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The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
(joined by
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1924) and the
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
tribes of the mountainous
Rif The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...
region of northern
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 ...
. Led by
Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...
, the Riffians at first inflicted several defeats on the Spanish forces by using
guerrilla tactics Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...
and captured European weapons. After France's military intervention against Abd el-Krim's forces and the major landing of Spanish troops at
Al Hoceima Al Hoceima ( ber, translit=Lḥusima, label= Riffian-Berber, ⵍⵃⵓⵙⵉⵎⴰ; ar, الحسيمة; '' es, Alhucemas'') is a Riffian city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It i ...
, considered the first amphibious landing in history to involve the use of
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s and
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
, Abd el-Krim surrendered and was taken into exile. In July 1909, Spanish workers constructing a rail-bridge providing access to iron mines near
Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
were attacked by Rifian tribesmen. This incident led to the summoning of reinforcements from Spain itself. A series of skirmishes over the following weeks cost the Spanish over a thousand casualties. By September, the Spanish Army had 40,000 troops in northern Morocco and had occupied the tribal regions to the south and southeast of Melilla. The military operations in
Jebala The Jebala ( ar, جبالة, Jbāla}) or Jebala are a tribal confederation inhabiting an area in north-west Morocco from the town of Ketema to the west. The Jbala region (from Moroccan Arabic ''jbāl'' (pl.) (جبال ‘mountains’) thus occupie ...
, in the Moroccan west, began in 1911 with the
Larache Larache ( ar, العرايش, al-'Araysh) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast, where the Loukkos River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Larache is one of the most important cities of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. Many ...
landing. Spain worked to subdue a large part of the most violent areas until 1914, a slow process of consolidation of frontiers that lasted until 1919, due to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The following year, after the signing of the
Treaty of Fez The Treaty of Fes ( ar, معاهدة فاس, ), officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sherifien Empire (), was a treaty signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid ...
, the northern Moroccan area was adjudicated to Spain as a protectorate. The Riffian populations strongly resisted the Spanish, unleashing a conflict that would last for several years. In 1921, in an attempt to consolidate control of the region, the Spanish troops suffered the
Disaster of Annual The Battle of Annual was fought on 22 July 1921 at Annual, Morocco, Annual, in northeastern Morocco, between the Spanish Army and Rifians, Rifian Berbers during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, which is almost always ref ...
in addition to a rebellion led by Rifian leader Abd el-Krim. As a result, the Spanish retreated to a few fortified positions while Abd el-Krim ultimately created an entire independent state: the
Republic of the Rif The Republic of the Rif ( Tarifit: ''Tagduda n Arrif'', ''Jumhūriyya ar-Rīf''), unofficially The Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the Rif, also recorded as the Riff, was a short-lived republic in northern Morocco that existed between 19 ...
. The development of the conflict and its end coincided with the
dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...
, who took on command of the campaign from 1924 to 1927. In addition, and after the Battle of Uarga in 1925, the French intervened in the conflict and established a joint collaboration with Spain that culminated in the
Alhucemas landing The Alhucemas landing ( es, Desembarco de Alhucemas; also known as Al Hoceima landing) was a landing operation which took place on 8 September 1925 at Alhucemas by the Spanish Army and Navy and, in lesser numbers, an allied French naval and aeri ...
, which proved a turning point. The Spanish also used chemical weapons during the conflict. By 1926, the area had been pacified; Abd-el-Krim surrendered that year, and Spain gained effective control of the protectorate's territory at last. The Rif War is still considered controversial among historians. Some see in it a harbinger of the decolonization process in North Africa. Others consider it one of the last colonial wars, as it was the decision of the Spanish to conquer the Rif – nominally part of their Moroccan protectorate but ''de facto'' independent – that catalyzed the entry of France in 1924. The Rif War left a deep memory both in Spain and in Morocco. The Riffian insurgency of the 1920s can be interpreted as a precursor to the
Algerian War of Independence 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 ...
, which took place three decades later.


