For centuries the Tuareg tribesmen were unchallenged rulers of their desert lair. Then the French arrived on the scene.
FAR TO THE SOUTH WAS A BAND OF
Desert wairiore cheerfully waiting to fulfill that w ish. Thev were members of the Kel Ahaggar Tuaregs, one of the northernmost tribes of the great confederation that roamed the desert from In Salah in the central Sahara, east to Libya, as far south as Chad and as far west as Timbuktu. The Tuaregs were camel breeders and herdsmen who also organized and managed some of the caravans that conducted trade across the desert. They were also brigands, who for centuries had raided oases, plundered caravans that refused to pay them tribute and terorrized travelers in general.
Exceptionally tall for desert dwellei^s, they were lean, tough men of Berber origin armed wilh unique Crusader-type broadswords, long lances, antelope-skin shields and. more recently, rifles. Fierce, treacherous, swaggering lords of all they surveyed, they wore long indigo robes that reached their ankles, accentuating their height. Most striking, their entire heads were concealed behind a veil, the traditional Tuareg litham, a 5-foot length of blue or white cotton wound around so that only iheireyes were uncovered. Designed to protect their faces from the sun and sand, the litham also gave them a mysterious, menacing look that added to their terrifying reputation.
Flatters had sent a messenger ahead to Ahitigal, chieftain of the Kel Aliaggar Tuaregs. through whose teiritory in the Hoggar Mountains the expedition planned to pass. The chieftain realized what the French were up to. In some mysterious way the word was out in the desert, even to this remote comer ol the Hoggar, that a railroad was being planned to cross the Sahara. To Ahitigal this was bad news. It meant French soldiers in his teiritory and no more caravans to raid. He sent a message back to Flatters: Stay away. Find another route.
Colonel Flalters paid no atlention. That was his fii-st big mistake. By this time he and his party had traveled more than 400 miles from Ouargla over some of the world s woret territory. In spite of the bui'ning sun and teirible heat during the day, the freezing cold at night and other perils, the Flatters party had done fairly well in the month and a half it had taken them to reach the wells of Amguid. The colonel was feeling pi etty good about himself, and confident of the mission's eventual success.
Amguid was then the entrance to the totally unknown country of the Hoggar Tuaregs. There, the party picked up two Ifora Tuareg guides—the Ifora were at the time friendly to the French—and started in a southeasterly direction into the tenifying plain of Amrador, the banen and unknown wastes that lay between the Tassili Mountains on the north and the Hoggar on the south.
The Hoggar Mountains are among the most unusual geologic fomiations in the world. Rising to 9,000 feet in places, they are mostly extinct volcanoes that thrust skyward in fantastically shaped peaks and cones, with huge boulders strewn about. Throughout this desolate landscape are patches of scnib gi'ass and weeds on which Hoggar Tuareg camels and goats fed. This was their land, the almost impenetrable lair hxjm which they deployed to carry out their depredations in the less forbidding parts of the Sahara.
When he learned that Flatters was drawing near, the wily Ahitigal changed his tune. He sent a messenger to the Frenchman to come deeper into the Hoggar, suggesting that he could help guide him further on his way to the Sudan. The bearera of this were a party of Hoggar Tuaregs who rode into Flatters' camp on the Amrador Plain. It was led by Ahitigal's son, Attici ouid Chikat.
The Tuareg appeared friendly. Attici volunteered to help guide the party through the Hoggar region. He suggested that Flatters dismiss his llora guides, since they were unfamiliar with the territory ahead. The colonel agreed. That was his second big mistake. Attici and his party rode away, leaving four Hoggar Tuareg guides to replace the Ifora.
part of the expedition ride ahead to the wells of Tadjemout, taking all the baggage animals with them, along with empty waterskins to be refilled and brought back to the main body.
