The First Battle of Boudouaou in 25–26 May 1837, 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 ...
, pitted the
troupes coloniales
The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...
under Colonel
Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of
Kabylia
Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...
of the ''
Igawawen
Igawawen or Gawawa, mostly known as Zwawa (in Kabyle: Igawawen, in Arabic: زواوة, and in Latin: Jubaleni''Revue archéologique, Société française d'archéologie classique'' (in French), p. 28) were a group of Kabyle tribes inhabiting the ...
''.
Historical Context
![Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Colonel_Maximilien_Joseph_Schauenburg_4.jpg)
When
Emir Abdelkader
Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; ar, عبد القادر ابن محي الدين '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Hassani El Djazairi, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggl ...
was preparing to negotiate a truce with the French invaders in 1837 in order to devote himself to building his ''
Emirate
An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
'' which would then encircle the
Casbah of Algiers
The Casbah ( ar, قصبة, ''qaṣba'', meaning citadel) is the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. In 1992, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed ' ...
, he then stepped up his attacks against agricultural farms and French military posts in
Mitidja
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 ...
to balance the balance of power to its advantage.
He then set up his command center in
Titteri
The Titteri ( ar, جبل التيطري, ber, Tittri) is a historical region in Algeria. It is located in the mountainous area of the southern Tell Atlas in the Atlas Mountains.
Geography
The Titteri was a former administrative division of the R ...
mountain range and, from 8 May 1837, caused an insurrection of the
Kabyles
The Kabyle people ( kab, Izwawen or ''Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', ) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking pop ...
of the
Khachna
The Khachna Range ( ar, جبال الخشنة, ''Jibal Khashna''; Berber ''Adrar n Kheshna'') is a mountain range of the Tell Atlas, part of the Atlas Mountain System. It is located in Kabylie, Algeria.
Geography
The ''Khachna'' is a massif m ...
mountain range, the
Beni Aïcha
is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni (stylized as BENI).
She was initially best known fo ...
region and the
Issers
Isser, formerly spelled Issers ( ar, يسر, kab, ⵉⵙⴻⵔ) is a town and commune in Boumerdès Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 27,990. As of the latest census it has 32,580 residents.
Isser is locate ...
plain to the east of the rich plain of ''Mitidja''.
This is how the attack on the ''Mercier farm'' in
Réghaïa by the rebels commanded by
Emir Mustapha
Mustapha ibn Muhieddine (1814–1863; ar, مصطفى ابن محيي الدين '), known as Emir Mustapha, Sidi Moustafa, Moustafa El Hassani El Djazairi, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the Frenc ...
, brother of ''Emir Abdelkader'', was going to create an already fragile military shift between the ''French soldiers'' and the ''Kabyle rebels'' who had imposed themselves and content to reign east of the since the fall of power in
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 ...
during 1830.
This attack was followed by looting and sacking of this agricultural farm overlooking the
Kabyle country, and this upheaval at the gates of ''Algiers'' forced Governor General
Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont
Charles-Marie Denys, comte de Damrémont (8 February 1783–12 October 1837) was a French general and military governor of French Algeria. He was killed in combat during the siege of Constantine.
Early life
Charles-Marie Denys was born in Cha ...
and his lieutenant General
Alexandre Charles Perrégaux to undertake a military expedition on 17 May 1837. on the ''Beni Aïcha'' and the
Issers
Isser, formerly spelled Issers ( ar, يسر, kab, ⵉⵙⴻⵔ) is a town and commune in Boumerdès Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 27,990. As of the latest census it has 32,580 residents.
Isser is locate ...
to counter the allies of ''Emir Abdelkader'' and push them back towards the eastern shore of
Oued Isser
The Oued Isser is a river of Algeria. It begins in Médéa Province, is the main river, with Oued Sébaou of the Medea, which runs through the Lower Kabylie of Djurdjura (or the current province of Boumerdès) Wilaya of Bouira, then flows into ...
.
The bitter failure that Colonel
Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg suffered during the expedition to the ''Col des Beni Aïcha'' during the day of 18 May 1837 because of the bad weather which had fallen on his military column in this spring season and because of its ignorance of the marshy and bushy terrain of the ''Beni Aïcha'' region around
Meraldene River
The Oued Meraldene or Oued Merabtene, also called Oued Bourdine, is a river of Algeria located in Kabylia within the framework of the Province of Boumerdès.
Presentation
The ''Meraldène'' stream is one of the main tributaries of the Boumerd ...
, dealt a terrible blow to the morale of the
troupes coloniales
The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...
engaged in the expedition, but also to the soldiers who had remained stationed in a military camp in the joint ownership of
Boudouaou.
