Battle of Annual

Part of the Rif War

Spanish officers inspecting the remains of the garrison at Monte Arruit, January 1922.

Date	22 July – 9 August 1921
Location	Annual, Morocco
Result	Decisive Riffian victory

Belligerents

Republic of the Rif

Spain

Commanders and leaders

Abd el-Krim

Manuel F. Silvestre †

Felipe Navarro

Strength

3,000 men

Spanish sources:
5,000 (at Annual)
18,011 regulars(reinforcements)
Total: 23,000+
Non-Spanish sources: 20,000

Casualties and losses

800 casualties

13,363 dead or wounded

The Battle of Annual was fought on July 22, 1921, at Annual in Spanish Morocco, between the Spanish Army of Africa and Berber combatants of the Rif region during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, almost always referred to by the Spanish as the Disaster of Annual, which led to major political crises and a redefinition of Spanish colonial policy toward the Rif.

In early 1921 the Spanish Army commenced an offensive into northeastern Morocco from the coastal regions they already held. The advance took place without extended lines of communication being adequately established or the complete subjugation of the areas occupied. In the course of the Spanish offensive, general Silvestre had penetrated almost 130 kilometres into the enemy lines but during the hasty advances neither reliable forts nor water supplies points had been put in place, only multiple small makeshift garrisons known as blocaos, manned by a handful of soldiers (typically 12-20) greatly spread out in high places without own water sources nor good communication with the main positions

On July 22, 1921, after five days of siege, 5,000 Spanish forces under the command of general Manuel Fernández Silvestre garrisoning the encampment of Annual were attacked and destroyed by 3,000 Riffi, with the withdrawal ordered by General Silvestre ending up in a disorganized rout.

The riffi irregular forces were commanded by Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (usually known as Abd el Krim), a former civil servant at the Spanish administration in the Office of Indigenous Affairs in Melilla and one of the leaders of the tribe of the Aith Ouriaghel.

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Wikipedia