View source for Battle of Isly

{{short description|1844 battle of the Franco-Moroccan War}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Isly
| partof            = the [[Franco-Moroccan War]]
| image             = [[File:Vernet - Bataille d'Isly - 1846.jpg|300px|Battle of Isly by [[Horace Vernet]]]]
| caption           = ''Battle of Isly'', oil painting by [[Horace Vernet]].
| date              = 14 August 1844
| place             = Near [[Oujda]], [[Morocco]]
| result            = French victory
| combatant1        = {{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg}} [[July Monarchy|France]]
| combatant2        = {{flagicon image|Flag of Morocco (1666–1915).svg}} [[Alawi Sultanate|Morocco]]
| commander1        = {{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg}} '''[[Thomas Robert Bugeaud]]'''<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg}} [[Joseph Vantini]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon image|Flag of Morocco (1666–1915).svg}} '''[[Abd al-Rahman of Morocco|Abd al-Rahman]]'''<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Morocco (1666–1915).svg}} [[Muhammad IV of Morocco|Muhammad IV]]
| strength1         = 10,400 soldiers<ref name="Clodfelter"/>
| strength2         = 45,000 soldiers<ref name="Clodfelter">{{cite book|last=Clodfelter|first=M.|title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|year=2017|edition=4th|isbn=978-0-7864-7470-7|pages=199}}</ref>
| casualties1       = 27 killed<br />99 wounded<ref>Pierre Montagnon, ''The conquest of Algeria: The seeds of discordie'', 2012.</ref>
| casualties2       = 800 killed<br />1,500 wounded<ref name="Clodfelter"/><br>11 artillery
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox First Franco-Moroccan War}}
| coordinates       = {{coord|34|41|24|N|1|55|48|W}}
| map_type          = Morocco
| map_size          = 300
| map_caption       = Location of the Battle of Isly
| map_label         = Battle of Isly
}}
{{Campaignbox Franco-Moroccan conflicts}}{{Campaignbox French conquest of Algeria}}

The '''Battle of Isly''' ({{Langx|ar|معركة إيسلي}}) was fought on August 14, 1844, between [[July Monarchy|France]] and [[Morocco]], near the {{Ill|Isly River|fr|Oued Isly}}. French forces under Marshal [[Thomas Robert Bugeaud]] routed a much larger, but poorly organized, Moroccan force, mainly fighters from the tribes of {{Ill|Beni Snassen|fr|Béni-Snassen (ethnie)}}, but also from the [[Banu Angad|Beni Angad]] and [[Banu Oukil|Beni Oukil]];<ref>{{Cite web|date=13 August 2020|title=La bataille d'Isly, ou l'engagement constant du Maroc envers le Maghreb|url=https://sahara-question.com/fr/actualites/20325|url-status=live|website=Sahara Question|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026033631/https://sahara-question.com/fr/actualites/20325 |archive-date=2020-10-26 }}</ref> under [[Muhammad IV of Morocco|Muhammad]], son of the Sultan of Morocco, [[Abd al-Rahman 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 [[Emirate of Abdelkader|Algerian resistance]] leader [[Emir Abdelkader|Abd el-Kader]] to conclude on terms favorable to the French<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Hekking|first=Morgan|title=The Battle of Isly: Remembering Morocco's Solidarity With Algeria|url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/08/315455/the-battle-of-isly-remembering-moroccos-solidarity-with-algeria|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-11|website=Morocco World News|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922115644/https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/08/315455/the-battle-of-isly-remembering-moroccos-solidarity-with-algeria/ |archive-date=2020-09-22 }}</ref> who demanded the Sultan of Morocco to withdraw support for Abd el-Kader.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Churchill|first=Charles Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=inkoAAAAYAAJ|title=The Life of Abdel Kader, Ex-sultan of the Arabs of Algeria: Written from His Own Dictation, and Comp. from Other Authentic Sources|publisher=Chapman and Hall|year=1867|pages=236|language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Houtsma 550">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iJQ3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA550|title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936|date=1987|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-08265-6|pages=550|language=en}}</ref>