The ''Kabyles'' of ''Beni Aïcha'' under the direction of the marabout
Cheikh Ali Boushaki
Zawiyet Sidi Brahim Boushaki ( ar, زاوية سيدي إبراهيم البوسحاقي) or Zawiyet Thénia is a zawiya of the Rahmaniyya Sufi brotherhood located in Boumerdès Province within lower Kabylia of Algeria.
Construction
The zaw ...
had been reinforced and backed up by the reinforcements arrived from
Laazib Zamoum
''For the Sufi order of Tamegroute, Morocco see Nasiriyya.''
Naciria (Arabic الناصرية, Kabyle ''Leɛzib n Zeɛmum'') is a town and commune in Boumerdès Province, Algeria, between Bordj Menaïel to the north and the mountain of Sidi Ali ...
under the direction of
Cheikh Ben Zamoum, and who all together thwarted the expedition of Colonel ''Schauenburg'' who is then withdrawn in the haste and the rout towards the camp of ''Boudouaou'' to spare its troops of a programmed and imminent decimation.
Boudouaou Camp
![Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Colonel_Maximilien_Joseph_Schauenburg_3.jpg)
When Colonel ''Schauenburg'' brought back from the ''Col des Beni Aïcha'' on 19 May 1837 his three thousand soldiers to the ''Boudouaou camp'' by a very strong sustained march to flee the ''Kabyles'' who were defending their land, they then found a supply convoy there to meet their food needs.
Indeed, the failure of the first expedition to
Kabylia
Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...
was also due to the non-arrival of General ''Perrégaux'' who had been prevented from landing on the shore of
Zemmouri El Bahri
Zemmouri El Bahri is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria.
Location
The village is surrounded by Keddache River and the towns of Thénia and Zemmouri in the ''Khachna'' mountain range.
History
French conquest
* Expedition ...
near the mouth of
Oued Merdja with his thousand soldiers and provisions of food, and this because of the storm which had hit the ' and which prevented his ship from reaching the shores of ''Kabylia''.
The ''Boudouaou camp'' allowed these French soldiers to withdraw safely after having consumed all their food which was only enough for three days of expedition, and this supply convoy found in ''Boudouaou'' fell at the peak to fill the bags of the soldiers who had emptied in those cold and harsh days.
Colonel ''Schauenburg'' took on his return from the valley of ''Oued Meraldene'' to ''Boudouaou'' a winding path along the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
sea near the mouth of in order to guard and protect the rear and flanks of his military troop.
But when the French column was going to dodge the harassment of the rebels which had lasted since the morning, and was going to arrive at a natural fountain to quench their thirst before reaching ''Boudouaou'', the kabyles of ''Cheikh Ali Boushaki'' and of ''Cheikh Ben Zamoum'' attempted a double attack on ''Schauenburgs troops.
Indeed, the ''Amraoua'' cavalry undertook a lateral attack on the beach of the sea of
Boudouaou El Bahri, while the ''Kabyle'' infantry of the ''Beni Aïcha'' was stationed on the heights to surround and attack the French invaders.
Colonel ''Schauenburg'' had guessed this movement of the ''Kabyles'', and he ordered fire shells to be fired from two pieces of mountain, and to launch scuffles of the infantry which was ambushed.
This ''French'' response then stopped the ''Kabyle'' riders, while an offensive return of the soldiers was carried out trying to outflank the ''Kabyles'', and this gave the column time to cross the parade which preceded the haven of peace of ''Boudouaou''.
The ''Kabyles'' temporarily contented themselves with tracking down the French to ''Boudouaou'' and did not continue their pursuit to the military camp.
General ''Damrémont'' took advantage of this escapade and this withdrawal, hoping that the ''Kabyle'' uprising was going to abort, and believed to be able to have military troops to promote an expedition to the West of Algeria to reinforce General
Thomas Robert Bugeaud
Thomas Robert Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie, duc d'Isly (15 October 178410 June 1849) was a Marshal of France and Governor-General of Algeria.
Early life
He was born at Limoges, a member of a noble family of Périgord (Occitania), the yo ...
(1784–1849).
But ''Damrémont'' did not order to leave the valley of Boudouaou, and he wanted to perpetuate the French presence at the entrance of Kabylia by permanently threatening the ''Beni Aïcha'' and the ''Issers'', and this by the establishment of a fortified and entrenched camp at ''Boudouaou'', which is a strategic position equidistant from the various valleys of
Sebaou The Sebaou River, or Oued Sebaou (''Asif n Sabaw'' in Kabyle, ''Wād Sībāw'' or ''Wād Nissa'' in Arabic) is the main river of the western Kabylie region of Algeria (roughly corresponding to the present-day Tizi Ouzou Province), which flows into ...
,
Issers
Isser, formerly spelled Issers ( ar, يسر, kab, ⵉⵙⴻⵔ) is a town and commune in Boumerdès Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 27,990. As of the latest census it has 32,580 residents.