Origins

Spain, 13 kilometers across the
Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...
from Africa, claimed influence over the Morocco region at the
Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence ...
(1884-1885). By the early 20th century, Morocco was divided into protectorates ruled by France and Spain. The Rif region had been assigned to Spain, but given that the Sultans of Morocco had been unable to exert control over the region, Spanish sovereignty over the Rif was strictly ''
de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
'' with little practical control. For centuries, the Berber tribes of the Rif had fought off any attempt of outsiders to impose control on them.Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005 page 273. While the Rif mountains were visible to Europeans from ships in the Mediterranean Sea, Europeans had rarely if ever ventured into the area.
Walter Burton Harris Walter Burton Harris (29 August 1866 – 4 April 1933) was a journalist, writer, traveller and socialite who achieved fame for his writings on Morocco, where he worked for many years as special correspondent for ''The Times''. He settled in the ...
, the Morocco correspondent for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', who covered the war, wrote that as late as 1912 only "one or two Europeans had been able to visit the cedar forests that lie south of Fez. A few had traveled in the southern Atlas and pushed on into the Sus...and that was almost all". As Harris wrote, the Berbers "were often as inhospitable to the Arab as they were to the foreigner", and generally killed any outsiders who ventured into their territory.
Vincent Sheean James Vincent Sheean (December 5, 1899, Pana, Illinois – March 16, 1975, Arolo, Frz. of Leggiuno, Italy) was an American journalist and novelist. Career Sheean's most famous work was ''Personal History'' (New York: Doubleday, 1935). It wo ...
, who covered the war for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', wrote that the Rif was a truly beautiful countryside of "Crimson mountains flung against a sky of hieratic blue, gorges magnificent and terrifying, peaceful green valleys between protecting precipices", a place that reminded him of his native Colorado. The Rif was also rich in high-grade iron, which could be easily extracted via
open pit mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...
.Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005 page 274. The promise of the Spanish state collecting revenues in the form of taxes and royalties from iron mining here was an incentive for it to bring the Rif under its control. The Crown granted the concession to mine iron in the Rif to the millionaire Don
Horacio Echevarrieta Horacio Echevarrieta Maruri (15 September 1870 – 20 May 1963) was a Spanish businessman, banker, industrialist, patron of the arts, politician and diplomatic mediator. In 1927, he founded Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S. A. Operadora, now ...
. By 1920 he had brought out 800,000 tons of valuable high grade iron through relatively inexpensive open pit mining. Though profitable, iron mining caused much environmental damage and required the displacement of the native people. As they received no share of the profits, the Rifians soon began to oppose the mining in their territory. When King
Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
ascended to the throne in 1886, Spain was considered a world power, with colonies in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. But in the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
, Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines in 1898, and sold the
Mariana Mariana may refer to: Literature * ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens * ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson * ''Mariana'' (Vaz novel), a 1997 novel by Katherine Vaz Music *"Mariana", a so ...
and
Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
to Germany the following year; reducing the once great
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
to only a few footholds on the Moroccan coast and
Spanish Guinea Spanish Guinea (Spanish: ''Guinea Española'') was a set of insular and continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 as Equatorial G ...
. To compensate for the losses in the Americas and Asia, there emerged a powerful '' Africanist'' faction in Spain led by Alfonso, who wanted a new empire in Africa. Finally, many within the politically powerful
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, preached the need for a new crusade to continue the ''
Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
'' by conquering Morocco, adding their voices to the ''Africanist'' choir. For all these reasons, Spain began pushing into the Rif in 1909.


Forces involved


Rifian forces

The Berber tribesmen had a long tradition of fierce fighting skills, combined with high standards of fieldcraft and marksmanship. They were capably led by
Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...
, who showed both military and political expertise. However, the Rifian regular army was never a very large force. The elite of the Rifian forces formed regular units which according to Abd el-Krim, quoted by the Spanish General
Manuel Goded Manuel Goded Llopis (15 October 1882 – 12 August 1936) was a Spanish Army general who was one of the key figures in the July 1936 revolt against the democratically elected Second Spanish Republic. Having unsuccessfully led an attempted insur ...
, numbered 6,000 to 7,000. Other sources put it much lower, at around 2,000 to 3,000.C. R. Pennell
''A Country with a government and a Flag: The Rif War in Morocco, 1921–1926''
Outwell, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England: Middle East & North African Studies Press Ltd, 1986, , page 132; (University of Melbourne – University Library Digital Repository)
The remaining Rifians were tribal militia selected by their Caids; they were not liable to serve away from their homes and farms for more than 15 consecutive days. General Goded estimated that at their peak, in June 1924, the Rifian forces numbered about 80,000 men,"Rebels in the Rif" pages 149–152, David S. Woolman, Stanford University Press, 1968 although
Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...
was never able to arm more than 20,000 men at a time. However, this force was largely adequate in the early stages of the war. In the final days of the war, Rifian forces numbered about 12,000 men. In addition, Rifian forces were not well armed, with weapons badly maintained and in poor condition.Pennell, C. R.; page 214


