The Battle of El-Moungar was a battle fought during the South-Oranese Campaign between a contingent of the French Army of Africa, mainly from the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

, and Moroccan tribesmen.

Background

In the early twentieth century, French troops in Algeria faced numerous incidents, attacks and looting by uncontrolled armed groups in the newly controlled areas to the south of

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

.''Historique de la bataille d'El Moungar'' by the French Ministry of Defence
/ref> Under the command of General Lyautey, 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 ...

's mission was to protect these areas newly occupied in the west of Algeria, near the poorly defined Moroccan boundaries. This loose boundary, between

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

and the

Sultanate of Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, promoted incursions and attacks by Moroccan tribesmen. On 17 August 1903, the first battle of the South-Oranese campaign took place in

Taghit Taghit ( ar, ﺗﺎﻏﻴﺖ) is a town and commune in Taghit District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. The town is an oasis watered by the underground Oued Zousfana, which runs along beside the dunes of the Grand Erg Occidental. Accordi ...

when a contingent of the French Foreign Legion was attacked by more than 1,000 well-equipped

Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

. For three days, the legionnaires repelled repeated attacks of an enemy more than 10 times their number, and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers, forcing them finally into retreat.

The battle

A few days after the

Battle of Taghit The Battle of Taghit was the siege of a fort held by a contingent of the French Army of Africa against Moroccan tribesmen during the South-Oranese Campaign. Background In the 1890s, the French administration and military called for the annexati ...

, 148 legionnaires of the 22nd mounted company, from the 2e REI, commanded by Captain Vauchez and Lieutenant Selchauhansen, 20

Spahi Spahis () were light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the indigenous populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, with personnel now r ...

s and two Mokhaznis were escorting a supply convoy, when they were ambushed at 9:30 am on 2 September by 3,000 Moroccans tribesmen. The half-company had halted to eat, no sentries had been posted and only a few cavalry pickets had been placed. The first volleys wounded or killed half of the detachment. Both officers and most of the non-commissioned officers were killed in the first stage of the fight. At 10:30 am,

Quartermaster Sergeant Quartermaster sergeant (QMS) is a class of rank or appointment in some armed forces, especially those of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and formerly also in the United States. Ireland Quartermaster sergeant () appointments in the Irish ...

(sergent-fourrier) Tisserand, who commanded the survivors, sent two spahi cavalrymen to Taghit for reinforcements. They immediately left. About forty survivors of the French force gathered on a nearby hill and under a scorching sun, on hot sand and without water, fought off the enemy for more than eight hours. Near the end of the battle, Tisserand, wounded, gave over command to

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

Detz; the highest ranked man still able. At 5 pm, they were relieved by Captain de Sulbielle, who rode from Taghit with his Spahis. At the sight of the approaching French cavalry, the Moroccans retreated in small groups.Jean-Paul Mahuault, L'épopée marocaine de la Légion étrangère, 1903-1934, ou, Trente années au Maroc, L'Harmattan, 2005.
/ref>

Aftermath

Total French losses were 38 dead and 46 wounded. A presidential decree granted to all survivors of the battle the

Colonial Medal The Colonial Medal (french: "Médaille Coloniale") was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the colonies, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colon ...

, and Tisserand was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. In spite of the courage shown by the legionnaires, the heavy losses suffered by the half-company and indications that inadequate precautions had led to the initial success of the ambush caused serious concern. The commander of the Ain Sefra military region was replaced and Brigadier General Hubert Lyautey appointed in his place.

References

Bibliography

Jean-Paul Mahuault, L'épopée marocaine de la Légion étrangère, 1903-1934, ou, Trente années au Maroc, L'Harmattan, 2005.
{{DEFAULTSORT:El-Moungar, Battle of Battles involving France Battles involving the French Foreign Legion Conflicts in 1903 September 1903 events