Abdelkrim Khattabi: verslag Times magazine in de jaren 20

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Spanish troops in Morocco occupied themselves last week with the task of strengthening their grip upon Ajdir, onetime capital of Abd-el-Krim, and consolidating Spanish positions which now dominate practically the whole vicinity.

In Madrid, General Primo de Rivera was felicitated at the War Ministry by 20,000 admirers, upon his success in capturing Ajdir. Said he: "The Spanish Army has now wiped out the debt to itself incurred in a former generation's unhappy Cuban War" [i. e., the Spanish-American struggle].



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To the victorious come many unique honors. For having conquered Ajdir, capital of Abd-el-Krim, General Primo de Rivera has been rewarded at Madrid by being adopted 165 times in a single day. The adopting was done at the Ministry of War by the representatives of Spanish towns and villages which wished to make the General "their son."

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Last week the sheetlets of Madrid exploded into scareheads. "SPANIARDS CAPTURE AJDIR, CAPITAL OF ABD-EL-KRIM," they trumpeted. To the heads of Spanish patriots rushed a hot, sweet surge of triumph.

At a window of his palace appeared King Alfonso, to receive a frenzied ovation from his people. The roars of shirtless .peons and the cheers of hidalgos forgetful of their dignity drowned his Majesty's words in praise of General Primo de Rivera, "the Conqueror of Ajdir."

Flushed with triumph, Alfonso declared privately: "Morocco is the keystone to the prestige of the white race and of the Christian civilization in North Africa .... Spain's war is not merely 'a little African war, as so many people seem to think .... Its consequences can be world-wide in effect!"

Astute observers then went quietly away and reflected that Spain, after having poured out millions of pesetas during a desultory struggle with 25,000 Riffians which has lasted seven years, is now celebrating the capture of an insignificant village, the so-called capital of Riff-land. Belgians, Serbians and Rumanians, they pointed out, found it quite possible to do a deal of heavy fighting after Brussels, Belgrade and Bucharest had fallen to the Central Powers. Abd-el-Krim is still at large. And the Spanish attack of last week, crowned by the fall of his "capital" though it be, represents an actual advancement of the Spanish front by a scant four miles.


Concurrently with Spain's spectacular nibbling at the Riff from the north, the French forces under Marshal Petain made an advance, near Kifane on the southern war front, into virgin sloughs of Riffland never before occupied by Europeans. It was announced that last week's French offensive had gained all its objectives in record time. Then French officers discovered that their airmen, who had hastily made for them the only available maps, had mapped too optimistically. The French lines, when exactly plotted, proved to be a couple of miles short of the advance that had been claimed. A few piles of scattered dung and slots, which had been "captured" and announced to be "Aknout,' was discovered to be something and somewhere else. None the less, the recent French advance topped heights which form the watershed of Morocco. From now on they and the torrential rains of autumn will be moving down toward the sea. Despatches indicate that authoritative mappings placed the French and Spanish forces but 25 miles apart.


Last week Sidi Muhammad, brother of the indomitable Abd-el-Krim, called for foreign intervention in Morocco affairs. Said he: "To continue war means ruin, although we can stand another year at this rate ... Is there nobodyâ€"America, England or Italyâ€"who is ready to speak for peace?"

The U. S. airmen, Capt. L. C. Holden of New York and Dr. V. Sparks of Indianapolis, both members of the "Sheriflan Escadrille" (TIME, Oct. 5), were ambushed by Riffians and very nearly killed when they left their planes one day last week and ventured on a little pedestrian fighting.

Colonel Nelson Margetts, U. S. A., attached to the secret Intelligence Service of the U. S. General Staff, j became last week nominally a "war correspondent," in order to become actually an "American observer" of the Riff war. No other foreign power has such an observer in Morocco at present.

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Roughly, the fourth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich cuts across the territory of Abd-el-Krim,* from Alhucemas on the Mediterranean to Kifane on the western war frontier. Roughly the Spanish and the French decided last week to pinch together their forces along this meridian; pinched and pinched until their armies stood but 40 miles apart, with Ajdir, the capital of Abd-el-Krim between them.

