The Battle of Douar Souadek, or Battle of Boukerker, was a military engagement between the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, and the

ALN Aluminium nitride ( Al N) is a solid nitride of aluminium. It has a high thermal conductivity of up to 321 W/(m·K) and is an electrical insulator. Its wurtzite phase (w-AlN) has a band gap of ~6 eV at room temperature and has a potent ...

Background

In the early morning hours of 1 November 1954, FLN ''maquisards'' (guerrillas) attacked military and civilian targets throughout Algeria in what became known as the ''

Toussaint Rouge (, "Red All Saints' Day"), also known as ("Bloody All-Saints' Day") is the name given to a series of 70 attacks committed by militant members of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) that took place on 1 November 1954—the Catholic fes ...

'' (Red

All-Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kno ...

). The country was divided into several Zones, later Wilayas , and each had a leader. The leader of Zone II, was

Mourad Didouche Mourad Didouche (1927–1955 in Kabyle: Diduc Muṛad, Arabic: ديدوش مراد ) was a veteran of the Algerian War of independence (1954–1962). Biography Mourad Didouche, nicknamed si Abdelkader, was born on July 13, 1927 at ...

, who was one of the six founders of the FLN. He regularly used

hit and run tactics Hit-and-run tactics are a tactical doctrine of using short surprise attacks, withdrawing before the enemy can respond in force, and constantly maneuvering to avoid full engagement with the enemy. The purpose is not to decisively defeat the en ...

to weaken local French elements, and he was also well known to visit individual maquis, to inspect, or train them.

Battle

On 18 January 1955,

, was at the head of a group of nine

Fellagha The ''Fellagha'', an Arabic word literally meaning "bandits" (الفلاقة, singular الفلاق), refers to groups of armed militants affiliated with anti-colonial movements in French North Africa. It most often is used to refer to armed Alge ...

s, in a local maquis called Douar Souadek located 12 km from the town of Condé-Smendou. He was most likely training them. They were armed with 6 rifles, and 6 pistols. According to the details reported by the '' La Dépêche de Constantine'' newspaper, about twenty French

gendarmes Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (literally, " ...

led by Lieutenant Malherbe had taken the direction of Douar Souadek in the dawn of 18 January 1955. On the spot, near the Boukerker wadi, they were ambushed by the aforementioned maquis. According to La Dépêche de Constantine'','' the battle began around 8:30 am. After only a few shots fired, a French gendarme was killed, and two others wounded, while the Algerians suffered no casualties. Seeing the scale of the engagement, Lieutenant Malherbe asked for reinforcements. At the end of the morning, three gendarmerie

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

s arrived from

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, Azzaba and

El Harrouch El Harrouch is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Skikda Province in north-eastern Algeria. It is located on the main N3 road south of Skikda and north of Constantine, Algeria, Constantine. Demographics The town of El Harrouch had a popu ...

, followed by two CRS companies, and reportedly a paratrooper one under the command of Paul Ducournau. Despite their initial successes, the ten Fellaghas got cornered by the numerically superior, and far better armed French units. Despite this, they resisted until about 5:15 pm. By the end of the battle 7 fellaghas died, two were wounded, and one was able to escape, albeit wounded. One of the killed was Mourad Didouche himself.

Identification of bodies

Ever since the beginning of the '' Organisation spéciale'', all officers and leaders had

Pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s, as to avoid identification. As such, the French army never realized that one of the killed resistance fighters was Mourad, as they thought that it was instead somebody called Abdelkader.

References

{{coord missing, Algeria Algerian war casualties Douar Souadek Douar Souadek Douar Souadek January 1955 events in Africa Douar Souadek

Background

Battle

Identification of bodies

See also

References