THE TAKING OF KAIRWÁN.
Ever since the middle of August preparations had been in progress for
the capture of the so-called focus of Moslem sedition in North Africa.
Although everybody knew from the first, that Kairwán was built in the
middle of a plain, with no other defence than dilapidated battlements
and a few old cannon of uncertain age, all the refinements of modern
warfare were brought to bear on the undertaking. This being the case,
nearly two months elapsed before the various columns which were to
encompass the Holy City could be made ready to commence the elaborate
concentric movement, which, in the dreams of M. Saint-Hilaire, was to
crush out rebellion from one end of the Regency to the other, and
envelop at the same time in its meshes the authors and abettors of the
insurrection. The coming campaign had cost Generals Saussier and Logerot
a vast amount of trouble, and this was hardly to be wondered at, as half
the current maps of Tunis were drawn from imagination, and the only
guide to Kairwán was a sketch plan made by Mr. Edward Rae some five
years before. At last everything was agreed on; General Étienne was to
advance on Kairwán from Susa, General Forgemol was to move from Tebessa,
and General Saussier in person was to march with Generals Logerot,
Sabatier, and Philibert from Tunis and Zaghouán. The movement was to be
made simultaneously, but the palm of conquest was to be reserved for the
Commander-in-Chief. Roughly speaking, the total force employed in the
expedition amounted to at least 22,000 men. On the 22d October General
Étienne received orders to set out, and as he became by waywardness or
accident the captor of Kairwán, I shall first follow his advance, before
describing that of the columns Saussier and Forgemol.
Lieutenant Kane thus writes of the setting out of the French army from
Susa:—
OUED LIA, _October 23d_.
I returned to Susa from the advance guard late last night in order to
witness the final departure of the French troops on the following
morning. The sight which presented itself before the walls of Susa at
dawn on Saturday was certainly a very curious one. The main feature of
the scene was our enormous baggage train, which consisted of over 1000
laden camels, 700 horses and mules, and a multitude of carts of all
sorts and sizes driven by Maltese. This unwieldy caravan was put in
motion before it was light, and huge fires kindled from the refuse on
our old camping-ground added to the picturesqueness of the scene. We had
also a miscellaneous collection of camp followers. An ordinary Tunisian
cab drawn by three mules conveyed M. La Mothe, the correspondent of the
_Temps_, in our rear, and I noticed a German cavalry officer following
the march on foot. At my suggestion he asked General Étienne for a
written permission to accompany the column, which was readily granted as
soon as it was applied for. With a view to obviate the possibility of
any of the insurgents attacking our convoys, the advance guard was made
strong enough to clear completely the line of march, and consisted of
the 6th Hussars, a mountain battery, and the 116th Regiment. Additional
precautions were taken to prevent surprise by throwing out a line of
flanking parties on either side of the column. After the advance guard
came the carts and heavy guns and then the infantry. Much confusion
ensued in consequence of many of the camels and bullocks falling down
under their enormous burdens. I rode to the front with the Hussars. We
arrived at Colonel Lannes’ camp at Kala Piccola (“little Kala”) without
any interruption, but to the right of the camp we heard some rather
heavy firing. On entering the camp I could see the Hussars under Colonel
Lannes hotly engaged with the Arab cavalry. The ground there was covered
with small plateaux, and the Arabs were firing from one plateau at the
Hussars on another, and _vice versâ_. In about half an hour the Arabs
were driven away, but it was impossible to ascertain their loss. The
Hussars had a _sous-officier_ wounded and a trooper killed. The cavalry
of the advance guard were now extended in front and to the left of our
line of march, and were engaged all along the front by small bodies of
Arabs. We thus pushed on, driving the Arabs before us, until we arrived
within three miles of Oued Lia, which was to be our new camping-ground.
With a field-glass I was able to see distinctly a body of about 400 Arab
horsemen _en masse_. They, however, soon disappeared as the infantry, in
skirmishing order, pushed right up to the lines of Hussars, and
surrounded Oued Lia. To the left of the place, about two miles away, and
on the crest of some rising ground, some Arabs were still in sight, but
they were driven away by the French artillery. Oued Lia has been
completely burnt out, but while the house of a Frenchman, M. Saccoman,
was destroyed, that of the Caid of Susa was comparatively uninjured.
Near the village I saw the corpse of a Maltese lying on a heap of stones
and burnt to death. The unfortunate man started from Susa on Friday with
a supply of wine for Colonel Lannes’ soldiers, and, having missed his
way, met this terrible fate at the hands of the Arabs. We have water in
abundance at Oued Lia (“the Spreading River”), and an open ground in our
front slopes up to the crest of the hills about three miles distant. We
expect to halt here for one day at least. I afterwards learned that in
the engagement to the left of the column the daring Zlass chief Ali Ben
Hammara had been killed, and that a good rifle was found close to his
body. Seven wounded soldiers were conveyed back to Susa in ambulance
waggons. The advance guard had also come up with the Arabs and defeated
them with severe loss.