The Spanish forces advanced up the heights for about a mile and a third; took Morro Viejo (400 ft. high), Malmussi (500 ft.) and Cuervas de Xauen (1,800 ft.). The French made a sudden assault upon the heights of Kifane, captured them, and pushed their line several miles beyond. Then the pinch subsided. There were too many mountains in the jaws of the pincers, for one thing.

Having inspected the Spanish land defenses, General Primo Rivera retired to the battleship Alfonso XIII, in Alhucemas Bay; and from thence issued peans of praise, in honor of General Saro and Fernandez Perez, who commanded the actual Spanish advance. Cried Primo, triumphant: "From now on there will be much warâ€"If the rebels desire peace it will be they who ask for it. . . .Soon I shall be back in Madrid."

Untroubled by mundane developments, the Sherifian Escadrille, composed of U. S. airmen, continued to soar into the Moroccan ether and drop therefrom tons of bombs.

The Escadrille unanimously announced: "We will allow nothing to stop us from carrying on the work upon which we have set out." Next it painted an orange circle upon each of its planes, painted a charging black bull buffalo within, and zoomed off with more bombs. Critics admired the brushwork of Captain Lansing and Lieutenant Cousins, both well known in American-Parisian junior art circles. Captain James ("Red") Mustane's technique was declared so faulty as to have produced a sea lion instead of a bison.



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France had been intending to convene her Parliament on Oct. 6. It was hoped that before Oct. 6: 1) M. Briand could negotiate the Security Pact; 2) M. Caillaux might properly negotiate a debt settlement with the U. S.; 3) Maréchal Petain would plant a decisive blow in Abd-el-Krim's midRiff. Now France is less sanguine of the immediate success of her three champions. The Government has postponed the opening of Parliament until Oct. 27.

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Last week the plump sausage-shaped area defended by Abd-el-Krim was severely French-fried on its convex southern exposure. Early in the week French confidence and enthusiasm, in both Paris and Morocco, reached extraordinary heights.

It was rumored that Maréchal Pétain, copying the strategy employed by Foch in his final drive against the Germans in 1918, had been concentrating his forces first at one point and then at another, and was now about to consolidate the points of vantage in a final drive upon the heights of Bribane, which would sweep on until Abd-el-Krim surrendered.

As events transpired it became evident that Maréchal Pétain did indeed mean business by his drive upon Bribane. Tanks advanced, smashing through frail adobe huts like mastodons treading upon eggshells. French 75's spotted the heights, and sent fragments of the rocky butte, deadly as shrapnel, splintering among the Moorish tribesmen. The whole mountain, which is topped by the stronghold village of Bribane, was enveloped by the smoke of burning crops and villages and the fumes of exploding shells. Armored cars and cavalry advanced up the easier slopes, while battalion after battalion of infantry stormed the steep western salient like a rising tide, preceded by a deadly, frothing foam of shrapnel.

Despatches indicated that the French advance outnumbered the Riffian defenders by ten to one. Nevertheless, the almost fanatically dauntless tribesmen, certain of Paradise if they die in battle, weathered the terrific preliminary barrage, attacked the infantry at close quarters with deadly curved knives, and finally had to be tracked, bayonetted and bludgeoned into submission. Abd-el-Krim, never backward at war, received a shrapnel wound in the leg while directing the defense of Bribane; was rushed by loyal tribesmen to a safe distance.

French officers, surveying the heights which they had so dearly won, discovered the chief immediate spoils to be a vast store of squawking chickens abandoned by the Riffians. Famished after their uphill fight, they fell to and swallowed many a pinfeather in their eagerness.

Results were two: 1) From El Brisbane, Maréchal Pétain commands stragetically a large territory, but any great advance, in view of the desperate resistance of the Riffians, will be extremely difficult, because the rainy season will very shortly open and transform the salient into a quagmire over which French war paraphernalia cannot be dragged; 2) politically the victory is of some importance because it has led to the surrender of the Beni Urriaguet tribe, whose territory the French now dominate.