== Background ==
Since the [[Invasion of Algiers in 1830]], [[Emir Abdelkader|Emir Abd el-Kader]] had taken lead of the tribes of the region of [[Mascara, Algeria|Mascara]] to oppose the French in 1832. [[Desmichels Treaty|A first treaty]], signed by [[Louis Alexis Desmichels|General Desmichels]] in 1834, was deemed too favorable to him. in 1837, [[Thomas Robert Bugeaud|Marshal Bugeaud]] was therefore instructed to sign a new one, the [[Treaty of Tafna]], which required Abd el-Kader to recognize the sovereignty of [[French Algeria|France in North Africa]], in exchange for which France recognized the authority of Abd el-Kader over a large part of Algeria; the whole [[Western Beylik|Beylik of Oran]] (with the exception of the cities of [[Oran]], [[Arzew]], [[Mostaganem]] and [[Mazagran, Algeria|Mazagran]]), the [[Beylik of Titteri]] and the [[:fr:Dar Es-Soltane|Beylik of Algiers]] (with the exception of the cities of [[Algiers]] and [[Blida]]), as well as the plain of [[Mitidja]] and the {{Ill|Algerian Sahel|fr|Sahel algérois}}.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Battle of Isly {{!}} Algerian-French history|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Isly|access-date=2021-08-11|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

The Sultan of Morocco [[Abd al-Rahman of Morocco|Abd al-Rahman]] attempted seizing [[Tlemcen]] from the French in October 1830. The Sultan sent 5,000 cavalry and infantry. Moroccan soldiers rampaged through the streets of Tlemcen, looting and fighting. The Sultan eventually had to retreat them in the face of French diplomatic and naval pressure.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=Susan Gilson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=peGyku_eREkC|title=A History of Modern Morocco|date=2013-04-15|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-81070-8|pages=14|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=McDougall |first=James |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/history-of-algeria/conquest-resistance-and-accommodation-18301911/4EEE730DAE27934243783A179403C34C |title=A History of Algeria |date=2017-04-24 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-02923-0 |edition=1 |doi=10.1017/9781139029230.004}}</ref>

He fled to Morocco looking to gain support to continue the war from the Sultan of Morocco [[Abd al-Rahman of Morocco|Abd al-Rahman]], as well as the concession of the territory located between [[Oujda]] and the {{Ill|Tafna River|fr|Tafna}}. Abd el-Kader had raised a real army, and in November 1839, supported by the Sultan of Morocco [[Abd al-Rahman of Morocco|Abd al-Rahman]], he declared war on France, following the crossing of the [[Bibans]] ([[Iron Gates (Algeria)|Iron Gates]]) by the French army.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nodier|first=Charles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=suNsRmCOmJwC&pg=PA324|title=Journal de l'expédition des portes de fer|date=2004|publisher=SERRE EDITEUR|isbn=978-2-906431-76-8|pages=319|language=fr}}</ref>

In reaction, the French then truly undertook the systematic conquest of the country, which the [[July Monarchy|July monarchy]] made a reason for national pride and military heroism. This conquest was the work of [[Thomas Robert Bugeaud|Marshal Bugeaud]], appointed governor in 1840. Algeria's major cities fell and Abd el-Kader saw his mobile encampment destroyed in [[Zmalet El Emir Abdelkader|Taguin]] in 1843 following the [[Battle of the Smala]] and was driven back into the [[Sahara|desert]].<ref name=":4" /> He then took refuge in [[Morocco]], but, at the same time, the army of Sultan [[Abd al-Rahman of Morocco|Abd al-Rahman]] was defeated at {{Ill|Isly|fr|Isly (commune)}}, while the French fleet [[Franco-Moroccan War|bombarded the ports]] of [[Bombardment of Tangier|Tangier]] and [[Bombardment of Mogador|Mogador]].

== Prelude ==
On the 30th of May, French troops of [[Marie Alphonse Bedeau|General Bedeau]] had to repel a Moroccan attack.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=d'.) |first=Henri Amédée Lelorgne Ideville (comte |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JGAIAAAAQAAJ&q=battle+of+isly |title=Memoirs of marshal Bugeaud, from his private correspondence and original documents, 1784-1849, ed. from the Fr. by C.M. Yonge |date=1884 |pages=112–118 |language=en}}</ref> The Moroccan [[Qaid]] crossed the border into [[Maghnia|Lalla Maghnia]], a place sixty kilometres from [[Tlemcen]], and attacked the French camp with his Moroccan cavalry.<ref name=":3" /> The attack was soon repulsed by [[Louis Juchault de Lamoricière|General Lamoricière]]. The next day [[Thomas Robert Bugeaud|Marshal Bugeaud]] embarked at [[Algiers]].<ref name=":3" /> On the 15th of June, Moroccan troops fired upon French troops, wounding Captain Daumas and two men, demanding that the border must be set back to the {{Ill|Tafna River|fr|Tafna}}. On the 19th, French troops occupied [[Oujda]].<ref name=":3" />

