Using the diplomatic scandal of 1827 involving Hussein dey, the Ottoman ruler of Algiers, insulting the French consul general (dey hit the consul in the face with a fan) as an excuse, France invaded and quickly captured the city of Algiers in 1830, after which they just as quickly took control of other coastal settlements. As a result of the internal political struggle in France, the decision was re-decided to maintain control over the territory; in addition, additional military forces were repeatedly sent to Algiers over the following years to crush resistance and move inland.
French expansion was resisted by units under Ahmed Bey in Constantine, primarily in the east, and by nationalist forces in Kabylia and the west of the country. Treaties with the Nationalists under Abd al-Qadir allowed the French army to initially focus on eliminating the remaining threat from the pro-Ottoman forces in Algiers, destroyed in 1837 after the capture of Constantine. Al-Qadir continued to put up stubborn resistance in the west. Finally forced to flee to Morocco in 1842 due to heavy defeats and the powerful advance of the French troops, he continued to wage guerrilla warfare until the government of Morocco, in accordance with French diplomatic pressure after the defeat of the country in the First Franco-Moroccan War, expelled him from Morocco . He surrendered to French troops in 1847.
Story
With the arrival of fresh troops, the marshal decided to go on the offensive. In early April, he set out with a detachment of 9,000 from Algeria to occupy Medeag and Miliana, in order to secure possession of the Metija plain. He defeated part of the emir's troops at the foot of the Atlas, but learning about the plight of Colonel Cavaignac, who with a handful of people defended Shershel against several thousand Kabyls for 6 days, he rushed to his rescue. This 18-day march from Sherchel to Blida was essentially a continuous battle in the mountains and forests with strong detachments led by one of the closest associates of the Emir of Sidi Embarek. On May 12, the French approached the Muzaya mountain pass, where the emir's main forces were concentrated. After a bloody battle that lasted several hours, the defile was taken and the defeated Abd al-Qadir withdrew to the Oran region. In May, the French troops occupied Medeagh, and then in June Miliana. Garrisons were left at both points. In mid-August, the emir went to Mascara to replenish the loss of his regular troops with new sets, but his associates Sidi Embarek, El Berkani and Ben Salem did not give rest to the French until the onset of winter.
In the Oran region, a fierce struggle also went on throughout the year. Particularly remarkable at the beginning of 1840 was the defense of Mazagran by 120 people against the 5 or 6 thousandth army of Caliph Mascara Ben-Tami. In early March, the caliph of Tlemcen Bou-Gamedi, having ravaged the tribes of Duera and Smela, allied to the French, moved to Mazagran, southwest of Oran. The commandant of the post, Yusuf, repulsed the attack and, carried away by the pursuit, fell into an ambush located in the Ten-Samle gorge, but prudent orders and a column that arrived from Oran made it possible for the detachment to retreat under the protection of Mazagran. Several successful raids (razzias) by Lamoricière, who was appointed commander of the Orange region in August, added to the list of military operations in 1840.
In general, despite a number of brilliant victories, the situation of the French by the end of 1840 everywhere, except for Constantine, was the same as in the early 1830s: only a few coastal points were in their power, where they were subjected to constant attacks; even the plain of Metija was not securely assigned to them: the possession of Medeag and Miliana did not provide the latter with reliable support, while almost all free troops were spent on maintaining communications with these towns.
Only Marshal Bugeaud, who was appointed governor-general of Algeria in 1841, finally managed, after many efforts, to complete the task of conquering the region, which had cost France so many sacrifices and expenses. Endowed with determination and tirelessly active, Bugeaud energetically led the fight. He made it his immediate task to destroy Abd al-Qadir; for a lasting mastery of the country, he adopted a plan of action similar to Clausel's: the firm occupation of the most important points and the constant maintenance of communications between them by means of mobile columns, which, destroying the dwellings and devastating the fields of the recalcitrant tribes, were supposed to induce them to peace or force them to move to the interior. regions of the country.
At the present moment, this plan had an incomparably greater chance of being carried out, for the strength of the French troops had already reached 70,000, but the reinforcements that arrived in the spring brought their number to 73,500 infantry and 13,500 cavalry. Along with this, the formation of units of the national guard (militia) began in the country, which was entrusted with the defense of cities and camps, which freed up regular troops for operations in the field.
General Buzho chose the Metija plain, covered by a number of fortified points, as his main operating base for operations against the emir. For offensive operations, he prepared the cities of Medeagh and Miliana, as well as several fortified points in the Oran region and Constantine. Bujold personally took care in April to provide both of these cities with a significant amount of supplies. He had several skirmishes with the enemy, but the desire to involve Abd al-Qadir in a general battle was not successful. In May, he began simultaneous offensive operations throughout the entire theater of operations with several detachments: he himself, at the head of a 6,000-strong detachment with a siege park, led an offensive from Mostagenem to Tekedemit, General Barage d'Illier was sent from the Metija plain to Bogar and Taza, General Negrie - from Constantine to Mzila and Biskra. At the same time, several mobile columns were sent to them in different directions: Colonel Bedeau from Mostagenem, Colonel Changarnier from Miliana, and Colonel La Fontaine from Philippeville.
May 18 Bugeaud set out on a campaign. After several minor clashes, Bugeaud occupied Tekedempt, blew up the citadel, built on a height dominating the city, and betrayed the warehouses and weapons factory that existed here. Following this, he captured, also almost without resistance, the city of Mascara and the surrounding areas, where he left a garrison. In the autumn, the commander-in-chief again personally took command and ruined Getna, the homeland of the emir and Sayda, where a strong citadel was built for him. To the city of Mascara, he pulled together a whole division of Lamoricière, which in autumn and winter undertook a number of expeditions from here into the interior of the country and subjugated almost all the surrounding tribes.
In the spring of 1842, Bugeau captured Tlemcen and Sebda, the last fortified points of the emir, as well as the area closest to them. In the first, a garrison was left. These initial actions of Bugeaud did not yet have a decisive result, but they completely changed the mutual position of the parties. The entire interior of the Oran region was already at that time in the hands of the French, and Abd al-Qadir, who had recently been forced to switch exclusively to a defensive war, in the summer of 1842 withdrew south, to the mountainous region of Wanzeris (south of the city of Tekedempt), inhabited militant cabals. But Bugeaud pursued him there, sending five columns from different sides into the mountains. Within a few weeks, the entire Wanzeris mountain range was subdued, and Abd al-Qadir was forced to withdraw into the desert regions of the northern Sahara.
For some time his traces were lost, but soon the emir reminded the French of himself. At the end of December 1842, with a 30,000-strong detachment, he suddenly appeared in the Sheliff River valley, and his appearance in the center of the French was a signal for a new uprising of the newly conquered tribes. Troops were immediately moved here simultaneously from the Algiers and Orange regions. Abd al-Qadir was again forced to retreat to the southern steppes. The French turned to the persecution of the emir and, along with this, were forced to launch again a series of expeditions to subdue the indignant natives. These winter expeditions, which were extremely difficult in terms of climatic conditions, were insignificant in terms of results: Abd al-Qadir avoided decisive clashes, the natives, scattered at one point, gathered again a few days later at another. In the spring, the emir was forced to retreat to the mountainous country of Yagubia (in the upper reaches of the Sig and Gabra rivers), and at the end of April, General Lamoricière forced him out of there into the desert of Angad.
The steppes in general were a reliable refuge for the emir: his mobile main apartment, the so-called "smala", consisted of 1300 tents, which he easily threw from one side of the desert to the other, and the French had to find out exactly where it was at the moment. Troops, ammunition, all the wealth of the emir and his family were placed in this "smala"; its permanent cover was 5,000 shooters and 2,000 horsemen. Bugeaud instructed the Duke of Omalsky to find and destroy this enemy camp.
Taking into account the remoteness of Medeagh from the alleged theater of operations, the Duke of Omalsky arranged his base point in the village of Bogare. Coming out on May 10 from the village of Bogara with a detachment of 1,200 infantry, 600 cavalry, 2 mountain guns and a 20-day supply of provisions, the duke launched a vigorous offensive. Lamoricière was ordered by Mascara to assist in the search for the duke. On the evening of May 14, having learned exactly about the location of the “smala” in the area of the village of Gozhelakh, 170 km from Bogara and on the same meridian with Tenes, the French surrounded this village, but it turned out that the “smala” was located further, 60 km to the south west near the Ussen-on-Rokay tract. As soon as the Duke of Omalsky moved in this direction, he learned that "smala" by order of the emir had retired to the east to the Tagil River. To overtake her, it was necessary to make an 80-kilometer transition through the waterless steppe. Fearing that she would not slip away from him, the duke left the infantry, with one cavalry, made this transition through the waterless steppe in 1.5 days and overtook the enemy on the morning of May 16. Despite the huge disparity of forces, there were at least 5 thousand defenders of the “smala”, he captured the enemy camp with an unexpected attack almost without any losses, killing up to 300 and capturing about 3000 Arabs; Also, the treasury and correspondence of the enemy fell into the hands of the winners. The emir managed to escape to Morocco. The French lost 9 killed and 12 wounded in this attack. The remnants of the smala were overtaken by Lamoricière twice more. The consequence of these clashes was the destruction of most of the regular troops of Abd al-Qadir. The actions of 1843 ended with the victory of General Tempur, who defeated the emir's associate, Sidi Embarek.
The result of the successes gained in 1843 was the conquest of Algeria, with the exception of a few points in the Sahara and Angada, still occupied by the troops of the emir and Great Kabylia (a mountainous country that stretched west and south of Budzhia). At the same time, the French built a number of fortified camps on the northern outskirts of the desert, subjugated several of the nearest Saharan tribes and energetically continued building roads, bridges, villages and other things inside the country. On the left bank of the Sheliff, on the same meridian with Tenes, the city of Orleansville was founded. Fortified camps were built in Tenes, between Tenes and Orleansville, at Teniad el Gad, near Taza, and at Tearet, where they were intended to keep the tribes of Dahra and Wanzeris in obedience. Along with this, roads were built from Sherchel to Miliana and from Algiers to Constantine. For the expedition of 1843 Bugeaud received a marshal's baton.
In the spring of 1844, the Duke of Omalsky occupied Biskra and Tugurt and forced many of the rulers of the Sahara to pay tribute to the French. At the same time, the marshal himself made the first attempt to establish power in the Great Kabylia. With a column of 7,000 men, he marched into that country, inflicted several defeats on the natives, and occupied Delly, but his further progress was halted by news from the west.
