Draft:Battle of Gauoz
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| Battle of Gaouz. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Zaian War | |||||||||
 Zaian riflemen north of Gaouz. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 France French Foreign Legion |
Zaian confederation Zaian rebels | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Paul Doury Paul Prosper Henrys | Sidi Mhand l'frutant | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
238 Killed 68 wounded. Unknown amount of artillery and equipment. | ≈100 | ||||||||
The Battle of Gauoz was a battle in the Zaian War that occured on the 9th of August, 1918 on the outskirts of the Moroccan village of Gaouz.
The Battle Summarized
[edit]Paul Doury Was crossing through a thickly vegetated oasis south of Gaouz, Morocco when he came under fire from a portion of Zaian tribesmen under the command of Sidi Mhand n'Ifrutant[1] As the French were advancing into a nearby town, they were forced to retreat on account of their already high casualties (≈150) and their inability to push further into hostile Zaian territory.
Before the battle
[edit]The most probable reason for the French to move to Gaouz were their concerns about Zaian rebels proximity to french Algeria and them possibly threatening the French at Bechar, which held strategic importance as it provided more easily traversable land connecting northern Algeria to Tindouf and Frances more southern colonies. However it is most likely that this was retaliation for the killing of a french translator at the French mission in Tighmart, which was established on concerns of a German presence in the area.[2]
The southwestern areas of morocco were also one of the last regions in north Africa the French had yet to pacify, which was one of their main objectives during the war.
Paul Doury with the strategic advice of Paul Prosper Henrys, embarked to pacify the southwestern areas and remove the Zaian presence in the area as they had concerns about the Zaian proximity to french Algeria, Specifically Béchar and the smaller towns around it.
Course of the battle.
[edit]The exact movements and positions of the battle are not known, but it is certain that a sub-group of Paul Dourys men were ambushed near an oasis from about 100-200 meters away by Zaian tribesmen.[2] Paul Dourys sub-group, which was cornered and cut off from the rest of the force under continued fire was promptly wiped out by the Zaian forces.
Even with artillery and air support, the French still took heavy casualties and lost a noticeable amount of equipment (Munitions, Firearms, Artillery, Transport, etc.)
Lyautey, who had received word of this loss and had already seen the areas surrounding Gaouz with little significance, Reprimanded Doury by placing him under Joseph-François Poeymirau's command while refuting Doury's claim of nearly wiping out the Zaian force.[2]
Brief summary. (Not entirely accurate)
- Paul Doury's sub-group enters thickly vegetated oasis
- Zaian tribesmen open fire on sub-group
- Close range firefight
- French forces attempt to retreat
- French forces wiped out
- Zaian tribesmen retreat under fire from French artillery (?)
References
[edit]- ^ "About: Mhand n'Ifrutant". dbpedia.org. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b c Hoisington, William A. (1995-07-15). Lyautey and the French Conquest of Morocco. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-12529-5.