Morocco, June, 1953

With a full war engulfing Morocco and Spanish Sahara, it is clear that the Spanish have fully thrown in their lot to bringing the Moroccans to heel. The large military complex built up by Franco's regime, having sat out of World War II, stormed into the Moroccan heartland, and along the coast of North Africa.

Tangiers Front

The first heavy fighting came along the road to Tangiers, an important international port that had been seized by Spanish forces in the first months of the war. It was here that huge amounts of additional reinforcements, including armour and mechanized units, were being offloaded as fast as possible by the Spanish. Suffering from a lack of specialized ships, it would take time for the large Spanish force to land.

Hoping to reconquer Tangiers, the Moroccan 2nd and 3rd Divisions marched up the coast from Larachne. Just north of Asilah, they ran into the still-deploying forces of the Spanish 1st Army Corps. With much of the 1st Armoured Division “Brunette” still unloading from ships in Tangiers, the first part of combat on the Tangiers front was primarily between infantry.

Apparently surprised by the Moroccan assault, the first combat on June 7th was chaotic. Starting with a nighttime raid and following with a dawn assault on Spanish lines, the Spanish 1st Army Corps briefly retreated in the face of the Moroccan assault, before attacking in the wrong direction - accidentally firing upon friendly units of the Spanish “Guzman El Bueno” division which was attacking towards the Rif in the east. The Dar Chouai Incident of June 8th resulted in the deaths of 16 Spanish troops and two trucks destroyed, damaging Spanish morale more broadly.

Falling back briefly and reorganizing, the Spanish’s advantage in numbers and equipment begins to show. While the Moroccan troops are undoubtedly more used to the environment of North Africa, the Spanish armoured strength (and the overwhelming strength of their Air Force) quickly began to take its toll on the Moroccan assault. The situation ground to a stalemate north of Asilah, with the Spanish troops slowly recovering their morale through continuous air strikes on the Moroccan supply lines and troops. The presence of Italian planes (wearing Spanish markings) is noted amongst the Moroccan troops.

While the battle south of Tangiers was happening, the Spanish assault continued along the edge of the Rif and into the Rif itself. The Spanish “Guzman El Bueno” mechanized division, tasked to move south, found Moroccan roads typical of those in North Africa - unpaved, narrow, and winding. Supporting the massive amount of Spanish troops on these small roads quickly resulted in a bottleneck, slowing Spanish progress into the south. Even with these restrictions, the Spanish assault into the south was able to gain ground, and, faced with encirclement and steadily increasing losses, the Moroccan 2nd and 3rd Division was forced to fall back towards Kenitra.

Within the Rif, Spanish light infantry began their assault, backed up by a mechanized logistic network reliant on the small roads running into the mountains. The Spanish commanders, with the memory of the Rif war fresh in their mind from thirty years earlier, find that the mountains have become no more forgiving - Rif Irregular forces, pushed back at first by large Spanish air and artillery strikes, soon become enmeshed among the large Spanish supply chain. While the Spanish mountain troops are technically skilled, the knowledge of local terrain exhibited by the Rif Irregular forces is surprising even to Franco personally, himself a veteran of the Rif War.

The Spanish are able to progress as far as Chefchouaen before being halted by the remnants of the Moroccan 1st Division, mauled in the first month of the war at Tetouan. The overwhelming Spanish air power, only occasionally fought against by the Moroccans, assists the Spanish force in capturing the outskirts of the city, arranged amongst the mountains. While the Spanish force in numbers is overwhelming, nevertheless it is unable to be used on a broad front due to the mountains - progress becomes slowed by the long supply line, attempting to keep an entire Army Corps supplied in the Rif. The Battle for Chefchouaen lasts for an entire week, from June 9th - 16th with the Spanish making achingly slow progress through the mountains - their Alpini doing direct battle with the Rif Irregulars on the mountains ringing the city. Fighting becomes desperate, with elevated machine-gun positions and light mortars raining fire onto Spanish columns before disappearing into the hills. Two Spanish reconnaissance planes crash into the mountains on separate days, their crews later found executed. The Rif War seems to be playing out yet again.

