The Battle of Taghit was the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

of a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

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 annexation of the

Touat Tuat, or Touat, is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara. Geography Tuat lies to the south of the Grand Erg Occidental, to th ...

, the

Gourara Tuat, or Touat, is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara. Geography Tuat lies to the south of the Grand Erg Occidental, to ...

and the Tidikelt, a complex that had controlled by tribes under the domination the Moroccan Empire for many centuries prior to the arrival of the French in Algeria. An armed conflict opposed French 19th Corps Oran and Algiers divisions to the Aït Khabbash, a fraction of the Moroccan Aït Ounbgui ''khams'' of the

Aït Atta The Ait Atta (Berber language: Ayt Ɛeṭṭa, ⴰⵢⵜ ⵄⵟⵟⴰ) are a large Berber tribal confederation of South eastern Morocco, estimated to number about 330,000 as of 1960. They are divided into "five fifths" (''khams khmas''), all said t ...

confederation. The conflict ended with the annexation of the Touat-Gourara-Tidikelt complex by France in 1901. Aftermath, France 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 ...

. 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 tribesmen. France also sought to expand their territories westwards towards Bechar, and these attacks gave them a

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

to do so. In turn several tribes around the region decided to form a pan-tribal alliance called "Harka", led by a man called Ba Sidi, and a member of the

Alaouite dynasty The Alawi dynasty ( ar, سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين, translit=sulālat al-ʿalawiyyīn al-fīlāliyyīn) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Morocco, Moroccan royal family and re ...

called Mouley Mustapha, who sought to gain prestige out of this attack.

The battle

The tribal coalition, armed mainly with

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

and

muzzleloading Muzzleloading is the shooting sport of firing muzzleloading guns. Muzzleloading guns, both antique and reproduction, are used for target shooting, hunting, historical re-enactment and historical research. The sport originated in the United States ...

guns, composed of 4,000 warriors, and 5,000

camp follower Camp followers are civilians who follow armies. There are two common types of camp followers; first, the wives and children of soldiers, who follow their spouse or parent's army from place to place; the second type of camp followers have histori ...

s arrived at Taghit on 17 August. During four days they besieged the outpost and its French troop, but the fierce defense of the garrison and the several

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...

s ordered by Captain de Susbielle weakened the tribesmen. Finally on 20 August reinforcements arrived, which, along with other factors, forced the tribal coalition to disperse and flee into the desert.

French units involved

* 7th Company of the 2nd Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs led by Captain Guibert * A Platoon of the Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa led by Captain Mariande * A Platoon of the 22nd Mounted Company of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment led by Lieutenant Pointurier * 60 Horsemen of the

makhzen Makhzen (Arabic: , Berber: ''Lmexzen'') is the governing institution in Morocco and in pre-1957 Tunisia, centered on the monarch and consisting of royal notables, top-ranking military personnel, landowners, security service bosses, civil servant ...

of Taghit led by Lieutenant de Ganay * 60 Horsemen of the makhzen of Béni-Abbés led by Lieutenant de Lachaux

Aftermath

A few days after the battle of Taghit, 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 2 Mokhaznis, forming part of escorting a supply convoy, were ambushed, on September 2, by 3,000 Moroccans tribesmen, at El-Moungar.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taghit, Battle of Battles involving France Battles involving the French Foreign Legion Conflicts in 1903 August 1903 events