The Rif War.. The day the Moroccans defeated the Spaniards

Click to listen

Despite his great knowledge of the civilization and ideas of Europe, he never for a moment saw the world or its own problems in it, from the point of view of a European man, which he saw as any countryman could see, and his supremacy rested on the following fact: that he could to see them more clearly, and to attack them with more courage, and with more cleverness, were his prevailing ideas, and his purposes in life so few, and that they could all be traced back to one purpose: absolute independence of the countryside.”

(Reporter of the American Chicago Tribune newspaper in his description of the Mujahid Prince Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi)

The Moroccan countryside and the Spanish occupation

In the middle of the eleventh century of immigration, a rift occurred within the Saadian family (1554-1659 AD), which was ruling the Far Maghreb, which eventually led to its elimination. The most fit to rule the country, and the Al-Sharif Al-Alawite (d. 1069 AH / 1659 AD) and his son Muhammad bin Sharif Al-Alawi (d. 1075 AH / 1664 AD) had sowed the seed of the Al-Hasaniya Al-Alawite state that still rules Morocco to this day, starting from Saljamasa in Morocco[1].

In the era of Sultan Abdul Aziz bin Al Hassan Al Alawi (he took power from 1894 to 1908 AD), the conflict between Britain and France was at its most intense to extend their influence over the North African region. The friendly agreement, which stipulated that France ceded its rights in Egypt to Britain, in exchange for Britain’s recognition that France had the right to “protect” the political situation in Marrakesh. This caused an uproar in Germany, which saw these agreements as a violation of the Berlin Agreement concluded between European countries in the eighteenth century of the nineteenth century. This German objection resulted in the holding of an international conference in Spain on April 7, 1906 AD, which was stated in it: Recognition of the independence of the Sultan Moroccan, and to preserve the entity of the Kingdom.”Marrakech/Moroccan “under the protection of France, the trade freedom of the signatory countries and other issues, which provoked the wrath, resentment and revolution of the Moroccans[2].

Sultan Abdul Aziz bin Hassan Al Alawi (communication sites)

Following this uprising, the French forces, in number and equipment, occupied Al-Awja, Casablanca, and Al-Shawi. Germany and France later in 1911 AD, according to which France handed over the Congo to Germany in exchange for France occupying any province it sees in Morocco under the pretext of maintaining security!

It is important to say that the descent of Spain in the regions of northern Morocco took place since the late fifteenth century AD, after the fall of Granada, when they were able to occupy the city of Melilla in 1497 AD, and the truth is that the Moroccans revolted against the Spaniards in the nineteenth century, and perhaps the most famous of these uprisings are the so-called The “Tetouan War” or the “African War” in 1859 AD when the Spaniards exploited Morocco’s weakness, and the twentieth century was entering its first decade except that the Far Morocco was located between the flames of the Spanish occupation in the north and the French in the middle.

In the light of that despotism and abhorrent occupation, revolutionaries appeared in the countryside and confronted the Spanish occupier with strength and solidity, such as Sharif Muhammad Amziane (1909-1912 AD), and Sharif Ahmed Al-Raisouni (1912-1925 AD) [3].

Al-Khattabi’s birth and upbringing

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi was born in the town of Ajdir near Al Hoceima in the northern Moroccan countryside in 1882 AD in the House of Ilm and Jihad, of the Waryaghel tribe, one of the major Berber tribes in the Rif Mountains. He returned to the countryside and later joined the Spanish University of Salamanca, where he obtained a doctorate in law, and then Ibn Abdul Karim combined Arab-Islamic culture with modern European culture, which qualified him to be a judge in Melilla, which was - and still is - under Spanish occupation.

Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi (communication sites)

Ibn Abd al-Karim resided in Melilla as a judge close to the Spanish decision-making circles, and he saw in it the abuse and injustice with which the Spaniards were treated. The brutality of the Spanish occupier, and the matter was made worse by the expansion of the Spanish occupation from Melilla, Ceuta and Tetouan to Chefchaouen[4].

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi contacted Austrian and German arms smugglers who opposed the French and Spanish in their expansion in Morocco, and established relations with the deposed Sultan Abd al-Hafeez (the rule of Morocco 1908-1912 CE) and residing in Tetouan. 1915 AD and accused of making dangerous and inappropriate statements to the head of the Al-Ahly office in Al Hoceima in northern Morocco.