Finally, on June 17th, a large Rif Irregular assault on the Spanish rear, combined with a rare Moroccan air strike, broke the assault and Spanish forces pulled back further north to Tetouan. With the folly of using mechanized troops in the mountains now clear, Spanish light infantry disperses into the mountains to wage peak-by-peak battles attempting to dislodge the Moroccans. Casualties on both sides are hard to estimate, but it is clear the damage to Spanish morale goes all the way to the top.

At the end of June, the Spanish 1st Mechanized Division was able to capture their objective at Jorf El Melha, immediately moving west to secure the Tangier - Fez railway. Spanish progress has been slow, but with the railway now secured additional pushes into the south would become more feasible. Direct resistance from the Moroccan Army in this area seems to be spent for the moment.

Oujda Front

In the east, all sights were set on the capture of the city of Oujda. Meeting only light Moroccan resistance in the area at the start of the war, Spanish troops were able to move south to threaten the vital city of Oujda. The first Spanish troops entered the city on June 3rd, with the poor state of Moroccan infrastructure and the dispersed nature of their army resulting in a long period of redeployment for the Moroccans. The damage to the city of Nador somewhat slowed the Spanish deployment as well, as their huge army mobilized to secure the city.

The Moroccan 4th Division and the International Anti-Fascist Brigade arrived in the area on June 4th, finding the Spanish occupying defensive positions along the Oujda - Fez railway. The Moroccan deployment was hurried and messy, giving time for the Spanish Air Force to ravage the railway. Nevertheless, the Moroccan assault on Oujda on June 5th met with early success, the Spanish divisions - mainly hoping to support operations into the Rif and connection with the Tangiers front - pulling back from the city. With the local Spanish commanders not willing to risk heavy losses on defending the city, the Spanish troops pull back around Nador and Melilla, ceding the city to the Moroccans in another morale coup. Propagandists for the International Fascist Brigade take up the victory as another clear win for the righteousness of the Moroccan cause. Further, retaking Oujda handily secured Moroccan supply lines into Algeria.

Spanish Sahara

Yet the most dramatic battle of the war would come in the south, along the coast of the Spanish Sahara. Moroccan troops of the 32nd Infantry Brigade were able to quickly neutralize any remaining Spanish soldiers and police within the former colony, consolidating Moroccan control before returning to fortify the city of Dakhla. Spanish reconnaissance from both the air and sea became more regular over the first few days of June. Moroccan coastwatchers reported a Spanish invasion fleet heading south with only a days notice, and hurried preparations to defend the city were put into motion. The old Spanish fort was occupied, with machine-gun nests and anti-aircraft guns doubling as coastal defense artillery.

The first assault on the morning of June 8th came as paratroopers, dropped by Junkers Ju 52 transport planes onto the city. Despite anti-aircraft fire coming from the city, the Spanish 1st Parachute Battalion land and move to cut off the city. In hurried and confused fighting, a Moroccan counterattack recaptures the road junction, with the paratroopers retreating toward N’Tireft to await Spanish reinforcement. The brief combat nevertheless draws significant casualties from the 32nd Infantry Brigade.

As this was going on, the Spanish Navy appeared off the coast. The No. 2 Task Force, consisting of the cruisers Navarra, Almirante Cerveza and Mendez Nunez, along with four destroyers escorting a number of transport ships, immediately took the fort under fire. Aware that the city was a Spanish stronghold, however, Spanish command forbade heavy fire upon the town itself, leading to only a limited naval bombardment. Aircraft flying from the Canarias strafed and bombed the fort as well, which soon became a hulk of rubble.