It is regarded as certain that Maréchal Pétain will strengthen his present formidable line into, an impregnable winter position rather than attempt to gain an immediate victory. In Paris talk of Foch and 1918 has subsided.



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Comparatively peaceful, comparatively uneventful were the week's developments on the Riffian front in Morocco. The French, having two weeks ago cleaned up the country of the Tsoul tribe which a few weeks before deserted them for Abd-el-Krim, last week turned to an attack on the Brane tribe which had similarly changed sides. The Branes are better warriors and were tracked up in their defense by groups of Riff regulars.

Nonetheless the French took a large salient held by the Branes and advanced their lines several miles at the eastern end of the battlefront.

Meanwhile on the coast of Spanish Morocco, Spanish war vessels were bombarding Ajdir and other Riff strongholds while airplanes bombed the Riff batteries and villages. It was believed that this presaged a landing of troops along the Riff coast.

Resident General Lyautey

"Lyautey Africanus" â€" surrendered his command to Marshal Petain and announced that he had been called to Paris to consult with the Government. Lyautey, who is 71, has been one of the builders of the French Colonial Empire. At one time he pacified Madagascar and even before the War, was Resident General in Morocco, where he has shown that he is as much a diplomat as a military man. It is likely that the great task of organizing the last few week intensive offenses before the winter sets in is to be placed on the younger shoulders of Marshal Petain and General Naulin. On the fate of their efforts depends whether or not it will be necessary to carry on the war next year or whether Abd-el-Krim can be decisively beaten this fall. Complete success on their part would be a great triumph, almost impossible, for Abd-el-Krim has organized the mountain fastness to hold them off until foul winter weather comes to his aid. An incident in the fighting in Morocco last week, was the report that more than 16,000 ex-German soldiers are fighting in the French Legion against the Riffs and doing well. Also that the ex-American aviators who have been organized into the Sherifian Air Guard to fight the Riffs have received a number of threatening letters supposed to have come from French Communists. An example of the epistles:

"Vile Infidel Dog:

"You have been pointed out to us as the fattest pilot of the lot and the easiest target for our infallible sharpshooters. Know, flying pig, if they do not get you, we have other means. . . ."



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Fortune apparently has begun to frown on the rebel chieftain Abd-el-Krim. A fortnight ago TIME, Aug. 24) the Spaniards and the French drove back his western front. Last week the French drove back his southern front. All through the Taza sector the Riffs were driven back and the French in three days claimed the recovery of all the territory Abd-el-Krim had taken in three months.

The French success was less a battle than a maneuver. There are in the neighborhood of 100,000 French troops now in Morocco, of which 20,000 or 25,000 took part in the action. Their overweening numbers made resistance futile. Consequently they had few losses. Two flanking movements starting from opposite ends of a 45-kilometer front induced the Riffians to flee, leaving the Tsoul tribe alone to oppose the French. The Tsouls went over to the Riffs when the French retreated in July. Last week with the situation reversed they "turned faithful" again and came in asking mercy to the French strongholds. The Branes, another stronger tribe to the east, held out but were reported weakening.

At this juncture Marshal Petain returned to the scene to plan the French strategy in conjunction with Marshal Lyauty. The French problem now seems to be rather a race with time than a battle with the Riffs. After Sept. 15 they can no longer count on good weather. It is improbable that they can gain a decisive victory before the winter rain sets in, and then they must wait until April for fair days. This week's successes place them in a strong position for organizing themselves to hold their present territory over the winter. The Morocco-Algerian railway is now well behind the front and not subject to raids as it has been in the past few weeks with the Riff lines only six miles away at some points.

It was announced last week that the Mannesmann brothers (German industrial magnates in the Ruhr) had sold their Moroccan properties. The Mannesmanns, Reinhard and Max, now men in their late 60's, eminent industrial metallurgists, many years ago bought up many valuable properties from Moroccan sheiks. These properties were involved in the famous Agadir incident which brought the erstwhile Kaiser down to Morocco with diplomatic complications several decades ago. During the war the Mannesmann properties in French Morocco were confiscated. Now they have sold their property in the Spanish zone.