Meanwhile, Abd al-Qadir remained in Morocco, whose ruler Abder-Raman had long played an ambiguous role in relation to France. Throughout the continuation of the war by the French in Algeria, the Moroccan rulers secretly showed their hostility towards them. They stirred up rebellions among the local tribes and supported the emir with troops, military means and subsidies. Twice, in 1831 and 1836, representations were made to Abder-Raman about his hostile actions, but both times in response there was an expression of a desire to preserve peace.
The plight of Abd al-Qadir, when he appeared in Moroccan possessions, caused him active participation. The fanatical population of the country met the emir with the liveliest sympathy, and the local semi-savage tribes proclaimed a holy war against the Christians, which Abder-Raman apparently did not want to interfere with. The war began on May 30 with a sudden attack by Moroccan militias on a detachment of General Lamoricière, who was on the Moroccan border in Lella Maria. This attack was repulsed and the enemy withdrew to Ushda. A few days later, Marshal Bugeaud also arrived here and, after fruitless negotiations with the Moroccan government, occupied the city of Ushdu. Nothing important happened during June and July. By the beginning of August, the strength of the French corps had increased. 8500 infantry, 1800 cavalry and 16 guns were concentrated here. The Moroccan army, consisting of 10,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry and 11 guns, under the command of the emperor's son Muley-Mohammed, came out against them, located in several camps on the right bank of the Isli River, 8 km from Ushda. Thoroughly assuming that, having superior forces, Mouley-Mohammed would not evade the battle, Bugeaud decided to attack him.
Deciding on a surprise attack, Bugeaud made his famous night march with the whole detachment in the formation of one large rhombic square. The head battalion of one of the corners of the square served as the battalion of the direction. Half of the battalions followed the head ledges to the right and left of it, the other half also moved in ledges, but only in the reverse order, ledges not outward, but inward. The battalions marched every minute, ready to reorganize into battalion squares. The convoy, the infirmary and portioned cattle moved inside the square; cavalry in 2 columns also inside the square, on both sides of the convoy; artillery on 4 faces of a square against the intervals between battalions. This marching order was at the same time combat.
On the morning of August 14, the French army reached the enemy camp. The Moroccan cavalry launched a series of frenzied attacks, but the French easily repulsed them with grapeshot and rifle fire, continuing their advance towards the camp. When the marshal saw that the enemy had already sufficiently upset his forces, he advanced the cavalry, which, supported by the infantry, made a decisive attack and captured the camp, all the reserves and artillery of the enemy. The French continued to push the enemy, who by noon was finally defeated and fled along the road to Fetz. Further pursuit by the exhausted troops, in the intense heat, proved impossible. French losses were negligible, only 27 killed and 36 wounded. For this victory, Marshal Bugeaud was elevated to ducal dignity.
A few days before this battle, negotiations began in Tangier, and Bugeaud sent a fleet to the Moroccan shores, under the command of the Duke of Joinville (3 battleships, 1 frigate, 2 brigs, 6 steamships and several small ships) with a 2,000th landing detachment . The unwillingness of Abder Raman to enter into negotiations forced the French to begin bombarding Tangier on August 6. From a distance of 850 meters from the coast, fire was opened from all sailing ships, and despite the fact that 120 guns placed on coastal batteries responded to the French, a few hours later the fortifications of Tangier were turned into a pile of ruins.
A few days later, the city of Mogador was bombarded and destroyed (August 15-17), the most important seaside point of the Moroccan Empire, through which all trade and diplomatic relations were conducted. At the same time, the French made a landing and occupied a fortified island that covered access to the harbor. Following this, the city itself was taken, but the French immediately left it, destroying the fortifications.
Struck by a number of blows, Abder-Raman hurried to start negotiations and on September 10 signed the Tangier Peace Treaty with the French, according to which he undertook to disband the troops gathered on the borders with Algeria, severely punish the instigators of the uprising, refuse any assistance to the opponents of France and expel Abd al- Kadir, or imprison him in one of the cities on the western coast of Morocco. The French, for their part, after fulfilling the conditions, undertook to clear the island of Mogador and the city of Ushdu. Determination of mutual boundaries was to be the subject of a special convention, after a proper survey on the spot. After the conclusion of peace in Tangier, the discouraged Abd al-Qadir with the families of his adherents and 700 infantry and cavalry men left for the Sahara.
There was a lull in the whole country; new paths were laid and crossings were arranged to facilitate communications between the coastal lands and the southern regions, Angad and the Sahara. Trade relations between the inhabitants of Tel and the Sahara resumed. Meanwhile, the emir sent his agents across the Sahara, trying to revolt the tribes that had submitted to the French. His intrigues were successful: in April 1845, in Dahra, a part of the country lying west of Tenes, a certain Mohamed-ben-Abdala appeared, later nicknamed Bu-Maza (father of the goat) and began to excite the inhabitants of Dahra to a holy war against Christians. The rebellion quickly spread in and out of Dahra. Bu-Maza, encouraged by these successes, rushed to Wanzeris, where a holy war also broke out. Although both uprisings were soon extinguished by the energetic and cruel measures of Bugeaud, they cost France significant labor and losses, especially in Dahr, where the war was carried out with extraordinary cruelty: most of the Ouled-Ria tribe, not wanting to submit, settled in one cave; the French, in order to force the enemy to surrender, laid out a giant fire at the entrance to the cave and supported it for 2 nights. The fanatics are mostly dead.
Similar uprisings, but on a smaller scale, were raised by the supporters of the emir in other districts. So, in mid-September, almost on the same day, Trars rebelled in the Oran region in the west, and Flitts in the east. To support the first of the uprisings, Abd al-Qadir himself crossed the western border of Algeria. Lieutenant Colonel Montagnac, commandant of Dzhemma-Gazauat, to support the tribes obedient to the French, moved with a detachment of 400 people towards the emir, but this detachment, surrounded on all sides by the Arabs, was completely destroyed. Only 12 people returned to Jemma-Gazauat. As soon as Lamoricière, who took the place of Bugeaud, in connection with the latter's departure to Paris, learned of the defeat of Montagnac, he immediately moved towards the emir, defeated his advanced detachments and forced him to retire to Moroccan possessions.
In mid-October, the emir invaded Vanzeris, but the combined efforts of Lamoricière, Yussouf, and the returned Bugeaud again forced him to retreat into the Sahara.
At the beginning of 1846, Abd al-Qadir again appeared quite unexpectedly in the Great Kabylia, positioning himself on the western slope of Jur-Jira, threatening to cross the Isser River and invade Metiju. Bugeaud immediately gathered a small detachment near Bogara and headed for Kabylia in forced marches, but before his arrival, General Zhatil defeated the emir's troops on the Dzhelma River, which flows into Isser and forced him to retreat behind the Jebel Amur mountains.
Meanwhile, Cavaignac, after an unsuccessful search, in February, the “smala” of the emir, located in the Moroccan possessions, moved against the false prophet Mohammed el-Fadel, who led most of the tribes in the Oran region. Not far from Tlemcen, at the end of March, the militias of the false prophet were dispersed. At the same time, Bu-Maza again agitated Dahra, but the rebellion was quickly crushed. Then Bu-Maza rushed to Vanzeris and here, having joined with the caliph of the emir El Segor, for several weeks he held out first against the Duke of Omalsky, and then against Bujo himself.
Meanwhile, Abd al-Qadir, wanting to get rid of the persecution of Yussuf, who overtook him in the mountains of Jebel Amur and get closer to his "small", moved to Stitten and further to the Moroccan border, having been defeated at Shellala from the mobile column of Colonel Reynaud, and in July joined his "smala" with 400 horsemen and a few infantrymen, who were in the most miserable form.
At the beginning of 1847 Bou-Maza surrendered and was sent to France. Having got rid of this skillful partisan, whom Abd al-Qadir himself considered a dangerous rival, Bugeaud in May 1847 decided to firmly take over the Great Kabylia. To do this, he moved two columns: 8 thousand under his personal leadership from the city of Gemza and 7 thousand under the leadership of General Bedo - from the city of Bougia. Both columns were to join in the Adusa valley. The columns moved in mid-May. After a series of victorious battles, the French finally took possession of this predatory country. At the same time, Bugeaud sent several expeditionary columns to pacify the tribes of the northern Sahara, who were still agitated. Having completed the conquest of Algeria, Bugeaud asked to be replaced from the post of governor-general, and in early September 1847, the Duke of Omalsky was appointed in his place.
Meanwhile, Abd al-Qadir, despairing of the possibility of success in further struggle on the territory of Algeria, decided to establish an independent state in the eastern half of Morocco, forcibly taking it from Abder-Raman. For several months, in deep secrecy, he prepared food and military supplies, formed and put in order his troops and carried out propaganda among the local population, especially among the Kabils who lived in the Rif mountain range. But the emir did not take into account his strength. At the end of 1847, as soon as he raised an uprising, the quickly assembled troops of the Moroccan emperor crushed him with bloody measures. First, the Beni-Amers and other Algerian tribes who had migrated with the emir were exterminated. And this had a strong effect on the Rif Kabils, forcing them to remain loyal to Abder-Raman. And in early December, Abder-Raman himself moved his army in two columns against the troops of Abd al-Qadir. In the first combat clash, the emir attacked one of the Moroccan camps and had some success, but the next day he was surrounded on all sides by superior enemy forces on the Mlue River and rushed across the Kiss River to the Algerian border. But here he was met by the French; General Lamoricière blocked his path to the east and forced him to rush up the valley of the border river Kiss to the south, through the mountain pass of Kerbus. Having received news of this, Lamoricière sent a strong patrol to Kerbus on the night of December 22, with whom the emir met the next day. Not knowing the true strength of the French and not seeing any other outcome, the emir surrendered on December 22, disbanding his “smala” with 5,000 people.
Yermolova - marabou Sidi-Brahim, who gave an immortal tradition to their "blue devils" - foot rangers. The African epic chronologically completely coincided with - the French commanders and troops will reap new laurels, defeating Austria, which has become rigid in the routine, and the winner, 1911. - S. 317-320. - ((in 14 volumes). / 2nd corrected ed. under the general supervision of M. I. Bogdanovich. T. 1. - St. Petersburg, 1852-1858.
French conquest of Vadai- an armed conflict unleashed by the government of France against the kingdom of Vadai, located in Africa on the territory of the region covered with mountains of the same name in eastern Chad - the central part of Sudan, in 1909 and ended in 1911. As a result of hostilities, the Wadai territory was annexed and became part of the French colonial empire.
background
Lying on the border of the Sahara Desert and the dense forests of Equatorial Africa, the Wadai region is thus a meeting place for Islamic and African cultures. Islam began to play a predominant role in the region, although the power here has long been in the hands of representatives of the Negroid race. The existence of the Wadai Sultanate in Europe was known from the works of Arab geographers, but only after Gustav Nachtigal visited the country in 1873, a detailed description was obtained.
