| Palestro ambush | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Algerian War | |||||||||
 Location of the ambush | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 FLN |
 French Republic | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
unknown |
Hervé Artur † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 40 men[1] | 21 marines | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
Unknown Estimated 1 killed[2] |
17 killed 3 prisoners killed 1 prisoner released[3] Total: 20 killed 1 wounded | ||||||||
The Palestro ambush, or Djerrah ambush, took place on 18 May 1956, during the Algerian War, near the village of Djerrah in the region of Palestro (now Lakhdaria) in Kabylie. A section of about forty men from the National Liberation Army (ALN) under the command of Lieutenant Ali Khodja ambushed a unit of 21 men from the 9th Colonial Infantry Regiment of the French Army commanded by Second Lieutenant Hervé Artur.
The ambush led to the complete destruction of the small unit of French marines, with a total of 20 French soldiers killed, including their commander, Hervé Artur. One French soldier was taken prisoner and later released. Algerian losses are unknown, but thought to number around one killed and a few wounded.
- ^ Abderrachid Mefti. "Un succès retentissant du commando Ali Khodja, Embuscade du 18 mai 1956 dans les gorges de Lakhdaria" [A Ringing Success for Commando Ali Khodja, Ambush May 18, 1956 in the Lakhdaria Gorges]. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- ^ Branche 2010, p. 25.
- ^ Branche 2010, p. 7