Battle of Kousséri

Battle of Kousséri
	Part of the Rabih War (1899–1901)
	Cameroun
Result	French victory

Belligerents Rabih az-Zubayr's empire

Bornu Empire

loyalistsCommanders and leaders Rabih az-Zubayr †

Sanda Kura of Borno

Strength 10,000 men
(French sources) 700 French soldiers
800 BaguirmiansCasualties and losses 1,000–1,500 dead
3,000 wounded
(Including civilians) 28 dead
75 wounded

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

.

Prelude

In 1899,

Baggara and Karnak Logone

.

In 1899, Rabih received in

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

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.

Battle

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 shot in the head by a skirmisher from the Central Africa mission. Hearing there was a bonus for Rabih's corpse, the skirmisher returned to the field and brought back Rabih's head and right hand.

The casualties amounted to 28 dead and 75 wounded on the French side; 1,000 to 1,500 dead and more than 3,000 wounded on Rabah's side, including women and children accompanying the army.

Significance

With the defeat of Rabih's forces, the French ensured their control over most of Chad, which became part of the

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

.

Gallery

Rabih's head, a battlefield trophy after the fighting.
Rabih's battle flags, captured by the French after the battle.
One of Rabih's cannons captured by the French.

References

ISBN 0-393-04770-9
pp. 466–467

Robin Hallett . Africa Since 1875: A Modern History. University of Michigan (1974)
ISBN 0-472-07170-X
p. 444

Victor T. Le Vine, Roger P. Nye. Historical Dictionary of Cameroon. Scarecrow Press (1974)
ISBN 0-8108-0707-6

James Stuart Olson, Robert Shadle, Ross Marlay, William Ratliff, Joseph M. Rowe. Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism. Greenwood Publishing (1991)
ISBN 0-313-26257-8
pp. 123–124

12°04′00″N 15°02′00″E / 12.0667°N 15.0333°E / 12.0667; 15.0333