At the beginning of the XVII century. the territory of the Wadai Highlands was under the rule of the Sultans of Darfur. The main population here was the Maba people. According to local legends, in the XV-XVI centuries. Wadai was ruled by kings from the Tunjur dynasty, who had their capital in Kadam. They were not Muslims, although some of them had Arabic names.
Islam spread among the mabs thanks to the Muslim cleric Abd al-Karim, who traced his clan to the Abbasid caliphs. He arrived in Wadai from the kingdom of Baguirmi, where he founded a small Muslim community in Bidderi. When the number of his followers multiplied, Abd al-Karim encouraged them to start a holy war against the Tunjur clan. The victory in this war remained with the Muslims, who captured the last king of Kadam, who bore the name David, and killed him. After that, Abd al-Karim proclaimed himself a kolak (sultan) and around 1635 founded the city of Vara, which became the capital of the mab for more than three centuries.
States of Central Africa on a map of the late 19th century.
The Wadai Sultanate extended as far as the Sudanese region of Darfur, which became a British possession only after the British expedition in 1916. Geographically, it is a rocky semi-desert area, abounding in hills, with partially forested valleys. In the Dar-Tar region, heights reach 1200 meters.
The population of the sultanate, consisting of different tribes, in whose life the slave trade occupied an important place, made up three social classes: the upper class ( hourin), peasant class ( mesakin), and slaves ( abyd). Sultan was the head of state kolak) with a personal retinue of 1,400 people. Sultans ruled the Vadai empire for almost 400 years, relying on chiefs (agad) and village elders (mandjak). The state was divided into provinces, the rulers of which withheld part of the taxes in their favor. In the 19th century, in the maba settlement areas, feudal dependent peasants paid a fixed rent; slave labor was used. On the outskirts inhabited by non-Muslims, the Vadai nobility collected unlimited tribute.
Due to the political stability that prevailed in Wadai, and the security of movement associated with it, the most profitable trans-Saharan route from the Mediterranean Sea to Black Africa ran through the territory of the Sultanate. From Abeche, which was the largest city on the territory of modern Chad, the path was divided into two, passing through Dar Fur to the village of El Fasher: the northern trade route through the lands of Dar Tam, and the southern pilgrimage route through the lands of the Masalites tribes. Leaving to the north, this route connected Abesh with Benghazi and the oases of Kufra.
In the last decade of the 19th century, the influence of France, advancing from the Congo and from the Niger, became increasingly felt in Vadai - the Anglo-French agreement on March 21, 1899 attributed Vadai to the French sphere of influence. Meanwhile, civil war broke out in Vadai itself. In 1900, Sultan Ibrahim died from a wound received in battle, and he was succeeded by Ahmed Abu Al-Ghazali ibn Ali. He was warned by Sheikh Senussi (Senussi el Mandi) about the danger posed by the arrival of Christians (that is, the French) in the region, but neglected this danger because of the confrontation with the princes Dudmurra (brother of Ibrahim) and Asil. Ghazeel and Dudmurra, although they were members of the royal family, did not belong to the Maba people on their mother's side; only Asil, the grandson of Sultan Mohammed Sharif, was a pure maba by birth.
In December 1901, Abu Ghazali was expelled from the capital by Prince Asil, but Dudmurra took advantage of this coup. He captured Abu Ghazali and blinded him. Asil fled to Kelkel, west of Lake Fitri, and entered into negotiations with the French. In the spring of 1904, acting believed to be at the instigation of members of the Senussia order, the Vadai attacked French postal posts in the Shari region and carried off many slaves. At Tomba (May 13, 1904), they suffered a crushing defeat, but soon resumed their raids again, as evidenced by the constant skirmishes on the western and southwestern borders of Vadai in 1905-1907. The fighting led to the strengthening of the position of the French and their ally Asil.
Campaign
First stage
In 1908, Dudmurra, again, probably with the assistance of the Senusites, declared jihad. In October 1908, the French troops were given the task of "pacifying" Wadai by the government. French Captain Jean Joseph Figenshu, commander of the Fitri sub-district, received intelligence in April 1909 of planning an attack by Wadai Sultan Mohammed Salih, known as Dudmurra(Terrible Lion), to the settlement Birket Fatima. Figenchou, at the head of a detachment of 180 Senegalese shooters with 2 cannons and 300 allies from among the supporters of the overthrown Dudmurra Asil, is heading for the capital of the Sultanate, the city of Abéché. In the battle of Wadi Shauk (aka the battle of Johame) on June 1, 1909, the French detachment defeated the troops of Dudmurra, destroying 360 Vadais with their own losses of 2 people. Figenshu himself was seriously wounded in the neck in this battle.
The French detachment occupied the capital on June 2, after a short bombardment, but the Sultan managed to escape north to his ally, Sultan Taj ad-Din from the Dar Massalit region on the border with Darfur. Asil was planted as the new sultan by the French celebrating the victory. In addition, considering themselves now full-fledged masters of Wadai, the colonial authorities issued an order for the surrender of all small arms. By October, their control extended to many of the provinces (dars) of the sultanate—Dar Tama, Dar Sila, Dar Runga, and Dar Kimr. Dar el-Masalit, the land of the Masalites, where Muhammad Salih hid in search of allies, remained unconquered.
The French forces were not enough to fully protect the 900-kilometer border with the lands of the Masalites, in the immediate vicinity of the residence of various warlike tribes. The first raid came towards the end of 1909, when Taj al-Din, the Sultan of Dar el-Masalita, attacked the vicinity of Abéché. Figenshu, having recovered from his wound, with a detachment of Senegalese shooters (3 officers, 109 privates) went on December 31 to pursue him. On January 4, 1910, a French column was ambushed at Wadi Kadia, near modern El Geneina in Sudan, and was almost completely destroyed - only eight Europeans and three African allies managed to escape. The soldiers of the Sultan got 180 rifles and 20,000 cartridges for them as trophies.
After receiving news of the disaster at Wadi Kadia, Lieutenant Colonel Henri Moll, appointed military governor of Chad, began to prepare a punitive expedition. Five weeks after the death of the Figenshu detachment, under the command of Julien, French reinforcements arrived in the troubled Abéché. By this time, the deposed Dudmurra resumed his attacks in an attempt to regain his power by capturing the capital, but was defeated on April 17 near Biltin by one of Asil's brothers named Segeiram, and was once again forced to retreat to the Masalites. At the same time, about 1500 warriors of the For people under the command of Adam Rijal (Adoum Roudjial), the commander of the Darfur Sultan Ali Dinar, fortified in Gered, plundered the Dar-Tama region.
At the end of March, Captain Chauvelot, on the orders of Commander Julien, with 120 Senegalese riflemen and some auxiliary troops, attacked the fortified camp of Rijal at Guereda. In a half-hour close combat, the French detachment, having spent 11,000 rounds of ammunition, suffered losses - 2 killed and 17 wounded, but put the Darfurians to flight, who lost 200 people killed in this battle.
Second phase
In the middle of 1910, the French authorities concentrated 4,200 soldiers in Central Africa, divided into twelve separate detachments, four each in the provinces of Ubangi-Shari, Chad and Wadai. In early October, preparations for a punitive expedition were completed, and on October 26, Mall with a detachment of up to 600 people advanced to the Masalites.
The French troops were divided into two columns: the first column, consisting of a little more than 300 riflemen (with the support of 200 auxiliary troops), under the command of Colonel Moll, headed towards the Masalit capital Darjil (Drijele), towards the Masalite army; the second column (130 shooters), led by Captain Arno, was supposed to block the path of Dudmurre when trying to invade Vadai.
The first column crossed the border of the Masalit lands on November 5 and reached Dorote on November 8, stopping there to replenish the supply of water. The actions of the French troops were observed by Taj ed-Din and Dudmurra, in whose army there were from 4 to 5 thousand horsemen. The two sultans launched their attack on the morning of 9 November. The surprised French were unable to quickly rally to repulse the attack of the attackers, who proceeded to destroy the camp. A fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued in the camp. Lieutenant Colonel Moll was mortally wounded by a spear in the neck. Sultan Taj ed-Din was also killed in the clash, which broke the cohesion of the Masalites, who immediately began to plunder the camp.
Captain Shovelo, returning to the beginning of the Masalites attack from the patrol, gathered the surviving fighters on the hill - a total of about 100 shooters. The Chauvelo group hit the attackers, who began to loot the camp, in the back, regained control of the cannons and forced the Masalites to flee the battlefield. They left 600 dead on the field, including Taj ed-Din and 40 members of his family. Dudmurra, who lost his main ally in the face of the deceased Sultan, also fled. Of the Europeans, five were able to continue the fight, eight officers were killed, five were wounded. 28 of the 310 Senegalese riflemen were dead, 69 wounded and 14 missing. The ammunition was almost exhausted, almost all pack and mount animals were stolen or killed, there was no longer any contact with Captain Arno's column. A new attack by the Masalites was to be expected at any time.
The commander of the second detachment, Captain Arno, having received unclear reports of the defeat near the village Bir Tawil, marched to the battlefield. On November 17, the columns connected, and then 20 reached Abéché, where the news of a new catastrophe threw the population into a panic. The fight also caused a stir in France. Lieutenant Colonel Largo was sent to the place of the deceased Moll, who received new powers to fight the Masalites.
Third stage
After a brief lull caused by the regrouping and consolidation of combat detachments, in early 1911, French troops subordinated the will of the colonial authorities to the Sultan of the Dar al-Kuti region. After this operation, the French stepped up operations in the east, defeating the Fore, who at that time raided the undefended province of Dar Tama, taking away many slaves from there. One of the units, under the command of Chauvelo, succeeded on April 11 in expelling Fort from their base in the village of Kapka, and this area came under French jurisdiction.
Abeche 10 years after the beginning of the events described. Buildings built under the last Wadai Sultan, 1918
In the northern regions of the Ennedi mountain range, a group of meharists (camel cavalry) of 120 horsemen and 200 allies under the command of Major Hillaire (Hillaire) defeated the troops of the Khoan tribes at Sidi Saleh in May. Attacks by Tuareg bands on Hoan survivors near Kassoan, and on May 20 near Kafra, forced them to flee to Darfur.
