First Battle of El Djorf

Last updated
First Battle of El Djorf
Part of Algerian War
Date20–28 September 1955
Location
Nemencha mountains, near Tébessa, Algeria
Result

FLN victory

  • FLN leadership escapes French attack
Belligerents
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg  French Republic Flag of Algeria (1958-1962).svg FLN
Commanders and leaders
André Beaufre Chihani Bachir
Lazhar Cheriet
Laghrour Abbes
Adjel Adjoul  (WIA) [1]
Units involved
25,000 [2] 300 [2]
Casualties and losses
Few
(French claim)
400-800 killed
1,500 wounded
(Algerian claim)		 45 killed
40 wounded and captured
(French claim)
60-70 killed
60-90 wounded
(Algerian claim)

The First Battle of El Djorf (or El-Djorf, also known as Djeurf in French) took place on 22 September 1955, during the Algerian War, between the National Liberation Army and the French Army.

Contents

Background

The battle occurred a year after the start of the Algerian War. It took place in the Aurès, the mountainous terrain where the war started. The French military had arrested Mostefa Ben Boulaïd, who was the head of the Algerian National Liberation Army in that region.

An internal conflict in the ALN resulted in Colonel Bachir Chihani being named head of the Willaya I. He started by gathering the troops that had dispersed over the region, and managed to organize a meeting in the region of El Djorf, north of current Tebessa Province. This meeting was aimed at reorganising the troops to relaunch military activities. 300 fighters attended this meeting.

The French army launched Operation "Timgad" and had no idea that it was about to fall on the meeting of the chiefs of Aurès and Nementchas that Bachir Chihani had organised between 18 and 23 September 1955. [3]

Battle

As part of Operation Timgad, French troops entered the Nementchas mountains, where the FLN meeting was taking place. Strong of about 25,000 men, the French forces in the area consisted mainly in Algerian and Tunisian Tirailleurs, but also comprised some elite elements of the French Foreign Legion and the French paratroopers. [4]

Now threatened with encirclement, FLN fighters skirmished with the French for a few days, making good use of the rugged mountainous terrain and of the many caves of the region to evade French forces despite their numerical advantage. On the fourth night however, the FLN leaders realized that their small contingent couldn't keep up against so many opponents. [5]

Abbes Laghrour and Adjel Adjoul urged Bachir Chihani to order the retreat, but as he kept refusing, they eventually decided to leave anyway. [6] Adjoul took most of the men to the south and, under the cover of the night, they managed to cross the French lines near the Oued Helaïl, at the price of some casualties. Meanwhile, Laghrour escaped with 30 men through the eastern side of the encirclement. [7] Chihani remained in the cave where they had been hiding, and after the entrance was blown up with dynamite by the French army, he spent six days hidden under the rubble before successfully escaping at night. [8] [9]

Inside the cave that had served as headquarters for the local FLN fighters, the French found important documents, including strategic instructions from Ahmed Ben Bella in person. [8] [10]

The FLN casualties were of 45 killed and 40 wounded and captured, while French losses were very light according to the French army's reports. [11] [ page needed ]

According to Algerian sources, the battle was a resounding FLN victory, with losses of the French army were as follows: between 400 and 800 dead and more than 1,500 wounded. As well as the loss of large amounts of ammunition 44, the loss of 100 soldiers, the downing of eight aircraft and the destruction of three armored vehicles. 45 and about 150 pieces of weapons such as automatic rifles (50 guns) and others . As for the losses of the National Liberation Army, estimates varied, and in general, they range between 60 and 70 dead and 60-90 Wounded, and 15 weapons lost, it was not possible to keep them on the night of going out while on a mule convoy. [12] [13] The FLN leadership ambushed by the French managed to escape, almost miraculously, certain death and encirclement by the superior French army. [3]

Aftermath

Although the FLN technically fled and left the battlefield to the French, the First Battle of El Djorf is in the present day seen as a great victory in Algeria due to the fact FLN fighters miraculously managed to escape despite being vastly outnumbered.

At the time, however, it was seen much differently. The FLN leaders blamed Bachir Chihani for his recklessness in organising a rally as important as the one in El-Djorf, neglecting the basic rules of security, and call for self-criticism on his part, which did not come. [12]

On 23 October 1955, Bachir Chihani was executed by his subordinates Abbes Laghrour and Adjel Adjoul for his poor leadership in El-Djorf. [14] [8]

British historian Alistair Horne describes the whole affair as a serious failure for the FLN and states that the documents found by the French in Chihani's headquarters gave French intelligence "its first clear view of the overall structure of the FLN". [15] [8]

In the context of the war of memories with the former colonial power, the Algerian authorities decided to make the Battle of El Djorf, which took place from 20 to 28 September 1955 in the Nemenchas Mountains in eastern Algeria, a place of memory for the Algerian nation in the 2000s. [16]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algerian War</span> 1954–1962 war of Algerian independence from France