Spanish forces

Initially, the Spanish forces in Morocco were largely composed of conscripts and reservists from Spain itself. These "Peninsular" troops were poorly supplied and prepared, few had marksmanship skills and proper battle training, and widespread corruption was reported amongst the officer corps, reducing supplies and morale. Of the Spanish troops in Morocco in 1921, well over half were completely illiterate conscripts from the poorest elements of Spanish society who had been sent to Morocco with minimal training. Despite assurances from General
Manuel Fernández Silvestre Manuel Fernández Silvestre (December 16, 1871 – July 22, 1921) was a Spanish general. Silvestre was the son of a lieutenant colonel of artillery, Victor Fernández and Eleuteria Silvestre. In 1889 he enrolled in the Toledo Infantry Academy ...
that his equipment was sufficient to defeat the Rifians, in fact about three-quarters of the rifles at the Melilla arsenal were in shoddy condition due to poor maintenance, and a report from late 1920, which Spanish commanders never bothered to read, warned that many of the rifles held there were either unusable or more of a danger to the soldier firing them than to the enemy.Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies Great Military Disasters and the Generals Behind Them'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005 page 278 The average Spanish soldier in Morocco in 1921 was paid the equivalent of thirty-four US cents per day, and lived on a simple diet of coffee, bread, beans, rice and the odd piece of meat. Many soldiers bartered their rifles and ammunition at the local markets in exchange for fresh vegetables. The barracks that the soldiers lived in were unsanitary, and medical care at the few hospitals was very poor. Up in the mountains, Spanish soldiers lived in small outposts known as ''blocaos'', which the American historian Stanley Payne observed: "Many of these lacked any sort of toilet, and the soldier who ventured out of the filthy bunker risked exposure to the fire of lurking tribesmen".Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies Great Military Disasters and the Generals Behind Them'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005 page 278. Continuing a practice first begun in Cuba, corruption flourished amongst the venal Spanish officer corps, with goods meant for the troops being sold on the black market and the funds intended to build roads and railroads in Morocco ending up in the pockets of senior officers. A high number of Spanish officers could not read maps, which explains why Spanish units so frequently got lost in the Rif mountains. In general, studying war was not considered to be a good use of an officer's time, and most officers devoted their time in Melilla in words of the American journalist James Perry to "gambling and whoring, sometimes molesting the native Moorish women". Morale in the Army was extremely poor and most Spanish soldiers just wanted to go home and leave Morocco forever. Because of the prostitutes from Spain, who attached themselves in great number to the Spanish bases in Morocco, venereal diseases were rampant in the Spanish Army. Fernández Silvestre was well aware of the poor morale of his soldiers, but he did not regard this as a problem, believing that his enemy was so inferior that the problems afflicting his troops were not an issue. Even with their numerical superiority, the "Peninsular" troops proved no match for the highly skilled and motivated Rifian forces. Accordingly, much reliance came to be placed on the mainly professional units comprising Spain's Army of Africa. Since 1911, these had included regiments of Moroccan
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 an ...
, who proved to be excellent soldiers. The initiative was unpopular in parts of Spain as well. In 1909, during early conflicts with the Rif tribesmen, an attempt by the Spanish government to call up reservists led to a working class uprising in Barcelona known as Tragic Week. The Catalan trade unions, many led by anarchists, argued that the working class of Barcelona had no quarrel with the people of the Rif. After the Tragic Week of 1909, the Spanish government starting in 1911 tried to raise as many ''Regular'' units as possible to avoid further working class resistance to colonial wars as much of the Spanish working class had no desire to see their sons sent to Morocco, beginning a policy of what the Spanish historian Jose Alvarez called "Moroccanizing" the conquest of the Rif. Following the difficulties and setbacks that it had experienced in 1909-11, the Spanish army began to adopt much in organization and tactics from the French North African forces garrisoning most of Morocco and neighboring Algeria. Particular attention was paid to the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
and a Spanish equivalent, the ''Tercio de Extranjeros'' ('Foreigners' brigade'), known in English as the Spanish Legion, was formed in 1920. The regiment's second commander was then- Col.
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
, having risen rapidly through the ranks. In the Rif war, it was the ''Regulares'' and the Spanish Foreign Legion founded in 1919 that provided the elite forces that won Spain the war. Less than 25% of this "Foreign Legion" were, in fact, non-Spanish. Harshly disciplined and driven, they quickly acquired a reputation for ruthlessness. As their number grew, the Spanish Legion and the Regulares increasingly led offensive operations after the disasters that had been suffered by the conscript forces.


