Episode 94 The Mujahideen Impose a Siege on the Talanbout Base and its Surroundings

Historical illustration of Mujahideen besieging Spanish positions near Talanbout during the Rif War, with Spanish troops retreating through a mountain landscape.

¡Viva la resistencia! Mujahideen forces tighten the siege around Talanbout as Spanish troops retreat through the mountains, marking a decisive moment in the struggle for northern Morocco.

The Mujahideen Impose a Siege on the Talanbout Base and its Surroundings

Following these successive victories, only the "ridge" remained as a presence. There were four military garrisons within an area estimated at about fifty square miles. Commander Ahmed Akherrou-Hou decided to continue the cleanup operations, as those barracks were packed with provisions by the occupying enemy, providing sufficient capability to withstand the defeat that would likely be inflicted upon them by the hands of the Mujahideen. Commander Akherrou-Hou gave the order to besiege them, then imposed a blockade on the outposts, especially from the side from which they could receive rescue, which was the side of Dar Aqqouq, the sole connection point between the cities of Chefchaouen, Tetouan, and Talanbout.

After surrounding all the barracks and cutting them off from all sides, fighting broke out between the soldiers and the besieged Mujahideen. After three nights of the imposed siege, the fourth day marked a decisive battle with the Mujahideen. On that very day, the enemy managed to carve out a way for themselves to escape from those barracks to Dar Aqqouq, fleeing in defeat while the Mujahideen pursued them. Thus, the enemy managed to escape after leaving hundreds of dead behind. The battle resulted in the martyrdom and wounding of a group of the Mujahideen, because the aforementioned garrisons were protected by another garrison located on top of Jabal Al-Qalaa, overlooking the city of Chefchaouen from the western side and the Beni Zazel tribe from the eastern side. Then the other garrisons fell after the flight of the Talanbout garrisons, and with their fall, the entire area was cleared of any remaining Spanish military garrisons, leaving nothing except what existed in the city of Chefchaouen and its surroundings from the Al-Akhmas tribe.

At this juncture, the Jibli (mountainous) Mujahideen were joined by the leader Idris Belkhouja of the Aqlaqi tribesmen, accompanied by volunteer Mujahideen from the Rif, and he established a base at a camp in the village of Beni Mouh Aberqach, the Ouriaghli leader, and the teacher-leader, which gave the Jibli tribes allied to the Rifian Revolution support, confirmation, and victory, and fraternal cooperation appeared between the two sides. Because of this, it gained the support of its loyal men, who joined it from the following leaders:

From the Anjra tribe: Leader Muhammad Al-Shaer and his brother Abd al-Salam, and from the Idraas tribe, leader Abd al-Salam Istaito.
From the Beni Yder tribe: Leader Muhammad Aghbalou and leader Muhammad Al-Ghenay.
From the Hawz tribe: Leader Muhammad bin Salam.
From the Beni Arous tribe: Some enthusiastic young men joined his movement, such as Mr. Al-Fadil bin Muhammad Al-Sharif Al-Muqaddam from the village of Tardan, who migrated from his village and settled in the city of Tangier until he passed away in 1395 AH / 1975 AD and was buried in the cemetery of the Mujahideen, and his companion named Al-Hassan Al-Masouri.
From the tribe of Sumata: Leader Muhammad bin Walid Al-Shawni, and the Sharif Al-Shtoufi from the village of Tula.
From the Beni Youssef tribe: Leader Ahmed Al-Batal Al-Shuja' nicknamed Walid Al-Fadil from the nobles of Awlad Ahmed Al-Sarid, who was mentioned earlier, who did not submit after surrender, and remained moving between the mountains and eyes, monitoring him until he was killed in the house of his brother-in-law by leader Ahmed Al-Khamal.
General Primo de Rivera's Announcement of the Withdrawal of Spanish Armies from Their Occupied Positions

After his hope in Sharif Al-Rissouni was cut off and he realized he could no longer guarantee the safety of the Spanish armies upon their withdrawal until they safely reached their rear bases in the cities, he announced the withdrawal of the occupying forces to relieve them of the burden of the peaks, which were suffering from the death of the winter cold, snow, and the bullets of the Mujahideen, while meeting a hurricane of fire. He said, "O committees of the General, reach the withdrawal you want for your occupied armies until they reach their bases safely under a protective cover. What you want will not be achieved for you, despite your dictatorship that claims the world is turning upside down, and despite the defeat you suffered the day the international press surrounded you after announcing the comprehensive withdrawal from all occupied centers in the western front alone, and the withdrawal will not be a comprehensive withdrawal for the eastern front, with his statement maintaining the safe borders of the city of Tetouan, starting its lines from along Wadi Al-Mahnash to Bousefiya to Wadi Akraz, Marrah on the road to Tangier to the crossroads of Larache on the Rakay' line, and starting the withdrawal from the city of Chefchaouen in the month of November of the year 1924 AD, then from Khamis Beni Arous, and the vicinities of Tazarout."

