First Battle of El Djorf

The First Battle of El Djorf (or El-Djorf) took place on 22 September 1955, during the Algerian War, between the National Liberation Army and the French Army.

First Battle of El Djorf
Part of Algerian War
Date20–28 September 1955
Location
Tébessa, Algeria
Result

FLN victory

  • FLN leadership escapes French attack
Belligerents
 French Republic FLN
Commanders and leaders
André Beaufre Chihani Bachir
Lazhar Cheriet
Laghrour Abbes
Adjel Adjoul  (WIA)[1]
Units involved
25,000[2] 300[2]
Casualties and losses
Few
(French claim)
400-800 killed
1,500 wounded
(Algerian claim)		 45 killed
40 wounded and captured
(French claim)
60-70 killed
60-90 wounded
(Algerian claim)

Background

The battle occurred a year after the start of the Algerian War. It took place in the Aurès, the mountainous terrain where the war started. The French military had arrested Mostefa Ben Boulaïd, who was the head of the Algerian National Liberation Army in that region.

An internal conflict in the ALN resulted in Colonel Bachir Chihani being named head of the Willaya I. He started by gathering the troops that had dispersed over the region, and managed to organize a meeting in the region of El Djorf, north of current Tebessa Province. This meeting was aimed at reorganising the troops to relaunch military activities. 300 fighters attended this meeting.

The French army launched Operation "Timgad" and had no idea that it was about to fall on the meeting of the chiefs of Aurès and Nementchas that Bachir Chihani had organised between 18 and 23 September 1955.[3]

Battle

The FLN casualties were 45 killed and 40 wounded and captured, while French losses were very few according to the French government.[4] According to Algerian sources, the battle was a resounding FLN victory, with losses of the French army were as follows: between 400 and 800 dead and more than 1,500 wounded. As well as the loss of large amounts of ammunition 44, the loss of 100 soldiers, the downing of eight aircraft and the destruction of three armored vehicles. 45 and about 150 pieces of weapons such as automatic rifles (50 guns) and others . As for the losses of the National Liberation Army, estimates varied, and in general, they range between 60 and 70 dead and 60-90 Wounded, and 15 weapons lost, it was not possible to keep them on the night of going out while on a mule convoy.[5][6] The FLN leadership ambushed by the French managed to escape, almost miraculously, certain death and encirclement by the superior French army.[3]

Aftermath

The leaders blamed Bachir Chihani for his recklessness in organising a rally as important as the one in El-Djorf, neglecting the basic rules of security, and call for self-criticism on his part, which did not come.[5]

In the context of the war of memories with the former colonial power, the Algerian authorities decided to make the Battle of El Djorf, which took place from 20 to 28 September 1955 in the Nemenchas Mountains in eastern Algeria, a place of memory for the Algerian nation in the 2000s.[7]

Bibliography
  • Mohamed Larbi Medaci (2001). Les Tamiseurs de sables. Algiers: Anep. pp. 251 pages. ISBN 9961903714.

References
  1. Siari Tengour, Ouanassa (2004-12-30). "Adjel Adjoul (1922-1993) :un combat inachevé". Insaniyat / إنسانيات. Revue algérienne d'anthropologie et de sciences sociales (in French) (25–26): 37–63. doi:10.4000/insaniyat.6187. ISSN 1111-2050.
  2. Emmanuel Alcaraz (2021). Histoire de l'Algérie et de ses mémoires Des Orignies au Hirak. KARTHALA Editions. p. 131. ISBN 978-2-8111-2360-4.
  3. Siari Tengour, Ouanassa (2004). "Adjel Adjoul (1922-1993) : un combat inachevé". Insaniyat / إنسانيات. 25–26: 37–63. Retrieved September 10, 2019. Quand l'armée française lance l'opération "Timgad", elle était loin de soupconnler de tomber sur la rėunion des chefs de l'Aurès et Nementchas que Bachir Chihani avait organisée entre le 18 et 23 septembre 1955. la surprise est valable pour les deux parties. Mais, pour l'ALN, c'est l'un des affrontements les plus meurtriers, qui se solde par la perte de 45 djoundis et l'arrestation de 40 autres.
  4. Savoirs historiques au Maghreb: constructions et usages (in French). Crasc. 2006.
  5. مقيدش, علجية (2018). "معركة الجرف التاريخية الكبرى 22-25/09/1955 ا. Nouveaux objets". مجلة الباحث في العلوم الإنسانية و الإجتماعية. algeria: مجلة الباحث في العلوم الانسانية والاجتماعية. 10 (3): 1159–1168. doi:10.35156/1869-000-035-097. وعموما فقد كانت خسائر جيش الإحتلال كالتالي: مابين 400-800 قتيل وأكثـر مـن 1500 جـريح ، فضلا عن ضياع كميـات كبيـرة مـن الـذخيرة 44، فقدان 100 جندي،إسقاط ثماني طائرات وتدمير ثلاث مصفحات 45 وحوالي150قطعة أسلحة كالبنادق الآلية (50بندقية) وغيرها. أما عن تضحيات جيش التحرير الوطني، فقد تباينت التقديرات، وعموما فهي ما بـين 60-70 شـهيد و 60-90 جريح ،وضياع 15 قطعة سلاح ، تعذر الاحتفاظ بها ليلة الخروج وهي على متن قافلة للبغال.
  6. "La bataille d'El Djorf: un moment phare dans l'histoire de la guerre de libération". aps.dz (in French). 21 September 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  7. Alcaraz, Emmanuel (2016). "La guerre d'indépendance algérienne : une mémoire disputée dans le champ politique algérien". Cahiers d'histoire. Revue d’histoire critique (130): 125–146. Retrieved September 10, 2019. La bataille d'El Djorf, ayant eu lieu du 20 au 28 septembre 1955 dans les monts Nemenchas à l'est de l'Algérie, est devenue un lieu de mémoire de la nation algérienne dans les années 2000. Le pouvoir a voulu montrer que si la guerre d'Algérie a été une guerre de guérilla, il y a eu aussi des affrontements d'envergure en face à face, des wajhât, comme cette bataille qui était oubliée sur le plan national. Dans le contexte de la guerre des mémoires avec l'ancienne puissance coloniale, son but était de contrer le discours porté par l'armée française et certains historiens comme Jean-Charles Jauffret
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