| Capture Of Palestro (1871) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mokrani Revolt | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Ait Abbas  Zawiyas |  France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Cheikh Hammami | Alexandre Fourchault | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 46 | ||||||
The Capture Of Palestro was a battle that happened during the Mokrani Revolt between the Algerian insurgents and the French in 1871.
As the uprising extended along the coastal areas initially and later into the eastern mountains of Mitidja, reaching as far as Constantine, it continued its progression into the Belezma mountains. It interlinked with indigenous revolts, extending all the way down to the Sahara desert. The momentum of these events moved steadily towards the city of Algiers itself, Eventually they reached Lakhdaria. [1]
A gathering of Algerian Insurgency leaders was made and it was in this assembly that the decision to attack the village of Palestro was made, occurring on April 20 and lasting forty-eight hours. Following this, the city presented a woeful sight houses partially destroyed, belongings scattered haphazardly on the ground. A heart-wrenching detail: 46 French victims lay lifeless, while others vanished without a trace ever being found, The city was then captured by the insurgents. [2] [3] [4] [5]
Marching from Palestro towards Algiers, the insurgents faced a halt at Boudouaou on April 22, 1871, thwarted by Colonel Alexandre Fourchault under the leadership of General Orphis Léon Lallemand. This encounter on May 5 resulted in a devastating defeat for Cheikh Mokrani. [6] [7]
Sheikh Mohamed El-Mokrani, also known as Mohand Amokrane, was one of the principal leaders and the namesake of the Mokrani Revolt of 1871 against the French occupation of Algeria.
The French conquest of Algeria took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul escalated into a blockade, following which the July Monarchy of France invaded and quickly seized Algiers in 1830, and seized other coastal communities. Amid internal political strife in France, decisions were repeatedly taken to retain control of the territory, and additional military forces were brought in over the following years to quell resistance in the interior of the country.
The Kingdom of the Ait Abbas or Sultanate of the Beni Abbas was a Kabyle, Berber state of North Africa, then a fief and a principality, controlling Lesser Kabylie and its surroundings from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century. It is referred to in the Spanish historiography as "reino de Labes"; sometimes more commonly referred to by its ruling family, the Mokrani, in Berber At Muqran. Its capital was the Kalâa of Ait Abbas, an impregnable citadel in the Biban mountain range.
The Palestro ambush, or Djerrah ambush, took place on 18 May 1956, during the Algerian War, near the village of Djerrah in the region of Palestro in Kabylie. A section of about forty men from the National Liberation Army (ALN) under the command of Lieutenant Ali Khodja ambushed a unit of 21 men from the 9th Colonial Infantry Regiment of the French Army commanded by Second Lieutenant Hervé Artur.
Auguste Hubert Warnier was a French medical doctor, journalist and politician who spent most of his career in Algeria. At first he was a Saint-Simonian and was sympathetic to the local population. He thought the Berbers had Germanic blood and a civilization derived from Roman and Christian origins, so could readily adapt to French civilization. He had no respect for the Arab "intruders". Later he took the view that the indigenous people had destroyed the once-fertile environment of Algeria, became a proponent of French colonization and opposed the "Arab Kingdom" policy of Napoleon III. In his last years he was a Representative in the National Assembly for the Province of Algiers. He was responsible for a law that allowed expropriation of land or forced sale to colonists.
The Mokrani Revolt was the most important local uprising against France in Algeria since the conquest in 1830.
The Campaign of Tlemcen or Tlemcen campaign was a military operation led by the Saadians of Mohammed ash-Sheikh against Tlemcen in 1557, then under the domination of the Regency of Algiers, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. Mohammed ash-Sheikh, who wanted to conquer Algeria, occupied the city but failed to seize the Mechouar Palace, which was defended by a garrison of 500 men under the command of Caïd Saffa.
The Battle of Alma or Battle of Boudouaou, which broke out on 19 April 1871, was a battle of the Mokrani Revolt by Algerian rebels against France, which had been the colonial power in the region since 1830.
Alexandre Édouard Constant Fourchault was a French officer.
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Orphis Léon Lallemand was a French officer.
The Algerian popular resistance against French invasion refers to resistance in Algeria against the French conquest, which began with the invasion of Algiers in 1830 and lasted until 1903.
Cheikh Mohamed El-Boumerdassi was one of the principal leaders of the popular Mokrani Revolt uprising of 1871 against the French occupation of Algeria.
The Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of Beni Aïcha of the Igawawen.
The First Battle of Boudouaou in 25–26 May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of Kabylia of the Igawawen.
Zawiyet Sidi Amar Cherif, or Zawiyet Sidi Daoud, is a zawiya school located in Boumerdès Province in Algeria.
The First Battle of the Issers in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under General Perrégaux and Colonel Schauenburg against the troops of Kabylia of the Igawawen.
The Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha (1846) or Battle of Thénia (1846), which broke out on 3 February 1846, was a battle of the French conquest of Algeria between the Algerian rebels, and the France, which was the colonial power in the region since 1830.
The Beylik of Constantine, Beylik of the Sunrise or Beylik of the East as was its official designation, was one of the three Beyliks of the Regency of Algiers . The region liberated itself from the Hafsid Emirate of Béjaïa in the early 16th century, and constituted itself around Constantine in the mid to late 16th century. The Beylik collapsed in the 1837 siege of Constantine during the French conquest of Algeria. The Constantine department was formed upon the bases of the Beylik in 1848.
Omar ben Zamoum was a Kabyle marabout who participated to the Algerian resistance during Mokrani Revolt against the French conquest of Algeria.