His withdrawal announcement faced criticism from politicians, and when General Primo de Rivera heard the statement of the High Commissioner who reproached him as one of the masters of colonial wars, criticizing him by saying: "When withdrawal is necessary for the armies, it is not up to them to announce it to the enemy in advance." Some Spanish politicians also described it as a foolish act that dragged the Spanish armies into dire consequences.
The Method of Withdrawal from the Western Front and Subsequent Developments
After the center of the Rifian Revolution moved to the village of Taghzout Al-Hassanaya, it was made the headquarters of Leader Ahmed Al-Said, acting under the orders of the president of the War Council, Mohamed Abdelkrim. After the High Commissioner announced that the withdrawal would start from the city of Chefchaouen, considering this city as the depth of Jbala due to its location between the tribes of Ghomara, Al-Akhmas, and Beni Hassan on the other hand, and its two peaks—one called Jabal Al-Qalaa and the other called Jabal Al-Sallal—located at the foot of these mountains on the southern side, and because of which its water and weather were famous. It was said that for the sake of that city, a health ministry hospital for chest diseases accommodating three hundred beds was established, making it a connection point between the Rifian, Jibli, and Jbala tribes, and the southern regions of Morocco on the other hand.
Those tribes surrounding Chefchaouen were considered among the most difficult Jibli tribes in wars and battles, as they participated with their men, material, and financial aids in rescuing the withdrawing armies from the city of Chefchaouen and its surroundings. They fought battles in the "Habana" square, while between Dar Aqqouq, Al-Achaish, and Ashrouta to the market of Beni Hassan Al-Qadim to Wadi Al-Nakhla, and Dar Ben Qureish, with the participation of the rest of the tribes on the borders and others, where it was estimated that the enemy lost about eighteen thousand soldiers. The battle was described as involving more than ten surrounding tribes from near and far, namely: the tribe of Beni Hassan, the tribes of Al-Akhmas, the tribe of Beni Hazar, Beni Arous, Sumata, the Ghomara tribes, Beni Said, Beni Yder, Beni Ahmed, Al-Ghazawa, Beni Mesara.
After a long wait for the General Command to choose the appropriate time for their withdrawal to safety as planned by the program promised by Spain, Spain grew impatient. Under these contradictory influences, it rushed and decided to start the withdrawal process despite the discontent and pessimism of military leaders and their gloom over his statement; because they saw that the withdrawal in those critical, dangerous, and fatal circumstances meant the loss of themselves and their military glory that they had obtained through colossal efforts during the reign of General Brincker and his colleague General Silvestre, who spent everything in their power from military efforts to occupy the Western Front with iron and fire.
During the reign of Brincker, warplanes appeared in the air for the first time in the mountains, making human hunting a reality wherever they were, in villages, farms, markets, and all places of human gatherings, throwing explosives from the air, tearing children, women, the elderly, and the elderly men to pieces. Therefore, Spain made colossal political, financial, and military efforts to occupy the northern parts of the Western Front, which caused a violent reaction from leader Al-Rissouni, who entered the field with his men. Thus, fierce and long-term battles broke out between the two sides, starting from Al-Dshirin and Lozeen towards Tetouan, to the battles of Fnduq Ain Al-Jadida, to the battles of Arbaa Ayasha near Asilah, and three Risanas near Larache. Starting from these battles to the market of Beni Arous, and to Tazarout, the center of the leadership of Jihad, and from it to the announcement of withdrawal which was most severe for the military leaders, who were struck by thunderbolts that struck them, so that they did not carry out the decision of their leader whether they liked it or not, despite themselves. Among them were General Sanjurjo, General Castro Giron, Colonel Siso, General Ricarmi, and General Federico Berenguer (brother of the former high commissioner), General Manuel Goded, General Franco, and Colonel Avilo and others.

