Ifni War 1956 Last Spanish War.

[MARINO]

This war oppsed Spain against Morrocco
http://perso.wanadoo.es/alltoursnatives/ima/sidi_ifni_paracaidistas_equipado_5__7_58.jpghttp://perso.wanadoo.es/alltoursnatives/ima/sidi_ifni_paracaidista.jpg
http://perso.wanadoo.es/alltoursnatives/ima/sidi_ifni_paracaidistas_listo_salto.jpghttp://perso.wanadoo.es/alltoursnatives/ima/sidi_ifni_paracaidistas_interior_de_junkel.jpg
http://perso.wanadoo.es/alltoursnatives/ima/sidi_ifni_morteros_practicas.jpghttp://perso.wanadoo.es/alltoursnatives/ima/sidi_ifni_preparado_para_salto_paracaidista.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/ifnimages1/images/93_barqueo.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/ifnimages1/images/42_Unidad_de_Mar2.jpg
Don't ask why just woot woot
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/ifnimages1/images/41_Unidad_de_Mar.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/saharaimages1/images/007playa1.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/saharaimages1/images/010pacs.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/saharaimages1/images/011LST1.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/saharaimages1/images/013m24.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/saharaimages1/images/012m24_1.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/saharaimages1/images/014columna.jpg

This war was during Franco regime and people in spain had few informations during it so that's why we call it the secret war

[Marmot1]

Ok secret...
but NOW do you have any info about it???? i.e why? when? where? who? how many? how?

[MARINO]

where :

http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/ifnimages1/images/2_AOE.jpg
the in yellow and in orange were Spanish those in orenge are where the combats took place specially in this small zone in north wich capital is Sidi Ifni this region is called Ifni.

How:
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/ifnimages1/images/95_guarniciones_en_vispera_de_taques.jpg
Spanish positions before war
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/ifnimages1/images/96_ataques.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/ifnimages1/images/97_operaciones.jpg
Actions
Who Spain against Morocco obviously we won.
Why since his creaton Morocoo has conducted an imperialist policy, and they hate specilly Spain, so after giving them thei independence we kept some lands whoe were from Spain since XIV century, before Morrocco was creared they officially accept but after they atteck us. At the end 10 years after winning this war we give it to them (don't ask why), mi uncle was killed in this war near Taugsa during Gento operation,(you can see in the last map in green)
Units involved Airborne(were mi uncle was) a light infantry regiment from canarias, Tiradores de Ifni, and Spanish Legion.
I'me searching and history with all actiosn in english but is impossible.

[MARINO]

Liutenant Antonio Ortiz de Zarate was the hero of this war with a little group of parachutist he went trought Sidi Ifini to Zoca Telaza de Sbuza under enemy fire all the way, they were stopped 3 km near the town who was being attacked by Morrocans, when the second rescue teman arrives only 5 men were alive .

[MARINO]

http://www.lasonet.com/images/tropps.jpg
http://www.lasonet.com/images/birenzaran.jpg
http://www.lasonet.com/images/tropasnomadas.jpg
http://www.lasonet.com/images/tropasnomadas1.jpg
http://www.lasonet.com/images/tropasausert.jpg
http://www.lasonet.com/images/smara1961.jpg
http://www.lasonet.com/images/puesto.jpg
http://www.lasonet.com/images/trops.jpg

[Javehn]

Nice pics . Have a question , how many of those pics are from Tercio de Extranjeros , and how much they were active in that war ?

[Ichhabe]

Very interesting pictures. Wonder if there are any books in English about this war. Gonna have a little Google-search...

[MARINO]

All photos where we can see guys without helmet were from Tercio de Extranjeros(they begun to use it in 1979) you have mani books in Spanish but i've searching to read in english but i hadn't found.
Guys with helmets were from Airborne Brigade, my uncle(well the brother of my Grand- father) was with them in this war he killed, in an heroic action. During Operation "Gento". This weekend i will have time to tell you all history of this war.

[MARINO]

I've forget to say that guys dressed like Lawrence from Arabia, were Saharaui people who were Spanish and fought and died fro his country, Spain.

[ArmedPacifist]

I didn't know Fortune City was involved in the fighting.

[Javehn]

Thanks . Funny thing is that i was doing a little research right now about the Tercio de Extranjeros (Spanish Foreign Legion) , and the war in Sahara desert , and suddenly you had this post . So , can you tell more about the history of the fighting ? As far as i remember , last soldier left Sahara in 1976 , after it stoped being a Spanish colony .

And about the Marroco , if i am not mistaken , it became independent from Spain in 1956 .

[rafaelcb]

And about the Marroco , if i am not mistaken , it became independent from Spain in 1956 .


