Battle of Isly

Battle of Isly
Part of the Franco-Moroccan War
Battle of Isly by Horace Vernet
Battle of Isly, oil painting by Horace Vernet.
Date14 August 1844
Location
Near Oujda, Morocco
34°41′24″N 1°55′48″W / 34.69000°N 1.93000°W / 34.69000; -1.93000
Result French victory
Belligerents
France Morocco
Commanders and leaders
Thomas Robert Bugeaud
Joseph Vantini		 Abd al-Rahman
Muhammad IV
Strength
10,400 soldiers[1] 45,000 soldiers[1]
Casualties and losses
27 killed
99 wounded[2]		 800 killed
1,500 wounded[1]
11 artillery
Battle of Isly is located in Morocco
Battle of Isly
Battle of Isly
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Location of the Battle of Isly

The Battle of Isly (Arabic: معركة إيسلي) was fought on August 14, 1844 between France and Morocco, near the Isly River [fr]. French forces under Marshal Thomas Robert Bugeaud routed a much larger, but poorly organized, Moroccan force, mainly fighters from the tribes of Beni Snassen [fr], but also from the Beni Angad and Beni Oukil;[3] under Muhammad, son of the Sultan of Morocco, Abd al-Rahman. Bugeaud, attempting to complete the French conquest of Algeria, instigated the battle without a declaration of war in order to force negotiations concerning Moroccan support for the Algerian resistance leader Abd el-Kader to conclude on terms favorable to the French[4] who demanded the Sultan of Morocco to withdraw support for Abd el-Kader.[5]

Bugeaud, who recovered the Moroccan commander's tent and umbrella (equivalent to capturing a military standard in European warfare), was made Duke of Isly for his victory.

The day following the battle, the Bombardment of Mogador started.[6]

  1. ^ a b c Clodfelter, M. (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015 (4th ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-7864-7470-7.
  2. ^ Pierre Montagnon, The conquest of Algeria: The seeds of discordie, 2012.
  3. ^ "La bataille d'Isly, ou l'engagement constant du Maroc envers le Maghreb". Sahara Question. 13 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020.
  4. ^ Hekking, Morgan. "The Battle of Isly: Remembering Morocco's Solidarity With Algeria". Morocco World News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  5. ^ Churchill, Charles Henry (1867). The Life of Abdel Kader, Ex-sultan of the Arabs of Algeria: Written from His Own Dictation, and Comp. from Other Authentic Sources. Chapman and Hall. p. 236.
  6. ^ E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936. BRILL. 1987. p. 550. ISBN 978-90-04-08265-6.