Vanguards of the Counter-revolution: The Far-right and the French Army's Guerre Révolutionnaire Doctrine

Abstract

Guerre révolutionnaire doctrine was conceived of as a riposte to the new form of warfare which the French Army encountered and fell victim to in Indochina. Taking inspiration from both the Indochina experience and communist writers, the doctrine inevitably advocated and replicated totalitarian tactics and methods. One of its major tenets was the intrusion of the army into the realm of politics, an incursion which resulted in huge turmoil. Previous studies have centred on a discussion of the doctrine itself, with limited consideration of its impact within political circles. The current paper seeks to address this gap in the literature with an exploration of far-right ideological precepts present in guerre révolutionnaire doctrine and to explain why this doctrine struck a chord with l’extrême-droite in France. Given the extent of far-right political action during the Algerian War in defence of l’Algérie Française, an examination of this connection is of significant interest.