Today's Morocco is composed from the French and Spanish protectorates. You are right about the time of the independence: 1956.
In 1975 Morocco occupied the spanish colony of 'Sahara occidental' right after Spain left. This lead to a war with the Saharauis which still continues today. Now there is a ceasefire and the chances for peace rest on UN 's shoulders :roll:

[Marmot1]

And about the Marroco , if i am not mistaken , it became independent from Spain in 1956 .


Today's Morocco is composed from the French and Spanish protectorates. You are right about the time of the independence: 1956.
In 1975 Morocco occupied the spanish colony of 'Sahara occidental' right after Spain left. This lead to a war with the Saharauis which still continues today. Now there is a ceasefire and the chances for peace rest on UN 's shoulders :roll:
Polisario front??? or something like this ??

Morocco.... :-) every year they have a diplomatic meeting on the "Throne day"-birthday of king and their national holiday. And there is lot of alcohol (sic!) good maroccan food (cus cus) and sweet cookies with honey woot and of course there is ambasador daughter... very hot chick ;) My favorite diplomatic meeting (Nigerian one is cool too)

[MARINO]

http://www.balagan.org.uk/war/1956/images/spanish_paratroopers.jpg
Spanish Paratroopers.
http://www.balagan.org.uk/war/1956/images/dead_in_ifni.jpg
http://www.fag.es/sevilla/tablada/labatalladeinglaterra/Buchones_en_IFNI_495.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/ifnimages1/images/6_aproximacion_de_LCT.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/saharaimages1/images/005playa2.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/images/K1.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/images/im22.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.es/aec51/ifni/images/im11.jpg

[lucki]

Very interesting pics, Marino. Nice to see again names like "El Aiun" and "Bu Cras".

Muy interesantes las fotos, Marino. Interesante ver de nuevo nombres como "El Aiun" y "Bu Cras".

Saludos.

[Denat]

Morocco.... :-) every year they have a diplomatic meeting on the "Throne day"-birthday of king and their national holiday. And there is lot of alcohol (sic!) good maroccan food (cus cus) and sweet cookies with honey woot and of course there is ambasador daughter... very hot chick ;) My favorite diplomatic meeting (Nigerian one is cool too)

Marmot, just curious, are you a member of diplomatic corps or sth. like that?
And BTW do you have any photos of this hot ambassador's daughter ;)

[Marmot1]

Morocco.... :-) every year they have a diplomatic meeting on the "Throne day"-birthday of king and their national holiday. And there is lot of alcohol (sic!) good maroccan food (cus cus) and sweet cookies with honey woot and of course there is ambasador daughter... very hot chick ;) My favorite diplomatic meeting (Nigerian one is cool too)

Marmot, just curious, are you a member of diplomatic corps or sth. like that?
And BTW do you have any photos of this hot ambasador's daughter ;)

Unfortunatelly no :( But next time I will take few specially for you :lol:

No, I am not member of diplomatic corps but let's say I am close to this bussines..

[Denat]

No, I am not member of diplomatic corps but let's say I am close to this bussines..
I understand, that's OPSEC ;)

[Marmot1]

No, I am not member of diplomatic corps but let's say I am close to this bussines..
I understand, that's OPSEC ;)

no not OPSEC but rather PRIVATSEC. ;)

[MARINO]

<img src=http://img216.exs.cx/img216/2018/264hj.jpg>
<img src=http://img143.exs.cx/img143/9863/014pc.jpg>
<img src=http://img211.exs.cx/img211/9263/257yp.jpg>
<img src=http://img219.exs.cx/img219/4117/115zs.jpg>

[CRAZY MERC]

Interesting post.

[Roldwin]

yeah, there are a lot of pics I didn't know them

Thanx again Marino!!!

[Roldwin]

This war forced us to buy the french AMX30 tank and some other weapons from the french army, 'cos one clause of the US weapons sale to Spain said that we couldn't use the weapons in any colonial war.

We also had to use WWII german planes and some other weapons because of this clause (like the Junker Ju-52 and the BF109)


Have a look at this article (not about the US weapons sale)

IFNI WAR (http://www.answers.com/topic/1957-invasion-of-spanish-sahara)

[Mamon]

oye Roldwin gracias por el articulo, no puedo creer que nunca e oido de esto

[Spanish33]

Hombre, Marino
¿tu te pasas por el Foro de la Armada Española?.
Lo digo porque esas fotos las he visto yo por allí.
Si te pasas por el Foro de la Armada, dimelo, que yo soy de los asiduos.