Course of war


Early stages

As an outcome of the
Treaty of Fez The Treaty of Fes ( ar, معاهدة فاس, ), officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sherifien Empire (), was a treaty signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid ...
(1912) Spain gained possession of the lands around
Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
and
Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
. In 1920, the Spanish commissioner, General
Dámaso Berenguer Dámaso Berenguer y Fusté, 1st Count of Xauen (4 August 1873 – 19 May 1953) was a Spanish general and politician. He served as Prime Minister during the last thirteen months of the reign of Alfonso XIII. Biography Berenguer was born in Sa ...
, decided to conquer the eastern territory from the Jibala tribes, but had little success. The second-in-command was General
Manuel Fernández Silvestre Manuel Fernández Silvestre (December 16, 1871 – July 22, 1921) was a Spanish general. Silvestre was the son of a lieutenant colonel of artillery, Victor Fernández and Eleuteria Silvestre. In 1889 he enrolled in the Toledo Infantry Academy ...
who commanded the eastern sector. Fernández Silvestre had spread out his troops out in 144 forts and ''blocaos'' from Sidi Dris on the Mediterranean across the Rift mountains to Annual and Tizi Azza and on to Melilla. A typical ''blocao'' held about dozen men while the larger forts had about 800 men. Fernández Silvestre, known for his boldness and impetuosity, had pushed his men too deep into the Rif mountains hoping to reach Alhucemas Bay without undertaking the necessary work to build a logistical support network capable of supplying his men out in the ''blocaos'' up in the Rif mountains.Alvarez, Jose "Between Gallipoli and D-Day: Alhucemas, 1925" pages 75-98 from ''The Journal of Military History'', Vol. 63, No. 1, January 1999 page 81. Krim had sent Fernández Silvestre a letter warning him not to cross the Amekran river or else he would die. Fernández Silvestre commented to the Spanish press about the letter that: "This man Abd el-Krim is crazy. I'm not going to take seriously the threats of a little Berber ''caid'' udgewhom I had at my mercy a short time ago. His insolence merits a new punishment". Krim allowed Fernández Silvestre to advance deep into the Rif, knowing the Spanish logistics were in the words of the Spanish historian Jose Alvarez "tenuous" at best. On 1 July 1921, the Spanish army in north-eastern Morocco under Fernández Silvestre collapsed when defeated by the forces of
Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...
, in what became known in Spain as the
disaster of Annual The Battle of Annual was fought on 22 July 1921 at Annual, Morocco, Annual, in northeastern Morocco, between the Spanish Army and Rifians, Rifian Berbers during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, which is almost always ref ...
, some 8,000 soldiers and officers reported killed or disappeared out of some 20,000. The final Spanish death toll, both at Annual and during the subsequent rout that took Rifian forces to the outskirts of Melilla, was reported to the
Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets ...
as totaling 13,192. The Spanish were pushed back and during the following five years, occasional battles were fought between the two. The Rifian forces advanced to the east and captured over 130
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
military posts. By late August 1921,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
lost all the territories it had gained since 1909. Spanish troops were pushed back to Melilla, which was their biggest base in the eastern
Rif The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...
. Spain still had 14,000 soldiers in Melilla. However,
Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...
ordered his forces not to attack the town. He subsequently told the writer J. Roger-Matthieu that since citizens of other European nations were residing in Melilla, it was feared they would intervene in the war should their citizens come to harm. Other reasons included the dispersal of Rifian fighters from several loosely allied tribes following the victory at Annual; and the arrival in Melilla of substantial reinforcements from the Legion and other Spanish units recalled from operations in western Morocco. By the end of August Spanish forces at Melilla numbered 36,000 under General Jose Sanjurjo and the slow process of recovering the lost territory could begin. Thus the Spanish could keep their biggest base in the eastern