Ibn Abd al-Karim was imprisoned in the Capalbrizas castle in Melilla, and his failed attempt to escape left him with a broken leg after a jump from a prison window.

In 1918 he was released, after eleven months, and he returned to his judicial position in the Spanish-occupied city of Melilla.

On the other hand, Spain expanded and persisted in its attack on the tribes who refused to surrender in the north of Morocco, and began to use the policy of force and brutality against the tribes in the Rif region, and then a new stage in the life of Ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi began[5].

The overwhelming battle of "Anwal"

The glorious events that took place in the area between the Amqran River and Mount Garghiz on the outskirts of the city of Tetouan, is an epic story that began with 18 guns that defeated large armies, numbering at one time 360,000 fighters, whose equipment represented, in addition to their tanks and planes, the latest productions of the military industry European at that time.

And that war had undermined Spain and cost it its stability and reputation, and that war forced France to enter to help the Spaniards crush this war, so France threw its greatest generals, Marshal Petain, commander of the famous Battle of Fidan [6]!

Ibn Abd al-Karim returned to his tribe and sought the help of some of its heroes and pledged allegiance to him to ignite the spirit of resistance and the jihad of the Spanish enemy, and the first bullet came out on July 20, 1920 AD, and Ibn Abd al-Karim’s strategy was to rely on the spoils of the defeated Spaniards, until his thorn became stronger, his popularity expanded, and his army is now About 500 soldiers.

On the other hand, Al-Khattabi relied on spreading his call and idea in the horizons of the Moroccan countryside, and he asked the tribes to unite and solidarity and strengthen his hand in standing up to the occupier, and the circle of acceptance, approval and solidarity expanded. Jihadi leaders, and therefore they are surrounded by the duty of integrity and asceticism in personal interests, and not burdening the population with taxes, and that each one in a position of responsibility has to spend on himself.

Various tribes saw that Ibn Abd al-Karim's leadership is embodied in vivid examples of the determination that leads to victory, and a living example of the right behavior and the close relationship between the leadership and al-Qaeda, so these tribes sided with the movement that came from Ajdir, which began a brilliant start in the battle that was known as "Anwal". [7]!

Battle of Anwal (networking sites)

In the face of this rising force, and the strong alliance of the tribes of Morocco, Spain saw no delay in the face of the rhetorical movement, which represents a direct danger to its existence in the north of Morocco, so the Spanish general “Sylvester” was assigned to confront al-Khattabi, and his forces consisted of 24 thousand soldiers equipped with modern weapons and artillery, and set out From Melilla and Ceuta towards Tetouan, Ajdir, and Masad, these forces are advancing in the countryside, any resistance, and the general believed that Al-Khattabi and his men were unable to confront, while Al-Khattabi and his forces worked to lure the Spanish forces to the rugged mountainous areas, and tempted him to achieve quick victories until they occupied the town of Anwal On 7 Ramadan 1339 AH / 15 May 1921 AD.

On July 21, 1921, the famous Battle of Anwal took place, in which the Moroccan Mujahideen relied on the spoils they had previously won;

The plan of Sheikh al-Khattabi's attack in "Anwal" was to attack the Spaniards simultaneously and from all sides;

The supply and communication lines are cut off.

The other matter the Sheikh sent a large number of his soldiers in places where they could hunt the fleeing soldiers, so most of the Spanish army was eliminated, including General "Sylvester", and the Spaniards admitted that they had lost 15,000 dead and 570 captives in that battle.

The results of the Battle of Anwal were remarkable and influential on the Moroccan and international levels. The revolutionaries of the countryside became a strong thorn in the face of the occupiers. They captured in this battle alone many weapons. Abdel Karim says in his memoirs: “We were defeated by the Anwal of 200 75-caliber cannons. Or 65 or 77, and more than 20,000 rifles, and innumerable amounts of shells, and millions of cartridges, and cars and trucks, and superfluous provisions, and medicine, and camping equipment, and in bulk, overnight, and all that we lacked to equip an army, and wage a great war, and we took 700 captives. The Spaniards lost 15,000 soldiers, either dead or wounded.”[8]

This battle was followed by another great war battle, "The Battle of Irit", in which the Spaniards were greatly broken, and the rural army reached the stronghold of the Spaniards in the north of Morocco, "Melila" [9].

The Rural Republic!