On June 29, Captain Shovelo, while reconnaissance of the area, met with the forces of Dudmurra, numbering up to 2000 people. Meanwhile, in June - August 1911, an uprising broke out in the province of Dar-Tama, later called the Kodoi-Rebellion rebellion - tribes that resisted the collection of taxes by the new masters of the continent. The rebel detachment was quickly dispersed, but Dudmurra again managed to escape to the lands of the Masalites. He offered to give up the fight and lay down their arms in the near future, if in return he would be given possession of a small domain in the border region. On October 14, Dudmurra officially abdicated, transferring power over Wadai to the French delegation, and then headed for Abéché, entering the city on October 27 on the white horse of the fallen lieutenant colonel Moll. After that, he was placed under house arrest at Fort Lamy (now N'Djamena), while receiving a pension of 40 a month.
Effects
Taj al-Din succeeded as Sultan Dar el-Masalit in 1910 Bahr al-Din Abu Bakr Ismail, which ruled under French control until 1951 . After the beginning of the Italian conquest of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, slave caravans stopped running to Benghazi. Local rulers were thus deprived of the main source of income with which they financed their private armies. Being a puppet in the hands of the French, Asil ruled under the French protectorate for only a few months and was deposed in June 1912, and all power was concentrated directly in the hands of the French administration. Wadai became a French colony.
Armament
The French colonial army was represented in this war Senegalese arrows(tyrailleurs), who traditionally wore dark blue tunics, red fezzes with a blue tassel falling over their shoulders, breeches and sandals with windings. They were armed with a reliable repeating rifle of the Lebel system of the 1886 model Mle1886 M93, which, with minor modifications, was in service with the French army until 1960. The Lebel rifle (fusil Lebel) of the 1886 model is a manual reloading weapon using a longitudinally sliding rotary bolt, and its rate of fire reaches 10 rounds per minute. It should also be noted that the aiming range, which was huge for those times, was up to 2400 meters. Machine guns were not used by the French colonial army in these campaigns. The machete (panga) was often used as a weapon. The officers wore the standard tropical uniform.
The Masalites were known throughout the region as a warlike tribe. Usually they wore white clothes, and the upper class in addition wore white turbans and baldrics. In battle, they used throwing knives (60-90 cm.) And axes, and if they had firearms, then they were mainly Remington Arms repeating rifles. Traditionally, the Masalites fought in groups with a vanguard of hundreds of horsemen, followed by followed by the main column of infantry. The cavalry also brought up the rear of the detachment.
Links
- France Wadai War 1909-1911(English) (unavailable link). onwar.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013. Archived from the original on November 3, 2006.
§ 67. International relations in the XVII-XVIII centuries.
Europe at the BeginningXVII century
By the beginning of the XVII century. in Europe strengthened the influence of the Austrian dynasty Habsburgs representatives of which ruled in the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. The prospect of Spanish-Austrian joint actions was fraught with prerequisites for an aggravation of the conflict between the Habsburgs and France. Denmark and Sweden also could not reconcile with the strengthening of the Habsburg empire. Situation in Europe in the XVII century. complicated by the presence of the Ottoman threat. The entire south-east of Europe and most of Hungary came under the rule of the Turks.
Thirty Years' War.
A kind of continuation of the religious warriors of the sixteenth century. became the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). In addition to religious differences between Catholics and Protestants, its causes were the contradictions between the emperor and the princes in Germany, as well as the conflict between France and the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, where the Habsburgs ruled. The ruler of France, Cardinal A. Richelieu, dealt a decisive blow to the Huguenots in his country. However, in Germany he supported the Protestants who fought against the emperor. As a result, the intra-German conflict quickly escalated into a pan-European war. In 1618 in the Czech Republic, where from the time of the Hussite wars of the 15th century. strong positions were occupied by the Hussites close to the Protestants, an uprising against the emperor began. However, in 131620 the Czechs were defeated, which meant the end of the relative independence of the Czech Republic within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1629, Denmark was defeated, entering the war with the emperor at the call of the Protestant princes of Germany.
Then Sweden is drawn into the war, helped by France and Russia. swedish king Gustav II Adolf won several victories over the troops of the emperor, but died in 1632. In 1635, France openly began a war against the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. French and Swedes in the 40s. XVII century Catholic armies were smashed several times. In the course of many years of conflicts, all sides were guided by the principle “War feeds war” and mercilessly robbed the civilian population, which led to the terrible devastation of Germany.
In 1648, two peace treaties were concluded in Westphalia.
Sweden and France received increments at the expense of the Holy Roman Empire. According to the Peace of Westphalia, Sweden took possession of almost the entire southern coast of the Baltic Sea, becoming one of the strongest states in Europe. The Peace of Westphalia formalized the political fragmentation of Germany, in which the power of the emperor was reduced to zero, and the princes became independent sovereigns. Spain finally recognized Dutch independence.
International relations in the second half of the X7th-18th centuries
Second half of the seventeenth century became a period of strengthening of France in Europe. This was facilitated by the situation in other countries. Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were in crisis after the devastating Thirty Years' War. In England, after the restoration, the cousins of the French king Louis XIV, who were dependent on him, ruled. Since 1672, Louis XIV waged wars to expand his possessions. The first two wars with Spain were successful, although it was not possible to annex the completely Spanish Netherlands to France, as her king dreamed of. A number of border regions went to France. In 1681, taking advantage of the attack on Vienna by the Turks, whom he supported and incited against Christian countries, Louis XIV captured Strasbourg. But that was where his success ended.
France's war of 1688-1697 with all European countries ended in vain. The French economy was undermined by continuous wars. Meanwhile, England was growing stronger. During the three Anglo-Dutch wars, in which England was supported by France, she managed to push her main competitor everywhere at sea and in the colonies. The colonial possessions of England grew rapidly. After the "glorious revolution" of 1689, the ruler of Holland, William of Orange, came to power in England. The situation in Europe has changed dramatically.
Wars of the 18th century
The last Spanish king from the Habsburg dynasty was childless. By will, he transferred his possessions to his closest relative - the grandson of Louis XIV. There was a prospect of uniting France and Spain. All the neighbors of France opposed this. War broke out in 1701. French and Spanish troops were defeated everywhere. The economy of France was further undermined. Only the disagreements of the enemies prevented the onset of complete catastrophe for her. In 1713-1714. treaties were concluded under which the grandson of Louis remained king of Spain, but the unification of the two countries was forever prohibited. France lost part of its colonies in America. The Netherlands and Spanish possessions in Italy passed to the Austrian Habsburgs.
In 1700 - 1721. The Northern War was undermining the power of Sweden. Russia won the Northern War and became one of the great powers.
In 1740 the War of the Austrian Succession broke out. King Frederick 11 of Prussia seized Silesia from Austria. Austria was supported by England, Russia and other countries. The remaining possessions of Austria managed to defend.
Seven Years' War 1756 - 1763 was the result of a sharp tangle of contradictions. The fighting was fought not only in Europe, but also in America, Asia, so the Seven Years' War is called the prototype of the world war. In Europe, France, Austria, Russia and a number of German states were at war with Prussia, led by Friedrich H. and its allies from among other German states. England helped Prussia, but did not fight directly in Europe. She, in alliance with Spain, captured all the French possessions in America (Canada and Louisiana) and India. Prussia was defeated by Russia, France also seized all the possessions of the English king in Europe. However, these victories were devalued after the coming to power of Peter III and Russia's withdrawal from the war. Borders in Europe, unlike other continents, remained unchanged.
§ 68. International relations in the XIX century.
The beginning of the French conquests.
In the course of the French Revolution and wars against counter-revolutionaries and monarchist states, a powerful revolutionary army was created in France. This predetermined the international position in Europe for a long time. It became the basis of France's success in a long series of wars that began in 1792.
After the victories of 1793 - 1794. Belgium and German lands on the left bank of the Rhine were annexed to France, Holland was turned into a dependent republic. The annexed areas were treated like conquered territories. Various requisitions were imposed on them, the best works of art were taken away. During the years of the Directory (1795 -1799), France sought to secure its dominance in Central Europe and Italy. Italy was considered a source of food and money and a convenient route to conquest in the future colonies in the East. In 1796-1798. general Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Italy. In 1798, he began a campaign in Egypt, which belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The French occupation of Egypt threatened the English colonies in India. The fighting in Egypt was successful for the French, but the English Rear Admiral G. Nelson destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of Aboukir. The French army was trapped and eventually destroyed. Bonaparte himself, leaving her, fled to France, where he seized power, becoming Emperor Napoleon in 1804. The establishment of Napoleon's power was facilitated by the defeat of France in Italy from the troops of the coalition consisting of Russia, England, Austria and Sardinia in 1798 -1799. Allied forces in Italy were led by A. V. Suvorov. However, due to the short-sighted policy of Austria and England, Emperor of Russia Pavel 1 withdrew from the coalition. After that, Bonaparte easily defeated Austria.
Napoleonic Wars.
Soon after the proclamation of Napoleon as emperor, wars of conquest resumed in order to solve internal problems by plundering neighbors.
Under Austerlitz (1805), Jena (1806), Friedland (1807), Wagram (1809), Napoleon defeats the armies of Austria, Prussia, Russia, who fought with France as part of the third, fourth and fifth coalitions. True, in the war at sea, the French were defeated by England (especially at Trafalgar in 1805), which thwarted Napoleon's plans to land in Britain. During the Napoleonic Wars, Belgium, Holland, part of Germany west of the Rhine, part of Northern and Central Italy, and Illyria were annexed to France. Most other European countries have become dependent on it.
Since 1806, a Continental blockade has been established against England. Napoleonic domination contributed to the breakdown of the feudal order, but national humiliation and extortion from the population led to an intensification of the liberation struggle. A guerrilla war is unfolding in Spain. Napoleon's campaign in Russia in 1812 led to the death of his 600,000-strong "great army". In 1813, Russian troops entered Germany, Prussia and Austria went over to their side. Napoleon was defeated. In 1814, the allies enter the territory of France and occupy Paris.
After Napoleon's exile to the island of Elba and the restoration of royal power in France in the person of Louis XVIII heads of state - allies in the anti-French coalition gathered in Vienna to resolve issues of the post-war world. The meetings of the Congress of Vienna were interrupted by the news of Napoleon's return to power in 1815 (The Hundred Days). June 18, 1815 Anglo-Dutch-Prussian troops under the command of A. Wellington and G. L Blucher at the battle of Waterloo defeated the troops of the French emperor.
Vienna system.
By decision of the Congress of Vienna, territorial increments were received by Russia (part of Poland), Austria (part of Italy and Dalmatia), Prussia (part of Saxony, the Rhine region). The southern Netherlands went to Holland (until 1830, when Belgium was formed as a result of the revolution). England received the Dutch colonies - Ceylon, South Africa. 39 German states united in the German Confederation, while maintaining their full independence.
