On the morning of May 19, 1956, thirty-year-old Ahmed Zabana, an Algerian militant associated with the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN), was executed in Algiers by the French colonial administration as an example and a warning to other freedom fighters. Dragged into the prison courtyard, Zabana had his hands tied and was forced to kneel and lodge his neck inside the guillotine. Twice, the blade stopped in mid-descent, until the third attempt took his life. Zabana's execution - the first of many that day - galvanized the capital city and made Zabana into a national hero. Six months later, the Battle of Algiers erupted, and the country was launched onto the path that would eventually see Algeria throw off its colonial yoke.