The Battle of Sidi Brahim was a battle at Sidi Brahim in

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 ...

between the troops of

Abdelkader El Djezairi Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in the ...

and French troops under Lieutenant-Colonel

Lucien de Montagnac Lucien-François de Montagnac (17 May 1803 – 23 September 1845) was a French lieutenant colonel. Sent to Africa in 1845, he was responsible for several massacres of civilians during the French conquest of Algeria and was killed at the Batt ...

from 22 to 25 September 1845. The French force was made up of the

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

troops of the 8th Infantry Battalion and the second squadron of the 2nd Regiment of Hussars.

Battle

The encounter was unplanned and poorly commanded by Montagnac, and went badly for the French troops. After a first encounter, the French's numbers were reduced from 450 to 82 chasseurs and hussars against hundreds of Algerians (Abd-el-Qader's never massed more than ca. 500 horsemen for pitched battle). Cornered, the chasseurs of the carabinier company took refuge in a marabout, from which they repulsed all assaults. After a siege lasting many days, without food or water and short of munitions, they were reduced to cutting up their musket balls in order to keep firing. Emir Abdelkader captured captain adjutant major Dutertre and taken under guard to the front of the marabout to demand the chasseurs' surrender, but instead used his time there to exhort the survivors to fight to the death, for which Abdelkader beheaded him. Abdelkader then demanded that the French bugler (Guillaume Rolland) sound the retreat, but he instead sounded the charge, whilst one chasseur replied to another of Abdelkader's other demands for their surrender with the word, ''Merde!'' (Shit). (in reference to Cambronne's answer at Waterloo). When the remaining 80 survivors completely ran out of munitions, they managed to break through the enemy lines with a bayonet charge, but only 16 of them managed to rejoin the French lines (5 of which died some days later). Among the dead was Montagnac himself. The remains of the soldiers killed at Sidi Brahim were gathered at Djemmaa Ghazaouet in the "Tombeau des Braves" then reburied at the Musée des Chasseurs at the old fort in Vincennes in 1965.

Legacy

The extreme bravery shown by the battalion led to its being nicknamed the ''battalion of Sidi-Brahim'' and the battle being written up among its battle honours. However, according to

Gilles Manceron The Gilles are the oldest and principal participants in the Carnival of Binche in Belgium. They go out on Shrove Tuesday from 4 am until late hours and dance to traditional songs. Other cities, such as La Louvière and Nivelles, have a traditi ...

, the soldiers "were led in quite an inconsiderate manner" by Colonel de Montagnac "whose writings boast, with no remorse, of several war crimes".Gilles Manceron, ''Marianne et les colonies'', La découverte, 2003, p.168 The expression "faire Sidi Brahim" became a motto of the Chasseurs (light infantry / mountain battalions). During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

7th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...

(7°BCA) took a German pass for several days and, lacking munitions, managed to repulse the German attack with stones. There the chasseurs won the nickname "schwarzen Teufel" (black devils), which later became "Blue Devils" (les Diables bleus), which they still use. The insignia of the 7th BCA is still a devil, in a hunting horn (representing the Chasseurs).

External links

*''Les Zouaves et les Chasseurs a Pied'', Duc d'Aumale, Henri d'Orléans - pseudonym - M. Lévy frères - 1859 - 184 pages *''Sidi-Brahim - 23, 24, 25 et 26 septembre 1845'', Esquisse Historique - Charleville - Imprimerie Nouvelle - 1889 - 58 pages

Notes

{{Algerian resistance against French invasion Conflicts in 1845 Sidi Brahim Sidi Brahim French Algeria 1845 in Algeria September 1845 events