In some quarters it is believed that their withdrawal from Morocco will ease the situation and make French and Spanish success easier. It was even hinted that the Mannesmanns had been in some way connected with the mysterious support of Abd-el-Krim with money and arms. Indian and Egyptian Moslems are supposed to have contributed and there was one report that a submarine of unknown nationality delivered 28,000,000 pesetas to Abd-el-Krim.

French and Spanish peace commissioners sent to Melilla . were ordered to abandon their mission since it was evident that Abdel Krim would not make peace on any terms which they regarded as reasonable.

The political situation in France depends in no small degree on the result of the Moroccan operations. The French socialists declared in a meeting that they would support the Painleve Government only in measures they favored. If the campaign should not go well, the Government faces a crisis.



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The past week in Morocco (TIME, May 11 et seq.) began by a flat rejection by the French and Spanish of Abd-el-Krim's demand that peace negotiations must be preceded by unqualified recognition of the Riff area as an independent and sovereign State.

Following this, French and Spanish troops, operating from the extreme west of the fighting line, inflicted a minor defeat on the Riffians. The Spanish and French commanders, General Riquelme and Colonel Freydenberg, celebrated by meeting for breakfast.

A few days later, the stronghold of the Sarsar massif was stormed and captured, and some 5,000 tribesmen surrendered unconditionally to the French and Spanish. General Riquelme and Colonel Freydenberg again breakfasted.

Reports began to filter in of desertions from Abd-el-Krim to the French. Several chieftains who had gone over to the Riffian leader were alleged to have offered to return, help fight the Riffians, if only the French would pardon them, grant them arms and munitions. At the same time, it was reported that the Riffians were subjecting unwilling warriors to barbaric cruelties, "such as cutting off their arms and legs in the presence of women."

From Paris it was announced that Marshal Petain, who recently returned to the French metropolis after a tour of inspection in Morocco (TIME, July 27), would return immediately to Morocco to direct a great offensive against the Riffians.

The signs were that the French and Spanish would make a tremendous effort to compel Abd-el-Krim to submit before the October rains descend to put an end to operations for the winter. It seemed unlikely, however, that they could accomplish so much in so short a time.



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A newspaper correspondent, writing from Wazzan behind the French lines, thus began his daily despatch on the Moroccan War (TIME, May 11, et seq.) : "One requires no map in order to follow operations in this important sector. One can install oneself comfortablyâ€"except for the flies, whose buzzing might be taken for Abd-el-Krim's air service â€"on a shady cafe terrace and drink cool beer while a friendly French officer explains the situation with a magnificent panorama of mountains stretched out before one for orientation."

The war last week was slack. The two armies pecked at each other, but did no serious damage.

Practically the whole valley of the Wergha is dominated by the surrounding mountains, which lie considerably to the north of the Great Atlas range and which rarely reach 5,000 feet. The territory of the Riff, which is now considerably overrun, lies in the central hinterland of the Spanish zone of Morocco at the extreme northwest of the African continent.

Master of the terrain is Abd-el-Krim, whom his followers have proclaimed "Sultan." He knows that he cannot beat the French, but he also knows that the French cannot beat him without risking far more than he, Abd-el-Krim, thinks they will. This attitude is accounted for by the comparative security which his steep mountains provide him. Troops cannot be moved across them except through winding passes which the Riffian tribesmen dominate. Artillery and bombs are almost useless; for they cannot remove mountains of rock. But against the attackers the tribesmen bring to bear all manner of weapons from cannon to big stones which they dynamite down on to the enemy.

To the northwest and northeast of the Riff, Abd-el-Krim fights the Spaniards, whom he despises. He has defeated them so often that he now loses no sleep on their account. To the south, principally along the Wergha Valley, which is in French Morocco, are the French. That is a different problem; for in French Morocco is the French Resident General, Marshal Louis Lyautey.