The Algerian War was a major armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria winning its independence from France. An important decolonization war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare and war crimes. The conflict also became a civil war between the different communities and within the communities. The war took place mainly on the territory of Algeria, with repercussions in metropolitan France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torture during the Algerian War</span> Torture during the Algerian War

Elements from the French Armed Forces used deliberate torture during the Algerian War (1954–1962), creating an ongoing public controversy. Pierre Vidal-Naquet, a renowned French historian, estimated that there were "hundreds of thousands of instances of torture" by the French military in Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Algiers (1956–1957)</span> Urban guerilla campaign in the Algerian War

The Battle of Algiers was a campaign fought during the Algerian War. It consisted of urban guerrilla warfare and terrorist attacks carried out by the National Liberation Front (FLN) against the French authorities in Algiers, and by the French authorities, army, and French terrorist organizations against the FLN. Both sides targeted civilians throughout the battle. The conflict began with attacks by the FLN against the French forces and Pieds-Noirs followed by a terrorist attack on Algerian civilians in Algiers by a group of settlers, part of the terrorist group "La Main Rouge", aided by the police. Reprisals followed and the violence escalated, leading the French Governor-General to deploy the French Army in Algiers to suppress the FLN. Civilian authorities gave full powers to General Jacques Massu who, operating outside legal frameworks between January and September 1957, eliminated the FLN from Algiers. The use of torture, forced disappearances and illegal executions by the French later caused controversy in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arris, Batna</span> Place in Batna, Algeria

Arris is a commune in the Batna wilaya in eastern Algeria.

The Battle of Philippeville, also known as the Philippeville massacre or the August Offensive was a series of raids launched on 20 August 1955 on various cities and towns of the Constantine region by FLN insurgents and armed mobs during the Algerian War between France and Algerian rebels. The raids, which mostly took the form of ethnic riots, resulted in the massacre, in extremely gruesome ways, of several dozens of European settlers known as Pieds-Noirs. These massacres were then followed by very brutal and blind reprisals by the French army and Pieds-Noirs vigilantes, which resulted in the death of several thousand native Algerians. The events of late August 1955 in the Constantinois region are considered to be a major turning point of the Algerian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bab El Oued</span> Battle

The Battle of Bab el Oued was a violent confrontation which occurred during the latter stages of the Algerian War (1954–1962) between the French Army and the Organisation armée secrète (OAS) which opposed Algerian independence. It took place in Bab El Oued, then a working-class European quarter of Algiers, from 23 March to 6 April 1962.

Baba Mohammed ben-Osman or Muhammad V ben Osman was Dey of the Deylik of Algiers from 1766 to 1791. The adoptive father of Baba Hassan Pacha and the grandfather of Mustapha Pacha. Under his rule he declared war against Denmark-Norway because he demanded that an annual payment to stave off piracy by Denmark-Norway should be increased, and he should receive new gifts. Denmark-Norway refused the demands, beginning the Danish-Algerian War. He also declared war against the United States in 1785 and captured several American ships. The war ended in 1795 when the U.S concluded a treaty with his successor that paid $21,600 annually to Algiers.

The Battle of Bouzegza took place during the Algerian War in the Berber-speaking region of the Adrar Azegzaw massif, at the far eastern end of the Mitidja Plain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambush of Palestro</span>

The Ambush of Palestro, or Ambush of Djerrah, took place on the 18th 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.

Nassima Hablal was an Algerian independence activist. She was one of the 10,949 women who fought in the Algerian revolution. She was active in the Algerian People's Party (APP) and was the secretary of Abane Ramdane at the CCE, the Coordinating and Execution Committee for one of the branches of the FLN.

Operation Véronique was an unsuccessful military operation undertaken by the French Army during the Algerian War in the hope of eradicating the FLN.

The Battle of Douar Souadek, or Battle of Boukerker, was a military engagement between the French Army, and the ALN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferme Gauthier</span>

The Ferme Gautier is a torture center established during the Algerian war in the commune of Souk El Had in Kabylia within Algeria.

The Declaration of 1 November 1954 is the first independentist appeal addressed by the National Liberation Front (FLN) to the Algerian people, marking the start of the Algerian Revolution and the armed action of the National Liberation Army (ALN).

Ahmed Mahsas was an Algerian militant in the nationalist movement against French Algeria.

Hocine Mezali is an Algerian journalist and writer. He had been the head of intelligence during the Battle of Algiers (1956–1957).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Oran</span>

Spanish Oran was a territory of the Spanish Empire as a result of the Conquest of Oran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government Palace (Algiers)</span>

The Government Palace, known before 1962 as Gouvernement général, is the office of the Prime Minister of Algeria and a major public building in Algiers. At the time of its inauguration in 1933, with a surface of 33,000 m2, it was the largest administrative building of the entire French state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National symbols of Algeria</span> Topic overview

The national symbols of Algeria are official and unofficial flags, icons or cultural expressions that are emblematic, representative or otherwise characteristic of Algeria and of its culture.