On the 6th of August, [[Tangier]] had been [[Bombardment of Tangier|bombarded by French ships]] commanded by [[François d'Orléans, Prince of Joinville|François d'Orléans]], a son of the King of France, [[Louis Philippe I|Louis Phillippe I]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sondhaus |first=Lawrence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka-1eQRnXMUC&pg=PA71 |title=Navies in Modern World History |date=2004-05-04 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-86189-202-7 |pages=71 |language=en}}</ref>

== Battle ==
The Governor General having assembled all his forces, made up of 11,000 men, marched on the Moroccan camp established at [[Djarf el-Akhdar]], a short distance from [[Oujda]], on the right bank of the {{Ill|Isly River|fr|Oued Isly}}, a sub-tributary of the {{Ill|Tafna River|fr|Tafna}}.<ref name=":0" />

Having to deal almost exclusively with cavalry, he had formed from his infantry a large diamond whose faces were themselves made up of small squares. The cavalry was in the interior of the lozenge which marched through one of its angles duly provided with artillery.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Terrasse|first=Henri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h30_AAAAMAAJ|title=History of Morocco|date=1952|publisher=Éditions Atlantides|pages=148|language=en}}</ref>

At daybreak, seeing the French army advance, the Sultan sent the Moroccan cavalry with a mass of 20,000 to 25,000 cavalry. This charge did not succeed in forcing the lines of [[tirailleur]]s, and was soon separated in two by the squares of the advancing cavalry. [[Thomas Robert Bugeaud|Bugeaud]] then brought out his cavalry. This formed by echelons, charged the Moroccan cavalry which was to the left of the army and dispersed it after having defeated several hundred of its cavalry. The first echelon, composed of six squadrons of [[spahi]]s commanded by [[Joshep Vantini|Colonel Joseph]], rushed to a Moroccan camp and captured eleven pieces of artillery. The Moroccan artillerymen did not have time to reload.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Pennell|first=C. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QtBazz0I7uYC|title=Morocco Since 1830: A History|date=2000|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-426-1|pages=49|language=en}}</ref>

The Moroccan [[infantry]] dispersed in [[ravine]]s where the French [[cavalry]] could not pursue them. While the first echelon marched on the camp, the second commanded by [[Colonel Morris]] moved on the part of the Moroccan [[cavalry]] which was on the right. It was a difficult endeavor. After it was over, the French army concentrated on the Moroccan camp, and soon set out in pursuit to prevent them from rallying.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wagner|first=Moritz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xXYoAAAAYAAJ&dq=tricolor+atlas+bugeaud&pg=PA371|title=The Tricolor on the Atlas: Or, Algeria and the French Conquest|date=1854|publisher=T. Nelson and sons|language=en}}</ref>

== Consequences ==
As a result of the battle, the French captured eleven [[Artillery|pieces of artillery]], eighteen [[Flag of Morocco|flags]], and all the Moroccan [[tent]]s. The Moroccans had 800 of their men killed when the French had 27 of their men killed and 99 of them wounded.<ref name=":2" />

As a consequence of the battle and French naval actions the Moroccans sued for peace, declaring Abd al-Qadir "mufsid" or a ‘corrupter’ instead of a true holy warrior. Relations between Abd al-Qadir and the Moroccans would deteriorate until a full blown conflict would eventually erupt for control of the border regions.<ref name=":4" />

After three years of [[guerrilla warfare]], Abd el-Kader would surrender to [[Louis Juchault de Lamoricière|Lamoricière]] in 1847.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La bataille d'Isly {{!}} Histoire et analyse d'images et oeuvres |url=https://histoire-image.org/fr/etudes/bataille-isly?i=611 |access-date=2021-08-11 |website=histoire-image.org |language=fr}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{coord|34.6900|N|1.9300|W|source:wikidata|display=title}}
{{Franco-Spanish conquest of Morocco}}
{{Conflicts between France and Algeria}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isly, Battle of}}
[[Category:Battles involving France]]
[[Category:Battles involving Morocco]]
[[Category:1844 in France]]
[[Category:1844 in Morocco]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1844]]
[[Category:19th century in Africa]]
[[Category:France–Morocco military relations]]
[[Category:August 1844]]
[[Category:1840s in the French colonial empire]]
[[Category:1840s battles|Isly]]