Flattere split his forces, setting out with a French officer, the doctor, two of the engineers and a complement of tmulleurs, plus the Tuareg guides and all Ihe expeditions camels, leaving the main body bivouacked behind. This advance party reached the wells in the Hoggar foothills, watered the animals and let them graze on the sparse grass nearby while Flatters and the others rested in the shade of the few trees alongside the wells.
All seemed well, but then it was noticed that the guides, including tfie one who was holding Flatters' horse, were edging away Flatters called out, but by that time the guides had disappeared among the rocks.
At the same time, a group of camel-mounted Tuaregs led by Attici himself came chaiging out of the ravine straight for the colonel and his men. Flatters and the other French officer barely had time to draw their pistols and fire an elective volley before the Tuaregs were upon them. Lance thrusts and rifle fire dispatched all the Frenchmen. The attackers savagely hacked their bodies to pieces with their swords. The tirailleurs put up a spirited defense but were soon oveiwhelmed. A few managed to slip away in the confusion and make it back to alert the main body.
Flatters had blundered into an ambush, and now what was left of his party was in a bad way. They were stranded in the middle of a frightful desert, in the territory of a treacherous enemy and short of water and provisions. Even worse, they were without camels. The entire herd had been scattered in the tighting at the wells and recaptured by the Tuaregs. The good news, however, was that they still had their weapons and plenty of ammunition to fight off any more attacks.
But the masters of the Hoggar did not attack, not there and then. They simply waited, knowing that the intruders were some 750 miles from their base at Ouargla and without the camels that were so necessaiy for desert survival. They had simply lo keep them in sight and wait for hunger and thirst to weaken them. Then the final massacre would begin.
It was decided by the French lieutenant, who was now the only officer still alive, to try to make it back to Ouargla on loot. Although he was nominally in command, much of the decisionmaking would now depend upon the Chaamba member's of the party, the only ones who knew the northem desert well enough to guide the group to safety.
After an unsuccessfiil attempt to find some of the scattered camels, the party started towai d Ouargla. Their first objective was the wells of Amguid, where they knew they could get enough enough water, and perhaps food, to cairy on. Tirailleurs were immediately sent out to the flanks to scout and soon reported they had company. A band of about 200 camel-mounted Tuareg warriors was also marching northward on a parallel route, keeping out of sight. There was no doubt that the Tuaregs would strike before their victims reached Amguid, for those wells marked the northem border of their territory.
It was a long, hard march. For days the column struggled on, the veiled warriors riding silently, patiently on their flanks. Although the French mission was still amied, the men were now tmly fugitives. Their strictly rationed water had all but run out. They were starving, living on whatever they could find. Somewhere along the march they had rounded up a few stray camels, used them as baggage animals and then slaughtered them for food. They were also able to occasionally snare some small desert lizards, which, while not gourmet fare, kept them alive.
When the column was still two days from Amguid they were surprised to see a small party of Tuaregs ride up to their encampment making friendly signs. Communications with the Tuaregs was always difficult because they had their own language and knew httle Arabic, but these men seemed to have sympathy for the column's plight and offered to bring them food. The starving men were grateful. Hunger had stilled their suspicions. The next day the same Tuaregs rode up and dropped ofl some bundles of dates. As they rode off, the tirailleurs fell ravenously on the unexpected gift.
It was typical Tuareg treachery. The dates were poisoned. Among the desert tribes the drug was called ifalezlez; it resulted in hallucinations and disorientation, not unlike LSD. Within a short time the men ran screaming into the desert. Others raved around the encampment, and some tried to kill themselves. The last of the civilians died as a result of the drug.
Why the Tuaregs didn't attack then is a mystery. Eventually tiie effects of the poison wore off, and the pitiful column moved on, although many of the men were suffering great pain and some were still half crazy.
AT LAST THEY REACHED AMGUID
There they were not surprised to see a line of camel-mounted Tuaregs stretched across their path, silently watching, lances and swords at the ready. The tirailleurs halted, and the antagonists simply stared at each other. Then suddenly the Tuaregs charged.
