Revolt of Zaatcha 1849

Shiekh Bouziane led this revolt and died for his country because him and his people refused to live under the French occupation, in 1849 he declared Jihad (Holy War) on the French who believed that with end of the resistance of Emir Abdelkader and Ahmed Bay they had put an end to the Algerian resistance.

Above Image (Assault on Zaatcha)

Causes for revolt

In May 1849 the French increased taxes on date palms from 25 to 40 francs which made the people angry all over the province of Ziban (Biskra), some even called for arms like Shiekh Bouziane and his people the people of Zaatcha.

Shiekh Bouziane is the leader of village of Zaatcha and former leader under the Emirate  of Abdelkader, in 1833 he pushed back an assault of 4,000 Turks led by Ahmed Bey of Constantine in order to take down the rebellion in Zaatcha but they failed. Shiekh Bouziane is also a Shariff (descendants from the Prophet Mohammed PBUH).

Shiekh Bouziane gathered all the people around the Mosque in Zaatcha called for Jihad (Holy War) against the French. French colonial Authorities heard of the revolt so they decided to send an army led by Colonel Carbuccia, they arrived at Zaatcha in 16 July 1849 coming from Batna with an army made of 3rd Battalion of Africa and 2nd Battalion of Foreign Legion with 450 soldiers on each battalion.

The French army got ambushed by Algerian tribes led by Sheikh Bouziane from Zaatcha and Lichana the French army suffered from a heavy defeat by losing 32 soldiers killed and 117 wounded but they still continued to the village of Zaatcha.

The village of Zaatcha is protected by a fortified wall including battlements then preceded by a gap of 7 meters wide and 3 meters deep filled with water. Colonel Carbuccia was surprised by the topography advantage that the Algerians had.

The French objective to capture the village was failed due heavy defenses that the village had so the French decided to retreat and to call for more reinforcements to arrive at Zaatcha.

Above Image (Assault on Zaatcha)

The Siege of Zaatcha

Zaatcha had only one Kasr (Palace) it was also surrounded by palm trees making it hard to see the palace, a Zawiya is also located a few hundred meters away the Zawiya included a Mosque, Quranic school and a resting place.

Zawiya was captured by Colonel which he made it a camp for his soldiers.

Shiekh Bouziane was preparing for the defense of the village by building barriers on roads leading to the village and  digged ditches around the village and filled them with water. He also has piled up provisions, weapons and powder but he was lack in leadership. Many womens in Zaatcha stimulate the defenders with their youyous (chants) loudly exciting their courage and to help their men in action.

In the morning of October 7th 1849 the French forces arrived at Zaatcha led by General Herbillon with 4,000 soldiers camped at the north of the village with a convoy of camels which brought tools, sandbags, ammunition and camping equipments.

In 20 October 1849 General Herbillon ordered Officer Guyot to lead 43rd Infantry Regiment to attack the village and to drill a hole in the wall of the village but they failed due to the resistance of the villagers led by their Shiekh, French lost the first attack leaving with them 30 killed and 90 wounded.

All French prisoners that were captured by the villagers were tight up to a palm tree by the villager’s women.

French Reinforcements

On 8 November 1849 Colonel Canrobert arrived at Zaatcha with 7,000 soldiers which is formed of 2 Zouaves Battalion and 8th Battalion of Chasseurs. As soon as they arrived at Zaatcha around 600 soldiers from Zouaves Battalion died from Cholera.

Assault of Zaatcha

On the night of 25 November 1849, three columns assaulted the village of Zaaatcha from three different sides.

Colonel Canrobert column is formed of:

2 Battalions of Zouaves

5th Battalion of Chasseurs

16th Light Infantry

Colonel Barral column is formed of:

8th Battalion of Chasseurs

1 Battalion of Zouaves

Colonel Lourmel column is formed of:

2 Battalion of 8th Line Infantry

43rd Infantry Regiment

while the French are preparing to attack, Sheikh Bouziane encouraged the villagers to defend Zaatcha until death. The French shelled the village which they breached the gate and other parts of the wall then the French soldiers rushed into the village fighting with villagers along the way until they reached the Kasr (Palace).

