Battle of Macta

Battle of Macta Part of the French conquest of Algeria Date 28 June 1835 Location near the Macta River, French Algeria Result Algerian victory[1] Belligerents France Algerian resistance Commanders and leaders Camille Alphonse Trézel Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri Strength 5,000 infantry one cavalry regiment 20,000 cavalry Casualties and losses 500 killed unknown

French conquest of Algeria Algiers Staouéli Macta Sikkak 1st Constantine 2nd Constantine Mazagran Smala Sidi Brahim

The Battle of Macta was fought on 28 June 1835 between French forces under General Camille Alphonse Trézel and a coalition of Algerian Berber tribal warriors under Emir Abd al-Qadir during the French conquest of Algeria. The French column, which had fought an inconclusive but somewhat bloody battle with Abdul-Qadir a few days earlier, was retreating toward Arzew to resupply when Abdul-Qadir attacked in the marshes on the banks of the Macta River in what is now western Algeria. The French panicked and fled to Arzew in a disorganized rout. The Algerians piled the heads of their defeated French enemies in a pyramid, allegedly hundreds in total.^[2]

The disaster led to the recall to France of Trézel and the comte d'Erlon, the first military governor-general of the French possessions in Africa, and helped Abdul-Qadir gain influence over tribes throughout Algeria.

Notes

References

• Emerit, Marcel (2010), "Abdelkader", Encyclopædia Britannica, I: A-Ak - Bayes (15th ed.), Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., pp. 18-19, ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8 
• Sanderson, Edgar (1898), Africa in the Nineteenth Century, Seeley and Company, p. 107 
• Wagner, Moritz; Pulszky, Ferencz Aurelius (1854), The Tricolor on the Atlas: Or, Algeria and the French Conquest, T. Nelson and sons, p. 274 

Further reading

•  Gibson, Walcot (1911). "Algeria". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 642–653. 

Coordinates: 35°47′21″N 0°09′12″W / 35.7892°N 0.1533°W / 35.7892; -0.1533