![Moghazni-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Moghazni-2.jpg)
Moghaznis were
auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, u ...
to the ''Sections Administratives Spécialisées'' (
Specialized Administrative Sections) (
SAS) and the ''Sections Administratives Urbaines'' (Urban Administrative Sections} of 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 ...
during the
Algerian War
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
.
Numbering 20,000, they were responsible for protecting SAS whose maximum number was 688 at the end of 1958.
Organization
The Moghazni were organized into 30 to 40 men ''magzhen'' who reported to the district SAS officers. Many were mounted on horses who were more capable in rural Algeria. Moghazni wore standard French army fatigues with a red M1946
Bonnet de police.
Personnel
There were 3,500 locally recruited Moghazni in 1956, 20,000 in 1961, 15,000 in the spring of 1962.
[Gregor Mathias, Les Sections Administratives Spéciales en Algérie, entre idéal et réalité, 1955-1962. Paris, Harmattan/ Institut d’Etudes Africaines d’Aix en Provence, 1998, 256 p.]
Bibliography
* Nicolas d'Andoque, Guerre et paix en Algérie. L'épopée silencieuse des SAS : 1955-1962, (War and peace in Algeria. The silent epic of the SAS: 1955-1962), Paris: Société de production littéraire (Society of literary production), 1977
* Gregor Mathias, Les Sections Administratives Spéciales en Algérie, entre idéal et réalité, (The Special Administrative Sections in Algeria, Between Ideal and Reality) 1955-1962. Paris, Harmattan/Institut d’Etudes Africaines d’Aix en Provence, 1998, 256 p
Notes
{{reflist
See also
*
Harkis
''Harki'' (adjective from the Arabic ''harka'', standard Arabic ''haraka'' حركة, "war party" or "movement", i.e., a group of volunteers, especially soldiers) is the generic term for native Muslim Algerian who served as auxiliaries in the F ...
*
Goumier
The Moroccan Goumiers (french: Les Goumiers Marocains) were indigenous Moroccan soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army of Africa, between 1908 and 1956. While nominally in the service of the Sultan of Morocco, they s ...
s
*
Regulares
The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry ...
*
Razakars Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas.
In Pakista ...
Algerian War
Contemporary French history
Auxiliary units and formations
Colonial troops