At the end of the day Commander Lavarande who was the commander of the 2nd Zouaves Battalion had captured Sheikh Bouziane and his 16 years old son who took refuge in one of the villages houses.

The villagers of Zaatcha has defended bravely against the French invaders until their last breath, the French soldiers has massacred all the people of Zaatcha village including women and children.

General Herbillon has ordered Sheikh Bouziane to be executed along with his son and his right hand mand Al-Hajj Moussa then they got their head cutted then it was hanged at the gates of Biskra then it got transferred to France.

Aftermath

During the 52 days siege of the village of Zaatcha, The French army lost more than 2,000 soldiers including 600 who died from cholera.  Algerian villagers of Zaatcha had 800 defenders killed including 12,900 women and children who were massacred by the French army who did not just massacre the population they also stole 1,800 camels, 15,000 sheeps and burned 10,000 palm trees.  

Massacre of El Ouffia 1832

On the night of 17 April 1832, French forces immediately after the capture of Algiers brutally massacred the tribe of El Ouffia by slaughtering their men, women and children in their sleep. The reason was because they were being  suspected in stealing from the envoy of Ferhat ben Sayed in Ziban who was an Agha collaborating with the French invaders.

The crime was supervised by Duke of Rovigo commander of the French army, he sent 300 from the cavalry of Huntsmen of Africa and 300 from the cavalry of French Foreign Legion to destroy the tribe of El Ouffia at night and to kill them with blades in their tents, the death toll of the tribe was around 12,000 killed in one night.

Above Image (Massacre of El Ouffia)

One French soldier who was part of this massacre wrote on his dairy:

“We eliminated all we found who was moving (people) whatever it was from male or female, old or young then when we came back from our shameful campaign our cavalry cared skulls on their spears then we celebrated around these skulls.”

“All cattales and valued properties that we captured after the massacre were sold to the consul of Denmark in Algeria and what is left from the properties was sold in the market of Bab Azzoun, where the Europeans were able to buy bracelets of gold with the wrist of a women cutted and earrings were on sale are still attached to the ear, then we shared the quarter of the selling between us (who committed the massacre).”

The ruthless commander Duke of Rovigo has wrote in his official memo:

“Thanks and gratitude of the enthusiasm and intelligence shown my troops.”

Then he ordered his soldiers to force the people in Algiers to keep the light of their shops open until late in the night so the French can celebrate about the massacre they committed in El Harach.

Rabia Ben Sidi Ghanem who was the Sheikh and  the leader of the tribe of El Ouffia was captured by the French forces during the massacre, he was on trial in the French council of war but they decided to execute him in 19 April 1832 in Bab Azzoun, despite the intervention of many civil and military characters although the French inspector sent a letter to the Prime minister claiming that the charges against the leader of the tribe was not based on reality which he was blamed for stealing in Ziban (Biskra).

Enfumedes of Dhara & Ain Merane 1845

Enfumades

Enfumades is a killing technique used by the French Colonial Armies in Algeria during the pacification campaign in 1844 and 1845 in order to reduce the supporters of Emir Abdelkader in Chlef and Mostaganem. Enfumades is being practiced by the French Army commanded by General Thomas-Robert Bugeaud and General Jacques-Marie Cavaignacs against unarmed Algerian tribes. The meaning of enfumades is to suffocate the people that took refuge in the cave by trapping them inside it by setting fire at the entry of the cave so it can consume the available oxygen then fulfill it with smoke inside the cave then the whole people who were hiding inside it would be annihilated.

Above Images (Enfumedes)

Enfumades of Dahra Cave - 18 June 1845

The enfumades of Dahra cave count as one of the most heinous crimes committed by the French colonial armies against the defenseless population during their colonization of Algeria.

