Rif War (1920)

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Rif War

The Spanish troops landing at Al Hoceima Bay on September 8, 1925

Date	1920 - 1926
Location	Spanish Morocco
Result	French-Spanish victory. Dissolution of the Republic of the Rif

Belligerents

Spain

France

Republic of the Rif

Commanders

Manuel Silvestre
Dámaso Berenguer
José Millán Astray
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Philippe Pétain
Hubert Lyautey

Abd el-Krim

Strength

465,000 regulars

15,000 irregulars

Casualties and losses

31,000 dead or wounded

50,400 dead or wounded

Spanish-Moroccan conflicts (1859–2002)

War of 1859 – 1st Rif War – 2nd Rif War – 3rd Rif War – Ifni War – Green March – Recuperar Soberanía

The Rif War of 1920, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain (later assisted by France) and the Moroccan Rif and J'bala tribes.

As an outcome of the Treaty of Fez (1912) Spain gained possession of the lands around Melilla and Ceuta. In 1920 the Spanish commissioner, General Dámaso Berenguer, decided to conquer the eastern territory from the Jibala tribes. This, however, did not succeed, and in 1921 Spanish troops suffered a momentous defeat — known in Spain as the Battle of Annual — by the forces of Abd el-Krim, the leader of the Rif tribes. The Spanish were pushed back and during the following five years, occasional battles were fought between the two. In a bid to break the stalemate, the Spanish military turned to the use of chemical weapons against the Riffians.

In 1925, events took a new turn as the French joined the war on the side of Spain, and began showing a distinct advantage over their Rif opponents and their Spanish allies.

The Spanish army had adopted much from the French Foreign Legion and, as a result, a Spanish equivalent, the Tercio de Extranjeros ("Regiment of Foreigners", generally known in English as the "Spanish Legion"), was formed in 1920 and commanded by General Francisco Franco. Less than 25% of this "Foreign Legion" were, in fact, foreign. They developed a notoriety for fierceness.

Superior manpower soon resolved the course of the war in favour of France and Spain. The French troops pushed through from the south while the Spanish fleet secured Alhucemas Bay by an amphibious landing, and began attacking from the north. After one year of bitter resistance, Abd el-Krim, the leader of both the tribes, surrendered to French authorities, and in 1926 Spanish Morocco was finally retaken.