OUED LIA, _October 24th_.
Colonel Lannes’ column from Kala Piccola joined us to-day, together with
the camels carrying water for our coming march. The allowance is to be
five litres _per diem_ for each horse and two for each man. It is feared
that the Arabs have poisoned the wells at the next camping-ground, in
which case it will be necessary to make a forced march on Kairwán. A
report has reached us that the insurgents have already pillaged the
city.
SIDI-EL-HANI, _October 25th_.
After leaving Oued Lia we soon reached the open plain. We are now at
Sidi-el-Hani, and through a field-glass I can see a white streak of wall
which I am told is Kairwán. We have not met a single Arab.
KAIRWÁN, _October 26th_.
Kairwán surrendered to-day without a blow being struck. When we were
within two miles of the town Colonel Moulin, escorted by some cavalry
and his staff, galloped on, and in a few minutes came within easy firing
distance. Flanking parties of cavalry were sent out on each side of the
town, and I went on with one of them. We rode right up to the walls, and
immediately after the inhabitants hoisted the white flag on the tower of
the Great Mosque. The staff then advanced to within speaking distance of
the walls, and in a few minutes we were met by the Governor-General
Mourabet, who rode towards us on a mule, led by two grooms, and who wore
an enormous pair of yellow slippers. Mourabet declared that he
voluntarily surrendered the town. The order to march was then given.
Just one hour after the advance guard had reached the walls, the troops
began to defile into the city through the Bab-el-Khaukh. Each battalion
was headed by its trumpeter playing a fanfare. All the column passed
through the town and then came out by the Tunis Gate on the opposite
side. We are now encamped under the walls. The 48th Regiment only is
stationed in the citadel. The soldiers have been strictly forbidden to
enter the town. This has caused much disappointment and a good deal of
openly expressed grumbling. The men are very fatigued, and the weather
has been exceedingly hot, and the dust almost insupportable. All the
country round Kairwán is a dried-up marsh. The Zaghouán column is
reported to be within a few miles’ march of us, but the Tebessa column
will not arrive for two days at least. The natives look sullen and
dejected, and I have never seen one smile since we have been here. The
French have confirmed the Tunisian General Mourabet in his appointment
as Governor of Kairwán. The insurgents occupy the mountains near the
city. They have not been subdued, and every one even here is laughing at
the whole business. The arrangements of General Étienne and Colonel
Moulin are excellent, and our supply of water is amply sufficient. It is
rumoured that an expedition in Southern Tunis will be necessary.
General Saussier now appeared in the vicinity of Kairwán, and was very
angry indeed because he was not there first of all. As France seems to
consider the taking of Kairwán as little less heroic than the taking of
Troy, the Commander-in-Chief had every reason to resent the laurel
wreath being so unexpectedly snatched from his brow by one of his
subordinates. Although the walk in and out of Kairwán seems to me a very
commonplace occurrence, Frenchmen apparently think differently. Three
months afterwards I happened to see the streets of Paris crowded with
joyous conscripts, most of whom wore a brightly coloured picture in
their hats. A closer inspection revealed my old friend, the “taking of
Kairwán,” flanked by a “bombardment of Sfax.” In the former a cavalry
officer was brandishing his sword at an open door, and in the latter a
ferocious Zouave was to be seen in the act of cutting down an equally
ferocious Arab. In the middle was a colossal figure of the Republic
holding out benignly wreaths of victory over Sfax and Kairwán. The
inscription beneath was a modest one—_la gloire et la patrie_.
Lieutenant Kane did not share the veneration of the conscripts’ artist.
He next wrote as follows:—
KAIRWÁN, _October 28th_.
I have returned from a visit to General Saussier’s camp, which is now
pitched four miles north-west of Kairwán. With his large brigade are no
fewer than three Generals, and very great jealousy exists on account of
General Étienne and his Susa column carrying off the honours of the
surrender. We are, I believe, treated with the gloomy prospect of being
perpetually quartered at Kairwán in consequence. The contrast between
the facilities given to correspondents by General Étienne and the
treatment they received with the Commander-in-Chief is a very marked
one. We now hear of a fourth column coming from Gabes, but its approach
will be delayed as well as that of the Tebessa column. The tricolour of
the 23d Chasseurs has been hoisted on the Kasbah. To appease the men
they are now allowed to go in bodies of six into the city.
Later in the day four Arab messengers came back in a wretched plight.
