The Battle of Bouzegza took place during the Algerian War in the Berber-speaking region of the Adrar Azegzaw

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

(Djebel Bouzegza, which means "Bouzegza Mountain"), at the far eastern end of the Mitidja Plain. On August 4, 8, and 12, 1957, Ali Khodja of the National Liberation Army (ALN), reinforced with local units, faced

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 Force ...

units commanded by several generals, including

Jacques Massu Jacques Émile Massu (; 5 May 1908 – 26 October 2002) was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez crisis. He led French troops in the Battle of Algiers, first supporting and later ...

.Yves Courrière, La guerre d'Algérie 'The War in Algeria'' p. 424 (in French)

Before 4 August 1957

According to the French, the battle followed an ambush near

Médéa Médéa ( ber, Lemdiyyet, ar, المدية ''al-Madiya''), population 123,535 (1998 census) is the capital city of Médéa Province, Algeria. It is located roughly 68 km south of Algiers. The present-day city is situated on the site o ...

in late July 1957 against a section of the

1st Foreign Parachute Regiment The 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (french: 1er Régiment Etranger de Parachutistes, 1er REP) was an airborne regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army which dated its origins to 1948. The regiment fought in the First Indochina War as th ...

, in which 14 men were killed and eight wounded.Patrick de Gmeline
Nouvelle histoire de la Légion étrangère
'New History of the Foreign Legion'' Perrin, 2016 (in French) According to the Algerians, a medic from the local unit in

Palestro Palestro is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pavia. It is located on the banks of the river Sesia. History Although located in area settled by Celts, Etruscans, ancient Rome, Romans and Lombards, Palestro is mentioned for the first time ...

commanded by Si Boualem, captured in a guerrilla action, told the French his unit was in Bouzegza. He knew it was not but did not know Ali Khodja was there.Boukhalfa Amazit, "Le commandant Azzedine raconte la bataille de Bouzegza" 'Commander Azzedine Recounts the Battle of Bouega'' El Watan, August 20, 2009 (in French)

The Battle

4th August

In spite of its numbers and considerable resources, the French army suffered a heavy defeat on the 4th of August. The 2nd squadron of the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons mistook Ali Khodja's fighters for French soldiers and lost many men. Major Azzedine said in 2009 that an article in the daily ''Le Monde'', published the day after the incident, reported French casualties of around 600 dead, wounded, and missing, and according to him the fighters of the Wilaya IV only sustained a few wounded. The article in question, quoting French military authorities, actually said that only 21 French were killed and 18 wounded. The history of the French 2nd Dragoon Regiment stated that the losses include 29 killed, 12 wounded, and 2 missing. According to the FLN, the commandos suffered only one wounded, the rebels killed by the French army being moussebilines and civilians.

12th August

Ali Khodja was joined by other units. The NLP soldiers were severely attacked on the 12th by the paratroopers of the 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment and the

,Patrick de Gmeline, Nouvelle histoire de la Légion étrangère, Perrin, 2016, 652 p. (in French) the French recovered on this occasion some of the weapons captured by the rebels. According to Commander Azzedine, some ferkas under the orders of Si Boualem were practically decimated, while a dozen men from the commando were killed. Thanks to his information networks and his knowledge of the terrain, Ali Khodja managed to disengage and retreat with the minimum damage possible (according to Commander Azzedine: a few killed and a dozen wounded).

Bibliography

* Yves Courrière, La guerre d'Algérie,

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayard ...

, 2001 (). *

External links

* Article in ''Le Monde'' on the battle:

References

{{Algerian resistance against French invasion Conflicts in 1957 Bouzegza 1957 Urban warfare 1957 in France 1957 in Algeria