Peace and tranquility in Europe was called upon to maintain the union of all states, which was actually headed by the leading powers of the continent - Russia, Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and also France. This is how the Vienna system came about. Despite the contradictions between the powers and the revolution in a number of countries, the Vienna system as a whole remained stable in Europe until the early 1950s. 19th century
Monarchs of European countries, united in the so-called Holy Union, gathered until 1822 at congresses, where they discussed measures to maintain peace and stability on the continent. According to the decisions of these congresses, interventions took place in the countries where revolutions began. The Austrian invasion extinguished the revolution in Naples and Piedmont, France intervened in the revolutionary events in Spain. An invasion of Latin America was also being prepared to suppress the national liberation struggle there. But England did not benefit from the appearance of the French in Latin America, and she turned to the United States for help. In 1823 the President of the United States Monroe defended the entire American continent from Europeans. Simultaneously, it was the first US claim to control all of America.
The 1822 Congress at Verona and the invasion of Spain were the last common actions of the members of the Holy Alliance. The recognition by England in 1824 of the independence of the Latin American countries, the former Spanish colonies, finally undermined the unity of the Holy Alliance. In 1825-1826. Russia changed its attitude towards the uprising in Greece against Turkey, providing support to the Greeks, while Austria's position on this issue remained sharply negative. The ever expanding liberal movement in the European powers, the development of the revolutionary and national liberation movement in all countries shook the Holy Alliance to its foundations.
International relations in the second half of the XIX century.
The Vienna system finally collapsed after the revolutions of 1848-1849. The intensified contradictions between Russia, on the one hand, and England and France, on the other, led to the Eastern (Crimean) War of 1853-1856. Russia was defeated by a coalition of England, France, Turkey and the Kingdom of Sardinia, which were openly supported by Austria and secretly by Prussia. As a result of the war, Russia's positions on the Black Sea were shaken.
France became one of the leading European powers. Emperor of France Napoleon III helped Italy in her war against the Austrian Empire. For this, Italy lost Savoy and Nice. Preparations began for the capture of the left bank of the Rhine by France. Prussia began to prepare for wars for the unification of Germany. During the Franco-Prussian (Franco-German) war of 1870-1871. Napoleon III suffered a crushing defeat. Alsace and Lorraine went to united Germany.
At the end of the XIX century. contradictions between the powers became even more aggravated. The colonial rivalry of the great powers intensified especially. The most acute were the contradictions between England, France and Germany.
On May 20, 1882, a secret treaty was signed between Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary, according to which Germany and Austria-Hungary undertook to support Italy in the event of an attack on the latter France, and Italy undertook the same obligation with regard to Germany. All three powers pledged to go to war with the attacking states. Italy, however, stipulated that in the event of an attack by England on Germany or Austria-Hungary, she would not provide assistance to the allies. With the signing of this agreement, Triple Alliance.
At the beginning of 1887, it seemed that war between France and Germany was inevitable, but the latter had to abandon it, since Russia was ready to help France.
The Franco-German military alarm coincided in time with the aggravation of relations between Russia and Austria-Hungary. As soon as the Austro-German-Russian treaty of neutrality expired, Russia did not want to re-conclude it with the participation of Austria-Hungary. Germany decided to agree to a bilateral agreement with Russia - the so-called "reinsurance agreement". According to the treaty, both parties were obliged to remain neutral in the event of a war of either side with another power. At the same time, Germany pursued a policy of aggravating relations with Russia. But this led to a rapprochement between Russia and France - the main enemy of Germany.
The eyes of France turned to Russia. The volume of foreign trade between the two countries continuously increased. Significant French investments in Russia and large loans provided by French banks contributed to the rapprochement of the two states. Germany's hostility to Russia was also becoming more and more clear. In August 1891, an agreement was concluded between France and Russia, and a year later, a military convention. In 1893, the union was finally formalized.
The sharp struggle of England with France and Russia supported the aspirations of part of her ruling circles to come to an agreement with Germany. The British government twice tried to buy German support for the Axis with the promise of colonial compensation, but the German government demanded such a price that England refused the deal. In 1904-1907. an agreement was drawn up between England and France and Russia, called the "Triple Accord" - Entente (translated from French - "cordial agreement"). Europe was finally divided into hostile military blocs.
Questions and tasks
1. What is the Great geographical discoveries? What are their reasons?
Tell us about the main discoveries. What were their consequences?
2. What changes took place in the economies of the leading countries in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries? What inventions contributed to these changes?
3. What is the Renaissance? What were his main ideas? What are the achievements of the Renaissance figures?
4. What are the causes of the Reformation? What were the currents in the Reformation?
How did the Catholic Church fight the Reformation? What are the consequences of the Reformation?
5. What is absolutism and what are the reasons for its occurrence? What are the features of absolutism in different countries?
6. Why did the English Revolution happen? Describe its course and consequences.
7. How did the formation of the USA? What is the significance of this event?
8. What are the causes of the French Revolution? Tell us about its course and the forces involved in it. Why are they talking about the world-historical significance of this revolution?
9. Describe the main styles and tell about the main achievements of Western European culture in the 17th-18th centuries.
10. What is the Age of Enlightenment?
11. List the reforms carried out in Russia in the middle of the 16th century?
What are their results?
12. What is oprichnina? What is its meaning and consequences?
13. How did the enslavement of peasants in Russia take place?
14. What is the Time of Troubles? List the main events of this period. What made it possible to defend the independence of Russia?
15. How did the Russian economy develop in the 17th century? What was new in the economy then?
16. What was the significance of the development of Siberia?
17. What changes in public administration took place in Russia in the 17th century?
18. Describe the popular uprisings of the 17th century.
19. Tell us about Russia's foreign policy in the 17th century.
20. What changes took place in the internal life of Russia and its international position during the reign of Peter 1?
21. Describe Peter the Great.
22. What is the era of palace coups? How did the economy and social system of Russia develop in this era?
23. Tell us about the main events of domestic and foreign policy in the era of palace coups.
24. What is "enlightened absolutism"?
25. How did the economy and social sphere develop during the reign of Catherine II?
26. What are the reasons for the peasant war led by E. I. Pugachev?
27. What are the achievements of Russia's foreign policy in the second half of the 18th century? What are the reasons for the victories of Russian weapons?
28. What are the main achievements of Russian culture in the 16th - 18th centuries?
29. What were the features of the development of the Ottoman Empire Ki-
Thai, India in the 16th - 18th centuries?
30. How did the colonial expansion of Europeans take place in the 16th-18th centuries?
31. What is the industrial revolution? How did the economy of the advanced countries develop in the 19th century?
32. What changes took place in the political life of Europe and the USA in the 19th century? What socialist doctrines arose during this period? What is the essence of Marxism?
33. What are the main achievements of European culture in the 19th century?
34. Tell us about the main events in the domestic and foreign policy of Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. Why did Russia defeat Napoleon?
35. What are the causes and goals of the Decembrist movement? What is its meaning?
36. Expand the main directions of domestic and foreign policy of Nicholas 1. Why was Russia defeated in the Crimean War?
37. What are the main directions of social thought in Russia in the second quarter of the 19th century?
38. Describe the main reforms carried out in Russia in the 60s and 70s.
19th century What are their causes and significance? What are counter reforms? .
39. Tell us about the social movement during the reign of Alexander P.
What is populism and what is its significance?
40. What are the achievements of Russia's foreign policy in the second half of the 19th century?
41. What was the flourishing of Russian culture in the 19th century?
The war in Algeria, which began on the night of October 31-November 1, 1954 and lasted eight years, claimed the lives of half a million people, most of whom were Arabs. Despite military successes in the fight against the rebels, due to the failure on the political front, France was forced to leave its colony.
A century long occupation
The history of the French conquest of Algeria dates back to 1830 - it was then that an amphibious corps landed on the coast of North Africa, and after a short defense the city was taken. Officially, his capture was explained by the need to get rid of the Turkish rulers. The reason for the capture of the city was also a diplomatic conflict that occurred three years earlier, when the Algerian bey hit the French consul with a fly swatter. In fact, the French authorities expected that the military campaign would rally the army and help establish the restored power of King Charles X. This calculation turned out to be wrong, and soon the power of the king fell. However, this did not prevent the French from colonizing the rest of the territory of Algeria - the occupation began, which lasted 132 years.
At the beginning of the occupation, the local population still made attempts to resist - the centers of the uprising broke out in different parts of the country, but were suppressed. In 1848, Algiers was declared a French territory under the control of a governor-general and divided into departments headed by prefects. The Arabs called the first colonists "black-footed" - probably due to the fact that they wore black leather shoes. The Blackfoot modernized Algiers, began building highways, railroads, schools and hospitals, and a select few of the local population could now study the French language, history and culture.
TNF begins the fight
By 1945, Algeria was inhabited by almost a million Europeans, a fifth of whom were full-blooded French - the power over the country belonged to them, like the most fertile lands. The indigenous population did not have the right to hold high government posts and was limited in voting rights. Despite more than a century of history of colonization, in the 40s the struggle for independence began to flare up in the country. At first, these were single actions that became more and more successful - for example, the rebellion in the town of Setif, which occurred in 1945, gave rise to riots throughout the country, to which the French responded with monstrous punitive actions. The events in Setif clearly demonstrated that a peaceful struggle for their rights is impossible for the Algerians.
The National Liberation Front (FLN) became the largest movement that arose as a result of the merger of several groups and led the struggle for the independence of Algeria. The surrender of the French garrison in Dien Bien Phu on May 7, 1954, which took place in distant Vietnam, inspired the Algerians to try to achieve the desired independence by force of arms. This struggle was based primarily on the local partisan movement. In addition, the leaders of the TNF counted on the support of the UN, the Arab countries and the help of the communist bloc, and also intended to declare the right of the Algerian people to self-determination in the international arena.
The Front chose the territory of the Ores mountain range, which served as a shelter from government troops, as the main field of its activity. In 1945-54, the highlanders raised uprisings against the French three times, and therefore the leadership of the TNF hoped that they would again be able to enlist the support of the population.
