Jeep Hotchkiss M201 Sahara – The Unknown of the Desert: History, Photographs and Testimonies of a Rare Military Vehicle

This book is a monograph on the Jeep Hotchkiss M201 Sahara, one of the variants of the Jeep Hotchkiss M201 introduced into service in late 1955. The Sahara was specially developed for the Algerian conflict in 1959 to meet the specific needs of the French Army in desert terrain. The Évian Accords of 1962 did not mark the end of the French Army's presence in Algeria… It kept bases in operation until December 1967, and even 1970 for the top-secret base at B2-Namous. The M201 Sahara remained in service in Algeria until 1970… It would go on to enjoy a second life in metropolitan France, converted to M201 "ENTAC" standard or restored to standard M201 specification. No complete surviving example being known, it has become something of a legendary variant. Two events would nonetheless bring it out of obscurity: the discovery in 2002 of a relatively complete Sahara near Tarbes, and the energy of Algerian War veterans through their websites, blogs and the numerous period photographs posted online. In 2009 a first article and a monograph on the subject appeared. Combined with a renewed interest in jeeps in French Army colours from the post-1945 period, this was more than enough to revive the variant: from that point on, the restoration and reconstruction of M201 Sahara jeeps by passionate collectors accelerated, accompanied by the remanufacture of specific spare parts.

The richly illustrated work details the history of this exceptionally rare variant: from the emergence of the requirement to the development of its 6V and 24V versions. But it also dwells on the historical and geographical contexts of its use by Saharan troops, drawing on the wealth of testimonies from veterans.

Finally, this book presents surviving or reconstructed Saharas, both in France and in Algeria, and offers leads for collectors wishing to set out on the trail of "the unknown of the desert".