Amazingly, the tirailleurs found the courage and discipline to meet the onslaught with a volley of well-aimed rifle fire. A dozen Tuaregs fell and the rest turned back, but they were not long discouraged. They charged and chained again, each time tiking severe casualties. Finally they gave up on mounted attacks and settled down to sharpshooting from behind the rocks of the surrounding hilly terrain.
Now the Tuaregs practiced some of their primitive and savage psychological warfare. They had taken a number of prisoners in ihe original fight at Tadjemout, and at this point, in full view of the tirailleurs, these were executed. Some they simply threw off the surrounding cliffs, others they beheaded. If they hadn't fully realized it before, the horrified spectators now knew what would happen to them if they were captured.
The sniping continued until dark, with heavy casualties on both sides. The remaining French officer was killed, and the last French noncom, a Sergeant Pobeguin, was now in charge. As the sniping died down, Pobeguin took advantage of the darkness to lead his tattered band around Amguid and continue north. Perhaps the Tuaregs simply let them escape. If any of the tirailleurs made it back to Ouargla, their sad tale could serve as a warning to the French to stay out of Tuareg territory. At any rate, apparently satisfied that they had taught the intruders a sufficient lesson, the veiled men turned back toward the Hoggar.
The remaining part of the tirailleurs' desert odyssey was a nightmare. They were still 450 miles from Ouargla, and they were still starving. They found some water along the way, but Uttle food. They were reduced to eating lizards and chewing on their leather belts. At firet the bodies were left where they lay, but eventually famished tirailleurs turned to cannibalism. To stay alive, they ate the flesh of their fallen companions.
On March 28,1881, a dozen ragged scarecrows stumbled into Ouargla. Sergeant Pobeguin, the last of the Frenchmen, was not among them—he had died on the terrible trail. Over the following weeks a few more survivor, some of whom had escaped Tuareg captivity, wandered into other desert outposts, and the w hole sad tale of the disaster came to light.
Paris was horrified, and the French public demanded some sort of action to punish the Tuaregs. Gradually, however, the conquest of the Sahara, while not actually forgotten, was put on the back burner. It was not until 17 years later that another attempt was made to cross the Sahara to the Sudan.
ian tirailleurs, an experienced Saharan soldier who comprehended the requirements of such an expedition. This time it was to have enough muscle to be successful, and by the lime the Foureau-Lamy mission left Ouargla on October 22, 1898, Lamy had seen to that. It took 1,000 camels to cany all the men and equipment needed.
Included in the expedition were four civilians, 10 officers, 32 French NCOs, 213 Algerian tirailleurs. 50 Saharan tirailleurs and 13 spahis, native Algerian cavalryman. There were also 49 camel drovers, 20 Chaamba guides and six holy men, both Chaamba and Tuareg. Adding to the expeditions striking power were two 42mm Hotchkiss guns, heavy aitilleiy for desert warfare. To be on the safe side, a Compagnie Saharienne, a unit of the newly organized French army camel coips of Chaamba tribesmen, joined the column for the first pan of the journey, scouting the flanks.
FOUREAU AND LAMY'S HUGE
Caravan followed the track of the Flatters mission into the Hoggar country and right past the scene of the massacre without incident. There were no Tuaregs to be seen. The word was out in the desert that this new expedition was too well armed to assail. Even the always belligerent Hoggar Tuaregs got the message. As the column traveled ever deeper into the territory of Kel Ahaggar, it found the hastily abandoned campsites of Tuareg bands. But the veiled men themselves had completely disappeared.
There were other troubles, however, The countiy the expedition was now in was utterly unknown to Europeans. Foureau wrote in his diaiy: "This is appalling desert, desolate, treacherous, and discouraging to any but the stoutest hearts. The skeletons of camels litter the route and we add ceaselessly to their number. The figure of our camel losses over a week has risen to over 140 animals."