Isser is locate ...
and
Meraldene
Meraldene or Merabtene is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria.
Location
The village is surrounded by Meraldene River, the Meraldene Dam and the town of Thénia in the Khachna mountain range.
Zawiya
* Zawiyet Sidi Bous ...
on the one hand and the
Mitidja
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 ...
plain on the other.
Garrison
![Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Colonel_Maximilien_Joseph_Schauenburg_5.jpg)
From 8 May to 25 May 1837, the ''Emir Abdelkader'' forced General ''Damrémont'' to mobilize a garrison and a body of troops stationed in the ''Boudouaou camp'' in a stronghold at the entrance to ''Kabylia'' in order to defend ''Algiers'' against a possible attack by rebels and ''Kabyle'' dissidents.
These hundreds of French soldiers posted and exposed in the Boudouaou ravine were already a sign of success for ''Emir Abdelkader'' to have forced the French to build one more isolated military post, with all the embarrassments and all the dangers to the soldiers involved in each new sedentary establishment.
The garrison that was maintained at Boudouaou was made up of only one battalion, which was a latent and indirect victory for the Kabyle who hoped for a more striking and immediate triumph by attacking this reduced number of French soldiers who had been left behind on the spot to raise the redoubt.
Battle
The leaders of the Kabyle coalition, ''Cheikh Ali Boushaki'' and ''Cheikh Ben Zamoum'', did not miss such a great opportunity to attack with superior Algerian forces this weak detachment of French soldiers, before their work of building the camp of Boudouaou protected and sheltered them from rebel attacks.
The construction and the shoulder of the camp had still very little to be completed, when at sunrise of 25 May 1837 about five thousand five hundred (5.500) Kabyles on foot and five hundred (500) horsemen on horseback appeared on the east bank of the ''Oued Boudouaou'', in front of the French bivouac.
The French soldiers surprised in the camp by the Kabyle attack were then commanded by the battalion chief the Commandant ''
Antoine de La Torré'' (1787-1851), of the 2nd light regiment, and they were then only nine hundred (900) infantrymen, of the 2nd light regiment and 48th line regiment, and forty-five (45) riders on horse, of the 1st hunter regiment, with two mountain howitzers supplied with four shots.
Gallery
File:Abd al-Qadir.jpg, Emir Abdelkader
Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; ar, عبد القادر ابن محي الدين '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Hassani El Djazairi, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggl ...
File:Damrémont par Julien.jpg, Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont
Charles-Marie Denys, comte de Damrémont (8 February 1783–12 October 1837) was a French general and military governor of French Algeria. He was killed in combat during the siege of Constantine.
Early life
Charles-Marie Denys was born in Cha ...
File:Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg 2.jpg, Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg
File:Buste du général Perregaux.jpg, Alexandre Charles Perrégaux
File:Col de Ténia.jpg, Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha
The Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of ''Beni Aïcha'' of the ''Igawawen''.
Historical Contex ...
(1837)
See also
*
Emir Abdelkader
Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; ar, عبد القادر ابن محي الدين '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Hassani El Djazairi, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggl ...
*
Emirate of Abdelkader
The Emirate of Mascara, Emirate of Abd al-Qadir, or the Resistance of Mascara, was founded by Abd al-Qadir al-Jazairi with the allegiance of the people of Algeria to resist the French conquest of Algeria with its first capital at Mascara the ...
*
Igawawen
Igawawen or Gawawa, mostly known as Zwawa (in Kabyle: Igawawen, in Arabic: زواوة, and in Latin: Jubaleni''Revue archéologique, Société française d'archéologie classique'' (in French), p. 28) were a group of Kabyle tribes inhabiting 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 ...
*
First Raid on Reghaïa (1837)
*
Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha
The Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of ''Beni Aïcha'' of the ''Igawawen''.
Historical Contex ...
(1837)
*
First Battle of the Issers
The First Battle of the Issers in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under General Perrégaux and Colonel Schauenburg against the troops of Kabylia of the ''Igawawen''.
Background
The ceasefire si ...
(1837)
*
List of French governors of Algeria
In 1830, in the days before the outbreak of the July Revolution against the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration in France, the French conquest of Algeria, conquest of Algeria was initiated by Charles X as an attempt to increas ...
*
Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont
Charles-Marie Denys, comte de Damrémont (8 February 1783–12 October 1837) was a French general and military governor of French Algeria. He was killed in combat during the siege of Constantine.
Early life
Charles-Marie Denys was born in Cha ...
*
Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg
*
Alexandre Charles Perrégaux
*
Antoine de La Torré
External links
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Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boudouaou, First Battle Of
French conquest of Algeria
Conflicts in 1837
1837 in Algeria
Battles involving Algeria
Battles involving France
May 1837 events
1830s in Algeria
Invasions by France
Rebellions in Algeria