Rif The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...
. Later Abd el-Krim would admit: "''I bitterly regret this order. It was my biggest mistake''. ''All the following tenor of events happened because of this mistake''."Dirk Sasse
''Franzosen, Briten und Deutsche im Rifkrieg 1921–1926''
Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2006, , pg 40–41 (in German)
By January 1922 the Spanish had retaken their major fort at Monte Arruit (where they found the bodies of 2,600 of the garrison) and had reoccupied the coastal plain as far as Tistutin and Batel. The Rifian forces had consolidated their hold of the inland mountains and stalemate was reached. The Spanish military suffered losses even at sea; in March the transport ship ''Juan de Joanes'' was sunk in
Alhucemas Alhucemas is a Spanish name which may refer to: *The Moroccan Rif city of Al Hoceima Al Hoceima ( ber, translit=Lḥusima, label= Riffian-Berber, ⵍⵃⵓⵙⵉⵎⴰ; ar, الحسيمة; '' es, Alhucemas'') is a Riffian city in the north of M ...
Bay by Riffian coastal batteries, and in August 1923 the battleship ''España'' ran aground off
Cape Tres Forcas Cape Three Forks, Cape des Trois Fourches, or Cape Tres Forcas is a headland on the Mediterranean coast of northeastern Morocco. Geography The cape is a large mountainous promontory of North Africa into the Mediterranean Sea. For centuries, this ...
and was eventually scrapped ''in situ''. In a bid to break the stalemate, the Spanish military turned to the use of chemical weapons against the Riffians. The Rif War had starkly polarized Spanish society between the '' africanistas'' who wanted to conquer an empire in Africa vs. the who wanted to abandon Morocco as not worth the blood and treasure.Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies Great Military Disasters and the Generals Behind Them'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005 page 286. After the "Disaster of the Annual", Spain's war in the Rif went from bad to worse, and as the Spanish were barely hanging on to Morocco, support for the grew as many people could see no point to the war. In August 1923, Spanish soldiers embarking for Morocco mutinied at the railway stations, other soldiers in Malaga simply refused to board the ships that were to take them to Morocco, while in Barcelona huge crowds of left-wingers had staged anti-war protests at which Spanish flags were burned while the flag of the Rif Republic was waved about. With the ''africanists'' comprising only a minority, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the forced the Spanish to give up on the Rif, which was part of the reason for the military coup d'état later in 1923. On September 13, 1923,
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Miguel Primo de Rivera, 2nd Marqués de Estella, seized power in a military coup d'état. General Primo de Rivera was in the words of the American journalist James Perry a "moderate dictator" who was convinced that the divisions between the ''africanists'' vs. the had pushed Spain to the brink of civil war, and who had seized power to find a way out of the crisis. General Primo de Rivera soon concluded that the war was unwinnable, and considered pulling back his troops to the coast with the aim of at least temporarily abandoning the Rif. In late July 1924, Primo de Rivera visited a Spanish Foreign Legion post at Ben Tieb in the Rif, and was served a banquet of eggs in different forms. In Spanish culture, eggs are a symbol of the testicles, and the dishes were intended to send a clear message. Primo de Rivera responded calmly that the army would be required to abandon only the minimum of territory and that junior officers should not dictate the measures necessary to resolve the Moroccan problem. However he subsequently modified the plans for withdrawal, pulling the Spanish forces back from Chaouen and the Wad Lau region to a prepared fortified boundary named the "Primo Line".


