The Battle of Macta was fought on 28 June 1835 between French forces under General Camille Alphonse Trézel and a coalition of Algerian tribes of western Algeria under Emir Abd al-Qadir, who, at the age of 26, waged one of his most famous battles against a superior force.

Quick Facts Date, Location ...

Battle of Macta
Part of the French conquest of Algeria
Date 28 June 1835 Location near the Macta River, French Algeria Result Algerian victory[1]
Belligerents
Kingdom of France	Emirate of Mascara
Commanders and leaders
Camille Alphonse Trézel	Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri
Strength
2,500 men[2] (French claim) A Battalion of the 66th Infantry Regiment A Light Infantry battalion The 5th battalion 3 companies of the 4th Battalion of the Foreign Legion 4 squadrons of Chasseurs d'Afrique [3]	15,000 cavalrymen[4] (French claim)
Casualties and losses
300[5]-2,000[6]	500[7]

Close

The French column, which had fought an inconclusive but somewhat bloody battle with Abdul-Qadir a few days earlier, was retreating toward Arzew to resupply when Abdul-Qadir attacked in the marshes on the banks of the Macta River in what is now western Algeria. The French panicked and fled to Arzew in a disorganized rout. The Algerians piled the heads of their defeated French enemies in a pyramid, allegedly hundreds in total.^[8]

The disaster led to the recall to France of Trézel and the comte d'Erlon, the first military governor-general of the French possessions in Africa, and helped Abdul-Qadir gain influence over tribes throughout Algeria.^{[citation needed]}