Pacification of Algeria

Part of French colonial campaigns

Monument to the French Foreign Légionnaires who died during the South-Oranese campaign

Date	1835-1903
Location	Algeria
Result	French victory

Belligerents

France

Arabs and Berbers

Commanders and leaders

General Bugeaud
Maréchal Randon

Abd El-Kader
Lalla Fatma N'Soumer
Cheik El Mokrani

Following the conquest of the Regency of Algiers, the Pacification of Algeria was a series of military operations which aimed to put an end to various tribal rebellions, razzias and massacres of French settlers, which were sporadically held in the Algerian countryside. The of Algeria is an early example of unconventional warfare.

After the capture of Algiers by France and the defeat of Ottoman troops, France invaded the rest of the country. The end of military resistance to the French presence did not mean that the region was totally conquered. France faced several tribal rebellions, settlers massacres and razzias in French Algeria. To eliminate the rebellion, many campaigns and "colonisation" operations were conducted for nearly 70 years, from 1835-1903.

Tribal elders in the territories near Mascara chose twenty-five-year-old `Abd al-Qādir (Abd-el-Kader), to lead the jihad against the French. Abd al-Qādir, who was recognized as Amir al-Muminin (commander of the faithful), quickly gained the support of tribes in the western territories. In 1834 he concluded a treaty with General Desmichels, who was then military commander of the province of Oran. In the treaty, which was reluctantly accepted by the French administration, France recognized Abd al-Qādir as the sovereign of territories in Oran province not under French control, and authorized Abd al-Qādir to send consuls to French-held cities. The treaty did not require Abd al-Qādir to recognize French rule, something glossed over in its French text. Abd al-Qādir used the peace provided by this treaty to widen his influence with tribes throughout western and central Algeria.

While d'Erlon was apparently unaware of the danger posed by Abd al-Qādir's activities, General Camille Alphonse Trézel, then in command at Oran, did see it, and attempted to separate some of the tribes from Abd al-Qādir. When he succeeded in convincing two tribes near Oran to acknowledge French supremacy, Abd al-Qādir dispatched troops to move those tribes to the interior, away from French influence. Trézel countered by marching a column of troops out from Oran to protect the territory of those tribes on 16 June 1835. After exchanging threats, Abd al-Qādir withdrew his consul from Oran and ejected the French consul from Mascara, a de facto declaration of war. The two forces clashed in a bloody but inconclusive engagement near the Sig River. However, when the French, who were short on provisions, began withdrawing toward Arzew, al-Qādir led 20,000 men against the beleaguered column, and in the Battle of Macta routed the force, killing 500 men. The debacle led to the recall of Comte d'Erlon.

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Wikipedia