French intervention

In May 1924, the French Army had established a line of out-posts north of the Oureghla River in disputed tribal territory. On 12 April 1925, an estimated 8,000 Rifians attacked this line and in two weeks over 40 of 66 French posts had been stormed or abandoned. French casualties exceeded 1,000 killed, 3,700 wounded and 1,000 missing – representing losses of over 20 percent of their forces deployed in the Rif. The French accordingly intervened on the side of Spain, appointing
Marshal Pétain Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
as commander-in-chief of an expeditionary force of up to 160,000David S. Woolman, page 186 "Rebels in the Rif", Stanford University Press well-trained and -equipped troops from Metropolitan, Algerian,
Senegalese Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
and Foreign Legion units, as well as Moroccan regulars (
tirailleurs A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French c ...
) and auxiliaries (
goumiers 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 ...
). With total Spanish forces at this point numbering about 90,000 the Rifian forces were now seriously outnumbered by their Franco-Spanish opponents. Final French deaths from battle and disease, in what had now become a major war, were to total 8,628. On September 17, 1925, a squadron of American mercenary flyers in the service of France bombarded Chefchaouen.


Outcome

For the final attack commencing on 8 May 1925, the French and Spanish had ranged 123,000 men, supported by 150 aircraft, against 12,000 Rifians. Superior manpower and technology soon resolved the course of the war in favour of France and Spain. The French troops pushed through from the south while the Spanish fleet and army secured Alhucemas Bay by a
landing operation A landing operation is a military action during which a landing force, usually utilizing landing craft, is transferred to land with the purpose of power projection ashore. With the proliferation of aircraft, a landing may refer to amphibious force ...
in September (the first amphibious landing in history where tanks and seaborne air support were used) and began attacking from the north. After one year of bitter resistance,
Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...
, the leader of both the tribes, surrendered to French authorities, and in 1926
Spanish 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 ...
was finally retaken. However, the unpopularity of the war in Spain and the earlier defeats of the Spanish military contributed to the instability of the Spanish government and the military coup of 1923.


Atrocities


Spanish atrocities and use of chemical weapons

Beginning in 1924, the Spanish used chemical weapons during the conflict, which marked the first widespread employment of gas warfare in the post-WWI era. The Spanish army indiscriminately used
phosgene Phosgene is the organic chemical compound with the formula COCl2. It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. Phosgene is a valued and important industrial building block, espe ...
,
diphosgene Diphosgene is an organic chemical compound with the formula ClCO2CCl3. This colorless liquid is a valuable reagent in the synthesis of organic compounds. Diphosgene is related to phosgene and has comparable toxicity, but is more conveniently handl ...
,
chloropicrin Chloropicrin, also known as PS and nitrochloroform, is a chemical compound currently used as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial, fungicide, herbicide, insecticide, and nematicide. It was used as a poison gas in World War I. Its chemical structural for ...
and
mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
also against civilian populations, markets and rivers.Enrique Cerro Aguilar. "España fue el primer país que utilizó armas químicas contra civiles en Marruecos en 1920". Revista Rebelión. 13 de enero de 2001. - Spain signed the
Geneva Protocol The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons in ...
in 1925, that prohibited the use of chemical and biological weapons in international conflicts, while simultaneously employing these weapons across the Mediterranean. Some have cited the Spanish chemical weapons as the main reason for a widespread
Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
occurrence in the Rif region, which is still the highest in Morocco; for example, according to the Head of the Association of Toxic Gas Victims (ATGV) research has shown "there are strong indicators that the cancer is caused by the gases that were used against the resistance in the north." Writer Juan Pando, however, pointed out that areas of France and Belgium, which were gassed far more heavily during World War I, do not have abnormal cancer rates. Miguel Alonso, Alan Kramer and Javier Rodrigo wrote in the book ''Fascist Warfare, 1922–1945: Aggression, Occupation, Annihilation'': "Although the Rif War was no 'fascist' war, several methods used to 'pacify' the population were applied in the post-colonial of godless
Republican Spain The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
… Apart from deciding not to use chemical weapons,
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...
's campaign to 'cleanse Spain' resembled that in Morocco: intelligence-gathering through torture, summary executions,
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
, and the sadistic killing of military prisoners." Spanish mutilations of captured Moroccans were also reported, including
castration Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceut ...
and severing heads, noses and ears, which were collected by Spanish legionnaires as war trophies and worn as necklaces or spiked on bayonets.


Massacre of Monte Arruit

On August 9, 1921, the
Massacre of Monte Arruit The massacre of Monte Arruit took place on 9 August 1921 in Al Aaroui during the Rif War, when, after the July 1921 Battle of Annual, Riffian forces slaughtered most of the Spanish soldiers who had surrendered on that day. History The Riffians ...
occurred, in which 3,000 soldiers of the Spanish Army were tortured and killed after surrendering the Monte Arruit garrison near
Al Aaroui Al Aaroui (Tarifit: Ɛaawi, ⵄⴰⴰⵡⵉ; Arabic: العروي) is a town in Nador Province, Oriental, Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It o ...
following a 12-day siege. The atrocities subsequently committed by the Spanish Army of Africa were triggered by a 'compulsive spirit of revenge' of this and other massacres, and the desire to exact retribution on the rebel tribes.