One of them had taken a message for the _Times_, and they had been sent
with despatches from Kairwán to Susa, but returned, declaring they had
been pillaged _en route_. Money being found on them, and complicity with
the insurgents being suspected, they were immediately tried by court-
martial and shot. It appears that Ali Hammara, the celebrated Arab chief
killed at Kala Piccola, was buried with great pomp at Kairwán before the
French arrived here. Nearly all the Kairwán townspeople are of the same
origin as the Zlass tribe. Eight of the principal sheikhs of Kairwán
have been arrested by the French authorities. The Tebessa column is now
a day’s march from Kairwán.
On the 29th October General Forgemol’s column also arrived, and he was
likewise allowed _la gloire_ of a march in at one gate and out of
another, preceded by his _goumiers_ and martial music. Twenty-two
thousand men were now around the devoted city, but it appeared that on
the 25th October the whole of the insurgents had levied as much
blackmail as they could, and then started off for more congenial
battlefields in the far south. It soon became apparent that although the
troops had got to Kairwán, nobody knew why they had ever come there, and
what they were to do next.
Lieutenant Kane wrote thus on the 2d November:—
The march of General Forgemol’s African troops through the town has
greatly impressed the inhabitants. Yesterday a conference took place in
the camp between General Saussier and the Governor, the Cadi, and chief
men of Kairwán. General Saussier intimated to the Governor that he
required four things of him. First, that all insurgents belonging to the
city should be brought back and surrendered unconditionally within two
days; secondly, that prices of provisions in the town should be lowered;
thirdly, that one hundred horsemen should be furnished for a postal
service; fourthly, that the shops should be kept open all day. In the
event of non-compliance, General Saussier said that very rigorous
measures would have to be adopted. Since yesterday a large number of
horses, said to belong to the Zlass chiefs, have been given up to the
French. The mosques have also been thrown open unreservedly to
Christians and Jews. The Tunisian authorities are taking bribes not to
denounce householders as belonging to the Zlass tribe. The prisons are
full of political offenders, but several spies have been released after
receiving a sound flogging. Large numbers of soldiers have visited the
Great Mosque to-day. The guardians of other religious establishments are
putting up French flags by the side of their distinctive banners.
Preparations for the march on Gafsa have been recommenced.
This information induced me to visit Kairwán with a view of exploring
its antiquities; but before describing the results of my journey, I
should certainly complete my narrative of the other component marches of
the concentric movement. General Saussier’s advance from Manouba by way
of Zaghouán presents no feature of possible interest. The
reconnaissances of General Sabatier had cleared a great portion of the
route, and after a brush between the advanced guard and the Arabs in the
defiles of Foum-el-Karouba, the way was clear and even deserted. The
skirmish was unfortunate, as it caused just enough delay to prevent the
name of General Saussier from being handed down to posterity as the
captor of Kairwán, although it cannot deprive him of whatever fame is
due to the originator of a campaign, the essential feature of which was
“much ado about nothing,” and in which wholesale cattle-lifting avowedly
takes the place of hard fighting.
General Forgemol’s march from Tebessa was a very different feat from
General Saussier’s march from Manouba. While at Kairwán I had access to
the journal of the _goumiers_ and other papers, and was able to write
the following fairly correct account of an advance which awakens
memories of Xenophon:—
One of the most notable features of the concentric movement of the
French troops on Kairwán is undoubtedly General Forgemol’s thirteen
days’ march from Beccaria, nine miles east of Tebessa. The Division
Forgemol consists of 7000 combatants, escorting a convoy of 8800 camels
and 1500 mules, which carried thirty days’ provisions. Its composition
is as follows:—Ten battalions of infantry, including three battalions of
the 3d and two of the 1st Zouaves, three battalions of the 23d and one
of the 1st Turcos, two battalions from the 100th and 34th of the Line,
six squadrons of cavalry, the 3d Chasseurs d’Afrique, and two squadrons
of the 3d Hussars, one troop of Spahis, together with 800 Goumiers, or
Arab irregular cavalry, one battery of mountain guns, and another of
horse artillery. The brigadiers under General Forgemol were Generals De
la Sougéolle and De Jislain. The cavalry brigade was commanded by
General Bonie. The order of march was adapted to the requirements of the
enormous convoy, which even in close square covered a large extent of
ground. The advance guard consisted of four squadrons of cavalry and two
battalions of infantry. The main body of troops followed, headed by two
battalions of infantry and one battery of artillery, flanked by a
battalion of infantry on each side. The baggage train in close column of
route was formed by an intervening battalion into two divisions, the
first containing the baggage and the second the provisions. On either
flank marched a troop of cavalry. The rear of the column was brought up
by the mountain guns, three battalions of infantry, and one squadron of
cavalry, while the whole force was covered by a cloud of irregular
cavalry on every side. General Forgemol struck his camp at Beccaria
early in the morning of the 16th of October, and in the afternoon of
that day arrived at Ras-el-Aioun, on the Tunisian frontier. The next day
a cavalry reconnaissance made a rapid movement to Hydra, some miles to
the north-east of the boundary. Near the Roman ruins it was attacked by
the warriors of the Ouled Maggers and the Frechich tribes, who had a few
days before perpetrated a successful _razzia_ on Algerian territory
between Ras-el-Aioun and Tebessa. The Goums suffered a loss of five
killed and twenty-four wounded, and in the _mêlée_ considerable
confusion ensued owing to the similarity existing between their costume
and that of their assailants. Two _goumiers_ are even said to have been
shot by mistake, and an order was subsequently issued that the Algerian
irregulars should wear red, green, and yellow ribands on alternate days
round their turbans, in order to distinguish them from their Tunisian
co-religionists. The Arabs fought with great courage, and only retreated
after a charge of French cavalry, in which fifteen of their horsemen
were slain. The reconnaissance retired on Ras-el-Aioun in the evening,
and the next day the division reached Hydra without further molestation.
