Violent demonstrations against Spanish rule erupted in Ifni on 10 April 1957, followed by civil strife and widespread killings of those loyal to Spain. In response, Spanish dictator
Francisco Franco dispatched two
battalions of the
Spanish Legion, Spain's elite fighting force, to
El Aaiún in
Saguia el-Hamra in June. Spanish military mobilisation resulted in the
Royal Moroccan Army converging near Ifni. On 23 November 1957, two villages on the outskirts of Sidi Ifni,
Goulimine and
Bouizakarne, were occupied by 1,500 Moroccan soldiers (
Moujahidine). The encirclement of Ifni was the beginning of the Ifni War. Two more Legion battalions reached
Spanish Sahara before the opening of hostilities.
Storming of Ifni On 21 November, Spanish intelligence in Ifni reported that attacks were imminent by Moroccans and local tribes operating out of
Tafraout. 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 Spaniards repulsed the Moroccan drive into Sidi Ifni, two nearby Spanish outposts were abandoned in the face of Moroccan attacks and many others remained under heavy siege.
Tiluin At , 60
Tiradores de Ifni (locally recruited indigenous infantry with Spanish officers and specialist personnel) struggled to hold off a force of several hundred Moroccans. On 25 November, a relief attempt was authorised. Five
CASA 2.111 bombers (Spanish-built variants of the
Heinkel He 111) bombed enemy positions, while an equal number of
CASA 352 transports (Spanish-built versions of the
Junkers Ju 52/3m) dropped a force of 75
paratroopers into the outpost. The following months saw Spanish troops retreat from the territory to a defensive perimeter around Sidi Ifni. On 3 December, soldiers of the Spanish Legion's 6th
Battalion (VI
Bandera) arrived, breaking the siege and retaking the airfield. All military and civilian personnel were then evacuated overland to Sidi Ifni.
Telata The relief of Telata was less successful. Leaving Sidi Ifni on 24 November aboard several old trucks, a
platoon of the Spanish Legion
paratroop battalion under
Captain Ortiz de Zárate made slow progress 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 26 November, food ran out. The Spanish, low on ammunition, resumed their advance, only to dig in again in the face of repeated enemy attacks. The Spanish dropped rations by air, but Spanish casualties continued to mount. One of the dead was Ortiz de Zárate. On 2 December, a column of
infantry, among them the erstwhile defenders of Telata, broke through the Moroccan lines and managed to escape encirclement. The survivors of the paratroop detachment reached Sidi Ifni once more on 5 December. The
company had suffered two dead and fourteen wounded.
Siege of Sidi Ifni Initial Moroccan and local tribal attacks had been generally successful. In the space of a
fortnight, 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, tried to surround and besiege Sidi Ifni, hoping to incite a popular uprising. However, the Moroccans underestimated the strength of the Spanish defences. Supplied from the sea by the
Spanish Navy and protected by kilometres of
trenches and forward outposts, Sidi Ifni, boasting 7,500 defenders by 9 December, 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 In January 1958, Morocco redoubled its commitment to the Spanish campaign, reorganising all
Moroccan Army units in Spanish territory as the "
Saharan Liberation Army". On 12 January, a division of the Saharan Liberation Army attacked the Spanish garrison at
El Aaiún. Beaten back and forced into retreat by the Spaniards, the Moroccan Army turned its efforts to the southeast. Another opportunity presented itself the next day at Edchera, where two companies of the 13th Legionnaire Battalion were conducting a reconnaissance mission. Slipping unseen into the large
dunes near the Spanish positions, the Moroccans opened fire. Ambushed, the Legionnaires struggled to maintain cohesion, driving off attacks with
mortar and
small arms fire. The 1st Platoon stubbornly denied ground to the Moroccans until heavy losses forced it to withdraw. Bloody Moroccan attacks continued until nightfall, and were fiercely resisted by the Spanish, who inflicted heavy casualties on the Moroccans. By nightfall, the Moroccans were too scattered and depleted of men to continue their assault, and retreated into the darkness.
Operation Écouvillon In February 1958, a Franco-Spanish combined force launched an offensive that broke up the
Moroccan Liberation Army. Between them,
France and Spain deployed a joint air fleet of 150 planes. The Spanish were 9,000 strong and the French 5,000. 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 positions. On 10 February, the 4th, 9th, and 13th Spanish Legion battalions, organised into a motorised group, drove the Moroccans from Edchera and advanced to Tafurdat and
Smara. The Spanish army at El Aaiún, in conjunction with French forces from
Fort Gouraud, struck the Moroccans on 21 February, destroying Saharan Liberation Army concentrations between
Bir Nazaran and
Ausert. ==Aftermath==