How riots turned into war
In October 1954, orders were circulating throughout Algeria: "Arm, train and be ready." The FLN created clandestine networks of workshops for the production of explosive devices, firearms were secretly delivered to the guerrillas, from World War I repeating rifles to weapons lost by the Americans during the landing in North Africa in 1942. The decisive moment for the uprising was chosen on the eve of All Saints' Day (the night of October 31 to November 1) - about seven hundred rebels simultaneously carried out seven attacks in different parts of the country, killing seven and injuring four Frenchmen. The French authorities did not see this as the beginning of the war, since the number of rebels was insignificant, and their weapons left much to be desired. However, the rebels were determined, intending to use the slogan "suitcase or coffin" to force the Europeans to leave Algeria on pain of death. This appeal amazed those who considered the country their home from generation to generation - it seemed incredible to the Algerian French that someone could doubt their right to be called Algerians.
In France itself, the decision to keep Algeria was due to a number of reasons: the presence of many settlers there, its formal inclusion in the metropolis, the prestige of the state, and, finally, the discovery of oil deposits in the south of the country.
At the time of the uprising, the French authorities had at their disposal about 49,000 soldiers of all branches of the armed forces. The French Air Force consisted of eight Junkers and one helicopter. An incorrect assessment by the metropolitan authorities of the real state of affairs allowed the rebels to accumulate forces and made it inevitable that the guerrilla war would spread throughout Algeria. The response of the colonialists to the insurgent terror was the random arrests of suspects, the search for and destruction of partisans.
French soldiers from the 4th Zouave Regiment
Social and economic reforms, hastily carried out by the French government, were late, and therefore did not bring the desired result. Although access to government posts was now open to the natives, education became available, the wage gap between Europeans and Muslims decreased, the leaders of the FLN could no longer be satisfied with anything other than complete independence. The escalation of the conflict continued. Army reinforcements arrived in the country, and in March 1955 martial law was declared in Algeria. The rebels were still having difficulty with weapons, so the FLN's tactics were to wage a war of attrition. The rebels focused their efforts on expanding underground structures, winning over the people to their side - both through propaganda and intimidation.
Terror as a tool of struggle
The FLN lifted the ban on attacking European settlers and launched unrestricted terror against the French population of Algeria. Thus, the rebels provoked the French authorities into retaliatory military measures and contributed to the growth of alienation between the two peoples. So, on August 20, 1955, the rebels carried out a brutal attack on the European community in the town of Philippeville, killing people without distinction of age and sex. The soldiers who arrived at the place did not understand for long and, having gathered all the captured, lined them up against the wall and shot them with machine guns. According to official sources, the number of those killed was 1273 "rebels", while the actual number of victims remained unknown.
The atrocities of the rebels changed the attitude of the French military towards them, and the increase in violence on the part of the army led to the fact that the partisan detachments began to replenish at an even faster pace. In addition, the Algerian rebels began to receive material assistance and support from the countries of the communist bloc and the Arab states.
In France, the events at Philippeville led to a change of government led by Prime Minister Guy Mollet. His policy towards Algeria was to win the war first and reform later. Measures to increase the army contingent in Algiers brought the war to a national level - the number of French troops in the country increased from 50,000 people in 1954 to more than 400,000 people in 1958. At first, the contingent was replenished at the expense of veterans who were returning from Indochina. Later, Algiers became the location of one of the most combat-ready French units - the Foreign Legion. In the first years of the war, the soldiers of the French army were ill-prepared for African conditions and had no experience in anti-partisan struggle. The main approach to fighting the insurgency was the "quadrillage" method, according to which the country was divided into seventy-five sectors. In each of them there were garrisons, patrols were carried out and cooperation was established with the SAS (Special Administrative Section) - a special organization that acted as an intermediary between the administration and the local population during military operations, and also provided social assistance to the population.
Helicopter landing
The most important place in the struggle for independence was the Algerian capital. One of the leaders of the FLN, Yassef Saadi, was tasked with launching a ruthless terror in the city in order to discredit French rule, and soon Algeria was plunged into chaos with incessant bombings and widespread killings. The terror by the rebels caused a French response - the so-called ratonnage(the massacre of the Arabs). It is known that during the battles for Algeria, about 3,000 Muslims went missing. Restoring order in the capital was led by General Massu and Major Ossaress, who imposed a curfew and fenced the Muslim population of the city with barbed wire. In military terms, the FLN was defeated - pogroms and explosions in the capital ceased, and Yasef Saadi was captured. In France itself, the battles for the Algerian capital raised a wave of criticism against the army leadership, which, in turn, felt disgust and hatred for the government of the Fourth Republic.
French paratroopers from the 10th Airborne Division
With most of the FLN fighters now out of Algeria (many taking refuge in neighboring Tunisia and Morocco), French authorities have focused their efforts on isolating the country, intercepting ships and cutting off airways. In addition, the famous "Maurice Line" was erected on the Tunisian border - an eight-foot fence of barbed wire energized at 5,000 volts, minefields and observation towers. All these efforts made the rebels feel a severe shortage of weapons and ammunition, calling into question the very existence of partisan detachments.
Stormtroopers "Skyrader" over Algeria
However, at this time, the political situation in the metropolis began to change. The unpopularity of the war, economic and social difficulties reduced the level of support for the government in France, while in Algeria any plans to change course were perceived by the Blackfoot as a betrayal. On May 13, 1958, they captured the capital of the colony and declared their own government of emergency. The command of the army contingent supported this self-proclaimed government, and France was on the verge of revolution when Charles de Gaulle, who became prime minister, entered the game. In turn, the leaders of the FLN announced the creation of a Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Algeria, and this idea was immediately supported by the Arab countries.
Having come to power, de Gaulle appointed General Maurice Schall as commander of the troops in Algeria, who immediately began large-scale raids to search for partisans. His "Operation Oranje", launched by elite paratrooper units followed by mechanized columns, combined the actions of ground and air units. So, H-21 helicopters, nicknamed "flying bananas", could land two battalions of paratroopers in five minutes. In addition, three hundred training aircraft were converted to attack ground targets. The mechanized columns blocked the partisans, after which the attack aircraft launched rocket and bomb attacks on them. According to General Schall, during the operation, which lasted two months, the French managed to defeat half of the rebel detachments.
Transfer by helicopter of an army vehicle Citroen 2CV
France changes course
Despite military successes, the French never developed a political recipe for ending the conflict. De Gaulle intended to preserve the commonality between the two peoples by giving the Muslims equal civil rights with the French. On September 16, 1959, he announced that the issue of granting independence to Algeria would be decided in a referendum. In response, Belqasim Krim, the only survivor of the nine leaders of the TNF, addressed his supporters and stressed: "Your struggle forced the enemy to talk about self-determination, abandoning the myth of French Algeria". From that moment on, the underground stopped all overt military operations in order to demonstrate to the world that the FLN remained undefeated. In the international arena, active propaganda began to support Algeria in the struggle for self-determination, and TNF agitators condemned the actions of the French in the colony, trying to sow discord between France and its allies.
Confusion and depression grew in the French army itself. Radical adherents of the idea of preserving French Algeria created the Secret Military Organization (HVO), which sought to keep Blackfoot power in the country. The mutiny in April 1961 by the generals, including Chall, made it clear that most of the French army in Algeria did not support de Gaulle's "capitulation policy". Although de Gaulle's power was under threat, in May 1961 the government decided to start negotiations with the FLN.
This was contrary to repeated promises by the French government not to negotiate with the terrorists. Negotiations that lasted for a year led to the abandonment of France from its original positions, and on March 19, 1962, the Evian Accords were signed, ending the war and opening the way for Algeria to independence. This agreement ended sixteen years of French attempts to hold on to colonies in Indo-China and North Africa. Under the terms of the agreement, the security of the colonists was to be ensured by the new authorities for three years, but these promises seemed illusory to many, and almost 750,000 people left the country, moving to France, Spain and Israel. However, the fate of the Algerians, who supported the French during the war years, was the most tragic - the ban on "illegal" emigration from Algeria contributed to the brutal arbitrariness on the part of the FNO, which exterminated entire families.
Consequences of the conflict
The war in Algiers, which lasted eight years, claimed the lives of half a million people, most of whom were Arabs. Despite military successes in the fight against the rebels, due to the failure on the political front, France was forced to leave Algeria. Interestingly, until 1999, the French authorities refused to call what happened a war. In 2001, General Paul Ossaress openly admitted the use of torture and executions in Algeria with the permission of the French leadership.
The main goal of the French - to maintain colonial rule in Algeria without radical changes in its political system - was doomed to failure. In France, the effects of that war are still being felt today. Thus, the terms of the Evian Agreement opened access to France for Algerian guest workers - subsequently they turned into second-class citizens who inhabited the outskirts of large cities. Regular riots in France indicate that the historical conflict between the French state and Algerian Muslims has not yet been resolved.
Sources:
- Martin Windrow, The Algerian War 1954–62
- Gilles Martin. War in Algeria: The French Experience
- Martin Windrow, Mike Chappel. The Algerian War 1954–62
- James Arnold. "Snake Jungle"
The destinies of France and Algeria are closely intertwined, and the history of their relationship has known both good times and periods of bloody confrontations. As the closest analogy, relations between Russia and the Caucasus region come to mind, with the only exception being that France still had to leave North Africa in the middle of the 20th century.
We will consider the history of the direct accession of Algeria to the French possessions, without touching on further relations between the colony and the mother country.
Relations between the two states date back to the 16th century, when the French opened a trading company in Algeria. At that time, Algeria was part of the Ottoman Empire, however, having the widest freedoms - for example, since 1671, the dey (ruler) elected by the administrative and military elite ruled in the country, and the province itself was autonomous. The dei had the right to negotiate with the envoys of foreign powers, minted their own coins, maintained armies and were sovereign sovereigns on the ground, reporting to Istanbul only on the most important issues.
Algerian pirates were a real plague of the Mediterranean until the 18th century, annoying, among others, the French merchant fleets. Louis XIV in 1683 - 1688 sent three expeditions to hostile shores, hoping to appease the Maghreb corsairs, but this practically did not bring results. So, alternating trade relations with conflicts at sea, France and Algeria coexisted until the French Revolution.
Dey Hassan II and his successors maintained fairly good relations with the new revolutionary government and the Bonapartist empire that replaced it. At first, France, exhausted by the revolution and wars, needed food, leather, fabrics and other things necessary for everyday life, which the Algerian dei willingly supplied to her. In addition, the Algerian rulers supplied Napoleon's army with food during the Egyptian campaign.
Everything changed after the restoration of the Bourbons in 1815 - Louis XVIII in a rather harsh form refused to recognize Napoleonic debts and pay anything to the Algerians. Dey Hassan III (also mentioned in a number of sources under the name of Hussein Pasha), in turn, increased the tax levied on the French trading company in the country by almost 4 times, which was an undisguised challenge. Such a change in relations was unfavorable to the French side, which each time in the negotiations tried to challenge the new tax policy of the dey. Relations between the parties heated up, which eventually resulted in an incident that occurred on April 29, 1827 - during a public audience, the French ambassador Duval behaved extremely defiantly, which offended the dey, who lightly slapped the diplomat with a fan. From the point of view of international relations, this was a direct insult, and Paris could not but react to it.
