Abd el-Krim al-Khattabi (1880-6 February 1963) was a Moroccan Berber freedom fighter who is best-known for his uprising against Spain and France from 1921 to 1926, during which he declared the Republic of the Rif after defeating the Spanish Army at the Battle of Annual. He was forced to surrender in May 1926, but he lived long enough to see the decolonization of North Africa after World War II.
Biography[]
Abd el-Krim al-Khattabi was born into an educated Berber family in Ajdir, in the mountainous region of Morocco known as the Rif. In the early 20th century, Morocco was divided between France and Spain, most of the Rif falling within the Spanish sphere of influence. During World War I Abd el-Krim fell afoul of the Spanish authorities and served time in prison. He returned to Ajdir determined to fight for independence.
In 1921, an army of poorly led, ill-trained Spanish troops marched into the Rif from their base at Melilla. Abd el-Krim's irregulars overran isolated Spanish outposts and threatened to encircle the main body of troops at Annual in July. Thousands of Spanish soldiers were killed by harassing Riffians in a panic-stricken retreat to Melilla. Abd el-Krim declared a Republic of the Rif, equipping a small regular army with captured artilley, machine-guns, and modern rifles. It was a force that found the support of tens of thousands of Berber villagers.
Abd el-Krim overreached himself by extending his operations into French Morocco in April 1925. The French World War I hero Philippe Petain was given the task of crushing the revolt using Spanish aid. He treated the war like a conventional European conflict, massing heavily armed troops with artillery and air support in a 10-month campaign. Abd el-Krim surrendered in May 1926 and spent the rest of his life in exile. He was much admired in Europe and North America, and he lived to see Morocco and Algeria gain independence from European rule.