References

  1. ↑ Siari Tengour, Ouanassa (2004-12-30). "Adjel Adjoul (1922-1993) :un combat inachevé". Insaniyat / إنسانيات. Revue algérienne d'anthropologie et de sciences sociales (in French) (25–26): 37–63. doi: 10.4000/insaniyat.6187 . ISSN   1111-2050.
  2. 1 2 Alcaraz, Emmanuel (2021). Histoire de l'Algérie et de ses mémoires Des Orignies au Hirak. KARTHALA Editions. p. 131. ISBN   978-2-8111-2360-4.
  3. 1 2 Siari Tengour, Ouanassa (2004). "Adjel Adjoul (1922-1993) : un combat inachevé". Insaniyat / إنسانيات. 25–26: 37–63. Retrieved September 10, 2019. Quand l'armée française lance l'opération "Timgad", elle était loin de soupconnler de tomber sur la rėunion des chefs de l'Aurès et Nementchas que Bachir Chihani avait organisée entre le 18 et 23 septembre 1955. la surprise est valable pour les deux parties. Mais, pour l'ALN, c'est l'un des affrontements les plus meurtriers, qui se solde par la perte de 45 djoundis et l'arrestation de 40 autres.
  4. ↑ Alcaraz 2021, p. 132.
  5. ↑ Quemeneur, Tramor; Tengour, Ouanassa (2023). Dictionnaire de la guerre d'Algérie. p. 359. ISBN   9782382923115.
  6. ↑ Horne, Allister (1978). A savage war of peace: Algeria, 1954-1962. Viking Press. p. 142.
  7. ↑ Boulhaïs, Nordine (2020). Des harkis berbères, de l’Aurès au Nord de la France. p. 159. ISBN   9782757422168.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Horne 1978, p. 142.
  9. ↑ Boulhaïs 2020, pp. 159.
  10. ↑ Parker, Thomas David (2019). Avoiding The Terrorist Trap: Why Respect For Human Rights Is The Key To Defeating Terrorism. p. 141.
  11. ↑ Savoirs historiques au Maghreb: constructions et usages (in French). Crasc. 2006.
  12. 1 2 مقيدش, علجية (2018). "معركة الجرف التاريخية الكبرى 22-25/09/1955 ا. Nouveaux objets". مجلة الباحث في العلوم الإنسانية و الإجتماعية. algeria: مجلة الباحث في العلوم الانسانية والاجتماعية. 10 (3): 1159–1168. doi:10.35156/1869-000-035-097. وعموما فقد كانت خسائر جيش الإحتلال كالتالي: مابين 400-800 قتيل وأكثـر مـن 1500 جـريح ، فضلا عن ضياع كميـات كبيـرة مـن الـذخيرة 44، فقدان 100 جندي،إسقاط ثماني طائرات وتدمير ثلاث مصفحات 45 وحوالي150قطعة أسلحة كالبنادق الآلية (50بندقية) وغيرها. أما عن تضحيات جيش التحرير الوطني، فقد تباينت التقديرات، وعموما فهي ما بـين 60-70 شـهيد و 60-90 جريح ،وضياع 15 قطعة سلاح ، تعذر الاحتفاظ بها ليلة الخروج وهي على متن قافلة للبغال.
  13. ↑ "La bataille d'El Djorf: un moment phare dans l'histoire de la guerre de libération". aps.dz (in French). 21 September 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Temlali, Yassine (2020). La genèse de la Kabylie: Aux origines de l'affirmation berbère en Algérie (1830-1962). La Découverte. p. 132. ISBN   9782348065804.
  15. ↑ Horne 1978, p. 124.
  16. ↑ Alcaraz, Emmanuel (2016). "La guerre d'indépendance algérienne : une mémoire disputée dans le champ politique algérien". Cahiers d'histoire. Revue d’histoire critique (130): 125–146. Retrieved September 10, 2019. La bataille d'El Djorf, ayant eu lieu du 20 au 28 septembre 1955 dans les monts Nemenchas à l'est de l'Algérie, est devenue un lieu de mémoire de la nation algérienne dans les années 2000. Le pouvoir a voulu montrer que si la guerre d'Algérie a été une guerre de guérilla, il y a eu aussi des affrontements d'envergure en face à face, des wajhât, comme cette bataille qui était oubliée sur le plan national. Dans le contexte de la guerre des mémoires avec l'ancienne puissance coloniale, son but était de contrer le discours porté par l'armée française et certains historiens comme Jean-Charles Jauffret
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.