Battle of the Smala 1843
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Date | 16 May 1843 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1843 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Algeria | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | French conquest of Algeria | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 34.8933, 2.3100 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of the Smala took place on 16 May 1843, when the French, led by Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, raided the personal encampment (Arabic: زمالة zmala) of Algerian resistance leader Emir Abdelkader al-Jazairi while al-Qadir was absent on a raiding expedition. The 500 French cavalrymen surprised the camp defenders, who fired a single volley before scattering. More than 3000 of al-Qadir's followers out of a camp population of 30,000 were captured, as were many of his possessions, including his war chest and a library valued at £5000. Three days later, another 2500 followers were captured.
Al-Qadir fled to Morocco later that year, triggering French pressure on Morocco and the advent of the Franco-Moroccan War in 1844. He was eventually captured in 1847, ending major Algerian resistance to the French colonial occupation.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Smala (revision 1370602346), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Chelif River (1015) 1015 · 105 km
- Battle of Bab El Bekkouche 1958 · 118 km
- Siege of Laghouat 1852 · 132 km
- Battle of Achir (1016) 1016 · 143 km
- Médéa expedition (1830) 1830 · 158 km
- Battle of Taghit 1903 · 169 km
Other battles of the French conquest of Algeria
- Battle of Constantine 1836
- Battle of Sikkak 1836
- Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha 1837
- Siege of Constantine 1837
- Battle of Mazagran 1840
- Battle of Sidi Brahim 1845
All 14 battles of the French conquest of Algeria →
Browse more: battles in Algeria · Africa · 19th century battles