Rif War

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The Rif War was an anti-colonial war fought from 1921 to 1926 between the indigenous Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco and Spain (joined by France in 1924). Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians attacked workers at the Minas del Rif iron ore mine and at first inflicted several defeats on the Spanish forces by using guerrilla tactics with the help of captured European weapons. After an unprecedented large landing of Spanish troops at Al Hoceima, considered the first amphibious landing in history to involve the use of tanks and aircraft, as well as France joining the conflict, Abd el-Krim surrendered and was put into exile. In July 1909, some Riffians attacked Spanish workers constructing a rail-bridge to provide access to iron mines near Melilla. This incident led to the summoning of reinforcements from Spain itself. A series of skirmishes over the following weeks cost the Spanish over a thousand casualties. By September, the Spanish Army had 40,000 troops in northern...

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