Mers El Kébir ( ar, المرسى الكبير, translit=al-Marsā al-Kabīr, lit=The Great Harbor ) is a port on the

Mediterranean Sea 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 ea ...

, near

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 ...

in Oran Province, northwest

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. It is famous for the attack on the French fleet in 1940, in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

Originally a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

port called ''Portus Divinus'', Mers-el-Kébir became an Almohad naval arsenal in the 12th century, fell under the rulers of the

Kingdom of Tlemcen The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen ( ar, الزيانيون) was a Berber kingdom in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached Sijilm ...

in the 13th century, and eventually became a center of pirate activity around 1492. It was fought over by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, Portuguese (defeated in the 1501 Battle of Mers El Kebir by

Abu Abdallah IV Abu Abdallah IV or Abu Abdallah Mohammed IV () (ruled 1468–1504) was a Sultan of the Kingdom of Tlemcen in Algeria. He was a son of Abu Abdallah III and was succeeded by his son Abu Abdallah V. During his reign he defeated Portugal in the batt ...

) and Spanish (defeated in the 1507 Battle of Mers-el-Kébir by Abu Abd Allah V), with the Spanish (who named it ''Mazalquivir'') capturing it in 1505 under

Cardinal Cisneros Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. Mazalquivir was the base used to capture neighbouring

in 1509. The Spanish held both cities until 1708, when they were driven out by

Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

Mustapha Ben Youssef Mustapha Bouchelaghem, also known as Bey Bouchelaghem was the Bey of the Western Beylik from 1686 to 1734/37. Origins and early life Mustapha, born as Mustapha ben Youcef was the son of an Algerian Arabic man called Youcef el-Mesrati, a noble f ...

(also known as ''Bouchelaghem''). The Spanish returned in 1732 when the armada of the

Duke of Montemar Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

was victorious in the

Battle of Aïn-el-Turk The Spanish conquest of Oran and Mers el-Kebir took place from 15 June to 2 July 1732, between the Kingdom of Spain and the Deylik of Algiers. The great Spanish expedition led by Don José Carrillo de Albornoz, Duke of Montemar and Don Francisc ...

and again took Oran and Mazalquivir. Both cities were held until 1792, when they were sold by

King Carlos IV , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father =Charles III of Spain , mother =Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place =P ...

to the Dey of Algiers following a siege by the forces of the Dey. MHNT PHa 138 Zx11

The French occupied it in 1830, and renamed it Saint André de Mers-el-Kébir, enhancing the port in 1868 with an eponymous lighthouse; the latter was destroyed in World War II.

World War II

Croiseur de bataille Strasbourg 03-07-1940

Following the German defeat of France in 1940, a portion of the French fleet became holed up in the port. On 3 July 1940,

Force H Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place within the ...

of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, led by Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville, attacked the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

's fleet at Mers-el-Kébir after the French refused to accede to any of Somerville's demands which were designed to ensure the French Navy would not join forces with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

like the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

. The attack was successful, although it fueled strong anti-British sentiment in France. However, Britain's resolve against Nazi Germany and France was demonstrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Admiral Somerville sank or shelled three of Gensoul's ships, killing 1,300 sailors.

Post World War II

After World War II, France used its naval base at Mers-el-Kébir to assist in atomic tests, the base was substantially developed by the French in 1953. The Évian Accords of 18 March 1962, which recognized Algerian independence, allowed France to maintain its base for 15 years; however, France withdrew five years later in 1967. Google Earth imagery has confirmed that a sizeable number of the Algerian National Navy use the naval base at Mers El Kébir. Including the navy's Kilo-class submarine fleet of six boats; as well as other frigates and corvettes.

References

External links

A plan of the Mers-el-Kébir anchorage
*
Accueil Kébir
*
MERS EL KEBIR 1940

Mers-el-Kebir – A Battle Between Friends
by Irwin J. Kappes {{DEFAULTSORT:Mers El Kebir Aïn El Turk District Communes of Oran Province Former Spanish colonies

History

World War II

Post World War II

See also

References

External links