Those military personnel did not hide their criticism of the withdrawal decision, which was ordered by High Commissioner General Primo de Rivera, and everyone became obligated to execute it in his activity and dislike. For this reason, he described the withdrawal problem as originating from its root, and that his statement would make the loyal Moroccan tribes vulnerable to revenge by the free Mujahideen. General Goded blamed the leaders for the policy of abandoning their friends, according to the expression of General Goded who criticized in his book "Morocco" the policy of the head of his government, Primo de Rivera, because he did not understand the Moroccan problem and did not perceive its essence. Even though the year he spent in power in Spain did not enable him to study the Moroccan problem to give it a fair look, he thought that the negotiations between the General Residency and Sharif Al-Rissouni were the ones that would undertake the solution of the problem in the Western Front, and that the negotiations that would take place with Ibn Abd al-Krim were the ones that would also undertake a solution to the problem in the Eastern Front, and thus the dilemma for the Spanish armies in northern Morocco would be solved. His decision for immediate withdrawal indicated a lack of understanding of the Moroccan psychological state.
During this period, the Mujahideen flocked from neighboring and distant tribes, camping in the villages adjacent to the arena of events in complete secrecy so that news would not reach the withdrawing enemy, awaiting the passage of the withdrawal on the road of Habana, and preparing their numbers for the day of the battle which left great terror among the invading Spanish ranks, and rumors circulated among the riders, until it became more famous among the citizens and Spanish invaders than the famous Battle of Annual.
Here are the statements of some of the famous leaders of the tribes who attended the battle:
- From the Beni Hassan tribe: Leader Muhammad Al-Rinbouq and his brother Leader Ahmed. They were men of opinion, bravery, valor, and chivalry in the wars of liberation.
- Leader Al-Mufaddal Bumandil and his brother Al-Hashimi, all of whom were from the village of Talanfroq from the Haroun section.
- The three sons of Sidi Fadhoul: Mr. Ahmed, Mr. Al-Tahir, and Mr. Abd al-Salam, all of whom were men of opinion, bravery, and chivalry in wars, and performed well in the wars of liberation. However, their older brother, Leader Ahmed, was in Al-Rissouni's prison and did not attend the battle of Habana; the arrest was carried out by Leader Muhammad bin Al-Rahman Al-Sharif Maroun.
- Among the famous heroes of this tribe whose names must be mentioned in the pages of history is Leader Al-Amin bin Al-Ahrash from the village of Beni Moussa, who died a natural death, and all of these are from the Beni Ali section.
- Among those who attended from the Al-Akhmas tribe, among the prominent men, is Leader Muhammad Al-Moudan, who has a famous story with the French officer, and Leader Muhammad bin Ali Akadi, who displayed extraordinary bravery, and among the historical merits recorded by history with pride was that battle fought by the occupied enemy with his group, resulting in all enemy soldiers perishing.
After collecting the spoils and loot, the rifles were counted, numbering three hundred and six with their military ammunition. Among the prominent men of its people is also Leader Ahmed bin Moussa, whose history records that he fought a battle against the foreign Foreign Legion in Tla Moussa, where he won brilliantly, and all the members of the Foreign Legion perished, and he captured all the weapons and military ammunition he had.
Among the prominent men of the Al-Akhmas men: Leader Ahmed Ourit (with the Damma on the Qaf and the intensification of the Ra), who was one of the men famous for waging wars against the invaders and achieving victories.
- Among the prominent men of his people: Leader Abd al-Salam bin Degoun, nicknamed Walid Al-Far.
- From the prominent men of his people: Leader Ahmed bin Al-Jamal, and Leader Muhammad bin Zarouq, nicknamed Walid Al-Tannouk.
- From the prominent men of his people: Leader Omar bin Ahmed bin Al-Tahir, succeeding him from the village of Zharhoun, and also Leader Ahmed Qishtoul, from the village of Tnghaya, and Leader Ahmed bin Muhammad, nicknamed Walid Fatoum, and Leader Muhammad bin Youssef Al-Ribakh, and Leader Muhammad bin Al-Tayeb Hayoun, who emigrated to the Beni Mesara tribe.
- Among the prominent men of its people: The Faqih Sidi Abdallah Al-Yalsouti from the village of Beni Zaid.
- Leader Abu Al-Maati Al-Omrani from Beni Mahala.
- Leader Ahmed bin Al-Mofaddal Al-Binayou.
- Among the prominent leaders of the Beni Hozar and Beni Arous tribe: Leader Muhammad bin Zajal Al-Radi, and Leader Abd al-Salam Walid Hayba, and from the Beni Zajal tribe, Leader Ahmed Bouzara from the village of Al-Qalaa, who was tasked with dragging four cannons that were captured in Habana to the city of Chefchaouen, and Leader Muhammad ben (Sikouka) and others.

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