In popular culture

*The Rif War directly inspired
Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moon'' (1928). Earl ...
's 1926 operetta ''
The Desert Song ''The Desert Song'' is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Moroccan fighters, against French colonia ...
,'' which was later adapted several times into motion pictures. *The 1929 romance novel ''La riffaine'', which was set during the Rif War, was written by the Jewish-Algerian writer
Elissa Rhaïs Elissa Rhaïs, Hebrew language, Hebrew: אליסה ראיס, born Rosine Boumendil (12 December 1876 – 18 August 1940) was a History of the Jews in Algeria, Jewish-Algerian writer, who adopted the persona of a Muslim woman who had escaped from ...
. *The action of the 1931 novel La Bandera by
Pierre Mac Orlan Pierre Mac Orlan, sometimes written MacOrlan (born Pierre Dumarchey, February 26, 1882 – June 27, 1970), was a French novelist and songwriter. His novel '' Quai des Brumes'' was the source for Marcel Carné's 1938 film of the same name, starring ...
is set during the Riff War. The novel was also turned into a
movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 1935. *The 1951 Hollywood film ''
Ten Tall Men ''Ten Tall Men'' is a 1951 American adventure film starring Burt Lancaster about the French Foreign Legion during the Rif War in Morocco. Though co-written and directed by Willis Goldbeck, Goldbeck walked off the film due to disputes with Lancaste ...
'' is set in the context of the Rif War. *The 1999 film ''
Legionnaire The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
'', starring
Jean Claude van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
, is set in the war in 1925, with Kamel Krifa playing Abd-El Krim. *The 2017 miniseries '' Morocco: Love in Times of War'', follows Spanish nurses during the war.


See also

*
Zaian War Zayanes ( ber, Azayi (singular), (plural); ) are a Berbers, Berber population inhabiting the Khenifra region, located in the central Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco. Zayanes tribes are known for their attachment to ancestral land and for the ...
, the 1914–21 conflict between the French and Berber tribesmen in Morocco. * Kert campaign


References

Notes Further reading * Balfour, Sebastian. ''Deadly Embrace: Morocco and the Road to the Spanish Civil War'' (Oxford 2002
online
* Chandler, James A. "Spain and Her Moroccan Protectorate 1898–1927," ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (1975) 10#2 pp. 301–32
in JSTOR
* La Porte, Pablo. "'Rien à ajouter': The League of Nations and the Rif War (1921—1926)," ''European History Quarterly'' (2011) 41#1 pp 66–87
online
* Pennell, C. R. "Ideology and Practical Politics: A Case Study of the Rif War in Morocco, 1921–1926," ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' (1982) 14#1, pp 19–33
in JSTOR
* Pennell, C. R. "How and why to remember the Rif War (1921–2021)." ''Journal of North African Studies'' 22.5 (2017): 798-820
abstract
* Pennell, C. R. "Women and Resistance to Colonialism in Morocco: The Rif 1916–1926," ''Journal of African History'' (1987) 28#1 pp. 107–11
in JSTOR
* Pennell, C. R. ''Country with a Government and a Flag: The Rif War in Morocco, 1921–1926'' (1986) * Porch, Douglas. "Spain's African Nightmare," ''MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History'' (2006) 18#2 pp 28–37. * Sacanell, Enrique. "El general Sanjurjo". Editorial La Esfera de Los Libros, Madrid (2004) * Slavin, David H. "The French Left and the Rif War, 1924-25: Racism and the Limits of Internationalism." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' 26.1 (1991): 5-32
online


External links

*Steven Thomas

(''sic'') on OnWar.com.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071209134013/http://www.historynet.com/historical_conflicts/3036686.html Rif war*David Montgomery Hart, ''The Aith Waryaghar of the Moroccan Rif : an ethnography and history''. Published for the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research yUniversity of Arizona Press, c1976. xxiii, 556 p. : ill. ; 28 cm. : Series Viking Fund publications in anthropology; no. 55, Notes. Bibliography: pages 533–546.'' Tucson, Arizona, (1976) {{Authority control Wars involving France Wars involving Morocco Wars involving Spain Conflicts in 1920 Conflicts in 1921 Conflicts in 1922 Conflicts in 1923 Conflicts in 1924 Conflicts in 1925 Conflicts in 1926 20th century in Morocco Berber history Separatism in Morocco Spanish Africa 1920s in Africa African resistance to colonialism