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How started
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. -
Start the war
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. -
First movement
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, -
The war finishes
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. -
The war didn't finished
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 bloody day
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 war of the first dictator
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. -
Spain gets help
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. -
The war finishes
Towards 1926 the zone had been pacified, surrendering Abd-el-Krim in July 1927 and obtaining the reconquest of the previously lost territory. -
Consequences
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.