The Battle of Al Mahbes was fought on 14 October 1979 during the war in Western Sahara. The Polisario Front annihilated a battalion of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.
| Battle of Al Mahbes (1979) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Sahara War | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Western Sahara |
 Morocco | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown |
At least 132 Killed 150 wounded 53 captured | ||||||
  Location within Western Sahara | |||||||
Background
edit
The town of Al Mahbes is defended by a battalion of the 14th motorized infantry regiment of the Moroccan army, about 780 men.[1]
The garrison included an artillery battery, BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles and an armoured squadron, including 8 AMX-13 tanks (4 of which were present on the day of the attack).[2]
After the attack on Smara, the Polisario forces who retreated to their bases in Algeria decided to attack the garrison of Al Mahbes.[3]
Around ten Polisario units took part in the attack, i.e. around 1,200 men.[1]
Battle
editThe attack is launched at 6:00 a.m. Around noon, all Moroccan defensive lines were taken by the Polisario, and the last Moroccan resistance was broken at around 4 pm. The Moroccan Air Force intervened.[4] During the day of the 15th, the Saharawis pursued the fleeing Moroccans[2] and blocked Moroccan reinforcements.[5] Part of the garrison, including its commander Captain Mohamed Sakka, managed to withdraw to the town of Zag. Both sides are said to have run out of ammunition.[6]
Casualties and consequences
editAccording to the Polisario, 767 Moroccan soldiers were killed. Journalists who came to the scene counted 132 Moroccan corpses.[2] The Polisario also presented 53 prisoners to journalists.[5] According to Moroccan reports, 20% of the soldiers of the garrison have been killed and the number of wounded is even higher.[7]
According to Morocco, the assailants deplore 350 dead and 75 vehicles destroyed, but journalists can come and visit the base conquered by the Polisario the day after the attack.[8]
400 tonnes of weapons of all kinds, including a BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile, were captured by the Polisario Front following this attack.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Ali, p. 153.
- ^ a b c d Ostos, Manuel (1979-10-27). "Marruecos perdió un batallón y cuatrocientas toneladas de armamento en la batalla de Mahbes". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- ^ Jensen, p. 44.
- ^ Weexsteen, p. 427.
- ^ a b "Dans Mahbès conquise par le Polisario". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1979-10-26. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- ^ "Moroccans Are Ready For a War of Attrition With Rebels in Sahara; King's Fate May Hang on War". The New York Times. 1979-11-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- ^ Besenyő, p. 123.
- ^ "Des journalistes invités à Smara n'ont pas constaté de destructions". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1979-10-18. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
Sources
edit- Lyakat Ali (1997). "Military dimension of Western Sahara Conflict" (PDF). The Western Sahara issue-decolonisation or greater Morocco. New Delhi: Université Jawaharlal-Nehru.
thèse encadrée par K.R. Singh
- János Besenyő (2009). Western Sahara (PDF). Publikon Publishers. ISBN 978-963-88-3320-4.
- Geoffrey Jensen (May 2013). War and Insurgency in the Western Sahara (PDF). Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College Press. ISBN 978-1-58487-569-7.
- Raoul Weexsteen (1980). "La question du Sahara occidental 1978-1979". Annuaire de l'Afrique du Nord. 1979. Éditions du CNRS: 415–442.
External links
edit- Christine, Spengler (25 October 1979). "After the Battle in Mahbes". Getty Images.
- Christine, Spengler (25 October 1979). "Dead in Mahbes After Polisario Victory". Getty Images.
- Jacques, Haillot (25 October 1979). "Dead Moroccan soldier in the town of Mahbes". Getty Images.
- Jacques, Haillot (25 October 1979). "Moroccan soldier in the town of Mahbes, taken by Sahrawi rebels". Getty Images.