[Roldwin]

there are a lot of things we don't know about this war, Mamon

[MARINO]

Hombre, Marino
¿tu te pasas por el Foro de la Armada Española?.
Lo digo porque esas fotos las he visto yo por allí.
Si te pasas por el Foro de la Armada, dimelo, que yo soy de los asiduos.

Si pero no las he puesto alli. :)

Roldwind, AMX-30 is from Sahara war in 1975 not from Ifni- Sahara war wich was in 1958

[Roldwin]

I know I know, but I thought you were refering to both wars

[tenda]

really interesting ....tnx...marino...!! ;)

[MARINO]

1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara
Wikipedia1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara

1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara
Date October 23, 1957 - June 30, 1958
Place Western Sahara, Ifni
Result Spanish victory
Combatants
Spain Morocco
Commanders
Lieutenant General Lopez Valencia Ben Hammu
Strength
10,000 30,000
Casualties
300 dead
500 wounded 5,000


The 1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara, also known as the Ifni War and, in Spain, the Forgotten War (la Guerra Ignorada), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi Ifni.

The war, which may be seen as part of the general movement of decolonization that swept Africa throughout the latter half of the 20th century, was conducted primarily by elements of the Moroccan Liberation Army which, no longer tied down in conflicts with the French, committed a significant portion of its resources and manpower to the capture of Spanish possessions.


Causes
The city of Sidi Ifni was incorporated into the Spanish colonial empire in 1860. The following decades of Franco-Spanish collaboration resulted in the establishment and extension of Spanish protectorates south of the city, and Spanish influence obtained international recognition in the Berlin Conference of 1884. In 1946, the region's various coastal and inland colonies were consolidated as Spanish West Africa.

Immediately following its independence from France in 1956, Morocco began expressing interest in the Spanish possessions, historically and geographically part of Moroccan territorial integrity. Moroccan Sultan (then King) Mohammed V encouraged efforts to reclaim the land and personally funded anti-Spanish conspirators in Ifni.


Outbreak
Violent demonstrations against foreign rule erupted in Ifni on April 10, followed by civil strife and the widespread murder of those loyal to Spain. In response, Generalissimo Franco dispatched two battalions of the Spanish Legion, Spain's elite fighting force, to El Aaiún in June.

Spanish military mobilization resulted in the Moroccan army converging near Ifni. On October 23, two villages on the outskirts of Sidi Ifni, Goulimine and Bou Izarguen, were occupied by 1,500 Moroccan soldiers (Moukhahidine).

The encirclement of Ifni had begun. Two more Legionary battalions reached Spanish Sahara before the opening of hostilities.


The Storming of Ifni

Spanish paratroopers under fire in the sands of Ifni, November 1957
Initial Invasion
Conflict 1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara
Date November 23 - December 5, 1957
Place Western Sahara
Result Indecisive
Combatants
Spain Morocco
Sahawari tribesmen
Commanders
Unknown Ben Hammu
Strength
1,500 Spaniards, 500 indigenous paramilitaries 2,000
Casualties
55 dead
128 wounded
7 missing 600 dead or wounded

On November 21, Spanish intelligence in Ifni reported that attacks were imminent by Moroccans operating out of Tafraut. Two days later, Spanish lines of communication were cut, and a force of 2,000 Moroccans stormed Spanish garrisons and armories in and around Ifni.

Although the Moroccan drive into Sidi Ifni was easily repulsed, two nearby Spanish outposts were abandoned in the face of enemy attacks and many others remained under heavy siege.


Tiluin
At Tiluin, 60 tiradores, mixed Spanish and indigenous militiamen, struggled to stave off a force of hundreds of Moroccans. On November 25, a relief attempt was authorized. A fleet of five old Heinkels, vestiges of Franco's old alliance with Hitler, bombed enemy positions, while an equal number of Junkers dropped a force of 75 paratroopers into the outpost.

On December 3, soldiers of the Spanish Legion 6th battalion arrived, breaking the siege and retaking the airfield. All military and civilian personnel were then evacuated overland to Sidi Ifni.


Telata
The relief of Teleta was decidedly less successful. Leaving Sidi Ifni on November 24 aboard several old trucks, a platoon of the Spanish Legion paratroop battalion under Captain Ortiz made poor ground through difficult terrain. This problem was compounded by frequent Moroccan ambushes, which by the next day had left several men wounded and forced the Spaniards off the road. On November 26, food ran out. The Spanish, low on ammunition, resumed the march, only to dig in again in the face of repeated enemy attacks.

Rations were dropped from airplane, but casualties continued to mount; among the dead was Captain Ortiz. On December 2, a column of infantry, among them the erstwhile defenders of Telata, broke through the Moroccan lines and drove the enemy off. The survivors of the paratroop battalion set foot in Sidi Ifni once more on December 5. The company had suffered two dead and fourteen wounded.


