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In 1909, the Rif tribes attacked the Spanish workers in the Rif iron mines, near Melilla, which led to the intervention of the Spanish Army. -
The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was a confrontation caused by the uprising of the Rif tribes, a mountainous region in northern Morocco, against the Spanish colonial authorities and the French colonial Empire. -
On the other hand, the military operations in Yebala, to the west of Morocco, had already begun in 1911 with the Landing of Larache, which meant the pacification of a large part of the most violent areas until 1914,
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The following year, after the signing of the Treaty of Fez, the northern area of Morocco was awarded to Spain as a protectorate, while the southern area would be awarded to France, also as a protectorate.
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In 1921 the Spanish troops suffered a serious disaster in Annual, in addition to a rebellion led by the Rif leader Abd el-Krim. The Spanish withdrew to a few fortified positions while El-Krim went on to create an independent state that came to function as such, beyond paper: the Republic of the Rif. -
The Annual disaster was a serious Spanish military defeat in the Rif War and an important victory for the Rif rebels commanded by Abd el-Krim. It occurred between July 22 and August 9, 1921, near the Moroccan town of Annual, located between Melilla and the Bay of Alhucemas. -
The development of the confrontation and its end coincided with the dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera in Spain, who was in charge of the campaign from 1924 to 1927. -
In addition, after the Battle of Uarga (1925), the French intervened fully in the conflict and established a collaboration with Spain that culminated in a landing in Al Hoceima. -
Towards 1926 the zone had been pacified, surrendering Abd-el-Krim in July 1927 and obtaining the reconquest of the previously lost territory. -
This war left a deep memory both in Spain and in Morocco. After Moroccan independence in 1956, a Rif revolt against Sultan Mohamed V of Morocco, a sequel to the previous armed conflict, still took place.