Battle of Sidi Bou Othman The Battle of Sidi Bou Othman was an important battle fought at Sidi Bou Othman , some 40 kilometers north of Marrakesh , during the French conquest of Morocco . It saw the victory of a French column under Colonel Charles Mangin over the forces of the south Moroccan leader Ahmed al - Hiba in September 1912 . As a result of the victory , the French captured the city of Marrakesh and annexed southern Morocco into the French protectorate of Morocco . The conquest was facilitated by the defection of the great " qaid s " of the south , notably the El Glaoui brothers . Background . French encroachment on Morocco began in 1907 , with the military occupation of the towns of Casablanca and Oujda , following the assassination of some French nationals in Moroccan cities during disorders marked by xenophobic violence . The French military presence outraged domestic opinion in Morocco , but the new Alawite sultan Abd al - Hafid of Morocco , facing severe financial difficulties and dependent on French loans , was unable to do much about it . Some tribal leaders took matters into their own hands and attacked the French themselves . Notable among these was the Saharan marabout Ma al - ' Aynayn , who had previously led the anti - French resistance in Mauritania . In 1910 , al - Aynayn crossed the High Atlas with his veiled , camel - riding Saharan troops ( nicknamed the " Blue Men " ) , aiming to liberate Casablanca , but he was defeated by the French at Tadla on 23 June 1910 , and forced to retreat to Tiznit ( in the Anti - Atlas foothills of the Souss valley ) , where he died shortly after . In early 1911 , there was a massive uprising in Fez against Abd al - Hafid which was put down by French troops . The entry of French troops into the Moroccan capital alarmed other European powers and led to a brief international crisis ( see Agadir Crisis ) . To write out other European powers permanently , France hurriedly concluded the Treaty of Fez in March 1912 , by which Abd al - Hafid effectively surrendered his sovereignty , allowing France to establish a protectorate over Morocco . General Hubert Lyautey was appointed the first French resident - general . The event provoked uprisings across northern Morocco . Tribal armies in the north promptly besieged the French colonial forces , strung out on the line between Casablanca and Fez . Changing course , the sultan Abd al - Hafid himself entered into contact with the rebels , prompting Lyautey to force him to abdicate the throne on 11 August 1912 in favor of his more pliable brother , Yusuf . In the south , Moroccan resistance rallied around Ahmed al - Hiba , the son of the late Ma al - Aynayn , who declared a jihad to expel the French from Morocco . Quickly gaining control of the Souss valley , in July , 1912 , Ahmed al - Hiba led his Saharan troops ( " Blue Men " ) and his growing army of Moroccan followers over the High Atlas . The Hibists took possession of Marrakesh on 15 August 1912 . Declaring the throne vacant with Abd al - Hafid ' s abdication , Ahmed al - Hiba was recognized by the ulama of Marrakesh as the new sultan of Morocco ( " The Blue Sultan " ) . The rise of the new sultan in the south alarmed Lyautey , as al - Hiba undermined the legitimacy of the puppet - sultan Yusuf , and consequently threatened the French hold on the north . Lyautey rushed French diplomatic and military officials to try to persuade the great lords ( " qaid s " ) of the south to prevent Marrakesh from falling in the hands of the Hibists . The great qaids — notably the El Glaoui brothers , Madani and Thami , and their fellow - qaids al - Mtouggi and al - Gundafi of the High Atlas — had little love for al - Hiba , as he openly denounced the whole semi - feudal system they represented and threatened their power and authority . But the Hibist movement had swept up the rank - and - file of their tribes , and the qaids were unable or reluctant to oppose al - Hiba , they had to play along or risk being deposed themselves . Eight French officials trapped in Marrakesh were taken hostage by al - Hiba , who hoped to use them as bargaining chips in negotiations for the recognition of his sultanate and insurance against a French attack on Marrakesh . Nonetheless , some qaids , notably Thami El Glaoui ( who secretly retained one of the French hostages with him ) , continued clandestine communication with Lyautey , and kept him up to date on the situation in Marrakesh . Mangin ' s column . Deeming it the priority threat to the French protectorate , Lyautey peeled away French colonial soldiers from their hard - pressed positions in the north to assemble a new column to dislodge al - Hiba from Marrakesh . Lyautey placed the column under the command of Colonel Charles Mangin . Mangin ' s column was composed of six companies of Senegalese tirailleur s , two companies of Algerian tirrailleurs , two companies of colonial infantry , a " goum " of Moroccan auxiliaries , two cavalry squadrons and a mountain artillery battery . They would be later joined by another column