The French colonial forces has been practicing scorched earth policy by torturing people, burning villages, seizure of cattles and burning of  harvest since their invasion of Algeria in 1830. The Arabian tribe of Ouled Reyah was not spared from extermination committed by the French army in order to replace them with other European settlers.

This horrific event took place on 18 and 19 June in eastern Mostaganem which is located in west of Algeria, where Emir Abdelkader launched a violent resistance against the French invaders 13 years ago since the start of French Invasion of Algeria.

A regiment of the French Army led by Colonel Aimable Pelissier attacked the village of Ouled Reyah but the villagers led by Boumazza resisted hardly but unfortunately the French crushed the resistance and destroyed everything which forced the survived people in the village to flee, but Colonel Pelissier did not just destroy the village he also ordered his soldiers to follow the fleeing people.

The survived ones from the tribe of Ouled Reyah took refuge in the cave of Dhara then Colonel Pelissier opened the negotiation with leaders of the tribe of Ouled Reyah but the tribal leaders demanded the withdrawal of French soldiers in exchange for their submission, during the talks both sides opened fire at each other but the tribe of Ouled Reyah refused to surrender to the French. Colonel Pelissier then ordered his soldiers to set fire at the entrance of the cave to force them to go out and kneel to him but all his threats was in vain so he ordered his soldiers to set fire again at night causing the death of women, children, elders and even their animals who all died of suffocation.

Next day after the enfumades, Colonel Pelissier sent a company of soldiers to enter the cave, inside the cave it was a mournful silence with growls reign there at the entrance of the cave the animals (cattles) which had been wrapped their heads to prevent them from seeing or roar are laid down with their body half burnt, and then there are groups frightening that death has entered there were father was suffocated when he was defending his wife and child against the rabies in the agony of a bull which he still grasped the horns of the bull, Elsewhere in the cave there were spouses or lovers engaged in a close body to body suffocation which both of them were tightened the ties formed by their arms entwined. New born babies were laid among crates and provisions, finally here and there masses of flesh trampled formless form as a kind of human mush.   

The enfumades of Dhara has left the deaths of 760  from the tribe of Ouled Reyah according to a French officer who was part of this massacre while other sources indicate that there are more than 1,000 deaths.

The French Officer wrote on his dairy “The caves are huge, there were 760 dead bodies only 60 people came out but from them there-quarter of them died, 40 survived, 10 are in the ambulance (French Medical tent) they are dangerously sick and the last 10 were released to return to their tribes, they were just crying on the ruins.”

After the massacre Colonel Pelissier stated without any feelings ”The skin of my drums had more value than the lives of all those miserables.”

Enfumedes of Ain Merane Cave - 8 August 1845

In 8 August 1845, Colonel St.Arnaud and his forces discovered a cave in Ain Merane that was refuge place for 500 people from the tribe of Bani Sabeh, they refused to come out and surrender which made Colonel St.Arnaud order his soldiers to Enfumez them all.

Colonel St.Arnaud commanded the 2nd column that was tracking Boumaaza who escaped to Dhara then he headed to Tenes and Mostaganem. In Tenes Colonel St.Arnaud portrayed perfectly in a letter to his brother, the circumstances leading to the massacre of suffocation of more than 500 people.

Colonel’s letter to his brother:

“Dear Brother I wanted to tell you a long story of my expedition, but I don't have enough time I have to write eight pages to the Marshal. Tiredness and heat overwhelm me, I spent my last twenty four hours on horseback I just send you a kind of summary of my journal operations. You

know i had directed three columns to surprise the Cherif by a combined movement. Everything happened as I had expected.

I rejected Boumaaza on the columns of Tenes and Mostaganem that held them and pursued. Boumaaza eventually escaped from General Claparede,   Canrobert, Fleury and Colonel Berthier. I was told 34 heads, but it is as I wanted, the same day, eight o'clock I was pushing a reconnaissance of the caves 200 meters of development with 5 entries.

We received gunshots, I was so surprised that I respectfully welcomed some bullets which is not usual. The same evening the 53rd came under fire, one man injured, measurement well taken.