Bourmont starts and...
In 1830, France sent an expeditionary force to Algiers, with the aim of forcing the deya to pursue further policy in the interests of Paris. The French did not initially plan to completely seize the country and establish a regime of direct control there.
For the campaign, more than 37 thousand people were allocated, which were part of the 3 infantry divisions, 3 cavalry squadrons, to which a park of field and siege artillery was attached, a total of 112 guns. The corps was commanded by Count Bourmont. At the disposal of the day was about 16 thousand regular troops, as well as the local native militia.
On the morning of July 14, the French units landed on the shore. Bourmont decided to act quickly, especially since the city of Algiers was 20 kilometers from the landing site, and the expeditionary force had only 10 days of supplies. The avant-garde, which made up the division of Bertezen, knocked out the Algerians from the Isthmus of Sidi-Ferrukh, which allowed the French to strengthen the bridgehead for a further invasion.
Day, who was promptly informed about the landing of enemy units and their first success on the isthmus, began to gather strength into a fist for a counterattack. It was decided to attack under the cover of twilight, at dawn on June 19th. At the disposal of the son-in-law of the dey, Aga-Ibrahim, there were up to 40 thousand people of regular units and militias of local tribes. The Algerians managed to covertly approach the French camp, and it seemed that surprise and numerical superiority should have played their part. Nevertheless, the French, at the cost of considerable effort, were able to first repulse the enemy attack, and then went on the offensive. The defeat was complete - the Algerians lost almost all the artillery, the convoy, and were forced to retreat to the village of Sidi Kalef to regroup. After 4 days, the Algerians decided to try their luck again, and launched a second attack on the French camp. Nevertheless, Aga-Ibrahim was repulsed this time as well, and retreated with heavy losses to the Buzarei Heights, located in close proximity to the city of Algiers. The French decided not to storm the city on the move, preferring to wait for the main part of the artillery and carts to approach.
When, by June 29, at last, Bourmont had at hand everything that he needed for a proper siege, he began active operations. The advanced French detachments knocked out Agha-Ibrahim from the heights dominating the area with a lightning strike, and proceeded to erect a siege camp and build batteries. After all the preparations were completed, on July 4, Bourmont gave the order to begin the bombardment of the city. The French concentrated their fire primarily on the fort "Sultan-Kalesi", where the dey's headquarters was located. Soon part of the fortifications were destroyed, and the French divisions launched an assault. By the morning of July 5, the city was taken. Burmon showed himself to be a rather gentle person in matters of attitude towards prisoners - Hussein Pasha was released on all four sides, and sent to Italy of his own free will, the surrendered corps of Janissaries was transported to the possessions of the Sultan in Asia Minor, the local tribal militia, who fled in all directions, did not pursued. For this victory, Bourmont was promoted to Marshal of France.
On this, however, the successes of the French in Algeria ended. This was largely due to the ambiguous position of the court regarding the further strategy of the expeditionary forces. As noted above, initially the French did not set themselves the goal of capturing the entire country - the Bourmont expedition had to either impose favorable conditions for France on cooperation between the two countries, or, in extreme cases, take control of the capital and strategically important areas. As a result, in the absence of clear directives from Paris, Bourmont undertook an adventurous campaign against the Kabyle robbers to the foot of the Atlas Mountains. Inspired by the initial success, the marshal underestimated the enemy, took an insufficient number of troops on the campaign and, as a result, failed. Not significant, at first glance, from the point of view of military art, the defeat at Blida was a serious blow to France in terms of propaganda - the brilliant success of the initial stage of the campaign was immediately crossed out.
Nevertheless, Count Bourmont began to prepare a new campaign against the recalcitrant tribes, but the July Revolution prevented these plans from being realized, during which the Bourbons were overthrown in France for the second time, and Louis-Philippe of Orleans took the throne. Naturally, in the turbulent events of the end of July 1830, Paris was not up to Algiers and Bourmont, but the marshal, without waiting for direct orders from the metropolis, took a wait-and-see position and concentrated the main forces near the city of Algiers. In addition, in relations with the local population, he relied on the Moors, which was a big mistake - the local Arab population, which had occupied a privileged position for centuries, did not want to put up with the need to obey the new, pro-French beys from among the Moors. All this resulted in a series of bloody clashes and in the future threatened to lead to a full-fledged uprising against the French authorities, so as soon as the Orleanists established themselves in Paris, they immediately hurried to recall Bourmont back home, appointing Marshal Clausel in his place.
Personnel changes and the beginning of the rebellion of Abd al-Qadir
The new position from the very first day began to bring failure to Clausel - having sent him to Algeria with the task of stabilizing the situation in the newly acquired colony, the new Parisian court, however, recalled most of the Algerian corps to the metropolis. According to the Orleanists, these soldiers were more needed in Paris in order to support the new government in the first months after the revolution.
Clausel had no choice but to obey. He undertook a new expedition to Blida, defeated the recalcitrant Kabyles and appointed a bey loyal to the French authorities in the provinces. However, the marshal had catastrophically few forces, and he could not leave garrisons sufficient for effective defense in the occupied cities. As a result, the French were blocked by the Arabs in these cities, and, not being able to receive provisions and ammunition from the outside, they were eventually left behind. Realizing that he could not establish power in Algeria on his own, Clausel decided to take an adventurous step, and began negotiations with the Bey of Tunis, to whom he promised to give a number of territories in rebellious provinces in exchange for help, with the condition of paying an annual "rent" in favor of the French treasury in 1 million francs. If we evaluate this project in general, then, in the current situation at that time, the conditions for France were quite favorable. Nevertheless, Paris did not appreciate Clausel's initiative, and the marshal himself was soon recalled, in order to avoid another "arbitrariness" on his part.
Clausel was replaced at the beginning of 1831 by Berthezen, the same one who commanded the vanguard of the French expedition under Bourmont a year earlier. His activities did not bring tangible results - the general was clearly cautious, and the fighting was mostly positional in nature. At the end of 1831, General Savary was sent to replace him with significant reinforcements.
The new commander began his activity in the post quite actively, and first of all he took up the suppression of unrest in those territories that were formally subordinate to the French. Savary acted harshly, even cruelly, widely using executions, and this even more antagonized the local population. Disparate tribes and clans found in him a common enemy, and it was the hatred of the French that became the only point of contact that united them.
The coalition of Algerian tribes was headed by a native of the noble and wealthy family of Abd al-Qadir. It was one of the most prominent people from the Arab world, a talented orator, scientist, poet and commander, Abd al-Qadir was exactly the person who was needed by the motley union of Algerian ethnic groups and clans. In 1832, he was proclaimed emir, and began to prepare for an armed struggle against the French, which began a year later.
France vs. Abd al-Qadir
Despite the fact that the French had about 20 thousand people in Algeria, they were not ready for the fact that the Arab tribes could consolidate to fight them. As a result, already in February 1834 they had to seek peace with Abd al-Qadir. According to the concluded agreement, the emir was recognized as the ruler of all Arab tribes west of the river. Sheliff.
Count Drouet D'Erlon was appointed governor of Algiers, who fought under Bonaparte, was frankly old for this position and in his years did not tolerate the hot climate of North Africa. In matters of managing the colony, the count showed invariable passivity, and a secret intelligence network of Abd al-Qadir operated in his residence. Seeing the weakness of the French authorities, the emir stepped up his activities, annexing new territories to his possessions, and involving new and new tribes in the union. Finally, his detachments began to cross the Sheliff River, in direct violation of the terms of the February peace agreement. A new war was inevitable.
The first battle of the new campaign was the battle of Makt, a marshy rivulet flowing near the port of Arzew. Abd al-Qadir lured a detachment of General Trezel, consisting of 2.5 thousand people, into a trap and defeated it.
The situation in Algiers, which only worsened after the debacle at Makt, forced the Parisian court to look for a more active person for the post of governor. As a result, they agreed on the candidacy of Marshal Clausel, who had already been to the colony and had experience of clashes with the Arabs.
Having entered the Algerian coast, Clausel almost immediately begins to prepare a plan for a large-scale operation against the emir. The idea was to capture the capital of Abd al-Qadir, the city of Mascara. In the second half of November 1835, the marshal set out from Oran at the head of the 11,000th corps, and, having marched swiftly to the enemy capital, immediately took possession of it. However, it soon became clear that the city would have to be abandoned - the great remoteness of the nearest French base - Oran - made the supply of the garrison in Mascara very difficult, given the activity of the "flying detachments" of Abd al-Qadir.
At the beginning of 1836, Clausel undertook another campaign deep into the territory of the enemy, and captured the city of Tlemcen. Shortly thereafter, Clausel was called to Paris for a report, and leaving he instructed General D'Arlange to establish communications in the acquired territories. However, as soon as the French detachment arrived at the place, he was met by the emir's troops, blocked, and was on the verge of death.
General Bugeaud was sent to rescue D'Arlange with three regiments of infantry. At that time, no one knew that it was Thomas Bugeaud who would become the emir's main opponent in the Algerian War, and in the end, he would still win. He came from a petty aristocracy, with the formal nobility of the family, he was only the thirteenth child in the family, and had neither capital nor patronage behind him. From a young age, Thomas Bugeaud connected his fate with the army - starting as a private in the army of the great Bonaparte, by the time of the latter's second exile, he had already become a colonel. Relations with the Bourbons who returned to the throne did not work out for Bugeaud, and he retired, leaving for his native Perigord to engage in agriculture there. With the accession of Louis Philippe, he is returned to the service, and given the rank of brigadier general. It was the former private of the Old Guard of Napoleon, and by the time of the Algerian campaign - the general, who was destined to put an end to the ambitions of Emir Abd al-Qadir.
First of all, Bugeaud pushed Abd al-Qadir away from Tlemcen, and released the d'Arlange detachment. Then he, deftly maneuvering, went to the rear of the emir's army and imposed a battle on the banks of the Sikka River. In that bloody battle, the French won a landslide victory, and Bugeaud made all skeptics, both in Algeria and in Paris, reckon with him.