under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph , composed of a battalion of zouave s , two companies of Algerian tirailleurs , a squadron of spahi s and mobile artillery . Initial skirmishes . Mangin set out with his column from Casablanca on 14 August 1912 and reached the furthest French station at Mechra ben Abbou ( on the Oum Er - Rbia River ) , about half - way on the north - south road between Casablanca and Marrakesh . On 15 August , the Mangin column advanced to Skhour Rehamna further south along the same road . Their position was harassed by Arab Rehamna tribesmen from the region , who had recently adhered to the Hibist cause . Lyautey ordered them to stay put there and await reinforcements from Lt . - Col Joseph from Doukkala . In the meantime , Lyautey continued using backchannels to negotiate with al - Hiba for the release of the French hostages . Al - Hiba dispatched an army to Ouham ( west of Skhour ) , to ambush Joseph ' s column and prevent their junction . Hearing of this , Mangin launched a quick attack on the Hibist camp on 22 August , breaking it up and forcing them to disperse . The Hibists regrouped and attacked the French camp the next day , but were fended off after a brief skirmish . Reinforced by Joseph , the Mangin column proceeded back towards Skhour , where they were instructed to stay put by Lyautey while negotiations continued . Regional tribesmen continued harassing the French camp at Skhour . Hearing that a great Hibist army under al - Hiba ' s brother , Merebbi Rebbo , was assembling to the south of them at Ben Guerir , Mangin , without consulting Lyautey , ordered an offensive . Mangin fell on the Hibist army at Ben Guerir on August 29 , but with the terrain unfavorable to them , the Hibists broke off the engagement and retreated back towards Marrakesh . The French column returned back to Skhour . On September 3 , Lyautey received missives from Thami El Glaoui , informing him that the situation in Marrakesh had turned decisively against the Hibists . Al - Hiba ' s puritanical edicts - he famously ordered all unmarried women in Marrakesh to take a husband from among his mujahadeen - had already alienated much of the city ' s resident population . The timidity and defeats of the Hibist armies in the skirmishes with Mangin now fostered doubts about al - Hiba ' s military judgment and leadership qualities , and began to disenchant his followers . Even the more fanatical ones who regarded him as a " mahdi " began feeling uneasy . Al - Hiba ' s mystical promise that " French bullets would turn into water and French shells into watermelons " had been tested and found wanting . As al - Hiba ' s popularity was weakening , the qaids began feeling bolder . Should the French march on Marrakesh , El Glaoui promised , the qaids were prepared to pounce inside the city and secure the French hostages themselves . Digesting all this information , on the evening of 3 September , Lyautey dispatched a message by wireless to Mangin , famously stating only : " " Allez - y carrément " " ( " Go straight ahead " ) . Battle . On the morning of September 5 , 1912 , Mangin set out with his column of five - thousand men - six battalions , two " goum s " , two - and - a - half cavalry squadrons and three artillery batteries . They carried twelve 75mm field guns , eight machine gun s and 1 , 200 Gras rifle s . The troops were organized on their march into a " fighting square " , followed by a convoy square of 1 , 500 mules and 2 , 000 camels . On the dawn of September 6 , the French column reached Sidi Bou Othman , some 40 kilometers north of Marrakesh , where the Hibist army was already gathered , blocking the entrance to a key valley on the road to Marrakesh . The Hibist force , led by al - Hiba ' s brother , had around ten thousand men , with 1 , 000 muzzle - loading muskets , the rest poorly armed , many merely with sticks and stones , stretched out on a two - and - half mile front . They carried with them two Krupp cannons and some eight hundred rounds , under the command of a Spanish renegade . The French army was running out of water by this time , and another scorching hot day was ahead , so there was no question of avoiding or delaying engagement . Mangin maintained his battle square , placing his guns in the center of the infantry formations , offering a mere half - mile front , and began his march against the Hibist line . The Hibists maintained formation as they marched forth to meet him , their longer line enveloping the advancing square like a crescent . The Hibists held their fire until around 1 , 400 meters . Mangin waited until they were around 800 meters distant to halt his square and open fire . The cascading salvoes of French close - range artillery , machine guns and rifles devastated the ranks of the Hibist army . Nonetheless the Hibists held formation and continued their enveloping approach . The French square held ground , reloading and firing relentlessly , decimating the Hibist ranks as they approached . The concentration of continuous French firepower , particularly the artillery and