Nine o’clock, beginning of siege works, blockade, mines, detonators, summons, instances. Please come out and surrender, Answer: insults, profanity, gunshots. Fires lit on ten & eleven o’clock with same repetitions.

11 Arabs urged their compatriots to leave and surrender but they refused, twelve o’clock, 11 Arabs left the cave but the others draw their guns so I hermetically seal all exits of the cave and I made a huge cemetery, the earth will cover forever the bodies of it’s fanatics.

Nobody came down to the caves, nobody...but myself knows that there were 500 dead bodies who did not slay the French. A confidential report was sent to the marshal said it all simply without poetry or picture. Brother no one is good by nature like me, from 8 to 12 I was sick but my conscience does not reproach me. I did my duty as a leader, and tomorrow I will do it again, but I have taken Africa in disgust.”     

  

The massacre of the column of 450 led by Colonel Montagnac in 24 September by Emir Abdelkader, is the response to the abuses committed by the French army during the spring and summer of 1845.

Massacre of Laghouat 1852

Above Image (French Forces occupying Laghouat)

The first use of chemical weapons against civilians in the world was in Algeria at the hands of the French colonial invading forces from November 22 to 2 December 1852.

The estimated French colonial forces that was heading to Laghouat was around 65,000 soldiers commanded by General Dubarrail, since the first moments of the attack the French invaders tried to terrorize the population by implementing scorched earth policy. The estimated death toll of the population of the city are 3,800 killed of the total population of 4,800 people in the year of 1852, most people lived from agriculture and trade with other cities from north and south of Algeria the city was destroyed when French invaders occupied it they also killed all Islamic scholars, merchants and other people they were either buried alive or burned alive and the rest of the population who survived were managed to escape to Al-Amour Mountains.

Topographic problems of the French Forces and the importance location of Laghouat

The city of Laghouat was known since it was built by the Arabs in 850, it was built as a centre of trading and a resting place for traveling convoys. The French colonists seen this city as a strategic location that allows them to observe and monitor the population movements in the area it is the nearest city to Algiers from the desert also it is a place where the French armies gets supplied from the north and south of Algeria. The Advantage of the location of the city it’s the nearest to Algiers, Ouargla and valley of Mzab.

This is why the French Army wanted to provide maps for the French colonist authority in Algeria since June 1844, General Rivet who was the commander in chief in Algeria has ordered General Marey Monge to do some Topographic studying on the city of Laghouat and the area around it.

The preparation for the occupation of the city of Laghouat

Failed attempts by General Ladmirau and Marey Monge to occupy the city of Laghouat and forcing it people to surrender but it did not work so the French tried everything they could to occupy it even through negotiations with city leader Sayed Ahmed Al-Tijani and the former city leader Ahmed Ben Salem who was a province leader of Sahara under the rule of Emir Abdelkader from 1848-1849. But the Islamic scholars and the people of the city did not know the mean of weakness and surrender, so the French decided to occupy the city they sent an army led by General Ladmirau who stationed 20Km from the north of Laghouat in 1850.

The French also tried to use the other Sheiks and Islamic scholars who were foes with main Islamic scholars in the city but both of them agreed the city must not fall to the hands of the French, the French generals thought that they would takeover the city easily without noticing the people are ready to fight and die for their city of Laghouat.

General Rivet who was stationed outside the city of Laghouat was waiting more reinforcements from Oran who were led by General Pelissier so they meet merge forces with General Rivet which added the number of soldiers to 65,000 soldiers in 20 November 1852.

The French did not wait so long, in 21 November 1852 the French launched their attack on the city of Laghouat the army of 20,000 men was led by General Pelissier to launch their first attack but the people of Laghouat resisted bravely against an out numbered French forces which made the French occupy the city until 6 December 1852 when shelled the city with chemical weapons which allowed the French to occupy it easily in 6 December 1852.

The resistance fighters of Laghouat did their best in defending the city by killing hundreds of French soldiers but they were outnumbered but the civilian population of the city suffered the most by chemical weapons used by the French army.