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Battle of Timimoun

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The Battle of Timimoun or Opération Timimoun[1] involved several military confrontations in Timimoun between the French Armed Forces led by General Marcel Bigeard and native Méharistes whom defected over to the National Liberation Front of Algeria (FLN).[2]

Battle of Timimoun
Part of Algerian War

Representation of the operation by Marcel.
DateNovember - December 1957
Location
Timimoun, French Algeria
Result French victory[3][4]
Belligerents
 France Algeria FLN
Commanders and leaders
France Marcel Bigeard
France Pierre Jeanpierre
France Lt. Pierre Roher †[5]
France René Sentenac [fr] †[6]		 Algeria Ezzaoui Bouhouce[7]
Units involved
3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment
1st Foreign Parachute Regiment

ALN

Strength
France 1,750 soldiers
France 11 planes
France 6 Helicopter
(Bigeard figure)[8]		 Algeria 100+
Casualties and losses
36 killed total
24 wounded		 Algeria 40-45 fighters killed[9][10]
Algeria 6 captured

The battle

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Start of the mutiny

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On October 17, 1957, a group of Méharistes (native camel soldiers serving in the French Army), who had been subtly swayed by the ideas of the Algerian independence movement, deserted their ranks within the French Army. They swore fealty to the ALN, the armed wing of the FLN. Their desertion was marked by a shocking act: they eliminated eight French officers and non-commissioned officers who had been commanding them. This daring move demonstrated the extent to which the ALN's influence had penetrated even the ranks of the French military.[11]

Ambush near Timimoun

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On November 7, near Timimoun, 220 miles south of Colomb-Béchar the militants ambushed a convoy of 10 trucks belonging to a French oil prospecting team and French Foreign Legion troops guarding them.[12] Firing on the first two truck, one of which managed to escape, they turned to attack rest of the convoy, destroying 6 truck in total. 9 legionaries and 7 members of the oil prospecting team were killed, with the 12 wounded survivors managing to escape in the 4 remaining but damaged trucks.[13] 5 legionaries, and 7 engineers were captured and made hostage by the militants.[11] A later rescue mission found the 6 destroyed trucks, but found no survivors.[13][14][15] The ALN militants and deserters retreated with little to no casualties.

Securing Timimoun

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Amidst the escalating tension and the brazen act of the militants, a series of events were set in motion to regain control and assert French authority in the region. The French government, led by Robert Lacoste, recognized the need for a powerful response to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.[11] The French government branded this operation "one of the most important anti-terrorist operations in the Sahara desert".[16] In a bid to restore order and eliminate the rebellious méharistes, a decisive operation was conceived. The renowned French officer, Lieutenant Colonel Marcel Bigeard, and his 3rd Parachute Colonial Regiment (3e R.P.C) were entrusted with the task. Bigeard, with his extensive experience and military prowess, was granted "full powers" by General Salan to carry out a high-impact intervention.[11] Arriving in Timimoun on November 13, 1957, Bigeard and his forces were faced with the daunting challenge of tracking down the deserters amidst the harsh Sahara environment. The relentless heat, sandstorms, and scarcity of water made the task at hand immensely difficult. Under Bigeard's leadership, a comprehensive search and destroy mission commenced. Collaborating with other military units, including the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (1er R.E.P) under the command of Colonel Jeanpierre, Bigeard's 3e R.P.C meticulously combed the region around Timimoun. Through diligent intelligence gathering, verification, and cross-referencing, a breakthrough was achieved on November 21, 1957. The elusive group of méharistes from the ALN were pinpointed at Hassi Rambou.[11] The French military swiftly mobilized all available forces to converge on this location, and the radio center in Timimoun acted as the nerve center for real-time communication of developments to higher authorities in both Algiers and Paris.[11][17] In the ensuing battle of Hassi Rambou 40 to 45 militants were killed, and 6 were captured, while the French army suffered 12 dead and 12 wounded.[11][18]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ "Opération Timimoun I à 80 kilomètres au nord-est de Timimoun". imagesdefense.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  2. ^ "Opération TIMIMOUN". paras.forumsactifs.net (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  3. ^ Bigeard, Marcel (2011-09-28). De la Brousse a la Jungle Ned (in French). Editions du Rocher. ISBN 978-2-268-00373-3. Retour dans les Nementchas. Nouveaux succès
  4. ^ "Opération Timimoun | PDF". Scribd. Retrieved 2023-08-02. Le succès est médiatisé
  5. ^ "Militaires les plus titrés : 21 titres de guerre". uneautrehistoire.blog4ever.com. Retrieved 2023-08-02. Il est abattu juste avant le lieutenant Pierre Roher et l'infirmier Roland Fialon (12 décembre 1936 - 21 novembre 1957) par un sniper ennemi embusqué à 400 mètres au nord de leur position.
  6. ^ Bergot, Erwan (1976-12-31). Bataillon Bigeard: Indochine (1952-1954), Algérie (1955-1957) (in French). Presses de la Cité (réédition numérique FeniXX). ISBN 978-2-258-12149-2.
  7. ^ Alloun, Karima (13 July 2022). "Ezzaoui Bouhouce raconte la lutte armée à Timimoun : A cœur vaillant…". horizons.
  8. ^ Bigeard, Marcel (2011-09-28). De la Brousse a la Jungle Ned (in French). Editions du Rocher. ISBN 978-2-268-00373-3.
  9. ^ Sarasota Journal. Sarasota Journal.
  10. ^ "Vingt méharistes déserteurs figurent parmi les cinquante-deux rebelles mis hors de combat près de Timimoun". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1957-11-25. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "Commandos et Parachutistes :: Novembre 1957 La bataille de Timimoun du 3° R.P.C". histoire.vraiforum.com. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  12. ^ Behr, Edward Samuel (2017-06-28). The Algerian Problem. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78720-516-1.
  13. ^ a b The Bulletin. The Bulletin.
  14. ^ O'Ballance, Edgar (1967). The Algerian Insurrection, 1954-62. Faber. ISBN 978-0-208-00080-4.
  15. ^ Petroleum Times. Petroleum Times. 1957.
  16. ^ Barthélemy, Raymond (1981). Histoire du transport aérien militaire français (in French). France-Empire.
  17. ^ "Képis noirs et bérets rouges – Sahara 1957 (Bataille de Timimoun), par le général Massu" (in French). 2022-11-21. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  18. ^ Delarue, Louis (1961-01-01). Avec les Paras du 1er REP et du 2e RPI Ma (in French). FeniXX. ISBN 979-10-410-0126-2.

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