All Morocco (known also as the She-reefian Empire) is nominally under the technically autocratic sway of Sultan Mulai Yusef. In the Spanish zone, where the Riff is situate, Abd-el-Krim is the most potent figure. In the French zoneâ€"by far the greater part of Moroccoâ€"the greatest man is not the Sultan, who is a mere shadow, but Marshal Lyautey. This soldier, who has won fame solely by his invaluable work in Morocco, is the embodiment of

French power there. He is more. He actually governs Morocco for the Sultan, and as the Sultan is in theory an absolute monarch, Marshal Lyautey is par excellence a beneficent despot. His word is law. Yet, he always takes care to treat the Sultan's subjects with great tact. He has infinite patience, but, driven to act, he moves with merciless rapidity. The Arabs, who almost always admire a brave and wise man, admire Marshal Lyautey; for he never fails to punish the culpable, no matter how difficult it may be, and he never fails to pay the utmost respect to native traditions and beliefs. In that he is both brave and wise. All this does Abd-el-Krim know.

Consider the great man in the Riff: Abd-el-Krim, or Abdel-Krim, was born about the year 1883. Little is known of his early life, except that his father, also Abd-el-Krim, was a cadi (pronounced cah-dee), or lawgiver, at Melilla. Abd-el-Krim Jr. followed his father, studied law, became a loyal subject of the Sultan.

In contrast to paunchy, swarthy, massive Raisuli, who recently died while a prisoner in the Riff,* Abd-el-Krim is of medium height, a Berberâ€"that is, a descendant of the Visigoths. Like Raisuli, he is liberally bewhiskered, the color of his hair being several shades lighter. He is also an impressive man and looks what he is not: a man of high birth. But he has what a correspondent calls "an impressive refinement of manner." He speaks his native Berber dialect, Arabic, fluent Spanish and a little French. Men, sometimes his enemies, call him able.

During the War, he was under suspicion for favoring the Germans, and under that cloud he remains today. A break in his career occurred when the Spanish arrested him, probably in 1917, for seditious conspiracy against Spain. He was thrown into prison; but later escaped, seriously injuring his left leg in so doing. Straightway he went to the Riff, a mountainous territory to the east end of the Spanish zone in Morocco. To his own tribe, the Beni Warriageli, he told stories of Spanish misrule, dwelling upon the Spaniards' cruelty and incapacity. He pictured them as exploiters of the country and called upon his own tribe to free the Riff from their accursed sway. To a man the Beni Warriagelis joined him. Thus began the resistance of the Riffians to the Spanish which resulted two years later (1921) in the catastrophe of Melilla, the battle which freed all the Riff and inflicted a colossal defeat on the Spanish forces, a defeat from which the Spanish have never recovered.

In carrying out his campaign, Abd-el-Krim has not been alone. His brother, Muhammad, a qualified engineer, is his able lieutenant. His cabinet, or Council of Wazirs, contains his brother-in-law, Sidi Muhammad bal Hadj Hitmi, as a sort of Premier. The War Minister is Hamid Boudra, whose very shadow is venerated throughout the Riff. Muhammad Azarkhan is the astute Foreign Minister extremely able and well educated. Abd-el-Salam el-Khtabi and Liazid bal Hadj are respectively Ministers of Finance and Interior. All of these men are brilliant in no ordinary sense of the word, as witness the efficiency of their administration, which shows itself in the able way the war against first Spain, then against Spain and France, has been conducted.

About the time of his triumph at Melilla, Abd-el-Krim posed as the President of the Riff Republic; but things have changed since those days. He carried the war against the Spanish outside of the Riff, and, desiring a better frontier for his State, as he calls it, he warred against the French. It has been said that he attacked the French to force a resettlement of Morocco; this is probably true; but it made necessary a larger army. The question of soldiers was something Abd-el-Krim never had to worry about. The fame of his victories spread far and wide with considerable exaggeration. Gradually the various tribes began to look upon him as the soldier of Islam who was taking up the sword against the infidel Spanish and French. Abd-el-Krim was fighting, however, primarily for the independence of the Riff territory, but, willy-nilly, he was forced to fight for Islam. Perhaps, the role was not altogether displeasing; for at length he was proclaimed Sultan, his brother was made heir with the title of Prince and the republic of the Riff has given way to the sultanate of the Riff. No doubt, too, that Abd-el-Krim calls with the rest of the Faithful to Allah for guidance and victory against the enemy.