The Spanish Navy, not expecting the town to be held against them, faced a dilemma. A day of dallying followed before it was decided to go ahead with the landing anyway, and damn the consequences. Lacking dedicated landing craft, the 5,000 Spanish Marines were lowered away in rowboats, making for the shore. At first transfixed by the Spanish bravery (or stupidity), Moroccan troops took these defenseless craft under fire. While the Spanish cruisers could pin down the Moroccans with heavy artillery and cannon fire, the rowboat-bound Marines suffered hundreds of casualties attempting to row ashore in the midst of murderous machine gun fire. Those that did make it up onto the shore made to regroup in the town. The first group of Marines briefly occupied the southwest corner of the city, before being thrown back by a Moroccan counterattack. The noncoordination of the landing, with troops coming ashore piecemeal, ensured that gaining even a toehold on the beach was murderously difficult. By the end of June 9th, the city was still held by the Moroccans.

In the middle of the night of June 9-10, a rushed report came to the Spanish admiral from one of the destroyers acting as a picket to the north. Masts had been spotted - tall, huge masts of a battleship! In the next hour the French battleship Richelieu, escorting a gigantic task force of two aircraft carriers, two cruisers and eight destroyers, hove into view from the north. The French declaration of freedom of navigation had not yet reached the Spanish Task Force, and confusion reigned amongst the Spanish command staff. Were the French entering the war on the side of the enemy? Were they about to be blasted into a watery grave?

As the sun rose on June 10th, the French fleet hove into view. Rapid radio exchanges soon followed, with the French admiral explaining his forces were on a neutrality patrol, “to prevent the conflict from damaging the vital interests of free trade.”

“We are conducting operations, steer clear of my unit,” the Spanish admiral responded.

“We must make for Dakhla.”

Brief, hurried exchanges between the Spanish ships resulted in the bluff: “Dakhla is under Spanish control, and is a closed port.”

Tensions seemed to be decreasing under a flight of French Corsairs launched from Arromanches overflew the city. Spanish Marines, this time grouped together for a more orderly assault, were again landing under heavy machine gun fire. Apparently confused, Moroccan AA fire exploded close enough to the lead plane to cause the windshield to shatter, sending the plane into a brief diving spin before the pilot could recover. Returning to the carrier, the French signaled:

“You fired upon my unit. Withdraw or we will return fire.”

With the French task force now clearly in artillery range of the Spanish, and their overwhelming advantage in numbers, the Spanish Task Force again dallied for hours until receiving several additional demands to withdraw. Finally, a warning shot by Richelieu across the bow of the Spanish cruiser Almirante Cerveza convinced the Spanish that they would have to retake Dakhla another way. The Spanish fleet withdrew to the safety of air cover around the Canarias, with the French continuing their journey south. A shooting war between France and Spain had only been very narrowly avoided, and Dakhla remained, in spite of everything, in Moroccan hands. The Spanish paratrooper regiment disappeared into Spanish Sahara, intent on continuing the war from the desert.

Elsewhere

Spanish terror bombing throughout Morocco intensified throughout June, with heavy bombers ravaging the Moroccan rail network and infrastructure. The Oujda - Fez railway sees particularly heavy damage, slowing arms shipment from Algeria to a crawl. Damage is also done to rail lines and infrastructure around Meknes, Casablanca, and Marrakesh. Moroccan air defense is rather weak and disorganized, and the Air Squadrons Morocco is able to deploy again suffer heavy losses. Nevertheless, the light infantry nature of much of Morocco’s military means that this destruction is not yet decisive to its war effort.

Conclusion

Only in the worst nightmare of Franco could it be imagined that the operation in Morocco would turn into another Rif War - yet this was quickly becoming the case. The disastrous failure of the recapture of Dakhla, the further damage done to Spanish - French relations, the failure to defend Oujda and the slow progress of the war into the Rif itself means that this war will drag out for months longer. The surprise of Moroccan success again shocked the world, lending additional credence to the legitimacy of its cause.