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Bizerte crisis
Part of the decolonisation of Africa and the spillover of the Algerian War

Bizerte in 1961
Date19–23 July 1961
Location
Result French victory
Territorial
changes
Evacuation of the Bizerte base on 15 October 1963
Belligerents
  France Tunisia Tunisia
Commanders and leaders
France Charles de Gaulle
France Maurice Amman

Tunisia Habib Bourguiba Tunisia Noureddine Boujellabia
Tunisia Abdelhamid Ben Cheikh

Tunisia Mohamed Ben Hamida El Bejaoui  
Strength
7,000
3 cruisers
10,000 [1]
Casualties and losses
24–27 killed
100 wounded [2]
630 killed
1,555 wounded
multiple civilians killed

The Bizerte crisis ( French: Crise de Bizerte; Arabic: أحداث بنزرت, romanizedʾAḥdāth Bīzart) occurred in July 1961 when Tunisia imposed a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte, Tunisia, hoping to force its evacuation. The crisis culminated in a three-day battle between French and Tunisian forces that left 630 Tunisians and 24 French dead.

Military zone of Bizerte– Ferryville
Military zone in southern Tunisia

Background

After Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956, France remained in control of the city and its naval base, a strategic port on the Mediterranean, which played an important part in French operations during the Algerian War. France had promised to negotiate the future of the base, but had so far refused to remove it. Tunisia was further infuriated upon learning that France planned to expand the airbase.

In 1961, Tunisian forces surrounded and blockaded the naval base in hopes of forcing France to abandon its last holdings in the country. After Tunisia warned France against any violations of Tunisian airspace, the French defiantly sent a helicopter. Tunisian troops responded by firing warning shots. In response to the blockade, 800 French paratroopers were sent in by the French as a show of force.

However, when the transport planes with the paratroopers landed on the airfield, Tunisian troops engaged them with targeted machine gun fire. In response, French jets supported by troops armed with 105 mm howitzers attacked the Tunisian roadblocks, destroying them completely. French tanks and armoured cars then rolled into Tunisian territory, and fired into the town of Ferryville, killing 27 soldiers and civilians. The following day, the French launched a full-scale invasion of the town of Bizerte. The Tunisians' few artillery posts were destroyed by rockets fired by French planes. Tanks and paratroopers penetrated into the city from the south, while marines stormed the harbour from landing craft. Three French cruisers were positioned offshore. Tunisian soldiers, paramilitaries, [3] and hastily organised civilian volunteers engaged the French in heavy street fighting, but were forced back by vastly superior French forces. The French overran the town on 23 July 1961.

Aftermath

Bizerte Martyrs monument

Initially the United Nations was unable to carry out any sort of substantial action against the French, which angered the Tunisian authorities. [4] The French finally handed Bizerte on 15 October 1963, after the conclusion of the Algerian War.

See also

References

  1. ^ "بنزرت – في ذكرى معركة الجلاء : معركة من أجل الحرية والكرامة وقع توظيفها سياسيا".
  2. ^ the official Tunisian balance sheet
  3. ^ "Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  4. ^ Brady, Thomas F. (31 July 1961). "Tunisians Bitter Over U.N. Failure On Bizerte Crisis; Say Council Is 'Incapable' of Concrete Decisions – Assembly Call Expected". The New York Times. ISSN  0362-4331. Retrieved 26 April 2019.

External links