Battle of Macta

The Battle of Macta was fought on 28 June 1835 between French forces under General Camille Alphonse Trézel and a coalition of Algerian tribes of western Algeria under Emir Abd al-Qadir, who, at the age of 26, waged one of his most famous battles against a superior force.

Battle of Macta
Part of the French conquest of Algeria
Date28 June 1835
Location
near the Macta River, French Algeria
Result Algerian victory
Belligerents
 Kingdom of France Emirate of Mascara
Commanders and leaders
Camille Alphonse Trézel Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri
Strength

2,500 men (French claim)

  • A Battalion of the 66th Infantry Regiment
  • A Light Infantry battalion
  • The 5th battalion
  • 3 companies of the 4th Battalion of the Foreign Legion
  • 4 squadrons of Chasseurs d'Afrique
 15,000 cavalrymen (French claim)
Casualties and losses
300-2,000 500

The French column, which had fought an inconclusive but somewhat bloody battle with Abdul-Qadir a few days earlier, was retreating toward Arzew to resupply when Abdul-Qadir attacked in the marshes on the banks of the Macta River in what is now western Algeria. The French panicked and fled to Arzew in a disorganized rout. The Algerians piled the heads of their defeated French enemies in a pyramid, allegedly hundreds in total.

The disaster led to the recall to France of Trézel and the comte d'Erlon, the first military governor-general of the French possessions in Africa, and helped Abdul-Qadir gain influence over tribes throughout Algeria.

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