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IN THE NAME OF GOD THE COMPASSIONATE THE MERCIFUL
THIS DAY IN HISTORY:
*Subject: The Battle of Al Maktaa
*Date: The 28th of June 1835
*Place: Al Maktaa, Oran, Algeria
*Elapsed Time: Day for Day: 174 Years
*Main Historic Figure: Emir Abdel Kader.
At first , it would be of paramount historic importance to recall that in the late 18th century, Algeria was a part of what was called “the Barbary Coast” and For nearly 300 years it had been home to the cruiser ships of the daring and undefeated stubborn corsairs labelled “pirates” by their victims who raided the mainland of southern Europe, exacting tribute and taking numbers of the population off into slavery, as well as attacking vessels of the maritime powers sailing in the Mediterranean, including those of the not long independent United States.
Even the nowadays superpower, the United States and in 1797 had agreed to payment of an exorbitant tribute amounting to US$10 million over twelve years, in return for a promise that the Algerian corsairs would not molest United States shipping .
Meanwhile France, which had established valuable trading posts in the Regency following its revolution of 1789–94, had also suffered at the hands of the Algerian Pirates. After its disastrous defeat by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the French Navy held little sway in the Mediterranean.
The Algiers Regency under Ottoman rule saw an opportunity in this decline to assert the tributes and rents it charged to France. Then it awarded to England the trading concessions which had previously belonged to France. This provoked Napoleon in 1807 to instruct his military to survey the Algerian coastline, with a view to possible invasion.
The surveyor, Captain Boutin, identified precisely the best landing place where, 23 years later, France’s troops would land in force, taking the “formal” pretext for France’s invasion, the so called insult delivered to its Algiers’s Consul Pierre Duval on April 1927, when the Dey of Algiers had flicked a flywhisk on Duval‘s face in an argument over settlement of long standing financial claims by the Dey upon France and the failure of subsequent negotiations to resolve those issues.
It took less than three weeks for the French armed forces to achieve their formal victory in the summer of 1830. French dominion was formalized on July 5, 1830 by a surrender agreement which was forced on the Dey Hussein the Turkish ruler of Algiers, Five days later Hussein and his family went into exile in Naples.
As such and in view of the sudden and sad events , the burden has fallen on the 27 year old Emir Abd Al Kadir (6 September 1808 - 26 May 1883)a young Algerian military leader who is to lead the struggle against the French invasion, which he is seen as The first Algerian national hero. He is frequently known only by his first name, Abd Al Qadir, which is variously spelled Abd Al Kadir or Abdel Kader, Marshal Bugeaud the promoter of “La Terre brûlée” or “the scorched earth policy” in Algeria, when he first met Emir Abdel kader in the
“Tafna treaty” on the 03rd of May 1837 had to say this about the Emir in such awesome tune:
“He is a Man of genius, one of the species of the Prophet; he is pale and looks enough to resemble the portrait that one gave of Jesus Christ”.
He was born in El Gueitna near the town of Muaskar (Mascara) Western Algeria; his father was a Respectable Sheikh in the Qadiri Sufi order. In his childhood he learned to memorize the Holy Quran and was well trained in theological and linguistic studies, having an education far better than that of his peers. In 1825 he set out for hajj with his father.
While in Mecca he encountered Imam Shamil of Dagestan; the two spoke at length on different topics. He also traveled to Damascus and Baghdad, and visited the graves of famous Muslim Saints. This experience cemented his religious enthusiasm , and due to the French invasion, and within two years, Abd Al kader was made an Emir and with the loyalty of a number of tribes began a rebellion against the French, It is in this context that the Emir had to assume the shock of the two civilizations , on the field this shock took the shape of an armed struggle in an unequal fight where alone the bravery molded with high spiritual beliefs permitted to save Honour , on one side an army that had in its credit a 20 year of Napoleon conquests to impose upon Europe the spirit of the French revolution and on the other side heterogeneous and hasty gathered troops living on disorganized factions in almost permanent internal conflicts.
As a result of such unexpected situation and in the first “Official “encounter between the Emir and the French troops on that date of the 28th of June 1835, learning that the Emir is regrouping his troops (about 2000 horsemen and 800 infantrymen) near the plain of Sig, General Trézel was going to commit the most serious mistake in the history of wars, The general left Oran on the 26th of June 1835 , heading a column of 2600 of infantry men and a regiment of African hunters heavily equipped and was going to unexpectedly face the Emir’s vanguard in the dense forest of “Moulay Ismail”in a frontal attack as well as on the flanks on behalf of the detachment of recognition of the Emir’s troops.
What had to be only a mission of recognition was actually going to be a real nightmare for the French column, which shaken was going to be sunk in the most total confusion, instead of returning back to Oran, (about 40kms from Al –Mactaa), Trézel’s troops took their march forward to reach the shores of Sig toward sunset where they had to bivouac.
The second Trézel’s strategic blunder lied upon the cutting off of the enemy’s communication links with Oran by the Emir, denying Trézel any attempt to a breakthrough and was obliged to take the direction of Arzew Harbour, thus his third tactical mistake.
Knowing the landscape very well and observing the situation from close range, Emir Abdel kader sent 1000 infantrymen supported by 1000 horsemen behind so as to occupy the slopes of the defile thanks to his military genius that he learnt in situ and not in the famous military academies, the vice in place the pincers can enter into action and therefore direct the French troops towards the desired marshes.
The trap was successful, Trézel column was decimated and late in the evening of the 28th of June 1835, all was over and the toll was heavy above all from the French side more than 1000 losses and 1500 injured in addition to many prisoners. [/frame]
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THIS DAY IN HISTORY-The Battle of Al Maktaa The 28th of June 1835-01stPart
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