WI: 1961 Putschists Seize French Nuclear Device

In April of 1961, when the Generals' Putsch against De Gaulle began, a nuclear device was present at the CSEM nuclear test site in Algeria. The device was detonated in an effects test on April 25, just as the attempted coup was starting to collapse. For decades, rumors have circulated that the detonation was pushed up to keep the device from falling into the hands of the putschists.

What if the Putschists had gained control of it?

A new paper has just been posted going over the circumstances and the known facts. A few key quotes:

According to a key witness, professor Yves Rocard, one of the “fathers” of the French program, Challe called general Jean Thiry, the commander of the [test site], who knew him well... and told him : “Refrain from detonating your little bomb, keep it for us, it will always be useful”.
The CSEM and GOEN personnel were culturally inclined to be faithful to de Gaulle, since their mission was the nuclear program. But Thiry was hesitant about which party to support. His exact mindset is difficult to assess. Some claim that he initially decided to side with the rebels before changing his mind twenty‐four hours later. Others state that he was impressed with Challe’s order but that, in his phone conversation with Chaile, remained deliberately vague and uncommitted about his intentions.

There were doubts about the loyalty of the on-site military units, and some of them “more or less openly advertised their sympathy with the rebellion”. It was rumored on the base that some of them had been relocated to the Sahara because of their sympathy for the cause of “Algérie française”. A total of 424 soldiers had been sent to Reggan for a military exercise to take place during the test. Colonel Celerier, the head of the CSEM, decided to have the armored forces stationed for long duration under the desert sun under the disguise of an exercise.

What if Thiry had decided to throw his support to the rebels?

Of course, the bomb is not really suited for use as a weapon as such. At most, it's a bargaining chip and political symbol. When they did test it, it apparently was a fizzle, giving only about a tenth of the anticipated yield, although this was likely due to the weather rather than flaws in the bomb itself.

I don't really know anything about French politics of the time, so I don't know what the likely consequences of this would be; I just ran into it on one of the blogs I read. Thoughts?
 
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I don't know enough about the events of 1961 to say exactly what could have happened, but I'll be following this in case anyone else can.
 
What I'm wondering is, would the seizure of such a potent symbol of state authority be enough to push the rebels over the edge and actually accomplish some version of their goals? Alternatively, if it isn't, what kind of deal could the rebel generals get from the French in exchange for not using the bomb?
 

Coulsdon Eagle

Monthly Donor
Who would the OAS threaten to use the bomb against?

Set off in Algeria, it does rather remove the possibility of the French staying in a large area of the country, unless they want to glow in the dark.

Set off in Metropolitan France? Bang (I use that word advisedly :D) goes any support from the vast majority of the French public whom the OAS believed shared many of their views.

How about a threat to set it off in another country? Germany, as the Germans helped track down OAS sympathisers, and the far from negligible hatred of the Hun that still persisted? Spain, perhaps one of the Balearics? That might bring some diplomatic pressure to bear on Paris.
 
Who would the OAS threaten to use the bomb against?

Set off in Algeria, it does rather remove the possibility of the French staying in a large area of the country, unless they want to glow in the dark.

Set off in Metropolitan France? Bang (I use that word advisedly :D) goes any support from the vast majority of the French public whom the OAS believed shared many of their views.

How about a threat to set it off in another country? Germany, as the Germans helped track down OAS sympathisers, and the far from negligible hatred of the Hun that still persisted? Spain, perhaps one of the Balearics? That might bring some diplomatic pressure to bear on Paris.

I don't know how much of a yield the bomb had but algeria is pretty big so a ground detonation in a empty part like the erg chech demonstrate you mean business without damaging anything vital.

Of course, if you only have one, keeping it in reserve is probably the way to go.
 
I don't know how much of a yield the bomb had but algeria is pretty big so a ground detonation in a empty part like the erg chech demonstrate you mean business without damaging anything vital.

Of course, if you only have one, keeping it in reserve is probably the way to go.

Exact yield is still classified, but the memoirs of Pierre Billaud indicate it was supposed to be 15 kT. It apparently fizzled, however, yielding less than a kiloton, as a result of a failure of the neutron initiator, either due to the unexpectedly high temperatures or haste in prepping the bomb.

It's worth remembering that this was probably not a properly weaponized device. It probably wouldn't hold up to the sort of rough treatment involved in dropping it from an airplane. The most likely method to actually deploy it would be driving it somewhere in the boot of a car or truck or the hold of a cargo ship. It's also worth remembering that most of the technical staff of the site were loyal to De Gaulle. Actually deploying the bomb, as opposed to merely possessing it, will be extremely difficult.
 

Coulsdon Eagle

Monthly Donor
I don't know how much of a yield the bomb had but algeria is pretty big so a ground detonation in a empty part like the erg chech demonstrate you mean business without damaging anything vital.

Of course, if you only have one, keeping it in reserve is probably the way to go.


You don't use it - after all, once its gone, everyone will want to stomp all over you. It's the threat that you hope will make the French government vdance to your tune.

If you have two bombs, on the other hand (or only one & can make everyone believe you have another) then a desert detonation makes snese. Although not too remote. As that great philanthropist Ernst Stavro Blofeld once commented, if he destroyed Kansas tyhe world may not hear of it for another 30 years :p
 
It's worth remembering that this was probably not a properly weaponized device. It probably wouldn't hold up to the sort of rough treatment involved in dropping it from an airplane. The most likely method to actually deploy it would be driving it somewhere in the boot of a car or truck or the hold of a cargo ship. It's also worth remembering that most of the technical staff of the site were loyal to De Gaulle. Actually deploying the bomb, as opposed to merely possessing it, will be extremely difficult.

This is true, but likely not so important - an official announcement that the (pro-coup) soldiers on base had seized the Gerboise Verte would be a massive psychological blow in favor of the putschists, making them look more powerful than they were. It'd be harder for de Gaulle to dismiss them as a "quartet of retired generals".

As to whether that would increase popular and military support for the metropolitan government (out of fear) or for the putschists (out of their seeming power/de Gaulle's seeming impotency), I'll defer to experts on the situation.
 
Germany wouldn't be happy with the French putschists gaining a hold of nuclear technology.

Wasn't West Germany's foreign policy (towards the west, at least) at this point little more than 'We- yes, yes, alright, okay, we'll be good, yes, that sounds like an excellent idea'?
 
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