The Battle of El Chouabir was a battle that took place in the El Chouabir area of the Al-Qaada mountains on October 3, 1956, between the Algerian National Liberation Army (ALN) and the French Army. During this engagement, the French Army suffered catastrophic losses in lives, reaching 1,375 dead, including 91 senior officers, as well as losses in equipment, according to the testimony of Colonel Lotfi in an interview conducted with him by El Moudjahid newspaper in May 1959. Meanwhile, 25 martyrs fell from the ranks of the Mujahideen.

This battle, which transformed from an ambush called the Ambush of El Khetifa on October 2, 1956, into the "Mother of Battles," was covered by major international newspapers and journals at the time, such as: The Daily Gleaner, the American newspaper The New York Times, and the French newspaper Le Monde.

El Chouabir: Location and Strength The El Chouabir area is located on the northwestern side of the Al-Qaada mountains, extending along the road connecting Al-Ghaicha and Aflou, specifically between the points of Sidi Khaled and Loulalda for an estimated distance of about 8 kilometers. Its events took place on Wednesday, October 3, 1956, just one day after the Battle of El Khetifa.

It is considered the "Mother of Battles" of Djebel Amour and the nation, fought by the National Liberation Army at the level of western Algeria after the outbreak of the liberation revolution, and the first major defeat suffered by France in the region at the hands of the revolutionists, who possessed no power except the provision of faith in God and the justice of their cause.

Participating Battalions Four battalions of the Liberation Army coming from the El Bayadh region participated in this battle, under the leadership of Moulay Abdallah, and they were: Battalion: Lammari Mohamed, called El Mokrani Battalion: Moulay Ibrahim, called Major Abdelwahab Battalion: Ahmed Zerzi Battalion: Youssefi Bouchrit, called Si Belhacen, led by Nour Bachir, with the participation of Adjutant Dahmani Cheikh.

Causes and Conditions of the Battle At the beginning of October 1956, France began preparing for comprehensive offensive operations in (Al-Qaada mountains * Al-Ghaicha * Laghouat * Aflou * Mécheria * Aïn Séfra) because the Liberation Army had begun mobilizing and coordinating its forces in the aforementioned areas.

• During this period, the four battalions headed toward Aflou coming from the El Bayadh region, passing through Brézina in El Bayadh, Taouiala, and Al-Ghaicha, with the aim of: Breaking the siege on the El Bayadh region: especially after the ambush carried out by Moulay Ibrahim's battalion in Brezina, in which it eliminated 20 enemy soldiers and captured a significant amount of important weapons (of the MAT type, two machine guns, and three heavy machine guns). Attacking the city of Aflou: and releasing 400 political detainees from Aflou prison.

Course of the Battle On October 3, 1956, after the four battalions moved from the El Bayadh region in western Algeria to the city of Al-Ghaicha in the Laghouat province, the Lammari Battalion separated from the rest of the other battalions and fell into a clash with the enemy, who was carrying out a sweep operation of the area in the place called El Khetifa in Al-Ghaicha, northeast of Terguellel village (Al-Ghaicha) near Taouiala, around 4:00 PM until nightfall. The enemy lost a large number of his army, 3 trucks were burned, and 3 soldiers were captured. As for the battalion's side, one was martyred and another was wounded. The Battle of El Khetifa is considered the first battle to take place on the territory of Al-Ghaicha.

News of the ambush reached the rest of the battalions, which saw that their presence had been exposed to the enemy. Indeed, by nightfall, a convoy consisting of 16 trucks passed through the village of Sidi Ibrahim. The three battalions gathered with the army commander, "Moulay Abdallah," to take the necessary measures and precautions. Afterwards, the convoy began to pass, preceded by four (04) aircraft of the (T-6) type sweeping the road at a low altitude close to the ground.

After moments, the Mujahideen began to hear the roar of military vehicles exiting Aflou toward the road leading to Al-Ghaicha. Orders were given to the Mujahideen to take their positions on the edge of the road, so small trenches were dug for each soldier to lie in ambush on the southern side of the road (from the intersection of Al-Ghaicha–Anfous roads, the current site of the Dome, to the Loulalda area at the memorial monument and the beginning of ascending the mountain over a distance of 7 km), and not to fire at the enemy until the first truck reached the last French military regiment so that an encirclement of the convoy could take place.

It is worth mentioning that this distance was a forest that was burned by the enemy after the battle. However, this plan was not fully completed, as a part of the convoy stopped in front of the battalion led by "Moulay Ibrahim," which immediately initiated gunfire. From here, all the battalions entered the fight, and panic and terror spread through the ranks of the enemy. According to eyewitnesses from the city of Al-Ghaicha, after the convoy went out to the El Chouabir area, the trucks loaded with soldiers were still exiting the base, located at a distance of about 30 km from the battle site, which is an indication of the strength of the military reinforcements that France was preparing to involve in confronting the revolution. Among the French soldiers were Africans and Moroccans.

See also Algerian War FLN

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