Abd-el-Krim is of course not eligible for a royal title, that honor being confined according to Muhammadan law to direct descendants of the Prophet. It seems unlikely that he desires in any way to undermine the spiritual authority of Mulai Yusef who sits in the shade of the Shereefian Umbrella at Rabat or at his other capitals. But he undoubtedly does resent any interference with the internal affairs of the Riff country and, provided that is assured to him with adequate boundaries as a guarantee, he may well become as good a Shereef as the Empire can boast.

*According to The Times (London"! of May 6, Raisuli died toward the end of April. For some time before he had been afflicted with dropsy (TIME, Feb. 16).



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U. S. Ambassador Myron T. Herrick, accompanied by Abd-el-Krim, his dog, left France for the U. S. on board the Paris.

At Versailles, the wind blewâ€"blew so hard that it uprooted a fine willow that had been weeping for Napoleon for nearly 100 years. In 1832, this tree was planted at Versailles from a cutting, obtained under British fire, by a Lieutenant Drouville from Napoleon's grave at St. Helena.

Trade negotiations between France and Germany, reported ruptured (TIME, July 13), are to be continued on Sept 15.

French coke output for May was greater by 10,000 tons than the monthly average for 1913. The figures were: May, 255,000 tons; 1913 monthly average, 245,000 tons.

The brow of one M. Raphael Duflos clouded. On the porch of his country house was a trunk. He approached gingerly, opened it. Ah! then he was just in time, for the trunk was filled with his valuables. After tapping his hip pocket to gauge his courage, M. Duflos let himself into the house. Placed conspicuously on a table was a letter addressed to his wife, Mme. Hugette Duflos, once a Comédie Francaise beauty about whom half Paris raved and about whom the other half would have raved had it not been raving about other beauties. M. Duflos, visibly agitated, tore open the letter, read:

I did not go so far as to steal your things, madam, and will confess to you why. When entering here I swear to you I did not know whose house it was. Passing by chance, I thought it looked like a likely place to contain nice things. You will be able to see I am a man of good taste. While continuing my inventory, I happened to come across pictures of the woman whom I admire most in the whole world, both in the theatre and on the screen. Imagine my surprise. I am sincerely sorry to have disarranged the charming interior and make every apology and abandon everything I coveted to take along. My companion cannot understand what he terms "sentimental nonsense." I will indemnify him. But allow me, madam, to take your pictures. Your radiant beauty, which seems to me also to speak of great goodness of heart, will excuse this petty larceny. Some day I will write and tell you my life duty. Perhaps it will be you, madam, who will prove to be my redeemer.

At the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in the heart of the Latin Quarter, where he had gone upon invitation to distribute prizes, ex-Premier Edouard Herriot rose to address the assembled boys. He got no further. Young Royalists of the organization Action Franchise whistled, howled, cat-called. In vain, the police attempted to restore order and in the end the ex-Premier was forced to leave. Outside the Lycée, the same demonstration was carried on. Several arrests were made, but to no avail and it was not until he entered the Chamber of Deputies that he was cheered: "Vive Herriot! Down with the Action Frangaise assassins!"



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The hills about the Wergha Valley awoke. Abd-el-Krim, leader of the Riffian tribesmen, began his long-awaited offensive on Fez, the northern capital. Guns roared, shells screamed and cracked in vivid detonations, spluttering the ground with jagged, death-dealing steel. Bombs dropped from airplanes whinnied as they tore down to earth where they burst with staggering force. Grenades rasped their ugly barks and poked the earth with their deadly stings. Rifles snapped and bullets spat death. Men lived and men died. The Moroccan War (TIME, May 11 et seq.) entered its most serious phase.