The victory of "Anwal" caused an earthquake in the Moroccan countryside. Al-Khattabi became famous among the tribes, which he used when he called them to hold a popular conference to establish a political system and draft a constitution for a "national charter" to manage the affairs of the region. The Rural National Assembly held its first meeting on September 19, 1921 AD. Its decision was the independence of the country, and the formation of a republican constitutional government headed by the Mujahid Muhammad bin Abdul Karim al-Khattabi, the leader of the revolution[10].

• Ajdir was declared the capital of the new Rif Republic, and a national charter was drawn up that included several principles, which stated:

The defeat of the Spaniards in Morocco in this humiliating manner led to the turmoil of the political situation in Spain itself, and the Spanish forces in the north of Morocco rose to 150 thousand fighters, and offered to Al-Khattabi to recognize the independence of the Moroccan countryside on the condition that it be an autonomy subject to Spanish sovereignty, which Al-Khattabi and the people of the countryside rejected Conclusive, on the other hand, an internal coup took place in Spain on September 12, 1923 AD, in which General “Primodi Rivera” announced that Spain’s policy in Morocco would be to withdraw from the interior regions and stationed in the fortified areas on the coast, and the operations of Al-Khattabi and his valiant soldiers that adopted the guerrilla method continued throughout The years 1921-1925 AD, Spain recognized the severity of its losses, tens of thousands in 1924 AD [12].

Negotiations were also taking place between the two parties, and we find in those correspondences the pride of the peasants themselves and their emerging state, in one of them we find that "the rural government - which was founded on modern rules and civil laws - considers itself politically and economically independent; hoping to live free as it has lived for centuries and as it lives All peoples, and consider themselves the right to possess their soil before every state, and consider the Spanish colonial department as an aggressor and usurper who has no right in what he claims to spread protection over the government of the countryside”[13].

The Spanish-French alliance and the fall of Al-Khattabi!

Occupied France in central Morocco was terrified of the growing danger of Ibn Abd al-Karim. In fact, in April 1925 AD, it was surprised that the tribes bordering the liberated areas in the north rushed once, responding to the call of jihad towards the areas controlled by France, and a massive uprising occurred in a wide line that reached until Plains of the West and threatened the city of Fez.

French intelligence reports had come to the conclusion that Ibn Abd al-Karim was a man who “has the qualifications of a leader who understands the advantages of organized war in the modern way”[14]. Faced with this direct threat to its interests in Morocco, France was forced to declare an alliance with the Spaniards in the north, and took several strategies To undermine the revolutionaries, including instructing the Moroccan Sultan that Ibn Abd al-Karim is outside his legitimate authority, and then inciting the tribes against al-Khattabi, which caused an internal rift that had the greatest impact on al-Khattabi’s defeat.

On the military side, France and Spain used all their equipment and forces, including forbidden chemical weapons. The French-Spanish advance continued in the country, and with the advent of winter, and the lack of crops abandoned by many resistance fighters, some tribes began to rest and revolt.

By the winter of 1925 AD and the beginning of 1926 AD, al-Khattabi lost 20 thousand martyrs in the battles taking place in front of his archenemy on a vast and extensive military front, as well as the fifth column of traitors inside, and in the following year the situation worsened by the Spanish-French naval blockade, then with the lack of food and food, and the increase in rebellion The internal affairs, which forced Al-Khattabi to declare his surrender and surrender, fearing for the people of the countryside on May 26, 1926[15], and France exiled him to an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean.

King Farouk and Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi (communication sites)

In the year 1947 AD, while returning to France, the Mujahid Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Khattabi came to Port Said, seeking asylum in Egypt, which was accepted by the Egyptian government, and al-Khattabi remained in Egypt until his death there in 1963 AD. And among the modern culture, and he was one of the first to establish republics in the Arab countries!

The description that was mentioned by the reporter of the American Chicago Tribe newspaper, and he was accompanying him when he inspected the front lines of the Mujahideen on the peaks overlooking the Gulf of Al Hoceima, and his display was filled with battleships of the enemies, and he was in a difficult stage as the enemy armies were knocking on the doors of his capital, Ajdir, in September 1925 AD. He said: "(Al-Khattabi) embodied his people in their best qualities, and he was expressing and knowing them in a greater way for any individual person to do in the most complex societies, and his genius was the genius of his people"[16]!