machine guns , on the approaching , tight human mass caused horrific casualties in the Hibist ranks . The Hibists ' Krupp guns , in inexperienced hands , did little damage in response , their aim being off . The Hibist charges fell consistently short of the French square , the attackers never getting closer than a hundred meters before being mowed down . The French thereby avoided the hand - to - hand engagement in which the Hibists ' s superior numbers might have tipped the balance . By nine o ' clock , the battle was over . Hibist volley fire began to falter , with the army breaking up in retreat . Mangin sent out his cavalry under Captain Picard to disperse the remainder and sweep through the Hibist camp and cut down survivors . It had been a veritable massacre . The Hibists had suffered two thousand dead and thousands more wounded . Mangin ' s forces suffered merely four ( or two ) dead and twenty - three wounded . The battle of Sidi bou Othman was the first ranged battle fought by the French in North Africa since the Battle of Isly of 1844 . The Hibists employed much the same archaic tactics - tight regiments in a firing line , infantry charges , auxiliary cavalry and light cannon - as might be found in an early 19th Century Napoleonic battle . These proved ineffective when confronted by modern French technology . Mangin credited the victory to the judicious application of the superior speed and power of massed artillery and machine guns . Aftermath . A few hours after the battle , Mangin assembled a flying column under Lt . Col . Henri Simon to race to Marrakesh ( some 105 kilometers away ) and break the French hostages out before the Hibists could reorganize . Simon ' s column was composed of two cavalry squadrons , the goums , and a section of the 75mm guns , in all some 600 horsemen . Avoiding Hibist strongponts , Simon ' s column arrived at the Tensift River that same evening , and entered into communication with the qaids inside the city . At first light , 7 September 1912 , on a pre - arranged signal , as Simon ' s column left the Tensift ' s banks and approached the city , the qaids pounced . Forces loyal to the qaids Madani and Thami El Glaoui , al - Gundafi , al - Mtouggi and Driss Menou overwhelmed the Hibist garrison posts inside the city . By the time Simon reached the Bab Doukkala gate at 10 o ' clock , it was all over . The qaids were in control of Marrakesh , the French hostages were safely in their hands , and al - Hiba himself had fled the city with his remaining supporters . Mangin arrived with the rest of the army that afternoon , and set up his camp at Gueliz , northwest of the city , where he received the Marrakeshi qaids and their oaths of allegiance to the sultan Yusuf . Two days later , on 9 September 1912 , the French army finally entered and took possession of the city of Marrakesh . Al - Hiba fled to the Souss valley , where his support was still strong . The region around Marrakesh was organized as a military district , initially under Mangin , but given the lack of French troops , Lyautey ' s policy was to rely on the grand qaids - al - Glawi , al - Mtouggi , al - Goundafi , al - Ayadi , Haida , etc . - to hold the south in their name . Thami El Glaoui was promptly restored to his former position as " pasha " of Marrakesh and awarded the Legion of Honour by Lyautey , who personally visited Marrakesh in October 1912 . While the French troops were reoriented northwards , towards conquering the Tadla plain and the Middle Atlas ( see Zaian War ) , it was the qaids who were placed in charge of putting an end to the Hibists in the Souss . The qaids proved their worth almost immediately , El Glaoui and al - Goundafi led an invasion of the Souss valley in early 1913 , capturing Taroudant in May and Agadir in June , driving the Hibists up into the mountains . The Hibists , however , would hold out there for much longer . The outbreak of World War I in 1914 deprived the French authorities in Morocco of additional French troops , and many of the officers broken in by the Moroccan campaign would go on to distinguish themselves in the European front . During the war , Germany supplied the Hibists with money , guns and ammunition . Although they were largely confined to the highland peaks and ravines , the Hibists still presented a constant threat to the thin French hold on the southern Moroccan valleys . In 1917 , a French column under Leopold Justinard attempted to dislodge them from their mountain strongholds , but the resistance proved too fierce . Ahmed al - Hiba died on 23 May 1919 , and was buried in Akerdous village . Despite the death of their charismatic leader and the evaporation of German support , the Hibist movement continued under his brother Merebbi Rebbo . The Hibists were only finally reduced in 1934 , after a concerted French campaign up the Anti - Atlas . Rebbo fled into exile in the Spanish enclave of Sidi Ifni , dying in 1942 . A monument was erected by the French at the site of the battle of Sidi Bou Othman . It was destroyed after Morocco gained independence in 1956 .