Slowly the French were compelled to retire on Fez, fighting every inch of the way against impossible odds. At one point of the offensive, retreat was cut in the rear, and their position, desperate to say the least, was eased only by a glorious counteroffensive in which the hottest fighting of the war occurred. Two days' fighting drove the Riffians back into the hills and once again relieved Fez from imminent danger.

At Paris, the French Government surprised everybody by sending Marshal Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain to Morocco "to assure in the best possible condition utilization of the reinforcements sent to Morocco and confer with Marshal Lyautey on all eventualities and on measures to be taken in order to insure success."

The Marshal, 69 years of age, a lean and comparatively young looking man, immediately left for Morocco, crossing the water by airplane.*

Marshal Pétain is the third senior Marshal of France and as such outranks Marshal Lyautey, the French Resident General in Morocco, who will continue to be the supreme French civil authority in the Protectorate. "My duty," said Marshal Petain, "is to coordinate the reinforcements which are being sent to Morocco continuously. Those going from France will land at the Casablanca and those from Algeria will proceed directly to Taza. The question is to "use them actively in the area."

The Government announced that 80,000 reinforcements were on their way to the front and darkly hinted that another 300,000 men might be mobilized.

General Naulin, recently appointed director of military operations, also arrived in Morocco. He will take orders from Marshal Pétain



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The war between Abd-el-Krim, "Sultan" of the Riffs, and the French (TIME, May 11, et seq.) continued.

In Morocco, the week was relatively quiet. A number of Riff attacks at isolated points were repulsed by the French, with losses on both sides.

The French, who were on the defensive throughout the week, completed their withdrawal behind the River Wergha, where they were entrenching. Preparations were being made, however, for attack.

The withdrawal of the French does not, as often reported, in any way indicate defeat. It was a purely strategic retreat, marking the beginning of a new type of warfare. Hitherto, the French have held the lines from a chain of blockhouses. Again and again, the tribes under Abd-el-Krim surrounded these small forts, with the result that the French had to undertake a series of expensive attacks in order to relieve them. As soon as the blockhouses had been provisioned and the relieving troops had withdrawn, the Riffs again surrounded them and relief fighting had to begin over again.

By retiring behind the Wergha, the French have largely abandoned blockhouse fighting and have formed a continuous line along the entire front.



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Concerning the war between Abd-el-Krim, "Sultan" of the Riffs, and the French in north Morocco (TIME, May 11 et seq.), there were, last week, rumors, rumors everywhere and hardly a fact to print.

The Riffs conducted several fierce onslaughts on the French positions along the Wergha Valley, Riff artillery being used in support with deadly effect. On each occasion, according to French communiques, the enemy was repulsed, but the losses on both sides were heavy. Little, if any, territory changed hands. A battle was continuing.

In Paris, concern over the expense of conducting the war was manifest in official and business circles. It is now six weeks since the conflict began; and, judging from the appropriations asked by Finance Minister Joseph Caillaux (100,000,000 francs, covering a period of three months), there is no immediate prospect of defeating the Riff rebels. Meantime, the franc depreciates in value and finance reforms daily become more difficult.



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[amazighmaghreb]

The sudden war which Abd-el-Krim, the Riff "Sultan," recently declared on the French (TIME, May 11) went badly for the Riffians. Each day brought them defeat, casualties, while the same days brought victories and no losses to the defending French troops.

After a week of this kind of thing, the truth, naked and unabashed, came out in the open: the Riffians had captured a number of blockhouses in the French zone; the French, although their losses were light, had suffered casualties. Marshal Lyautey, French Resident General in Morocco, telegraphed to Paris, asked for more troops.

The war, which Abd-el-Krim was trying to make a jehad, or holy war, of all the Muhammadans in Morocco, was thought likely to last for some months; and no counterattack by the French was anticipated until the arrival of 30,000 reinforcements from Marseilles, which would bring up the French Army to about 100,000 men.



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,720337,00.html#ixzz11s6ZRNZ9