The heat was very oppressive, and the march lay across hills and valleys
covered with brushwood. From Hydra a reconnaissance advanced some miles
farther east to Hanout-el-Ajem, without encountering any resistance, and
on the following day (the 20th of October) the whole column arrived
there also. On the 21st General Forgemol reached Oudem-el-Ghanem, and
some of the smaller tribes came in to demand the _aman_ (pardon). After
passing Henchir-Rohia a movement was made on the 23d of October towards
Henchir-Sbeiba. The camp had hardly been struck when the Goums reported
the presence of 4000 Tunisian horsemen in the neighbouring ravines
belonging to the tribes of the Ourten, Ouled Maggers, Ouled Ayar, and
Hamáma. The Arabs commenced the attack, and were at length dislodged
from their position by the infantry and artillery after an engagement
which lasted till noon. During the action the column continued its
advance, and after sunset reached Sbeiba. General Forgemol halted the
following day at Sbeiba, and on the 25th of October commenced a march on
Coudiat-el-Halfa. The assailants of the 23d resumed their attack
simultaneously on the advance and rear guards. The Goums and infantry
sustained some loss, and the Arabs finally yielded only to repeated
charges of cavalry. From Coudiat-el-Halfa the column moved to Oued-el-
Foul, and on the following day, before the march commenced, the Arabs in
force assailed the camp on all sides except the east.
In spite of the attack, rendered more serious by the presence of
contingents from the tribes of Zlass and Ouled Said, the troops advanced
towards El Haouareb. The firing of the Arabs was silenced by the
artillery about noon. Leaving El Haouareb next morning, the camp was
pitched before sunset at Biar Zlass, in sight of the _Minár_ of Sidi
Okhbah at Kairwán. Without meeting any further obstacle to the final
advance, General Forgemol moved on next morning (October 29th) to
Kairwán itself. Nearly all the effective strength of the column, with
its bands playing the “Marseillaise,” defiled through the Tunis Gate,
and, passing across the bazaars and principal streets, returned to their
camping-ground outside the city by way of the Bab-el-Djelladín.
Nothing has impressed the Kairwánis more than the presence of the
Algerian army with its Moslem soldiers, who seem to have lost none of
their religious ardour by their loyalty to the present rulers of their
country. When the Turcos reached the Bab-el-Tunis a rumour spread with
wonderful rapidity that the much-longed-for troops of the Sultan were at
hand, but this momentary ray of hope soon gave place to bitter
disappointment. From that moment the Moslems of Kairwán have apparently
resigned themselves to their fate, and green-turbaned Ulema, and
venerable Sheikhs of still more venerable sanctuaries, spend their time
in exhibiting to their unbidden guests those very buildings, the entry
into which a fortnight before would have cost the intruder his life.
I had while at Kairwán many opportunities of talking over the campaign
with several of the officers of the _Colonne Forgemol_. I shall not
easily forget one of them, who had seen over a quarter of a century’s
service in Algeria, saying to me—“We came to Kairwán, but we have done
nothing; we shall go to Gafsa, and we shall still do nothing, for we can
never come up with the Arabs. In a single day they can march four times
as far as we can, and as they have already removed their herds out of
our reach we cannot starve them. In Tunis, as in Algeria, the conquest
must be a matter of years. The Algerians have been tired out, the
Tunisians must be tired out also.”
The one question asked a thousand times a day at Kairwán during my stay
was, “What will the Chamber decide about Tunis?” That question has never
been answered yet. My own impression is, that there was not one of those
brave men around Kairwán who was not heartily tired of an expedition
which as yet has done nothing but call forth misplaced energy and zeal,
and the ultimate results of which are justly dreaded by every patriotic
Frenchman.