Siege of Sidi Ifni
Initial Moroccan attacks had been generally successful. In the space of two weeks, the Moroccans and their tribal allies had asserted control over most of Ifni, isolating inland Spanish units from the capital. Simultaneous attacks had been launched throughout Spanish Sahara, overrunning garrisons and ambushing convoys and patrols.

Consequently, Moroccan units, resupplied and greatly reinforced, endeavored to surround and besiege Sidi Ifni, hoping to incite popular uprising. But the Moroccans underestimated the strength of the Spanish defenses. Supplied from the sea by the Spanish Navy and invested with kilometers of trenches and forward outposts, Sidi Ifni, boasting 7,500 defenders by December 9, proved impregnable. The siege, lasting into June 1958, was uneventful and relatively bloodless, as Spain and Morocco both concentrated resources on Saharan theatres.


Battle of Edchera
Battle of Edchera
Conflict 1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara
Date January 13, 1958
Place Saguiet el Hamra, Río de Oro
Result Spanish victory
Combatants
Spain Morocco
Commanders
Captain Madarel Unknown
Strength
350 500
Casualties
37 dead
50 wounded 241 dead
100 wounded

In January 1958, Morocco redoubled its commitment to the Spanish campaign, reorganizing all army units in Spanish territory as the "Saharan Liberation Army".

On January 12, a division of the Saharan Liberation Army attacked the Spanish garrison at El Aaiún. Beaten back and forced into retreat by the Spaniards, the army turned its efforts to the southeast. Another opportunity presented itself the next day at Edchera, where two companies of the 13th Legionary battalion were conducting a reconnaissance mission. Slipping unseen into the large dunes near the Spanish positions, the Moroccans opened fire.

Ambushed, the Legionaries fought to maintain cohesion, driving off attacks with mortar and small arms fire. Notable fighting was seen by the 1st platoon, which stubbornly denied ground to the Moroccans until grievous casualties forced it to withdraw. Bloody attacks continued until nightfall, when the Moroccan forces, too scattered and depleted of men to continue their assault, fled into the darkness.











Reconquest of Spanish Sahara



Reconquest of Spanish Sahara
Conflict 1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara
Date January 20 - February 25, 1958
Place Saguiet el Hamra, Río de Oro
Result Spanish victory
Combatants
Spain
France Morocco
Sahawari tribesmen
Commanders
Lieutenant General Lopez Valencia Unknown
Strength
9,000 Spaniards
5,000 French 20,000
Casualties
55 dead
74 wounded
1 missing
French casualties unknown 1,000 dead or wounded

In February 1958, Franco-Spanish corps launched a major offensive that successively dismantled the Saharan Liberation Army. For the first time, massively superior European air power was brought to bear as France and Spain deployed a joint air fleet of 150 planes.

First to fall were the Moroccan mountain strongholds at Tan-Tan. Bombed from above and rocketed from below, the Liberation Army suffered 150 dead and abandoned its war caches.

On February 10, the 4th, 9th, and 13th Legion battalions, organized into a motorized group, drove the Moroccans from Edchera and swept through to Tafurdat and Smara.

The Spanish army at El Aaiún, in conjunction with French forces from Fort Gouraud, struck the Moroccans on February 21, destroying Saharan Liberation Army concentrations between Bir Nazaran and Ausert.


Consequences
Emboldened by his victory in the Ifni War, Francisco Franco retained possession of Ifni until 1969, when, under international pressure, Spain returned the territory to Morocco. Spanish control of Western Sahara endured until the 1975 Green March prompted a withdrawal. The future of the former Spanish colony remains uncertain.

[MARINO]

<img src=http://www.elistas.net/lista/desastredeannual/ficheros/3/verFichero/3/edchera2.JPG>
<img src=http://ttd.cache.el-mundo.net/larevista/num137/imagenes/per3.jpg>
<img src=http://www.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/b6/300px-Spanish_Infantryman_1958.JPG>
<img src=http://www.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/8/8e/Spanish_paratroopers_1958.jpg>
<img src=http://www.izquierdo.net/ifni/nalda04.gif>
<img src=http://www.izquierdo.net/ifni/vigilando.jpg>
Spanish paratroopers in action, Ifni, 1957.

Here you have tons of pics
http://www.editorialbitacora.com/armagedon/sidi/ifni34.htm
http://www.lasonet.com/sh-26.htm

[MARINO]

I have said it many times but i will say it again cuz i'm proud of it.
The Brother of my grandmother was killed in this war during Gento operation. He was an airborne lieutenant