Battle of Kousséri
Encyclopedia
The battle of Kousséri originated in French plans to occupy the Chari-Baguirmi
region. In 1899–1900, the French organized three armed columns, one proceeding north from Congo
, one east from Niger
and another south from Algeria
. The objective was to link all French possessions in Western Africa, and this was achieved April 21, 1900 on the right bank of the Chari in what is now Chad opposite Kousséri
, in what today is northern Cameroon
.
ese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr
could field some 10,000 infantry and cavalry, all provided with rifles (except for 400 rifles, these were mostly obsolete), plus a great number of auxiliary troops equipped with lances or bows. His forces held fortified garrisons at Baggara
and Karnak Logone.
In 1899, Rabih received in Dikoa the French representative Ferdinand de Béhagle. The talks between them degenerated, and Béhagle was arrested. On July 17, 1899, Lieutenant Bretonnet, whose force was then sent by France against Rabih, was killed with most of his men at Togbao at the edge of the Chari River
, present-day Sarh
. Rabih gained three cannons from this victory (which the French later retook at Kousséri) and ordered his son Fadlallah, whom he had left in Dikoa, to hang Béhagle.
In response, a French column proceeding from Gabon
and led by Émile Gentil
, supported by the steamboat Leon Blot, confronted Rabih at Kouno at the end of the year. The French were pushed back, suffering losses, but regrouped and continued to the town of Kousséri. Here, they linked up with the Lamy column (proceeding from Algeria
) and the former Voulet-Chanoine Mission
, proceeding from Niger
. This column was now commanded by Joalland-Meynier, after Voulet and Chanoine murdered the French officer sent to relieve them, when news reached the European press of the mission's brutality to local people. Lamy took command of the united forces.
The final showdown between Rabih and the French took place on April 22, 1900. The French forces consisted of 700 troops, plus the 600 riflemen and 200 cavalry provided by the allied Baguirmians. Leaving Kousséri the French in three columns attacked Rabih's camp, and in the ensuing battle, the French commander Major
Amédée-François Lamy
was killed. However, Rabih's forces were overwhelmed and, while attempting to flee across the Chari River, Rabih was killed.
With the defeat of Rabih's forces, the French ensured their control over most of Chad, which became part of the French colonial empire
. The march of the infamous Voulet-Chanoine Mission
through modern Burkina Faso
and Niger
brought nominal protectorate status to these areas, and forces from Algeria showed that a cross-saharan conquest and administration was possible. Gentile's mission from Gabon, added to these, helped define the practical borders of French and British imperial control, and linked the three most stable French colonial possessions in Africa (Senegal
and the Upper Niger River
Valley, Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville, and Algeria). In French colonial histories, the Battle of Kousséri is usually seen as the ending point of the Scramble for Africa
and the beginning of the "pacification" phase of French West
and Equatorial Africa
.
Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture
This article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Chari-Baguirmi was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the west of the country, Chari-Baguirmi covered an area of 82,910 square kilometers and had a population of 720,941 in...
region. In 1899–1900, the French organized three armed columns, one proceeding north from Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, one east from Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
and another south from Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The objective was to link all French possessions in Western Africa, and this was achieved April 21, 1900 on the right bank of the Chari in what is now Chad opposite Kousséri
Kousséri
Kousséri is a city in Far North Province, Cameroon, lying on the border with Chad, across the Chari River from N'Djamena. It is the capital of the Logone-et-Chari department. It is a market town, and its population has recently been swollen by refugees from Chad. It had a population of 89,123 at...
, in what today is northern Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
.
Prelude
In 1899, SudanSudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr
Rabih az-Zubayr
Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah or Rabih Fadlallah , usually known as Rabah in French, was a Sudanese warlord and slave trader who established a powerful empire west of Lake Chad, in today's Chad....
could field some 10,000 infantry and cavalry, all provided with rifles (except for 400 rifles, these were mostly obsolete), plus a great number of auxiliary troops equipped with lances or bows. His forces held fortified garrisons at Baggara
Baggara
The Baggāra Arabs are a set of communities inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel between Lake Chad and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages...
and Karnak Logone.
In 1899, Rabih received in Dikoa the French representative Ferdinand de Béhagle. The talks between them degenerated, and Béhagle was arrested. On July 17, 1899, Lieutenant Bretonnet, whose force was then sent by France against Rabih, was killed with most of his men at Togbao at the edge of the Chari River
Chari River
The Chari or Shari River is a 949-kilometer-long river of central Africa. It flows from the Central African Republic through Chad into Lake Chad, following the Cameroon border from N'Djamena, where it joins the Logone River waters....
, present-day Sarh
Sarh
Sarh is the third largest city in Chad, after N'Djamena and Moundou. It is the capital of Moyen-Chari region and the department of Barh Köh. It lies 350 miles south-east of the capital Ndjamena on the Chari River...
. Rabih gained three cannons from this victory (which the French later retook at Kousséri) and ordered his son Fadlallah, whom he had left in Dikoa, to hang Béhagle.
In response, a French column proceeding from Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
and led by Émile Gentil
Émile Gentil
Émile Gentil was a French colonial administrator, naval officer, and colonial military leader.Born at Volmunster in the department of Moselle, he later attended the École Navale, the school that formed French naval officers. As an ensign, he was assigned to conduct hydrographic soundings along the...
, supported by the steamboat Leon Blot, confronted Rabih at Kouno at the end of the year. The French were pushed back, suffering losses, but regrouped and continued to the town of Kousséri. Here, they linked up with the Lamy column (proceeding from Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
) and the former Voulet-Chanoine Mission
Voulet-Chanoine Mission
The Voulet–Chanoine Mission or Central African Mission was a French military expedition sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa...
, proceeding from Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
. This column was now commanded by Joalland-Meynier, after Voulet and Chanoine murdered the French officer sent to relieve them, when news reached the European press of the mission's brutality to local people. Lamy took command of the united forces.
Battle
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Amédée-François Lamy
Amédée-François Lamy
Amédée-François Lamy was born at Mougins, in the French département of Alpes-Maritimes on February 7, 1858 and died in the battle of Kousséri on April 22, 1900....
was killed. However, Rabih's forces were overwhelmed and, while attempting to flee across the Chari River, Rabih was killed.
Significance
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
. The march of the infamous Voulet-Chanoine Mission
Voulet-Chanoine Mission
The Voulet–Chanoine Mission or Central African Mission was a French military expedition sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa...
through modern Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
brought nominal protectorate status to these areas, and forces from Algeria showed that a cross-saharan conquest and administration was possible. Gentile's mission from Gabon, added to these, helped define the practical borders of French and British imperial control, and linked the three most stable French colonial possessions in Africa (Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and the Upper Niger River
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
Valley, Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville, and Algeria). In French colonial histories, the Battle of Kousséri is usually seen as the ending point of the Scramble for Africa
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
and the beginning of the "pacification" phase of French West
French West Africa
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...
and Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...
.