The First Expedition of Blida took place from 22 to 24 July 1830, during the

French conquest of Algeria The French invasion of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Deylik of Algiers, and the French consul escalated into a blockade, following which the July Monarchy of France inva ...

The Expedition

On 22 July 1830, Marshal de Bourmont organized a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

expedition on the city of Blida. On the early morning of 23 July, the French force consisting of 1,500 men and a squadron of 150

chasseurs ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army ori ...

departed from

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. The French reached the city at around 5:00 pm and were welcomed by locals who offered them fruits and drinks. Marshal de Bourmont installed himself in a large house bordered by a luxurious garden of orange trees not far from the city gates, while the troops made camp in the garden and the nearby cemetery. The night was quiet, but around 10:00 am on 24 July, a returning French party that had gone on a reconnaissance mission in the nearby

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

earlier in the morning was fired at from bushes and two French soldiers were wounded. General d'Esprez took six chasseurs and went about a mile up the river where he saw many armed men on the mountain. Although they merely observed the small French party without attacking, Desprez chose to head back to the city rather than go any further. Marshal de Bourmont decided it would be wiser to return to Algiers and ordered troops to get ready to depart at 1:00 pm. Two French artillerymen who had brought their horses to drink in a stream at the foot of the mountain were surprised and beheaded by kabyle warriors. At around midday, a firefight broke out in the city and

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Alphonse Blouquier de Trélan, Marshal de Bourmont's aide-de-camp, was mortally wounded after receiving a bullet in the lower abdomen. The French rapidly gathered in column formation and started marching back toward Algiers as thousands of kabyle warriors came down from mountain, soon joined by some inhabitants of Blida. The French column marched at regular pace, stopping occasionally to allow their artillery to fire into their pursuers. From 2:00 pm until the end of the day, the Algerians followed the French across the

Mitidja plain Mitidja, (Arabic: , Berber: Mettijet ⵎⴻⵜⵙⵉⵛⵝ) is a plain stretching along the outskirts of Algiers in northern Algeria. It is about long, with a width of . Traditionally devoted largely to agriculture and serving as the breadbasket o ...

, always kept at bay by the chasseurs on the flanks. Whenever they would get too close, French cavalry would charge to drive them away. The Prince of Schwarzenberg notably slayed two kabyle warriors with his sword. The last action of the day took place in a small

oleanders ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the Monotypic taxon, only species currently clas ...

grove North-East from

Boufarik Boufarik is a town in Blida Province, Algeria, approximately 30 km from Algiers. In 2008, its population was 57,162.popul ...

, after which the Algerian forces withdrew as night fell. After a one-hour resting halt, the French column resumed marching toward Algiers and reached

Birtouta Birtouta ( ar, بئر توتة) is a town and commune in Algiers Province, Algeria. , the commune had a total population of 30,575. Notable people See also *Communes of Algeria The municipalities of Algeria (Arabic: بلدية (singular)) f ...

around 11:00 pm. They spent the night in the town, where de Bourmont officially received his marshal baton from the hands of Viscount de Bois-le-Comte who had arrived from France earlier during the day. No fighting occurred on the next day and the French column reached Algiers by 1:00 pm on 25 July. The French troops withdrew in an orderly manner.

Aftermath

The fleeing of the French troops from Blida bolstered popular support for resistance against the French invaders. This was the first victory achieved by the Algerians since the French army landed at Sidi Fredj.

References

External links

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مقاومة مبكرة .. وطويلة ،المتيجة
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أهم المــعارك والمقاومات الشعبية الجــزائــرية
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La première résistance populaire contre les Francais etait née à Blida
(The First Popular Resistance Against the French Was Born in Blida) *
Notes historiques sur la Grande Kabylie de 1830 à 1838
(History Notes on Great Kabylie from 1830 to 1838) {{DEFAULTSORT:Blida, Battle of Battles involving France Battles involving Algeria French Algeria 1830 in Algeria Conflicts in 1830 19th century in Africa Battles involving the French Foreign Legion July 1830 events