The camels of the Foureau-Lamy expedition had begun to die of exhaustion, as well as lack of fodder and water. As it moved into the plateau of the southem mountain region, most of the camels were gone. Since there were few animals left to carry supplies, much had to be burned and extra ammunition buried.
And now there was Tuareg trouble. The column reached Ighezzar; a trading center where Lamy hoped to buy camels from the local tribes. The tribesmen of the Kel Oui Tuareg, while appealing to be friendly, were as vacillating, untmstworthy and uncooperative as their northern brothere. At firet they agreed to sell the camels. Then they changed their minds.
Held up at Ighezzar for lack of pack animals, Lamy stalled building a fort there. Apparently that was too much for the Kel Oui. Some 400 strong, they attacked the French encampment in a wild camel charge with spear and sword, but were beaten off. They never returned. Evidently the Hotchkiss guns had something to do with the French victory. Deadly in their destert environment, the Tuaregs and their medieval weapons were no match ibr modem aimament when engaging in open, pitched battle—i.e. on the Europeans' terms.
Eventually the expedition acquired enough camels to move on. Perhaps some strong-arm methods were used to accomplish this. Charles Guilleux, a French sergeant of tirailleurs, who kept a diary, wrote: "Those cursed Tuaregs won't sell us any camels and most of ours are cluttering our tracks with their carcasses. Luckily, we have captured a nomad and won't set him free except for a ransom of 50 camels." They got their camels of in Salah. It was a low-profile affair" under the command of an obscure young French officer. Lieutenant Gaston Cottenest. Although it was a small expedition, it was apparently extremely well organized, well equipped, well disciplined and well led.
Starting out from In Salah on March 25, 1902, Cottenest and his men trailed the miscreants, never quite catching up with them. The Tuaregs threw many obstacles in ihc small force's way, including blocking the wells that marked the trail to the Hoggar. It was more than a month after starting out that the pursuers actually sighted their quality. Four days alter the first tentative contact on May 7, al a village in the foothills of the Hoggar, the Tuaregs turned to fight.
Cottenest was ready for them. He had the high ground, and his men were dismounted and spread in a line along the rocks, awaiting the attack. The Tuaregs. greatly reinforced and mounted on their best camels, came on at a slow trot, so slowly that for an instant the young lieutenant thought they were not going to charge. Then suddenly they broke into a gallop, screaming war cries and waving lances. In his after-action report, Cottenest described it this way: "The ground allowed the Tuareg to advance up to us tiding their camels, with their besi mounts to the tore. Barbed spears whistled toward us and the men who had hurled them from the height of their camels dismounted with a rifle in their left hand, a spear in iheirrighland a sword at their side. They were all armed more or less the same and to our astonishment they nearly all had rifles. They were men of great height, of an imposing appeal ance, who marched straight ahead with a complete contempt of danger."
The disciplined fire of the Chaamba created great gaps in the Tuareg ranks, but still they came on. Their ovenvhelming numbers pushed the French force back, but Cottenest had planned well. He suddenly withdrew his men to a prearranged position higher up among the rocks and continued his heavy and accuratee fire.
The contest tumed into a fierce firefight, which the Tuaregs gradually lost. At what point they decided to retreat is not recorded, but the casualties tell the story. In the rather grandly titled Battle of Tit, named for the village nearest the scene of the fighting, the French lost three men killed and 10 wounded. The Tuareg counted some 90 dead, 22 of whom were killed, according to Cottenest, "in our pursuit alter the battle."
Although Cottenest's people have been described in some accounts as an ill-armed partisan band, the results indicate otherwvise.Perhaps the Chaamba were French-trained veterans ot Laperrine's Saharriennes. Their disciplined victory against overwhelming odds would lead one to think so.
Things changed in the Sahara after the Battle of Tit. The most belligerent of Tuareg tribes, the Kel Ahaggar ol the Hoggar, made their formal submission to the French. Others followed suit. And with the patrols of the Saharan companies criss-crossing the desert, the French Sahara remained relatively peaceful for many years.