Ben M'hidi became a follower of Messali Hadj and was a member of Hadj 's Algerian People 's Party ( PPA ) during World War II , rapidly obtaining significant responsibilities within the movement . Ben M'hidi was arrested the following day after the Sétif uprising against the occupying French forces in May 1945 . The uprising was suppressed through what is now known as the Sétif massacre . He was arrested in Biskra and imprisoned in the Coudiat prison in Constantine for four months . The massacres committed by the French army in Setif , Guelma and Kherrata had completely shocked him . On 15 March 1946 , Ben M'Hidi was released from prison due to an amnesty being granted to the majority of nationalists imprisoned for the 1945 riots . The PPA was disbanded following the 1945 Sétif riots , and was replaced in October 1946 by the Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties ( MTLD ) , also headed by Messali Hadj . In 1950 , Ben M'hidi had been convicted in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in prison . Ben M'hidi and eight other members of this movement soon grew impatient with Hadj , and decided to form the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action ( CRUA ) , on 30 March 1954 . During May and June 1954 , they decided that Algeria would be split into five areas ; Ben M'hidi was assigned Zone 5 , Oran . On 10 October , Larbi Ben M'hidi and five other members of the CRUA approved the transformation , thus giving birth to the National Liberation Front ( FLN ) and the National Liberation Army ( ALN ) . At a meeting at the Climat de France , a house overlooking Bab El Oued , the FLN decided to launch an insurrection , which broke out in the early morning of 1 November 1954 , and quickly escalated into the Algerian War . The outbreak soon became known as " Toussaint Rouge " ( Red All Saints Day ) as it coincided with the Catholic festival . The rebellion was conducted internally by Ben M'hidi , Mourad Didouche , Rabah Bitat , Krim Belkacem , Mohammed Boudiaf , and Mostefa Ben Boulaïd , while three more members ( Hocine Ait Ahmed , Ahmed Ben Bella , and Mohammed Khider ) were operating externally in Cairo . They later became known as " The Men of November "
Sétif riots
Sétif and Guelma massacre
Larbi Ben M'hidi