Meanwhile, while Bugeaud fought in Algiers, in Paris, Clausel tried by hook or by crook to convince the king and the court of the need to strengthen the grouping of troops in the colony. The marshal was sure that it was no longer possible to fight as before, in order to defeat the restless emir, a completely new strategy was needed. The essence of the plan was to occupy key cities and strategic points, and then provide a permanent communication between them, for which it was supposed to use military columns. The plan was accepted, but soon there was a change in a number of key personnel in the ministries, and in this turmoil the ministers forgot to provide Clausel with the requested reinforcements. As a result, the marshal was forced to implement his plan without having enough soldiers and food for this.
As a result, the attempt to capture the city of Constantine ended in a severe defeat - at first the lack of ammunition affected, which did not allow the French to complete the siege, and then they ran out of food, forcing them to hastily retreat.
After the failure at Constantine, Clausel was recalled from Algeria for the second time, and at the beginning of 1837 General Damremont was sent in his place, and Bugeaud was entrusted with the leadership of the troops in the Orange region. The latter soon gave the emir another battle, in which he again won a landslide victory, forcing Abd al-Qadir to conclude a peace treaty with the French.
Having taken the emir out of the game for a while, the French are transferring all their forces to Constantine in order to take revenge for last year's defeat of Clausel. In early October, they approached the city and besieged it. The besieged made several sorties, but were invariably repulsed. On October 12, General Damremont was killed, and the command of the army was taken over by the artillery commander, General Vale. It was he who led the troops on October 13 to storm the city - the French lined up in three columns and rushed into the gap pierced the day before by their siege artillery. After several hours of bloody battle, Constantine was taken. Valais, taking into account the bad experience of past years, did not leave a garrison in the city, instead transferring power to a local bey loyal to the French. For the capture of Constantine, Valais was promoted to marshal and appointed the new governor of Algiers.
Abd al-Qadir, meanwhile, understood that the recent peace with the French was a temporary measure, and as soon as they put an end to the resistance of independent tribes, they would immediately take it up. He began to intensively prepare for the resumption of hostilities - he brought the number of troops at his disposal to 70 thousand people, and created the first fully professional units according to the Western model. By 1839, the total number of troops of the emir was approaching 100 thousand people, of which just over 10 thousand were professional regular units.
The fighting resumed after the fall of 1839, the French detachment, establishing land communications between the cities of Algiers and Constantine, passed through the Iron Gate Gorge, which Abd al-Qadir considered his territory. The battle did not take place, but the emir officially broke the peace treaty with the French and announced the start of "jihad" - a holy war for the expulsion of foreigners from Algeria.
The war began extremely unsuccessfully for the French - the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy affected. The detachments of Abd al-Qadir cut off the enemy's most important communications and blocked the French units in the cities. Vale, realizing the complexity of the situation, began to attract to his side those local tribes that were in opposition to the emir. Thanks to the skill and stamina of the French themselves, as well as the support of these tribes, the enemy was held back until April 1840, when large reinforcements arrived under the command of the Duke of Orleans, a relative of the king.
After the arrival of fresh units from the metropolis, Valais launched a large-scale counteroffensive against the Arabs, pushing them away from the cities. By the end of 1840, the French, having won a number of significant victories, drove the emir's troops back to his possessions. However, they themselves did not receive any significant territorial gains, in fact only restoring the status quo.
By the beginning of 1841, the Parisian court decided to put an end to the Algerian issue - Marshal Valais, who, although he showed himself from the best side, was recalled to France, where he was given the highest honors, in particular, his name was carved on the Arc de Triomphe. Bugeaud, who by that time had become a marshal, was appointed to the post of governor of Algeria in his place. The logic of this rearrangement was simple - with equally high commanding abilities and experience of both marshals, Bugeaut was favorably distinguished by decisiveness in conducting operations, sometimes bordering on adventurism, which was completely uncharacteristic of Vale's pragmatist. It was pressure and audacity, as it was then considered in Paris, that could bring victory to the French forces in Algeria. As it turned out later, the calculation was correct.
As soon as he took up a new position, Bugeaud developed a vigorous activity to strengthen the contingent of his troops, and also began to apply new tactics, largely based on the Clausel plan - control and retention of the most important strategic points, subject to maintaining constant communication between them. As an offensive strategy, the marshal chose pinpoint attacks on enemy settlements with their complete ruin. As a result, the enemy was left without bases and supplies, and was forced to retreat further into his territory.
Having brought the number of his forces to more than 70 thousand people by May, Bugeaud launched a full-scale offensive against the territories controlled by Abd al-Qadir. By the spring of the next year, the emir was pushed back to the Northern Sahara - he lost all the cities and fortified bases, most of his troops either dispersed or expressed obedience to the French.
Maneuvering warfare and the capitulation of the emir
The fact that the recalcitrant emir was not going to stop the war, no one from the French command doubted. Nevertheless, his appearance in the Sheliff River valley at the head of a 30,000-strong army at the end of December 1842 was a surprise for the colonial authorities. The tribes, which until recently recognized the power of the French, having learned about the return of the emir, raised an uprising. Bugeaud promptly assembled a strike group of troops and headed for the provinces in revolt. Abd al-Qadir chose to avoid a pitched battle, and began a series of maneuvers, pursuing the goal of throwing the French off the trail and withdrawing to a safe distance.
The emir's mobile headquarters, the so-called "smala", consisted of more than a thousand tents that could be installed or dismantled in the shortest possible time. The army was divided into many separate detachments, which, if necessary, gathered into a fist, struck, and again "dissolved" in the desert.
The French divisions failed to overtake the emir, and Bugeaud decided to resort to a new tactic, namely, to create his own "flying detachment" in the likeness of the Arabs, which, due to maneuverability and speed of movement, could overtake Abd al-Qadir. The command of this "special forces" was entrusted to one of the sons of King Louis-Philippe, the young Henry of Orleans, Duke of Omalsky.
The Duke set up his base in the village of Bogare, the closest settlement to the enemy. At the head of a detachment of cavalry, in early May, he began to survey the nearby areas of the desert. Soon he received a report from intelligence that Abd al-Qadir was encamped near the Tagil River. The duke, fearing that the enemy would once again hide, made a risky decision to abandon the wagon train, and lightly go through a swift march to the enemy's headquarters. The detachment made a day and a half transition through the waterless plains, and, finally, by the morning of August 16, the duke saw enemy tents through his telescope. Despite the fact that the French were fewer and exhausted by the difficult transition, Omalsky decided to take advantage of the surprise effect and attack the sleepy camp. The calculation turned out to be correct - for the Arabs, the swift cavalry attack of the French was a complete surprise, and they could not organize any serious resistance. The rout was complete - more than three hundred killed and 3,000 captured by the Arabs, while the French suffered almost no losses. Abd al-Qadir managed to escape, and he fled to Morocco, but his papers and treasury were in the hands of the enemy.
By the spring of 1844, the French managed to consolidate their success, and the conquest of Algeria could be considered a matter of course.
Meanwhile, Abd al-Qadir was engaged in difficult negotiations with the Sultan of Morocco, Abder-Rahman, who was eventually persuaded to jihad against France. The people of Morocco greeted the emir as a hero, and volunteers began to flock under his hand again.
On May 30, Moroccan troops suddenly crossed the border with Algeria and attacked the Lamoricière division, located in the town of Lella Maria. The French managed to repulse the attack and gain a foothold before the approach of the main forces, which arrived in time a few days later, led by Bugeaud himself. The French immediately threw back the enemy and occupied the city of Ushda in Morocco. Negotiations initiated by the governor did not bring any results, and both sides began to prepare for a decisive battle. Throughout June and July, both the French and the Moroccans waited and strengthened their positions. Finally, in early August, Bugeaud decided to take decisive action. Despite the enemy's advantage in numbers, the governor, as usual, relied on surprise and audacity, and, as before, did not lose. Under the cover of night on August 14, the French, built in one large rhombic square, strove for the Moroccan camp. Those, noticing the enemy, sent detachments of cavalry, but they were repulsed by rifle volleys of squares. The army of Bujo, pushing the enemy, wedged into the disposition of the main forces of the Sultan, and completed the defeat of the Moroccans.
In parallel with the successes on land, the French squadron bombed the Moroccan coast, destroying the cities of Tangier and Mogador.
Abder-Rahman, broken by military failures, requested negotiations, and on September 10 signed a peace treaty with the French, under which he undertook to withdraw all troops from the border with Algeria, continue to refrain from hostile actions against France and expel Abd al-Qadir from his country. In response, the French promised to leave Moroccan territory and not impose any indemnities on the Sultan.
Abd al-Qadir, with only a handful of loyal companions left, again went deep into the Sahara, from where he began to send out his envoys in order to incite the tribes subject to the French to revolt. These efforts bore fruit - in April 1845, a number of tribes revolted, but Bugeaud, with the help of tough and uncompromising peace, managed to suppress it.
Until the middle of 1847, Abd al-Qadir did not leave attempts to unleash a new holy war - under his leadership, uprisings of local tribes broke out here and there, his troops attacked the French camps, but invariably the emir, being in the minority, was defeated.
Finally, desperate to achieve victory in Algeria, Abd al-Qadir decides to attack the possessions of his former ally, the Moroccan sultan Abder-Rahman, who, according to the emir, "sold out" to the French. The recalcitrant Algerian leader planned to seize part of the territories from Morocco and create an independent Islamic emirate there.
The emir began secret preparations for the invasion, which he continued until the end of 1847, preparing supplies and sending out messengers to the tribes, primarily to the Kabils. But in the process of preparing this adventure, Abd al-Qadir did not take into account the real balance of power - the emir, over the years of confrontation with the French, was tired of the war, and was only a pale shadow of that brilliant strategist and commander who he was at the beginning of his struggle. As a result, the performance, having barely begun, was decisively suppressed by the numerically superior Sultan's army. Abd al-Qadir retreated to Algeria, pursued by the Moroccans, but Lamoricière's division was already waiting for him there. Squeezed between two armies, the emir withdrew to the Kerbus mountain pass, where he was overtaken on December 22 by a French detachment. Although Abd al-Qadir still had several thousand people at his disposal, he, tired of war and defeat, chose to accept his fate and laid down his arms, disbanding his army.
The French appreciated the perseverance and martial art of the emir, making the conditions of his captivity as comfortable as possible. For several years he lived in France, where, although formally under arrest, he was surrounded by honor. Napoleon III, who replaced Louis Philippe, granted the former emir complete freedom, appointing, in addition, to him a permanent pension. Abd al-Qadir traveled, lived for some time in Syria, where, during the events of the Damascus Massacre of 1860, he stood up for Christians persecuted by local fanatics. He devoted the rest of his days to literary work and travel. Abd al-Qadir died in Damascus in 1883.
For the French, after the capitulation of the emir, there were no more significant threats in Algeria, which since 1848 was officially declared the territory of France.
