalem, turned traitor, allowing the remainder of their unit to be captured aby an ALN Katiba of one hundred fellaghas. The raiders formed a caravan of mules on which captured weapons were loaded and departed for the Tunisian border with the "rallied" Algerians, leaving behind dead and wounded French soldiers. The next morning, the pursuit of the traitors began...
